The August Mets slump worth our concern down the stretch

Take away one big swing from earlier in the month and the numbers J.D. Martinez has posted in August are much worse than they actually are. His grand slam versus the Los Angeles Angels on August 3 accounted for all 4 of the New York Mets runs in their 5-4 loss. The 4 runs driven in equate to half of the ones he has all August. It was the only home run he hit, too.

When looking at second-half slumps, the names Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Alvarez have been mentioned most. It’s understandable. Nimmo was making an All-Star case for himself prior to the All-Star Break. Alvarez hasn’t been nearly as effective. He is more of an afterthought in the lineup these days as we wait for him to rip a big home run.

Martinez, however, remains in the middle of the order and hasn’t been doing much at all. He has a couple of doubles this month. The hits and RBI have been more scattered. For as much as people have gotten on Pete Alonso for not hitting in the clutch, Martinez is doing very little to contribute himself.

Mets DH J.D. Martinez is in an August slump he needs to break out from

Martinez is 10 for 49 this month which is good enough for a .204 batting average. The batting average is 4 points lower than Nimmo. Only Luis Torrens with a .150 batting average is lower than the veteran DH.

Martinez has continued to draw walks. His .328 OBP is decent considering how few hits he is getting. The problem has been a .347 slugging percentage which ranks even behind Tyrone Taylor who has yet to pop a home run this month.

The importance of Martinez is obvious considering his placement hitting third, fourth, or even fifth in the lineup on any given day. Exclusively a DH, the Mets cannot afford to have him struggle because of all of the other alternatives. Starling Marte and Jesse Winker would each fit in nicely as a DH in certain situations. Even giving Francisco Lindor a day off from playing the field and letting Jose Iglesias get his at-bats in as the shortstop works fine, too.

Jeff McNeil is now tied with Martinez at 12 home runs on the year. This is the one area where Martinez has slacked the most. His 55 RBI is impressively high for the amount of time he missed at the start of the season. The .256/.344/.432 slash line isn’t so horrific either. He, like Alonso, has swapped round-trippers for doubles. The difference is Alonso has 27 of each. Martinez has 21 doubles compared to the dozen homers.

Martinez has yet to draw major criticism because he is doing things well. His strikeout percentage is down from last year. His walk rate is up. He still hits the ball hard. He’s either just not getting the ball to land where someone isn’t or knocking it far enough to be significant.

About to turn 37, one can wonder if age is catching up to him. He didn’t have an impressive July, slashing .235/.326/.358 along the way with only a pair of home runs. He sat on Sunday and got into the game as a pinch hitter. We could see more of this with Marte back. Rest can do him good. If Winker can produce, is it preposterous to give him a little more time as the DH when the Mets face a righty?