On Wednesday night, first baseman Lucas Duda continued his hot start to the season with a home run (his first of the year), a double and two RBIs, as the Mets defeated the Phillies 6-1 to complete a three game sweep.
Duda wrapped up a big series that saw him go 5-for-14 with five RBI, two runs scored, and three extra-base hits to raise his average to .353 for the season with seven RBI.
“I’m seeing the ball pretty well, trying to get a pitch up I can handle,” said Duda, who now boasts a .405 on-base percentage and a 172 OPS+ through the first nine games of the season.
“He’s doing an excellent job,” Jon Niese said. “He’s seeing the ball well. He’s a special hitter.”
Duda credits a hit-to-all-fields approach that makes him a challenging task for opposing pitchers. It was born out of his dedication to improve against left-handed pitching over the Winter. “They don’t know how to pitch to him,” a scout told me on Tuesday.
Terry Collins credits a growing confidence as part of Duda’s transformation to a more complete hitter.
“I do believe Lucas’ makeup has changed in the last couple of years,” Collins said. “He knows that he belongs here and he can hit for big numbers here. What we’ve got to get him to do is stay confident, stay upbeat and get some guys on ahead of him.”
Duda batted .367 against left-handed pitching this spring and is 3-for-7 against them so far this season.
When many were calling for Duda to be a platoon player at first base, I argued that he had hit LHP very well in the minors and also in the majors before 2013. I felt he deserved an opportunity to put his offseason focus to the test unencumbered by a platoon that would only serve to shatter his confidence.
The results thus far speak for themselves and further puts to rest any doubts that Duda is a legitimate middle of the order slugger.
The Mets probably should have taken a more aggressive approach to signing Duda to a multiyear contract during the offseason. With negotiations now shelved until next Fall, Duda’s value will most certainly soar if he continues to produce at this current pace.
Duda, 29, can’t become a free agent until after the 2017 season, so the Mets still have him for two more years after this one. But after agreeing to a one-year, $4.2 million deal in February, he’s now setup for two more huge paydays nearing $9-10 million in 2016 and perhaps $15-17 million in 2017.
