The Mets are without their best player and their hottest hitter over the last six weeks. As such, they have a make shift infield alignment and a game of musical chairs at two positions on a daily basis.
One area of the club which has remained fairly constant is the club’s outfield. Michael Cuddyer, Juan Lagares, and Curtis Granderson have all remained staples around the outfield all year. But for the most part, the outfield has arguably been one of the most unproductive outfields in Major League Baseball throughout the 2015 season.
Sure, ineffectiveness from part time players like John Mayberry Jr. and Kirk Nieuwenhuis have dragged down their production. But the fact remains Lagares hit .165/.224/.203 from May 5 – May 31, and Granderson had a .361 slugging percentage through June 7, and Cuddyer has needed a .333/.383/.507 stretch over his last 19 games just to make his overall line for the season respectable.
The Mets absolutely needed their outfield to step up in the absence of Wright and Murphy, and lately, they have begun to make up for lost time.
The outfielders combined to hit .344/.382/.594 during the club’s seven-game road trip to San Diego and Arizona. Cuddyer in particular had a big week, posting an .885 OPS with a home run and two doubles, and Lagares posted an even 1.000 OPS with two doubles, a triple and a home run in seven games.
But Granderson was still struggling over the first six games of the trip. He had gone just 4-for-19 with no extra-base hits and eight strikeouts through Saturday night.
So, instead of taking a more patient approach which has not produced all that much this season, Granderson switched gears on Sunday and delivered.
He took Diamondbacks starter Josh Collmenter deep twice – both on change-ups early in the count – for his first multi-home run game this season and second as a Met. His first home run led off the game, marking the third time this season he’s done that and the 15th time in his career overall.
“We need Curtis to be himself, that is to hit some home runs,” Collins explained on Sunday afternoon. “I don’t want him to try and hit homers. He does such a great job, working the count and getting on base, but I have no problem with him jumping on something early in the game or early in the count.
“He is hitting the ball hard, so it’s good for him to kind of set the tone and attack,” Collins said. “We needed that.”
The funny thing about Granderson is his line drive rates have been fine all year long. He’s hit the ball at people when he’s made contact, which can be attributed to bad luck. But he also takes a lot of hittable strikes – his swing rate inside the strike zone is nearing a career-low. So, as Collins hinted, Granderson is missing a lot of opportunities to attack early in the count, instead putting himself in a lot of two-strike holes too often.
The Mets absolutely have to find a way to get Granderson going. Aside from the injuries, he has been a big reason why the offense has struggled, and as one of the veterans in the clubhouse, he just has to step up alongside Cuddyer. There were great signs in his adjusted approach on Sunday, as he showed his quick hands and bat speed can still be a force on a routine basis.
That’s not to say he’s going to hit 15 home runs in June, but perhaps it will lead to a combination of consistent on-base prowess and production the club has been waiting for from him, pretty much since he joined the Mets.
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