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Since the calendar turned to July, Francisco Lindor has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball. He has hit .331/.407/.561 with seven home runs in 36 games (entering Friday), and is turning in a season that many Mets fans envisioned when he was first acquired from Cleveland. The extended offensive tear that Lindor has been on has helped the Mets open their lead in the National League East to seven games.
But has Lindor’s hot streak been enough to put him in the running for National League MVP?
Let’s start by looking at Lindor’s overall body of work in 2022. Lindor has played in 111 of the Mets’ 112 games this season, and he is hitting .270/.349/.464 with 20 home runs, 81 RBIs, 74 runs scored and 11 stolen bases. His 132 wRC+ would match his career high set in 2018.
As always, Lindor has contributed in every facet of the game. While playing nearly every day, Lindor has combined his stellar bat with his typical elite defense. His eight OAA is ninth amongst National League players. He also contributes on the base path, as his 11 steals are just three behind Starling Marte for the team lead and tied for 17th in the National League.
At 5.0, his fWAR is third in the National League, just trailing the Cardinals’ duo of Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado.
Now that we have established the overall statistics, it is time to explain why Lindor has actually played even better than the numbers may suggest.
Lindor has come through again and again for the Mets in a variety of ways in 2022. He became just the 12th player ever to have an RBI streak of 10 games and a run scoring streak of 10 games in the same season, and the first to do so since 2005. The RBI streak was broken in his first game back after breaking his finger. The 13-game run scoring streak ended Friday, but it tied David Wright for the longest such streak in team history. His ability to be a run producer behind Brandon Nimmo and Marte while also being another table setter for Pete Alonso is one of the biggest reasons the Mets have their best team since the 1980s.
Since coming to the Mets, Lindor has profiled mostly as a slugger at the plate. The batting average wasn’t where we were used to seeing it for Lindor, and he became a predominant pull-hitter, but he still added value with his plate discipline and his ability to drive the ball for extra-base hits. During his second half hot streak, he has been a much more complete hitter without sacrificing his power. Balls that he would typical roll over are either being hit the other way for singles or smoked back up the middle with authority. The change in approach has helped Lindor become one of the toughest outs in baseball in the second half.
The main factor hurting Lindor’s MVP chances in 2022, figuratively and literally, is the broken finger he suffered in Los Angeles before their June 2 game. Lindor was hitting .261/.345/.442 on June 1 and was just named National League Player of the Week the day prior. He returned to the lineup after just one day, but the effects of the injury were apparent, as he hit just .202/.255/.362 in June.
After coming out of the gate hot, his unproductive June took a toll on Lindor’s numbers for the year. He entered July hitting .241/.317/.418 with 12 home runs over his first 76 games. Since then, he has been hitting nearly everything. He had a 12-game hitting streak in the middle of July, and after one hitless game, he started another 10-game hitting streak. Overall, he has hits in 29 of the team’s 35 games since July 1. The offensive surge from the Mets’ superstar shortstop has not only helped himself rebound, but has also been a key factor in the team’s recent hot streak that has helped them open up their lead over the Atlanta Braves in the division race to seven games.
There are plenty of players in the National League who are deserving of MVP votes. Lindor may not be the frontrunner for MVP at the moment, but he has a strong case to be on the writer’s ballots thanks to his strong all-around game while playing a premium position. If he can continue his torrid second half hitting, and there is no reason to believe his is slowing down anytime soon, he is going to make his way further up those ballots over the season’s final 50 games.
