Players of the Week: Scott Impresses in Debut, Lindor Comes Up Big

The Mets had another underwhelming week of baseball after seemingly turning their fortunes around. After splitting a four-game series at home with the Chicago Cubs, they were swept in Tampa Bay over the weekend series. Finishing the week 2-5, they currently sit in fourth place in the National League East, with the Washington Nationals jumping them in the standings. Only the Miami Marlins, a team with the second-worst record in baseball, trail the Mets in the division standings. Even with a tough week, there were still a few key players who had performances stand out.

Offensive Player of the Week: Francisco Lindor

Despite battling a minor illness earlier in the week, which caused him to depart Wednesday’s game, Lindor made his presence felt both at the plate and on the field. Carlos Mendoza planned for him to rest up by giving him the day off on Tuesday before he turned to Lindor in the sixth inning for an appearance as a pinch hitter, taking the place of Joey Wendle. Lindor wasted no time before ripping a two-RBI double down to cut the Cubs’ lead to one. Brandon Nimmo would bring in Lindor to tie the game at five. This game required extra innings, where Lindor played hero by hitting his second two RBI double of the game, allowing Harrison Bader and Brett Baty to score for a walk-off victory.

The 300 million dollar man started Sunday with a blast, parking a two-run homer into the right field seats in Tropicana Field to give the Mets a 2-0 lead in the first. Lindor picked up another hit by singling to load the bases in the fourth inning before Pete Alonso grounded into an inning-ending double play. Despite his strong showing, the Mets lost this game in the tenth inning.

While Lindor didn’t exactly light up the hit column this week, he finished 6-for-26 and has looked much more comfortable at the plate recently. There were a lot of concerns with his offensive play through much of this season, especially from the left side of the plate. All four of his extra-base hits this week came from the left side, including three doubles, one home run and eight RBIs.

Pitcher of the Week: Christian Scott

Scott made his much anticipated Major League debut on Saturday in his home state of Florida, where many friends and family members came to see him. After being handed a one-run lead out of the gate, Scott received his official MLB welcome.

The first three Rays’ batters all reached safely by recording a hit and tying up the game. With runners at the corners and nobody out, Scott struck out Randy Arozarena before inducing an inning-ending double play to escape the jam. Scott kept his demeanor and showed the ability to persevere through tough moments. He only allowed three more baserunners in his final 5 2/3 innings pitched without allowing another run. He finished his debut with six strikeouts, one walk and five hits throughout 6 2/3 innings.

Scott told reporters after the game that he was confident his stuff would play at this level, and it’s hard to argue after his strong showing on Saturday. His presence, along with José Buttó coming along well and Kodai Senga‘s lingering return, has the potential to shake up this Mets rotation, one that came with plenty of question marks entering the 2024 season. Expect Scott to receive an extended look, and if all continues to go well for him, it will likely cost a veteran pitcher on the roster to lose his spot in the rotation.

He has all the tools to succeed at this level with a fastball sitting around 95 mph, including a sharp-breaking slider, wipeout sweeper, and changeup in his repertoire. He is the Mets’ top-pitching prospect for a reason.

Honorable Mention: Luis Severino

Severino took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning before allowing a line-drive single to Dansby Swanson and an eventual run scored on a questionable decision by Wendle when he opted to try and turn a double play instead of trying for the lead runner going home. The Mets picked up the loss in the near no-hitter from Sevy. While still dealing with some control issues throughout his outings, Severino has been a pleasant surprise for the Mets and has fit the bill by earning the one-year, $13 million contract he was signed to in the offseason.

Up Next

The Mets hopped on a quick flight to St. Louis to take on the Cardinals in a three-game series starting Monday night. It will be the second time these two teams match up this season. The Cardinals took two of three in Flushing just last week.