Mets are Coming Together Just Fine
New York's sluggish start appears to be in the rear-view; at least we hope...
Image via New York Mets
The Mets taking two-of-three from Washington at home last weekend, even with another off-day on Monday, sends them into their two-game tilt versus Boston starting Tuesday evening at Citi Field on the right foot.
Compared to where they were heading into their weekend series with the Nats after being swept by the Cubs last week, that’s a positive gain. Progress is a wonderful thing.
Losing traction and falling into old habits should always be in the back of the Mets’ minds, but the energy emanating from this team — as well as some encouraging signs among the roster — says that a groove has been found. Let the good times roll.
As we pointed out in the podcast on Monday, the Mets hitters have slowly but surely been coming around. And not a moment too late.
Pete Alonso continues to lead the majors in average exit velocity (98.6 MPH to Aaron Judge’s 97.9 MPH average), and now his counting stats are picking up in the wake of that staggering 21.4% barrel rate (10th in MLB; Byron Buxton, 26.8 percent, leads MLB).
Over his last seven games, Alonso is hitting .333/.448/.708 with three home runs, four walks, and just four strikeouts in 28 plate appearances.
For anyone eagerly waiting for the 2019 version of Pete Alonso to return, as evidenced by his recent performance at the plate, that train may currently be pulling into the station.
That would be quite the boon for this Mets offense moving forward. We’re all familiar with the level of momentum that an on-fire Alonso adds to a team. He’s a game-changer.
The same could be said for Michael Conforto, who’s also beginning to snap back into form after some early-season struggles, slashing .280/.357/.520 with three doubles and a homer over his last seven games.
Scooters’ opposite-field double that banked off the top-eighth of the wall in left field on Sunday lends credence to the possibility that Conforto’s presumable pressing at the plate over the last few weeks are falling by the wayside.
When he’s going the other way, all seems right in the world. The same can be said for Brandon Nimmo getting on base at rapid clips (his .477 OBP ranked second in MLB heading into Tuesday). These are the identifying marks of this ball club.
J.D. Davis continues to make a case for regular playing time. No, not with his glove (-1 outs above average at third base so far).
But if an 86th-percentile average exit velocity (93.3 MPH), 52.6% hard-hit rate, and .414/.485/.690 batting line with four extra-base hits and a 223 wRC+ over his first 33 plate appearances is any indicator, Davis can and will be an integral cog in this motor.
The Mets’ starting pitching continues to dominate, which is always an important ingredient. Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman, Taijuan Walker, David Peterson, and Joey Lucchesi have summarily gotten the job done, and convincingly so.
Their collective 2.69 earned run average (fifth in MLB), 10.95 strikeouts per nine innings (fourth in MLB), 0.58 home runs allowed per nine, and 2.52 fielding independent pitching rating (both best in MLB) are elite.
Plus, they should afford the Mets’ fans and front office, alike, a surplus of confidence that things will be alright until Carlos Carrasco and Noah Syndergaard bring the rotation back to full capacity over the next few weeks.
Right-hander Miguel Castro has taken the opportunities given to him by Mets manager Luis Rojas and run with them, pitching to a 2.57 ERA over his first seven appearances this season and striking out 15.43 batters per nine innings (eighth in MLB).
The guy whose higher-leverage appearances he’s eating up, Jeurys Familia, isn’t performing so terribly himself (1.93 ERA, 9.64 K/9, 3.86 BB/9), but appears to have settled into a front-end role nicely and made the Mets relief corps that much more dependable.
Trevor May (3.38 ERA, 13.50 K/9) has been great after an uneven start. Edwin Diaz (2.25 ERA, hasn’t allowed a barrel and owns a measly 15.8% hard-hit rate) has been outstanding.
See? Things are coming together just fine. First place with just 145 games left to play. Metsies to the moon.
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