Where has the Mets power gone?
Where has the Mets power gone?
New York has their series finale vs St. Louis rained out. Plus, an analysis
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets had their series finale vs the Cardinals rained out on Wednesday afternoon – the game will be made up on August 5th in St. Louis
LHP José Quintana will now make the start in Friday night’s series opener against the Atlanta Braves
Roster Moves 🗞️
RHP Yohan Ramírez called up from Triple-A Syracuse
RHP Cole Sulser optioned to Triple-A Syracuse
Down on the Farm 🌾
SS Luisangel Acuña (No. 3 prospect, Triple-A): 1-for-4, 2B, BB, 2 runs scored
OF Ryan Clifford (No. 5 prospect, Single-A): 2-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI, BB, run scored
RHP/DH Nolan McLean (No. 19 prospect, Single-A): 3-for-5, HR (4), 2 RBI
Today’s Game 🗓
The Mets (18-18) have an off day on Thursday. New York will be back in action on Friday, when they play the first of a three-game set against the Braves at Citi Field.
Searching for the Mets’ power… ✍️
Entering the season, you wondered where the Mets lineup would be getting their power from. Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor? Those were all-but guarantees, but the rest of the bunch? That was another question entirely.
A large part of why the club ultimately signed J.D. Martínez to fill the DH spot in the final week of Spring Training was because of that very concern. And even with Martínez now in the fold, the team has still had some struggles in that department.
As things stand today, New York ranks 13th in the league in home runs and 17th in the league in slugging percentage. And while those rankings are not as bad as one would expect, the Mets are going to need to hit for more power in order surprise people this season – especially with the state of their pitching staff.
When you break things down player-by-player, those issues become even more clear…
Pete Alonso
2024 season: .445 SLG%
Career average: .524 SLG%Francisco Lindor
2024 season: .387 SLG%
Career average: .471 SLG%J.D. Martínez
2024 season: .351 SLG%
Career average: .523 SLG%Starling Marte
2024 season: 396 SLG%
Career average: .444 SLG%Brandon Nimmo
2024 season: .412 SLG%
Career average: .445 SLG%Brett Baty
2024 season: .354 SLG%
Career average: .331 SLG%Jeff McNeil
2024 season: .320 SLG%
Career average: .433 SLG%Harrison Bader
2024 season: .340 SLG%
Career average: .393 SLG%
When you look at it that way… oof. The entire Mets starting lineup, other than Brett Baty, currently has a lower slugging percentage than what they’ve averaged over the course of their careers.
Alonso and Lindor have hit a combined 15 home runs, which accounts for a whopping 39.4 percent of the team’s entire home run total this season. Martínez has yet to hit a home run since joining the team nearly two weeks ago and there are only four players on the roster who have hit at least four home runs 36 games into their season.
While they’re below their career norms, you’re getting about what you’d expect from Alonso and Lindor, but what about everyone else?
Will Martínez struggle to get his pop back after missing the entirety of Spring Training due to his prolonged free agency and advanced age? Is Jeff McNeil, now struggling mightily for two straight seasons, on the downslope of his career?
What about Brett Baty? As a highly touted offensive prospect, he had a .507 slugging percentage over four minor league seasons. Yet in his third partial season in the major leagues, the left-hander had shown little-to-now power at a position that it’s often expected at, hitting just three home runs this season with a .354 slugging percentage.
While they’ve had gems at times, this is still a starting rotation that has proven to be about as volatile as most expected going into the year, and they haven’t given the club very many innings which has put even more stress on their bullpen. With that, New York is going to need their offense to carry them at times and the easiest way to do that, especially while lacking the speed and athleticism that other teams wield, is through the long ball.
Hell… we’d take a few doubles mixed in there, too.
Around the League 🚩
The Pirates are calling up RHP Paul Skenes, the No. 1 pitching prospect in all of baseball, to the major leagues to make his debut on Saturday
The Dodgers have now won 14 of their last 16 games after defeating the Marlins, 3-1, and completing an undefeated homestand
Padres RHP Dylan Cease struck out 12 batters over seven dominant innings as San Diego defeated the Cubs, 3-0
The Rangers acquired OF Robbie Grossman from the White Sox in exchange for minor league RHP Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa