The next Lenny Dykstra? Not quite…
Question: What do Andres Torres, Collin Cowgill and Eric Young Jr. all have in common?
Answer: Aside from all three having been released by the Mets, they each opened the season as the Mets official leadoff hitter in the last three years.
It’s going on four years since Jose Reyes moved on, and the Mets still haven’t found someone to replace him at the top of the order. And of all the Mets’ off-season questions, finding a leadoff hitter still remains the most critical.
With the non-tendering of Eric Young, the only internal candidates to bat leadoff for the Mets are Curtis Granderson, Juan Lagares and Daniel Murphy.
It’s already been pretty much established by Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson that newcomer Michael Cuddyer will bat in the middle of the lineup. And if the Mets do start the season with Wilmer Flores at shortstop, there’s little chance they’d bat him first.
The Mets used 11 different leadoff hitters in 2014 and ranked last in the majors with a .235 average and an equally dismal .308 on-base percentage.
Lagares appears to have the speed and the upside which should give him a leg up on Granderson who posted a paltry .289 on-base in 53 games batting leadoff last season. Lagares got on base at a .329 clip in 37 starts leading off. Murphy has been the team’s best hitter in the last two years, but seems better suited batting second.
If the Mets are left with filling the leadoff void internally, they may want to consider going with a platoon as none of their current options have demonstrated an aptitude for handling a pitcher’s handedness with equal aplomb.
Lagares, who batted .349 with a .387 on-base against left-handers is a no-brainer. It took Terry Collins only five months to figure that out as Lagares finally logged some time batting leadoff in the waning weeks of the season.
Nieuwenhuis and his .350 OBP would be very capable as the other half of the platoon. But it’s most likely he’ll be left in a reserve role where he has thrived as a pinch hitter. He has never fared well with regular playing time.
So who would partner with Lagares to fill the platoon? It’s tough to say as only Daniel Murphy and Curtis Granderson have the next best OBP vs RHP – and they’re tied with an unimpressive .329.
There are no easy answers. The only true solution might be to acquire a shortstop who can aptly fill the role – preferably a lefthanded batter. But Sandy may be too unwilling to pay the exorbitant prices being asked for such a shortstop.
Something’s gotta give, or else it could be a third straight season of MLB’s worst production batting leadoff for the Mets, and that may make any overall offensive improvement in 2015 less likelier.
