Travis d'ArnaudLast night, Travis d’Arnaud made his return to the Mets after a two week stint in Triple A Las Vegas. And he made his return with a bang. In his second at-bat of the evening d’Arnaud launched a hanging change-up from A’s pitcher Scott Kazmir into the left-field seats.

It was a huge hit for d’Arnaud that got the monkey off his back of getting his first hit since his return. All throughout last night d’Arnaud was taking some really nice swings and standing closer to the plate than he was before.

Now, going forward, the Mets need to find a spot for d’Arnaud in the lineup that can not only help him but help the Mets offense continue to score runs.

One of the biggest problems that plagued d’Arnaud before his demotion, at least in my opinion, was his spot in the lineup. Hitting with the pitcher behind him didn’t help d’Arnaud see good pitches or have an opportunity to get into a rhythm.

The best fit for d’Arnaud is to hit somewhere in the middle of the order. In his entire career in the minors, d’Arnaud always hit for a high average with decent power. He isn’t going to be a 3 or a 4 hitter, but hitting him 5th or 6th with some protection behind him can allow him to continue the hot streak he had in Las Vegas and help this offense.

With guys like Eric Campbell, Lucas Duda, Wilmer Flores and Ruben Tejada going to hit behind d’Arnaud potentially, there are three guys out of that group that on an everyday basis give the Mets a legitimate threat behind d’Arnaud. That will force pitchers to attack him more and give him more pitches to hit. And because of the success d’Arnaud has had at every level, he will soon break out here in the big leagues.

When that happens (and when Juan Lagares returns from the DL), the top six in the lineup can become viable offensive threats for this team. The top six could look like: Lagares, Curtis Granderson, Daniel Murphy, David Wright, d’Arnaud and Duda. Eric Young Jr. seems poised to be the 9th hitter if the Mets continue to hit the pitcher 8th (which has proven to help).

Besides last night, the Mets have struggled at home. The most runs they have scored at home before last night’s explosion was seven on opening day against the Nationals. The Mets need a jolt. It’s why they sent d’Arnaud down to get his head straight. If he can figure it out at the big league level (which it seems to be when, not if), the Mets offense will turn it around. The gears are starting to turn in the right direction as a team, it seems they are very close to rattling off a seven to ten game winning streak that can get them right back into the thick of things and make the summer for the NL East very interesting.

9 comments on “Travis d’Arnaud’s spot in the lineup

  • Name

    Protection is a myth.

    Also, 2/3 of TDA’s PA this year have been at #7.

  • Joe Gomes

    Don’t worry, Collins the Imbecile will protect him with Tejada in the lineup.

  • Metsense

    I have always thought that TdA ( and Mejia) were going to be the difference makers to the success or lack of success of the Met fortunes in 2014. TdA so far has failed miserably and is one of the reasons the Mets are 5 games under 500. I expected at least average NL catcher productivity, somewhere around a 745 OPS. I hope he can put up those numbers from this point to the end of the season. I too see TdA as a 5 hole hitter eventually, but he has to earn it, and so far he hasn’t.

  • Jerry Grote

    oh the damage we have already done.

    Presuming the Mets reel off another 7 wins in a row (including two against the Braves, taking a complete series against Pittsburg, and beating the A’s tonight),

    it would give us 43 wins. St. Louis and LA have 42 and 43 wins *right now*. I think our getting involved in the playoff race is going to take more than an improbable 10 game winning streak.

    • eric

      exactly. More than a 7 or 10 game winning streak, we need to go on a 16 of 20 and 24 of 30 type run. That aint happening. Although, isn’t it nice to see what the lineup could do if everyone is producing?

  • Chris F

    And let’s move onto the OF with Lagares returning. Here is what TC said (as reported by espn)

    “You look at what Bobby Abreu has done when he has played, it’s been very, very good,” Collins said. “When Eric Young is in the lineup and he gets on base, we win. And you’re hoping that what Chris Young did [Tuesday] is just the start.

    “I don’t have an answer [for who plays], but I’m going to make sure those at-bats are divvied up. Right now, I don’t know.”

    So we are worried about 40 yo Abreu and a guy with 1 night of decent hitting instead of getting our center fielder who was raking all season back in the mix. Am I crazy, or isn’t this simply EY, JL, and CG? How friggin hard is that? My blood pressure is about to break the needle.

    • Jerry Grote

      Not a buyer of EY over Bobby Abreu – statistically, it doesn’t make sense and how anyone on the field gets on the field ahead of BA is beyond me.

      We will sell Bobby before August. Showcase him. As for EY, I do think he’s a worthwhile 4th OF but he’s not an answer.

      Abreu and Granderson simply hit the ball. They take the walk or rake. Its turning out that Duda is doing the same.

  • pete

    Chris relax! Deep breathes. Collins will do whatever SA tells him to do. That’s why he deflected any questions about playing time or with his characteristic I’m not sure what I’m going to do answer.

  • Patrick Albanesius

    With Wright possibly out for a while, it would be interesting to see TDA hit 2nd.

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