Francisco Lindor has joined Eduardo Escobar in an early-season slump

The New York Mets have started the year with a downturn in the team's overall offense. During these first days of the season, the team is hitting for a batting average of around .200 and a worrying SLG close to .300.

Among the players that generate the most concern early on in the season is Francisco Lindor. Lindor is the second-worst hitter in the Mets' starting offense only behind Eduardo Escobar, who is hitting under .100.

Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor's early-season slump is due to a high strikeout percentage

It's too early in the season and the sample size is perhaps too small to argue that Lindor has worrisome offensive problems. However, his batting average and SLG show a significant drop in his production.

If we disaggregate this information further, we can see that the problem of the Boricua shortstop is not due to a lack of power. His hard-hit contact stands at 50.3% and his exit velocity at 93.4 mph, career highs in both indicators.

Likewise, his discipline at the plate hasn't deteriorated if we look at his high OBP (around .380), and his hits have been connecting with a good angle, generating fewer ground balls and increasing his line drives. What is striking is the increase in his strikeouts, rising 12.5 percentage points compared to 2022.

Francisco Lindor is not striking out for being undisciplined, by the contrary, Lindor is swinging less outside the strike zone than last year and more swinging and contact inside. However, its SwStr% has increased from 10.0 in 2022 to 14.2 in 2023.

This increased swing in the strike zone without hitting the ball is due to a weakness towards breaking pitches which he finds himself striking out more than 50% of. This is significantly important especially now that putting the ball in play creates more positive situations thanks to the banned defensive shift.

Looking at this data we can ensure that Lindor can quickly get out of his slump by adjusting his swing by hitting breaking balls in the zone. For the Mets, Lindor is a vital offensive weapon at the top of the lineup that could ignite the rest of the team like last year.