If you had do pick one area, and by area I don’t mean position, where the Mets could use some significant improvement and some clarity, look no further than the leadoff spot in the batting order.
After years of being spoiled by having one of the best leadoff hitters in the league in Jose Reyes, there hasn’t been much to feel good about since the speedy shortstop packed his bags and headed for Miami after the 2011 season.
I charted the Mets leadoff production over the last four seasons and included the top two leadoff hitters used in each season. It clearly illustrates just how poorly the production has fallen off.
2011 – .318/.361/.465 (Reyes 124, Pagan 31)
2012 – .258/.323/.354 (Tejada 78, Torres 34)
2013 – .233/.293/.315 (Young 90, Valdespin 16)
2014 – .235/.308/.333 (Young 53, Granderson 52)
Four seasons later and the Mets still don’t have an obvious leadoff option, but what makes 2015 special is that for the first time in this five year span, we now have a very promising option in Juan Lagares.
On Monday, manager Terry Collins told reporters that the leadoff job would come down to either Lagares or Curtis Granderson. But then yesterday he admitted that he’s actually leaning toward Lagares and hopes he can solidify himself there this season because it would strengthen and lengthen the lineup.
“If we can get Juan to be more of an on-base guy, with the fact that he can run the bases, now you’re following up with Granderson, David Wright, Lucas Duda, Michael Cuddyer, Daniel Murphy, and all the sudden that’s a whole different middle of the lineup.”
“He can lead off if we can get him to be more patient and get the on-base up to .330-.340,” Collins said. “You’d like it higher than that, but we’ve gotta start with a reachable number.”
I was surprised to read a quote from assistant general manager John Ricco who was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal. He admitted that finding a leadoff hitter hasn’t really been a priority over the past three years.
“We haven’t really targeted a top-of-the-order guy in the spots we’ve had open,” Ricco said. “Our priorities were in other places.”
It’s now obvious that the Mets see the leadoff spot as a key factor in scoring more runs and while they haven’t addressed it this offseason, it’s certainly one of the most talked about areas of concern. Better late than never.
The silver lining to all this is that Juan Lagares could be everything the team is looking for.
The Dominican born shortstop turned center fielder is a very conscientious player who takes nothing for granted and focuses on improving in all aspects of his game.
Last year he made big strides at the plate by raising his batting average from .242 in 2013 to .281. Unfortunately the walk rate remained stagnant at .321, but that doesn’t mean he can’t improve. Jose Reyes improved.
According to Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal, Collins thinks Lagares can do it. He points out that in his two years in the big leagues, the Gold Glove center fielder has, at the Mets’ request, improved at pulling the ball for more power and become a better base-stealer — he stole 13 bases last season, up from six as a rookie.
New hitting coach Kevin Long had some impressive things to say about Lagares and believes the best is yet to come.
“Juan is talented. I’ve noticed that,” Long said. “And I’m excited about this player. He’s got a nice demeanor about him. He’s confident. Obviously he’s going to have to hone in on the strike zone — and take these chases and swings out of the zone — and be able to lay off some pitches and determine what’s a pitch that he can do damage to.”
“He’s got a good swing. And he’s always had the ability to get hits. He finds a way. I think he hit .285. The major league average is .250. So he’s 35 points up there.”
“I think the point we’re looking at is: What is his on-base percentage? It’s probably .315-.320. If we can get that number up to .350-.360, you’ve gained on it quite a bit.”
Long compared Lagares to Robinson Cano when he was breaking into the majors. He says “it took time and constant reinforcement for Cano to become more selective, increasing not just his walk totals but his power numbers.”
“Maybe with Juan it will be something like, OK, let’s just swing at pitches middle of the plate and middle-away. Anything in, we take it instead of trying to cover the whole strike zone — and expanding it.”
Lagares has become one of Long’s most astute learners and we’re hearing that he is soaking in all the advice he can get, getting plenty of extra time in the cage, and all under the watchful eye of Long.
“Kevin told me he thinks I can get better, like Cano did,” Lagares said with a smile on Saturday. “For him to compare me to a guy like Cano, it feels good.”
I’ve been a fan of Juan Lagares since his Binghamton days. I remember ranking him our 17th best prospect in 2011 and 15th in 2012 and being laughed at both times because nobody else had him in their top 25.
When Matt den Dekker was all the rage defensively in 2012, I got into a huge Twitter debate with a couple of the guys on SNY when I said Lagares was the best defensive player in the entire organization. They famously told me, “Who’s Lagares?” which I retweeted to my heart’s delight a year later.
I know there are still some of you who look at Lagares and don’t believe he can pull it off. Trust me on this, if anyone can it’s him. He’s motivated to be the best he can be and when you have that mindset nothing is impossible. My guess is that by this time next year, Lagares will be one of the league’s top leadoff men. There I said it.
