Mets Player Meter: Position Players, August 3-16

In the past two weeks, the Mets have swept two series and only lost one series. They were shut out in two of their three losses in the past 12 games, but other than that, the offense has ironically produced considerably better since losing Juan Soto. Francisco Lindor has been raking, Bo Bichette earned what I think is his first fireball of the year, Luis Torrens has gone on a power surge, and several guys who had been performing poorly are trending upwards.

Let’s start with our raging hot hitters. Despite having half the number of plate appearances as the everyday players, Luis Torrens leads the team with ten runs batted in over the past 12 games (of which he played in 7 of them). Of his eight hits, half of them were home runs—good for a scorching 332 wRC+, which is by far the best mark on the team. Torrens has also walked four times and scored six runs. Francisco Alvarez, by contrast, has not done nearly as well, but has an at least respectable 91 wRC+ in his last 41 plate appearances. Of his 7 hits, three went for extra bases—two doubles and a home run. He also continues to walk at a much higher rate than at any point in his career, drawing five free passes over the past two weeks. Unfortunately he leads the team in strikeouts as well with 18.

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Bo Bichette is our other fireball recipient, posting a 197 wRC+ in 53 plate appearances. He leads the team in hits with 18, of course buoyed by his 5-for-5 performance in Pittsburgh in the Mets’ 11-1 victory over the Pirates. Bichette also scored seven runs, drove in nine runs, and walked six times. Since his five-hit day on August 9, Bichette has only gone hitless in one game.

Francisco Lindor has been almost as good and I considered giving him a fireball as well. Lindor’s 11 hits are second only to Bichette for the team lead and he leads the team in runs scored with 11 and walks with seven. He has gone deep three times and driven in seven runs. In Juan Soto’s absence, Lindor has been the engine of the Mets’ offense in the month of August, including collecting the walk-off knock in the Mets’ come from behind victory on Saturday.

Like Lindor, Jared Young marks his second straight meter in the green with a 174 wRC+ in 45 plate appearances, still playing nearly every day. His ten RBIs in the past two weeks match Torrens for the team lead and his eight runs scored are second only to Lindor for the team lead. Of his 15 hits, six went for extra bases, including a home run and two triples.

Carson Benge has rocketed into the green with a blistering 189 wRC+ in 48 plate appearances. He got fireball consideration as well, especially considering how well he continues to play in the field, generating highlight reel worthy catches and outfield assists. Benge is getting it done on both sides of the ball, driving in eight runs and scoring eight runs in the past 12 games. He matches Young’s hit total with 15 and five of those went for extra bases, including a triple and three home runs.

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Unfortunately A.J. Ewing‘s struggles since the break continue; he put up a 61 wRC+ in 54 plate appearances over the past 12 games. Of Ewing’s 8 hits (good for just a .174 batting average), half went for extra bases, but he hasn’t hit a home run since July 8. Ewing scored six runs and drove in six runs, but he has not driven in any runs in two weeks and he has struck out 14 times over that span.

Jorge Polanco has continued to struggle as well, but it says something about how bad he was before that a 62 wRC+ is an improvement. He amassed five hits in 26 plate appearances, two of which went for extra bases, including a home run on August 5 that helped lift the Mets to an extra-inning win over the Guardians. That represented his only run scored and one of his two RBIs in this two-week span. We’re still a far cry from Polanco being anything resembling a productive hitter, but there have at least been signs of life.

Similarly, though the performances of Marcus Semien and Luis Robert Jr. haven’t been anything to write home about, they are at least trending in the right direction. Robert joins Lindor, Bichette, Benge, and Young among the Mets that have notched double-digit hit totals in the past 12 games. Two of his eight hits went for extra bases—both home runs, one of which came on the same day as Bichette’s five-hit game. Though Bichette stole the spotlight that day, Robert drove in four in that game and he had just one other RBI in all of the other games in the past two weeks combined. Robert posted a 105 wRC+ in these 12 games. Semien, meanwhile, also went deep twice and amassed seven hits in total. He scored five runs, drove in six runs, and walked five times—good for an 84 wRC+.

Brett Baty also went from “bad” to “just kind of mediocre” in this early part of August, putting up an 82 wRC+ in 29 plate appearances, being reduced to a part-time role due in part to Jared Young’s consistent production. Baty went back-to-back with Polanco in that win over the Guardians on August 5 and five days later, he hit the first grand slam of his career in Atlanta, helping power an 8-5 victory over the Braves. That grand slam represented four of his five total RBIs over this 12-game span. He also walked three times and scored four runs. But he had just 4 total hits in those 29 plate appearances.

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There are a couple of new faces on the meter this time around. Cristian Pache was called up to the Mets when an outfield spot became available after the Mets traded Tyrone Taylor at the deadline. Pache has gone hitless in his first six plate appearances, but has scored a run. Right after the Mets played the Guardians, Cleveland designated Gabriel Arias for assignment and the Mets picked him up. Eric Wagaman, who went 1-for-2 with a run scored, was optioned to Triple-A when the Mets added Arias to the roster. Arias went 0-for-5 during his brief Mets tenure and it turns out he may be a one-and-done for the meter series and a future Mets Sporcle answer because earlier today, the Mets designated him for assignment just nine days after acquiring him.