Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
A lot is going right for the Mets right now. Like any team, not everything is perfect; they’d obviously like Jacob deGrom to be healthy, and there have been inconsistencies in the bullpen. But the Mets are the only team in Major League Baseball with 11 wins, and one of the key factors has been their strong, revitalized offense.
The Mets’ offense is deeper than it’s often been in past years. It starts at the top with Brandon Nimmo, who’s batting .325 with a 1.001 OPS so far. The leadoff hitter just needs to stay healthy to fuel the top of this lineup. Much has already been said and written about Francisco Lindor‘s resurgence, as he’s starting to look the player the Mets signed to a longterm contract.
The Mets still have the powerful Pete Alonso in the cleanup spot, and Jeff McNeil is a pretty solid option to have in the eight-hole. But the key difference is the additions they made to the lineup. Alex Horowitz wrote an article on Friday talking about how great Eduardo Escobar has been. Mark Canha has also deepened the lineup as one of the team’s better on-base threats.
Starling Marte hasn’t quite gotten going yet, but that’s the thing about having a deep lineup. Certain guys might be hot or cold at a given time, but when you have a lineup full of capable hitters, good things will happen.
Marte came through with a hustle RBI infield single in the 10th inning of Friday’s game, which ended up making the difference. Perhaps it will act as the spark to a hot stretch.
Overall on the young season, the Mets lead the majors with 73 runs scored, three more than the Dodgers (albeit in two more games). They’re fourth in the NL and sixth in MLB in team OPS. Their .743 mark might not sound fantastic, but it’s been a relatively quiet year for offense across baseball so far. The highest team OPS belongs to the Coors Field Rockies with their .798 number.
One notable weak spot in the Mets’ lineup is Robinson Cano, who owns a measly .532 OPS. The more he struggles, the more playing time Dominic Smith will likely receive, though Smith is off to a slow start as well. It’s obviously a small sample size for both of them, but the Mets might have some decisions to make as they continue to mix and match this lineup around.
Another weak spot is James McCann, the Mets’ solid defensive catcher who has carried a mostly weak bat in his time with the team. However, he temporarily silenced his haters with a 452-foot blast in the Mets’ 6-5 win over the Diamondbacks on Friday.
Even with the weak spots and the things to iron out, the Mets are looking to be a pretty encouraging offensive team so far. They’ve also drawn the fourth-most walks and have the second-highest OBP in baseball, behind only the Rockies. Having players like and Nimmo and Canha in the lineup every day certainly isn’t going to hurt those numbers.
With a strong offense and great starting pitching, the Mets are running close to a well-oiled machine right now. The offense will look to show up again on Saturday, when the Mets go with a bullpen game against the Diamondbacks at 8:10 p.m. ET.
