Players Of The Week: Nimmo And DeGrom Stellar Once Again

After going 2-3 last week, the Mets turned things around by sweeping the Phillies and taking two out of three against the Rockies. The Mets now sit atop of the NL East with a 7-4 record, and they will try to keep their momentum rolling against the Cubs and Nationals this week.

Given the many strong individual efforts over this 5-1 stretch, it wasn’t as easy to pick the two best players as it was last week. However, the standout performances of both Brandon Nimmo and Jacob deGrom make them the clear choice for players of the week for the second time in a row.

Hitter of the Week: Brandon Nimmo

Nimmo hasn’t slowed down after starting the year on fire. Nimmo batted .476/.522/.476 out of the leadoff spot with three runs scored and one stolen base.

The 28-year-old outfielder leads the MLB in batting average (.447) and on base percentage (.543). While it’s obviously a small sample size, it’s hard to not be impressed by the fact that Nimmo’s .543 OBP ranks ahead of stars like Mike Trout (.526), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (.507), and Ronald Acuna Jr. (.486).

Another contender for hitter of the week was Jonathan Villar. Villar had two of the week’s biggest hits with a walk-off single in extra-innings against the Phillies, and with a game tying double in the final inning of the Mets 4-3 win over the Rockies.

James McCann also hit a home run and had a .357 average in 14 trips to the plate. However, neither Villar nor McCann could match Nimmo’s elite production for the week.

Nimmo’s stats for the past week: .446 wOBA, 10 hits, 3 Runs, 3 RBI, 1 SB

Pitcher Of The Week: Jacob deGrom

On almost any other team, either David Peterson or Marcus Stroman would win pitcher of the week. Peterson tossed a six-inning gem against the Phillies, recording ten strikeouts while allowing just three baserunners and one run all night.

Meanwhile, Stroman shutdown the Rockies at Coors Field with eight innings of one run ball. He allowed just four baserunners, struck out five batters, while also making a slick backhanded play in the field. However, not even his dominating effort would be good enough to win pitcher of the week.

DeGrom was absolutely overpowering, yet again, with a tremendous 14 strikeout performance against the Rockies. While deGrom wasn’t his sharpest to start the game, he became locked in during the second inning and almost made MLB history.

With his blazing 100 MPH fastball and wicked slider, deGrom struck out nine consecutive hitters, which is one shy of the MLB record set by Tom Seaver in 1970.  The Rockies broke up deGrom’s strikeout streak when Josh Fuentes made contact in the bottom of the fifth inning and reached base on a throwing error by Jeff McNeil.

While Colorado scored three unearned runs that inning, that shouldn’t take anything away from deGrom’s brilliant outing. Degrom continues to prove why he’s the MLB’s best pitcher with every start, and he seems to get better every time he takes the mound.

DeGrom’s stats for the week: 1-0, 6 IP, 3 R, 0 ER, 14 K, 1 BB, 3 H