Fans of the New York Mets went into the season thinking that the team’s offense would take the lead and that the pitching would just get by. Rather, the Mets’ offense has lagged behind their pitching throughout the season.
Fans are questioning what’s actually going on with this offensive, since the Mets are only 13th in the majors in terms of runs scored, despite the fact that this formula has worked thus far at 34-21. Although 13th in runs scored isn’t awful, the Mets shouldn’t be trailing clubs like the San Francisco Giants and Seattle Mariners in terms of runs scored given the names in this lineup on a daily basis. It’s difficult to blame fans for their frustration.
In the end, this offense hasn’t lived up to expectations at the dish for a number of reasons.
The Mets have been one of MLB’s worst teams in hitting with runners in scoring position
The most effective way for a team to score runs is to hit home runs, but it’s not always easy to knock the ball over the fence. In light of this, teams must string hits together quickly in order to score enough runs to win a game, especially while runners are in scoring position. Regretfully, the Mets have performed appallingly in these crucial situations.
There have been many baserunners for the Mets. With 567 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, they presently rank ninth in the majors and seventh with a.329 on-base percentage. Regretfully, their.211 average places them in 28th place in the majors, but their 84 WRC+ with runners in scoring position places them in 24th place. The Chicago White Sox and the Texas Rangers, two of the major leagues’ five lowest-scoring teams, are the only two teams rated lower than them in both categories.
It has been startling to watch the Mets struggle this much after finishing second in WRC+ (130) and tenth in average (.265) with runners in scoring position the previous season.
Some of this can be objectively attributed to chance. Hitting with runners in scoring position is a completely random process. Nevertheless, for almost the entire season, the Mets have struggled when they had runners in scoring position. It’s been more than two months since the season began. It becomes more than a blip at some point. This tendency is alarming. If the Mets hope to go on the World Series run they anticipate, this one will have to go away.
The team’s poor performance in key areas seems to be related to their strategy.
Eric Chavez is contributing to the Mets’ offensive struggles
Eric Chavez, the hitting coach for the Mets, stated unequivocally that he would not be concerned about factors such as launch angle. He doesn’t want to concentrate on it since he thinks that everything that occurs once contact is made may be ascribed to pure luck. Regretfully, this strategy hasn’t worked at all.
The Mets only draw the ball 37.8 percent of the time, which is the third-lowest percentage in the league, while having the eighth-highest ground ball rate in the majors at 44 percent. This strategy may be effective for speedsters such as Chandler Simpson. However, hitting the ball hard without dragging the baseball is not a good thing for most players. The goal of this Mets club is not to beat out sluggish dribblers or look for infield openings.
The Mets are slugs by nature. Since his 2019 start, Pete Alonso has led the NL in home runs, but he is only expected to hit 32 this season. That would be his lowest season-long home run total. Despite hitting 41 home runs the previous season, Juan Soto is only expected to hit 23 this year. Mark Vientos is on track to blast 17 home runs this season after hitting 27 last season.
Vientos isn’t hitting the ball nearly as hard as he did the previous season, and both Alonso and Soto have ground ball percentages that are higher than their career norms.
Mets are focusing on making contact more than doing damage
The Mets have fanned only 18 percent of the time with runners in scoring position, which is the second-lowest percentage in the league, and struck out the seventh-fewest times in the big leagues. The Mets are forgoing making contact in favor of causing damage, even if getting the ball into play is undoubtedly a beneficial thing. One striking image by Eno Sarris of The Athletic ($) illustrates this.
Among the 11 MLB batters with the sharpest drop-off in bat speed are three of the Mets’ finest hitters: Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor, and Mark Vientos. Although it may not be the final straw, power decreases have probably been influenced by these batters’ decreased batsmanship from the previous season. Given that these players are in or around their peak, it seems more like an approach problem than a physical one.
This club has suffered by the decision to “keep things simple” rather than attempt to cause as much harm as possible at the plate. Once more, it appears that their offensive difficulties are more likely to be the result of an approach problem than pure bad luck.
In the end, I do anticipate that this attack will pick up steam, particularly with runners in scoring position. There is some randomness to their troubles, but the players on this squad are too skilled to suffer like way throughout the season. However, if they want this assault to reach its full potential, they must alter their strategy. Changes should hopefully be implemented as soon as possible.
