3 NY Mets players who need to stay hot in September to hold onto a playoff spot

If the Mets want to hold onto a playoff spot, they need these three players to stay red hot.
Philadelphia Phillies v New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies v New York Mets | Kent J. Edwards/GettyImages
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The New York Mets are clinging to a Wild Card spot. Their recent hot streak has given them a three-game lead over the Cincinnati Reds for the final NL Wild Card spot, but three games is nothing with an entire month of baseball left to play. If the Mets want to punch their ticket into the Postseason, they are going to need these three players to stay hot as they enter the final month of the regular season.

1) Francisco Lindor

After finishing second in NL MVP voting in 2024, Francisco Lindor has followed that up with another solid season. However, there definitely have been some bumps in the road. The veteran switch-hitter got off to the best start of his Mets career, turning in a .839 OPS, .358 wOBA, and 139 wRC+ through the end of May.

However, while the weather warmed up, Lindor cooled down. June and July saw Lindor go through an extremely cold streak. He hit just .205/.258/.371 with a .274 wOBA, and 77 wRC+. Aside from his eight home runs in 221 plate appearances and going a perfect seven-for-seven in stolen base attempts, the first two months of summer did not treat Lindor well. At one point, he had an 0-for-30 streak.

Now it appears that Lindor has righted the ship. August has been a strong month for the 2024 MVP candidate. Lindor already has five home runs in 107 plate appearances this month. He has also drawn 11 walks, with 21 K’s. Overall, Lindor is slashing .344/.472/.573, which amounts to a 1.045 OPS, and a wOBA of .435. This all comes after he put up a sub-.650 OPS in July. Lindor has also had a 12 game hit streak this month, which lasted from August 12 through August 24. That hit streak saw him collect 24 total knocks, with four homers, and five doubles.

There’s no doubt that Lindor is one of, if not the most important, member of the Mets’ roster. The only Met with more plate appearances over the last five seasons is Pete Alonso. It was a slog to get through Lindor’s previous two months, but he is heating up when the Mets need him the most. They need to hold onto this Wild Card spot, and the NL East isn’t out of the question either, and Lindor has to be hot for them to achieve either.