To say the New York Mets have been unlucky to start the 2017 season would be an understatement. How many teams in the majors can say they’ve lost their No. three hitter, their ace, their starting first baseman, and all the while still awaiting the season debuts from Seth Lugo and Steven Matz?
The Mets went 2-3 on the shortened week of April 24-30, having their opening game against the Atlanta Braves postponed due to inclement weather. The team was also mired in a six-game losing streak, spanning from April 20 to April 27.
The Mets ended April with the third worst winning percentage in the National League (.417), and also had their worst run differential (-25) since March/April 2003, when they were -41 in run differential.
As for some positive news, Michael Conforto continues to impress both in the field and at the plate. The lefty hitter has gone 8 for 24 in his last six games, with three homers, six RBIs, and four runs scored. Before Monday night’s game against the Braves, and among all players who have hit lead off in at least five games, Conforto is leading in OPS (1.165), and tied for second in home runs (5).
Travis d’Arnaud continues to impress at the plate, ending April with four home runs and 16 RBIs, the same home run total and one more RBI than he had in 75 games with the Mets in a shortened 2016 season.
The Mets hope for better results in May, as they open the month facing the Braves at SunTrust Park for four, followed by the Marlins at home for three over the weekend. As always, here are your MMO Players of the Week for April 24-30.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: JOSE REYES
Jose Reyes earns MMO’s Offensive Player of the week, as the switch-hitting infielder went 8 for 19, with six runs scored, 3 RBIs, 3 BB, 2 stolen bases, 2 home runs, one double, and a triple.
It’s amazing to consider how far Reyes has come since his dreadful start to the 2017 season. Reyes had a total of six hits in his first 57 at-bats, batting just .105 after the April 20 game against the Philadelphia Phillies. He looked lost at the plate, couldn’t hit the breaking pitch, all while making weak contact.
To his credit, Terry Collins stuck with Reyes, in part due to the lack of options, however, since being moved down in the lineup, Reyes has fared much better at the plate, posting an .863 OPS when batting sixth (before Monday night’s game) and 1.625 OPS batting eighth, as opposed to his .131 OPS batting leadoff.
Reyes had three multi-hit games, the final game of the Braves’ series and the first two games against the Washington Nationals. Reyes played a big role in the Saturday win against the Nationals, going 2 for 4 with a home run, two runs scored, and a run batted in. Reyes helped the Mets get on the board and tie the game at one in the fifth, as he led off with a single to right. After a T.J. Rivera double to left, Reyes was standing on third with no one out. The next batter, Travis d’Arnaud, reached on a fielder’s choice as Reyes raced home to tie the game up at one.
Reyes added insurance in the ninth, with a solo home run to right-center on a 1-2 count from Shawn Kelley. Reyes has owned Kelley for his career, batting .625 against the right-hander in eight at-bats. The home run was Reyes’ 2nd of the season.
Perhaps the chatter of an early promotion of top prospect Amed Rosario got Reyes going, or maybe moving down in the lineup helped him see better pitches. Whatever the cause, the Mets will need Reyes to continue to generate runs and use his legs to create havoc on the base paths while they wait to get some of their injured sluggers back from the disabled list.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK: JACOB deGROM
Jacob deGrom earns MMO’s Pitcher of the week, as he stopped the bleeding and put an end to the six-game losing streak. He earned his first victory of the season on Friday, April 28 against the Nationals, with seven solid innings.
Despite a three run second inning, with home runs to Ryan Zimmerman and Matt Wieters, deGrom dominated the Nationals lineup, striking out twelve batters and walking just one in seven innings of work. This was deGrom’s third straight game with double-digit strikeouts, a career first for the lean right-hander.
After tossing 37 pitches through the first two innings, deGrom tossed 75 pitches over the next five innings, reaching 112 on the day, 77 for strikes. The 69 percent of pitches thrown for strikes was his second highest mark of the season, behind only his April 10 start against the Phillies (70 percent).
Along with the six-game losing streak looming over the Mets, deGrom’s counterpart was Met killer Max Scherzer, who owns a lifetime 2.39 ERA (4th lowest ERA against any team) and a 0.880 WHIP (second lowest). The Mets’ bats came alive against the right-hander, scoring five runs off nine hits in six innings, providing deGrom with offense to navigate through the stacked Nationals lineup minus his bumpy second inning.
With the win, deGrom is tied with fellow teammate Matt Harvey for 35th all-time in Mets wins with 31, and is one win behind matching Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez with 32 career Met victories.
