What an interesting week this was. Just when we thought the Mets were about to take a nosedive after a absolutely brutal series against the Pirates, they turned it around. Granted, three of their four wins this week (they went 4-2 with an off day) were against the Phillies, but wins are wins and as long as the Mets can continue beating up on bad teams, even if they aren’t so hot against teams like the Cardinals or Pirates, they can stay in the playoff race.
This week saw some up and down starting pitching, some solid work by the bullpen, and a decent showing by the offense. However, the undisputed highlight of the week was this:
And now, the Players of the Week…
Hitter of the Week: Lucas Duda
As if Lucas Duda wasn’t already having a fantastic season, this week cemented that. For the week, Duda hit .333/.462/1.000 in his six games. He scored eight runs, walked three times, but what was most impressive was Duda’s power. This week, he hit two doubles and four home runs, including two homers in Wednesday’s 7-0 drubbing of the Phillies. With this recent stretch, Duda has brought his overall line on the season to .298/.394/.539. He is also now up to nine homers and 16 doubles this year. If you stretch out his line to 162 games, he would have 52 doubles and 30 home runs. Duda has also raised his wRC+ to a career-best 163 (meaning he is 63 percent better than league average), which is 12th in all of baseball. Put this man on an All-Star team!
Pitcher of the Week: Noah Syndergaard
Noah Syndergaard only pitched once this week, but he was certainly the most dominant Mets starter. In fact, he was the only Mets starting pitcher to not allow a run this week. On Wednesday, Syndergaard shut down the Phillies, tossing 7.1 scoreless innings, allowing just six hits and most impressively, not allowing a single walk. Syndergaard has been lauded throughout his professional career for his command, and it’s great to see that manifesting itself in the majors. During Wednesday’s outing, he also struck out six batters and only allowed four line drives. To top off a seemingly magical start for the 22 year-old prospect was a fourth inning home run off starter Sean O’Sullivan. Along with his great pitching line, Syndergaard was also 3-for-3 at the plate, including that absolute bomb he hit to almost dead center field He is now 4-for-9 in his big league career. Maybe Syndergaard should have been Offensive Player of the Week…
Breakout Player of the Week: Michael Cuddyer
Mets fans may be able to breathe a sigh of relief as Michael Cuddyer is finally hitting again. The 36 year-old batted .368/.455/.737 with a pair of home runs, a double, and three walks, good enough in most weeks to earn Hitter of the Week honors. Cuddyer is back up around league average on the season with a .260/.326/.393 line (102 OPS+) but he will have to do a lot more to be worth the money and draft pick the Mets gave up to get him.
