Dear negative Mets fans, this year's team is different

Numerous starters are having bounceback years

Apart from the injuries that the Mets faced last year, what doomed the team from having a successful season was that there were several key players in their lineup that underperformed, the most notable including Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil.

Lindor suffered the Queens curse when he arrived last season. He underperformed following the trade from Cleveland, compiling a .230/.322/.412 slash line with 20 HR and 63 RBI. However, to Lindor’s credit, he made the necessary adjustments to playing in New York and to his swing mechanics. He has rebounded in a big way in 2022, entrenching himself in the heart of the Mets lineup. Usually slotted as a third batter this season, Lindor has taken full advantage of the opportunity.

To top off Lindor’s great year, he will finish the season with the most RBI by a Mets shortstop in a single-season (beating Jose Reyes’s record of 93).

Meanwhile, McNeil is another hitter who has regained his old form. In 2021, McNeil struggled mightily, not accumulating the hits that Mets fans were normally accustomed to seeing from him. He ended the 2021 season with a .251/.319/.361 batting line over 120 games, unable to get into a solid groove the entire season.

This season, McNeil has cut down his strikeout rate, and his batting average is back over .300. There was a solid argument to be made that McNeil was the best player in the National League during the month of August. McNeil’s important skill in the team’s lineup is his ability to make contact and put balls in play. That is why McNeil, apart from last season, always cumulated batting averages over .300 and an on-base percentage that was one of the best on the team.

The Mets didn’t have McNeil last year performing at a high level, as evidenced by a OPS+ of 87, which is well below the league average. As we approach the end of the season, McNeil’s OPS+ sits above 130, making him one of the most valuable hitters in the league. His triumphant return back to being the player he was is part of the reason why the Mets offense is much deeper and more potent this season compared to last year.

Lindor and McNeil slot in the heart of the Mets lineup, and their continued solid performance will be critical for the team in the postseason.

Edwin Diaz is back to his old self

When the Mets traded one of their top prospects, Jarred Kelenic, to the Seattle Mariners for Robinson Cano and Diaz, the star closer was coming off the best year of his career, accumulating 57 saves with a 1.96 ERA. However, upon his arrival in Queens, Diaz struggled mightily, particularly in his first year.

This year, however, Diaz has been the closer that the Mets thought they would get every year. Finally living up to his potential in Queens, Diaz currently has 29 saves and has an ERA below 1.50, well above the league average.

So what changed? Diaz has always mostly been a fastball pitcher in the majors. His main offspeed pitch is his slider, which he has thrown approximately 38% of the time over his career. Although he mixes in his offspeed pitch frequently enough, his fastball was always his primary pitch.

In 2022, however, Diaz flipped the script, playing role reversal with his pitches: his fastball has become his secondary pitch, and his slider is now thrown more frequently than his fastball. Approaching the end of the season, Diaz has thrown his slider approximately 57% of the time, compared to 43% for his fastball. This shift in pitch usage has yielded more swings and misses, the result being a career high in whiff percentage (around 48%). Batters are swinging and missing more often, and that is a good sign for the Mets bullpen when October arrives and they find themselves squaring off against deep lineups.

The Mets are in a good position heading into October. Provided that Scherzer and Marte are ready in time for the postseason as expected, the Mets will have all their key contributors healthy and ready to make a postseason push.