Mets: End of April awards for the best and worst of the first month

With the first month of the season in the books, the New York Mets currently sit with a record of 9-11, good enough for 4th place in the NL East, but only 2 games out of first place.

Now that April is over, it’s time to give out the Mets end-of-month team awards.

This past April was one of the more memorable ones in recent memory, as the New York Mets had a very hectic first month of the season to say the least.

The team missing their first 3 games against the Nationals, on top of missing several other games due to poor weather conditions, resulting in playing multiple double headers.

Through it all, the Mets have overcome quite a lot of adversity in terms of weather and inconsistent play, and despite finishing the month on a 3 game losing streak, they look to enter the month of May in a decent spot.

The Mets were limited to just 20 games in April and finished the month with a record of 9-11.  While they are 2 games under .500, the division is very tight, and a winning the next few series would easily get them into first place.

Baseball is of course a team effort and through out April, a few players really managed to stand out from the pack and helped to lead the Mets to several wins early on in the year.

However, there are a few players who have gotten off to a slow start to begin the year, and the Mets will need them to rebound if they want to take a serious run at the postseason.

Without further delay, here are the Mets’ “End of the Month” awards for April:

Mets’ MVP: Jacob deGrom

Arguably the best pitcher in the MLB today, Jacob deGrom was the top performer for the Mets in the month of April and set several major league records in the process.

Through 5 starts in April, deGrom threw a total of 35 innings while logging a 0.51 ERA, which is the best in the National League, and second overall in the MLB.

On his April 23rd start against the Nationals, Jacob had arguably the best start of his career, throwing a 2 hit complete game shut out against the Washington Nationals, striking out 15 batters, which is the most he has ever logged in a game.

Beyond that, he has recorded 59 K’s to begin the season, tying Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan’s record for the most strikeouts through a pitcher’s first 5 starts.

In addition to his stellar performances on the mound, deGrom has also come through at the plate as well. In 13 at-bats, he’s recorded 6 hits with one double, good enough for a batting average of .462, while driving in 2 RBI and scoring 3 times.

Needless to say, Jacob deGrom has been performing on another level through the first month of the 2021 season, and if he continues to perform this well through the rest of the year, he could very easily win his third Cy Young Award.

Mets’ Best Hitter: Brandon Nimmo

While Jacob deGrom has been the Mets’ best pitcher, center fielder Brandon Nimmo has been the best hitter on the team through the month of April.

The Mets lineup came into the season with high expectations, and while many of them are off to a slow start, Nimmo has managed to really come out of the gate hot, with stats amongst the best in the MLB.

The primary lead-off man for the Mets, Nimmo has gotten off to a hot start for New York, hitting .339 to begin the year along, which is the 9th best in the MLB, along with a .453 OBP in 19 games.

Nimmo’s OBP is the most impressive part of his game to begin the 2021 season, as he currently has the best in the National League and ranks as 4th overall in the MLB.

Along with his great average and OBP, Nimmo has slugged 1 HR while driving in 8 RBI and scoring 7 runs.

While most of the Mets’ bats have been quiet to begin the year, Brandon Nimmo really has been one of the few bright spots, and if his stellar performance continues as the season goes on, he very well could be representing the Mets in the All-Star game in 2021.

Mets’ Biggest Surprise: Marcus Stroman and J.D Davis

Picking the biggest surprise performance for April was a toss up between Marcus Stroman and J.D. Davis, and seeing as it’s tough to compare pitchers and hitters, I’ll go ahead and give it to them both.

After sitting out the 2020 season and rejoining the Mets after accepting their qualifying offer, Stroman was coming into the 2021 season as a big question mark, but he has over delivered to begin the year and then some.

With 5 starts under his belt to begin the year, the Long Island native has pitched a total of 29 innings, logging a 1.86 ERA, striking out 23 batters.

His 1.86 ERA in particular is good enough for 8th best in the National League, and far and way out performs his career average of 3.72.

Stroman has really outperformed all expectations Mets fans had for him coming into the season, and if he keeps up these numbers, he could command a very hefty price tag on the free agent market this off-season.

As for JD Davis, after slumping a bit at the plate in 2020 and following an offseason of trade rumors and speculation if the Mets were going to try and replace him at third base, Davis has been one of the top hitters on the team to begin the year.

Davis missed a few games early in the season due to a hand injury, so he has only played in 14 of the Mets’ 20 games. However, when he has played, he has delivered. In 38 at-bats, Davis has hit .395 with a .489 OBP, hitting 2 HR while driving in 6 RBI.

Like Stroman, he has really outperformed  any and all expectations fans had for him coming into 2021, and if he continues to hit this way, despite only being an average defensive player, he’ll likely be a fixture in the Mets lineup going forwards.