One week in and Mets lead the NL in runs with RISP

In the last three full seasons, the Mets haven’t been very good with runners in scoring position. Well, that’s not exactly true. In 2019 they were middle of the pack in the National League. But in 2018 and in 2021, the Mets were hanging near the bottom in both PA with RISP and overall runs scored in the split. It’s tough to be a good team when you don’t get many chances and don’t convert many chances with runners on second and/or third base.

But after a week’s worth of action, the Mets sit atop the NL Leaderboard in both PA and runs scored in the RISP split. To be fair, they’re tied for the most games played, too. But the three other teams in the NL with seven games played haven’t matched the Mets. In their seven games, the Mets have 82 PA with RISP, an average of nearly 12 per game. Contrast that with the Padres (74), Braves (64) and Nationals (60) and you’ll see what a good start the club is off to in this important category.

The Mets are fourth in the league in OPS, with an .807 mark in the split. That combination of most chances and fourth-best production has resulted in a league-leading 29 runs scored. And it’s easy to see how the Mets can be even better here. The Reds and Cardinals both have SLG marks north of .600 with RISP. The Mets have just a .400 mark in the category.

Another reason the Mets have been so productive in this split is that the players with the most chances are almost exclusively coming thru. Five of the top six batters in PA with RISP are getting the job done, with at least an .875 OPS in the split. Only Starling Marte is struggling, as he leads the team with 11 PA and has only a .676 OPS.

Hands down, the star of the group has been Pete Alonso. In nine trips to the plate in these situations, Alonso has a .375/.444/.1.250 line, with 2 HR and 9 RBIs. He also leads the team with 5 R in these situations. And if he could run better, he’d have at least one more run scored, as he was thrown out at home on one such play.

But both Mark Canha (1.071) and Eduardo Escobar (1.333) have four-digit OPS numbers with RISP, so it’s not just Alonso. And Francisco Lindor with a .984 OPS and four runs scored has been a key contributor, too.

Of course, it’s early. And we also have to factor in the Mets’ opponents to date. They’ve gone up against a Washington squad without an identifiable star pitcher and they also played a series in a good hitter’s park in Philadelphia. At the same time, the Nationals just took two out of three from the Braves in Atlanta and in six games in Philadelphia, the visitors are averaging 4.3 runs per game, even with the nine-spot the Mets put up in the series finale on Wednesday.

We should be able to get a little more clarity once the Mets start playing games in Citi Field, which has never been confused with a hitter’s park. It will be especially interesting to see how the three new guys – Canha, Escobar and Marte – fare in their new home yard.

But it will be a fun year, indeed, if the Mets continue their current formula of great starting pitching combined with top of the heap runs scored with RISP.