Here is the latest look at the Mets offense by position compared to each league average:
The last study was performed on June 5 – the colors indicate the trend since that date in the first table and indicate whether the team is above or below league average in the second table.
To see the numbers through June 5, click here.
The obvious reason for the uptick in production from behind the plate is because Travis d’Arnaud has simply hit the ground running coming off the disabled list. He’s 5-for-17 with three extra-base hits in four games since coming back (he actually has a six-game hitting streak dating back to April 18 and has hit in all but three of the 15 games he’s played in this year). Based on the overall numbers, it’s clear they missed d’Arnaud, as admirable a job as Kevin Plawecki did in his absence.
The infield has seem a modest decline in some areas, steep in others. Lucas Duda has mostly struggled for the most part since the last study on this month although he seems refreshed after having Friday’s game against the Braves off. Still, he’s hitting just .171/.340/.244 in his last 12 games, which helps explain the decline across the board for him. Wilmer Flores has only seen a nominal decline at shortstop, but he has two doubles, two home runs and six RBI in his last seven games and remains in the upper third in most every category, so it’s hard to be disappointed by his recent stretch.
Their issues at second base can be attributed to the absence of Daniel Murphy. They used Daniel Muno and Ruben Tejada in Murphy’s absence until Dilson Herrera was activated late last week, and only in the last couple of days has Herrera started to look more comfortable and be more productive at the plate. So, while there’s been a decent slip in production at the position, it should improve again if Herrera continues to settle in at the position.
The situation at third base, however, is not pretty and it hasn’t been pretty for most of the year. It should get a boost when Murphy takes over sometime this weekend, but it’s an area of serious need both offensively and defensively.
The outfield has seen a major upswing over the last ten days, thanks to torrid paces set by Juan Lagares and Curtis Granderson. Lagares has a 1.156 OPS with six extra-base hits since June 6, and Granderson has a .994 OPS with four extra-base hits during the same span. Michael Cuddyer has cooled off, but he’s still hitting .267 in his last eight games.
In general, however, the Mets are getting below league average production in the outfield this season as each position is in the bottom half and bottom third of most of these categories. The thing is, unless the Mets would consider acquiring a corner outfielder and form a platoon with Granderson and Cuddyer, the Mets may have to depend on the three starters to continue to show the improvement they have for most of this month. So far, so good, but there’s a long way to go before the production is even league average.
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