Just Mets

As a prominent lead-off hitter for the first time since early in his Tigers career, Curtis Granderson has been getting on base at a terrific rate. Granderson currently owns a .360 on-base percentage this season, which is even more astounding when you realize that he’s only hitting .239. However when someone like Granderson is brought to a team and given the type of contract he was given, fans expect one thing: Power.

There have been a lot of fans–and some members of the media as well–who have looked past Grandy’s on-base percentage and higher contact rate this season and just wondered what happened to the extra-base potential. I myself began to wonder as through a good portion through April, Curtis had yet to come close to hitting a home run, record an extra-base hit or drive in a single run.

For me, Granderson’s lack of power was curious, but acceptable only due to the fact that he had been getting on base at such a prolific rate. There’s also some solace in looking at Granderson’s track record and knowing that at some point, those balls were going to start finding gaps and clearing fences. Those days appear to be approaching.

In the last two weeks, the Grandy Man is batting .286/.340/.524 with four doubles, two home runs and five RBI. While Grandson only has seven extra-base hits all season, six of them have come in the last 14 days. Another positive for Curtis is that while the extra-base hits have started to increase, on-base percentage hasn’t taken a huge hit and his batting average has actually improved by 47 points.

Granderson hit into a lot of bad luck early in the season, which showed in his batting average. The worm on that has begun to turn as well, as Curtis’ BABIP in the last two weeks is .345, which is up from the .279 clip he had in April.

Granted, one of Granderson’s home runs came at Yankee Stadium–which isn’t exactly a pitcher’s park–but it’s still good to see him driving the ball with some authority. In the Mets last game on Wednesday against the Orioles, Grandy nearly took one out in his first at-bat of the night, and followed up with a longball in his very next appearance. It’s a good thing to see, as the Mets can use any power they can get as David Wright and Travis d’Arnaud are still working their ways back from the disabled list. This is a fantastic sign for this team because as the weather begins to heat up, Granderson appears to be doing the same.