When the Mets signed Curtis Granderson in December, 2013, the expectation was he would join David Wright as a formidable tandem of power in the middle of the Mets lineup.
But Granderson struggled in his role in the middle of the lineup, primarily with an inability to hit for the power the Mets envisioned he would when they signed him to a four-year, $60 million contract before the 2014 season.
So the Mets asked Granderson to transform himself into a catalyst at the top of the lineup, mostly because the Mets lacked a viable long-term solution in the leadoff spot. It wasn’t really an easy transition for Granderson, as he hit .210/.289/.348 in the leadoff spot in 2014, drawing only 26 walks in 235 plate appearances.
But it has come together for the 34-year-old right fielder in 2015. It took a while, but he’s finally been able to put together package which makes him a quality leadoff hitter.
And, he’s done it with the power the Mets envisioned he would when they originally signed him.
Granderson has reached base in 18 straight games, during which he’s hit .320/.393/.560 with six doubles, four home runs and 11 RBI with nine walks and 17 strikeouts during this stretch.
He also has four stolen bases during this span, which is refreshing considering he only had nine through the first 89 games of the season.
He’s been equally as impressive over a longer period of time as well.
In his last 37 games, Granderson has hit .297/.385/.561 with ten doubles, a triple, nine home runs and 20 RBI with 21 walks and 34 strikeouts in 169 plate appearances.
Overall, Granderson has posted a .351 OBP and a .796 OPS with 17 home runs and 40 RBI, hitting leadoff in all of his 97 starts, and posting an .883 OPS with 24 RBI with runners in scoring position in 2015.
While he’s clearly grown comfortable as the team’s leadoff hitter, it has come with a consequence, as only five of his 17 home runs have come with runners on-base, which limits the usefulness of his renewed power output in 2015.
Part of what would have made Carlos Gomez a productive trade, aside from his own talent, is it would have bumped Granderson down in the lineup, presumably behind Lucas Duda. That would have allowed the club to take advantage of Granderson’s power by putting more runners on ahead of him.
All’s well that ends well, however, as they were able to secure Yoenis Cespedes instead for a lesser package of players.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the outfield once Michael Cuddyer returns. The Mets could conceivably use Cuddyer and Granderson in a platoon, which would protect Granderson’s weakness against left-handed pitching and preserve Cuddyer and his knee while strengthening the right side of the bench.
However, while Granderson has only hit .152 with a .398 OPS against southpaws this season, that average is up about 30 points from a week or two ago.
Besides, if Granderson isn’t playing, the Mets don’t have a quality leadoff presence, which is what Granderson has evolved into at this stage of his career.
Just Mets 