Thoughts on the 14 hitters currently on the Mets’ roster

Yesterday, we looked at the 14 pitchers on the club, as listed on the mets.com roster. Today, let’s turn our attention to the hitters. The offense has been slumping as of late but overall, it’s been a good year for the bats, with a grind them up, spit them out approach to opposing pitchers.

Pete Alonso – The team needs him to be a force in the middle of the lineup. But for all of the talk about how he’s improved as a hitter, his wOBA (six point less) and wRC+ (three points more) are virtually identical to where they were a season ago.
Mark Canha – Didn’t like him when he was a soft-hitting lucky son of a gun. Think he’s terrific when he’s turning on pitches and delivering an XBH nearly every game.
Eduardo Escobar – In eight games since returning from the IL, he has a power-driven .952 OPS. The lineup is so much deeper if he’s not producing at a level to make him an honorary catcher.
Terrance Gore – He’s 31 yet looks like a grade-school kid. Certainly, the fastest guy on the team but he’s just not what the club needs right now. The Mets need someone who can hit and Gore has a lifetime .608 OPS, which is pretty rotten.
Francisco Lindor – We’ve seen large stretches where he’s been great. We’ve also seen him too eager to be the star and swing at pitches he should have let go by, only to pop up for an easy out.
Deven Marrero – Usually, I’m a big believer in having a backup shortstop on the roster. But Lindor plays every day and Marrero and his .528 OPS is taking up a spot that could go to someone more useful.
Starling Marte – He’s been really fun to watch in the second half, as he’s hit the ball with more authority. His 131 OPS+ is nearly identical to last year’s 132, which prompted the Mets to sign him in the first place.
James McCann – He’s had some better at-bats here recently but not enough to make me stop wishing the team had three catchers so they could PH for him at the first available opportunity.
Jeff McNeil – It’s amazing what a .352 BABIP will do for a player. That’s 21 points above his career average, compared to 2021’s mark of 51 points below his lifetime mark in the category.
Tyler Naquin – The strikeouts, oww, the strikeouts – make them stop.
Tomas Nido – My preference is to see him in the game rather than McCann at this point. But that’s damning with faint praise.
Brandon Nimmo – Has been playing better the past three weeks. It would be nice if he kicked it up a notch from there for the remainder of the season.
Darin Ruf – The numbers lately have not been good. But there has been some loud contact sprinkled in that either found gloves or landed foul. It’s hard not to be disappointed with the results. But it doesn’t feel hopeless, at least not yet.
Daniel Vogelbach – The power/patience combo is enticing. Yet it feels like he lets too many hittable pitches go by. He has a definite preference for high pitches. Nothing wrong with that. But dear god, man, swing at the ones that are middle-middle.

*****

It’s a lot easier to put up a crooked number with a walk and a homer than it is to string together a combined five singles and walks in an inning. Life is easier for the Mets when Alonso, Escobar, Lindor and Vogelbach are hitting homers and they’re simply not doing that often enough the past 2-3 weeks.

The offense has scored three runs or fewer 15 times in the last 23 games, including eight times where it managed zero or one run. Certainly, the quality of teams the Mets have gone up against has played a part in that. But two one-run games against the Nationals, along with a shutout and two three-run games against the Rockies show that it’s not all good pitching doing the Mets in.

*****

Tonight’s game is a 6:35 start.