Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
It was no secret that in the month of April, the Mets’ bats were not meeting expectations set of them. Newcomers James McCann and Francisco Lindor were struggling mightily, meanwhile returning stars like Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, and Michael Conforto were ice-cold.
As the Mets’ bat hit a low, they made a change in philosophy by promoting Hugh Quattlebaum and Kevin Howard to their hitting coach and assistant hitting coach respectively, positions that were previously held by Chili Davis and Tom Slater.
The Mets let go of Davis and Slater on May 3rd, and since then, the Mets’ bats have taken off. Arguably the biggest struggle the Mets had as a team was with runners in scoring positions. The Mets sat towards the cellar of baseball in the ability to drive runners in, but the numbers have done a complete 180 since then.
Between May 1st and June 8th, the Mets hit .293 as a team with runners in scoring position, which ranked as the third-best in baseball behind only the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Individual performances of players have taken off since then, as well. Since May 5th, which is the first day of games after the dismissal of Davis and Slater, Francisco Lindor is hitting .262/.322/.449 with an OPS of .771 and four home runs.
This is a stark contrast from the time Lindor had with Davis and Slater, in which he was hitting .163/.284/.209 with one homer and an OPS of .494.
James McCann, another Met who received loud criticism early on has also turned it around. Since the May 5th double-header, McCann is hitting .238/.291/.475 with an OPS of .766, five long balls, and sixteen RBIs.
McCann’s explosion virtually came overnight against the Rockies and Diamondbacks, but he has been able to hold steady since. Among other slow starters, Pete Alonso has been able to turn it around.
Since coming off the Injured List, Alonso is hitting, .300/.400./.633 with three home runs and nine runs batted in.
The Mets have begun to see improvements from their more important bats, and in the most important spots in the game. While what’s left of the “ReplaceMets” has played admirably alongside their remaining starters, the Mets are expecting several players back within the coming weeks.
Luis Guillorme could be back as soon as this weekend, while Jeff McNeil could begin a rehab assignment soon. With those additions, as well as the eventual return of key contributors like Michael Conforto, J.D. Davis and Brandon Nimmo, the Mets offense should only get better as this season progresses.
While they may drop the occasional game to teams worse than them, what team doesn’t. If their pitching can hold and the bats continue to climb, watch out for the New York Mets to make some real noise this year.
