THREE UP

1. Conforto Is A Star

Looking back, it is shocking to see the Mets really had no clue Michael Conforto was the team’s best player. When he’s been healthy in his career, he has been a terrific hitter and a good fielder. Once again, we are seeing Conforto be just that.

In the Month of May, Conforto is hitting .241/.392/.500 with three doubles, four homers, and 12 RBI. One of those homers and four of those RBI came from a game-winning grand slam he hit against the Dodgers. On the season, Conforto has a 145 wRC+, 2 DRS, and a 1.8 WAR.

Right now, he is on track to being the Mets best shot at a position player on the All-Star team. It’s quite possible he may be the team’s only All-Star. If so, that would make him and Darryl Strawberry as the only two Mets homegrown outfielders to be on the All-Star team multiple times for the team.

2. Ramos Catching On

Over the first month of the season, Wilson Ramos was looking like your typical 30+-year-old free agent bust for an organization known for them since their first real foray into free agency in 1992. Fortunately for Ramos and the Mets, May has been a completely different story for him.

In 23 games this month, Ramos has been hitting .278/.373/.472 with two doubles, four homers, and 14 RBI. This looks much more like the middle of the order type of bat the Mets believed they were getting when they signed him to a two-year deal.

They key for him has been just getting back to the type of hitter he was prior to signing with the Mets. He went from a 3.62 GB/FB in April to a 2.29 in May. He also went from an 8.6 percent walk rate in April to 11.9 percent in May. Sure, there is room for improvement in those peripherals, but that is also reason for hope as the season progresses.

3. Mets Still Alive

With the way the season has gone, it’s easy to be dejected. Before getting dejected, consider for a moment the fact that the Mets are still alive in the division and Wild Card races.

Currently, the Mets are just 5.5 games behind the Phillies in the division, and they are just two games behind the Braves and Padres for the second Wild Card. That’s pretty remarkable given their struggles and injuries. One everyone is back, healthy, and producing as we have seen them in the past, it’s eminently possible this team takes off and rockets up the standings.

THREE DOWN

1. Injuries, Injuries, Injuries

If you want to pinpoint the biggest problem with the Mets, it’s been injuries and how they handle them. Brandon Nimmo was struggling and incapable of playing through a bulging disc and whiplash.

After getting hit by the hand on April 21, Robinson Cano really struggled at the plate hitting .247/.289/.329 until he landed on the injured list with a left quad strain. The irony of his injury was it came after he finally hustled out of the box on a routine ground ball.

Jeff McNeil had an aggravation of an abdominal injury, but that’s not the reason he landed on the Injured List. Instead, he would land on the Injured List due to a hamstring strain he sustained on defensive indifference.

Of course, these injuries would not be as bad had Jed Lowrie ever played a game. Instead, he would suffer his own hamstring strain when he was on the eve of his rehabilitation stint ending. He hasn’t played a game since the strain, and like most of the year, there is no timetable for his return.

On the pitching front, Steven Matz going on the Injured List exposed the Mets complete lack of rotation depth. In the bullpen, Justin Wilson has only pitched once this month returning to the Injured List after one outing. Like Lowrie, there is currently no timetable for his return. Seth Lugo was on the Injured List himself with shoulder tendinitis, up until Friday night when he made his first appearance back.

On the health front, Matz’s ability to return to being the pitcher he was before the injury is good news. It’s even better news the Mets have not repeated past concussion mistakes with Michael Conforto.

2. Regression Takes Its Toll

In April, Pete Alonso and J.D. Davis provided the Mets with bona fide power in the lineup. Alonso hit .292/.382/.642, and Davis hit .302/.405/.508. You’d be hard-pressed to find a Major League team getting as much power production from their corner infield spots. Things have been dramatically different in May.

In May, Alonso has continued his power stroke, but his stats have overall regressed. In the month, he hit .207/.263/.529. As for Davis, things have been far worse. In the month, he has hit .211/.254/.382. This looks more like the guy he was with the Astros.

To be fair, it was too much to expect these two to continue hitting like they were in April, and their regression is not the only reason why the Mets have struggled. However, with the injuries and the Mets other problems, the team needed them to keep up a high level of production. Unfortunately, they haven’t. The question for the Mets now is whether this is a slump or the league figuring them out.

Seeing him in the Dodgers series, it looked like Alonso is making the adjustments. Unfortunately, we can’t yet say the same for Davis. The Mets are going to need both to step up because the team can ill afford to repeat their June 2018.

3. Pitching “Depth”

When Matz hit the IL, the Mets made a panic move to trade for Wilmer Font, a 29-year-old reliever who has a 6.41 career ERA.

With injuries to Jeurys Familia, Justin Wilson, and Seth Lugo, we saw Mickey Callaway almost forced to push Edwin Diaz, which ultimately led to that horrible blown save. Guys like Tyler Bashlor tried stepping up and were effective for a stretch, but ultimately, he and the rest of the bullpen were exposed.

This is where you would normally point out how Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel are available with draft pick compensation disappearing on Monday.