Mets relying on Asdrubal Cabrera and his hot start

Through the first few weeks of the 2018 season campaign, New York Mets second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera has been one of the team’s best hitters. Are the Mets leaning on him too much?

When the 2018 New York Mets‘ season began, not everyone thought Asdrubal Cabrera would have made much of a difference. Coming into the series finale versus the Washington Nationals, 16 games into the season, he has begun to prove his worth Even more.

Cabrera began the 2017 season fairly poor. Even though he had an eight-game hitting streak in the middle of last April, he went on to finish the month with a .244 batting average.  He also hit two home runs, drove in ten, and scored 12 times.

He wouldn’t really recover from that start until late in the season, but it looks like his hot finish to the season wasn’t a fluke and that the momentum pushed into this season.

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Cabrera finished his 2017 campaign hitting .371 with four home runs and 17 RBI in September. This brought his season average up to a very respectable .280.

The hot finish extended into this season as Cabrera is hitting .339 through 16 games. Currently, he has one of the longest hitting streaks in the majors, which ended after 11 games.  He also has four home runs, eight RBIs, and has already scored 14 times.

A few other facts worthy of praise; only four hitters in the National League have scored more runs than Cabrera. Only four have more than his 21 hits. The most runs Cabrera scored in a month since joining the Mets was 17 throughout September 2017.

So far in April, Cabrera scored 12 times. The Mets play 11 more games this month, including the series finale against the Nationals.

Cabrera’s four home runs have also been a good sign. In 2017, he finished April with two home runs and he didn’t hit his fourth until his 44th game of the season, in June. The home run stroke is a fine addition to an arsenal that has already helped win the Mets a few games.

He finished the season with only 14 home runs. If he can keep up the pace, he should be able to hit at least 20 home runs, or even match his career high of 25, which was in 2011.

Next: Mets Rumors: Blake Swihart is not the answer to their catcher woes

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Regardless of what happens down the road, this is one of Cabrera’s hottest starts ever and even with slight power and average drops, should translate into one of the best seasons of his career.