The Mets’ new hitters have been everything the team was looking for
Mets fans should savor this, at least for now.
Their favorite team is really, really, really good.
It’s not just the National League-high 20 wins and the plus-36 run differential. The advanced stats love these Mets, too. Their hitters have put up more Wins Above Replacement than any other team in the NL. They also have the best wRC+ in the senior circuit and have scored the third-most runs despite being ninth in home runs, demonstrating a diverse approach on offense that is equal parts refreshing and effective.
The Mets offense from a season ago was built like a house of cards. That’s not the case anymore, and the trio of free agent hitters that came aboard this winter (and desperately need a fun nickname) are the major stabilizing forces that have allowed the Mets to keep building on big innings rather than picking up the pieces and starting over.
While none of the three — Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha — are slugging above .400 yet, all of them have been undeniably helpful in their own way. Marte has noticeably reduced his K-rate in his first month as a Met. The strikingly athletic outfielder has punched out in 19.9% of his big-league plate appearances and began his career with three straight seasons above 24%. This year, he’s down to 14.8% and is also running the lowest swinging strike percentage of his life. Many things have changed about baseball over the years, and even in the ten years Marte has been in the league, but one thing that will never change is the benefits of rarely swinging and missing.
Marte has also been unreal (in the literal sense, as there is no way this holds up over a whole season) with runners in scoring position. Consider that he’s slashing .348/.464/.522 with runners in scoring position, collecting 16 RBI in 28 plate appearances, then marvel at how insane those numbers are when the pressure is ramped up. With two outs and runners in scoring position, he’s at .556/.667/.889. The man has been as clutch as clutch can be, also posting a .436 average in the sixth inning or later. That calm, unshaken veteran presence, plus his proficiency in the outfield and the base paths, have quickly made him one of Buck Showalter’s favorite players.
Escobar has endeared himself to his new club by completely reversing course in a major statistical area. The switch hitter has hit 35 homers in a season, made an All-Star team, and once even led the major leagues in triples. One thing he had never done, though, until this season, is take his walks.
In his age-33 season, Escobar has found some late-career patience. He’s swinging at fewer pitches than ever before. But more importantly, he’s laying off more pitches in the zone as well, hunting his pitches rather than letting the pitcher dictate his at-bats. Embracing the free swing lifestyle during his final years in Minnesota and ensuing days with Arizona and Milwaukee, Escobar’s swing percentage on pitches in the strike zone hovered around 72%. That worked for him and helped unlock the power that eventually got him paid. But now that the bag is secured, he’s been able to relax a bit. Right now, Escobar’s swinging at 69.1% of the pitches he gets in the zone, his lowest figure since 2015.
Like other newcomers to the Big Apple, the Mets’ new third baseman is walking more than ever before. The main result of this less aggressive method — he’s also chasing bad pitches less frequently — is a 14.2% walk rate. That’s not only the first time in his entire career that he’s gotten above 10%, it’s also currently tenth in the National League, ahead of plate discipline gods Joey Votto and Mookie Betts.
For Canha, the lack of extra base hits sets off some quiet alarm bells, but he makes up for it by seemingly finding a hole every time he puts the ball in play. Canha’s hitting line looks like a middle infielder from the 1950s: 23 hits, 21 of them being singles. He’s got a .311 batting average because of it, and as the weather heats up, the Mets will gladly trade some of those seeing-eye singles for doubles in the gap and balls over the fence.
But Canha has done well in using the entire field this season, another encouraging sign as the slugging percentage continues to hibernate. With the Berkeley graduate hitting mostly sixth and seventh in the order, he also doesn’t need to be a 30 long ball or 100 RBI type of player. Any team under the sun would take a .311 average from their seven hitter, and even as Canha’s batting average on balls in play regresses back toward his career norm, he’ll be a consummate lineup extender for the Mets moving forward.
Travis Jankowski deserves some love too (nine hits in 20 games! base running! hair!) but if the Mets are in a position where he’s playing more often, it means something has gone awry. Right now, things are mostly going according to plan, and it’s showing up in the win column.
Even better for the Mets and their legion of supporters, offense historically puffs up in the summer months. In other words, these really, really, really good Mets could look even better soon.
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