Just Mets

It’s been three full seasons since the Mets had a true leadoff hitter.

By every measurement, both statistically and the eye test combined, a leadoff hitter is defined as a guy who has the ability to work counts, get on-base at a high rate, steal bases and have first-to-third speed.

The Mets have lacked all of those qualities for this role ever since Jose Reyes departed for Miami in the fall of 2011.

Sure, the Mets have tried out guys like Daniel Murphy, Curtis Granderson, Eric Young Jr., and even Ruben Tejada. But nobody has really fit the profile, truly excelled in that role or fit the aforementioned criteria.

Can Juan Lagares fill this void? Maybe, or at least that’s what the team is hoping for early in camp.

The Mets began evaluating Lagares’ ability to hit in the top spot late last year, and that audition has led to further discussion on the subject during Spring Training this year.

In other words, the Mets are encouraged he can become a competent leadoff hitter.

Lagares hit in the leadoff spot in 38 games in 2014, reaching base at a .329 clip. He split time there with Granderson who reached base at only a .289 clip from the leadoff spot.

So, maybe Lagares is the guy only by default? Maybe, but he’s working to fit that prototypical leadoff profile as much as he can.

“I work a lot, try to control my swing a bit, and work in the strike zone a lot,” Lagares said, according to Matt Ehalt of the Bergen Record. “Work every day, try to practice, and try to let it go pitch by pitch.”

Lagares’ own history makes his ability to transition into a true leadoff-type hitter questionable at best. According to FanGraphs.com, Lagares swung at 35.7 percent of pitches outside the strike zone in 2014, and a similar rate (35.4 percent) in 2013. In addition, Lagares’ 5.8 percent walk rate from the leadoff spot ranked 36th among all leadoff hitters with a minimum of 100 plate appearances in 2014.

All of this will have to improve if he’s going to have any sort of success in this role.

Still, new Mets hitting coach Kevin Long has been pleased with Lagares’ progress to become a better leadoff hitter, and it’s shown in his early Spring Training at-bats.

“He’s committed to it, first of all, and he understands the value of him staying in the zone,” Long told Ehalt. “He’s working hard at it. He’s doing a lot of strike zone discipline stuff and he’s gaining on it, and it can only help him.”

Personally, I’m skeptical. But that’s not because I don’t think Lagares won’t become an above average hitter in this league. I worry this is simply not the kind of hitter he is, and trying to manipulate who he is as a hitter could eventually have a negative impact on his offense in theory.

Even so, it’s hard not to root for Lagares to succeed in this endeavor. If he can form an identity as a hitter – be it in the leadoff spot or elsewhere – that along with being the best defensive centerfielder in baseball would transform him into one of the game’s elite stars.