A particular set of skills you'll find on the Mets

The New York Mets have a very particular set of skills. Skills they’ve acquired over long careers. Skills that make them a nightmare for opponents.

While the Mets aren’t nearly as menacing as Liam Neeson, let’s take a look at some of their particular skills.

Francisco Lindor is insanely good at playing defense. In 2021, he tallied 20 Outs Above Average (OAA). That ranked in the 100th percentile on Baseball Savant and was #2 overall in MLB at any position. The only player who had a higher OAA was Royal’s shortstop Nicky Lopez with 25.

Brandon Nimmo gets on base at an insane rate. He has had an on-base percentage of .401 or higher in three of the last four seasons, and he has a .393 career on-base percentage. In 2021, he was in the 100th percentile in chase rate and 96th percentile in walk rate. Simply put, Nimmo is an on-base machine.

Pete Alonso hits baseballs incredibly hard. The 6’3” 245lb slugger finished in the 99th percentile in max exit velocity, 92nd percentile in expected slugging percentage, 90th percentile in xwOBA, 89th percentile in barrel rate, 81st percentile in hard hit rate, and 80th percentile in average exit velo. All of this led to 37 homers and 27 doubles for our Polar Bear.

Starling Marte creates chaos on the bases. The righty led the majors with 47 stolen bases last season and a 12.3 BsR. Marte is a perfect fit for the Mets, who were among the bottom dwellers in baserunning last season with a team BsR of -13.5. It’s not just that he has speed, which he does 28.4 ft/sec sprinting, he also knows when it’s the right time to run and takes advantage of that.

Jacob deGrom just does everything you could possibly ask for from a pitcher and more. You could make the argument that his particular skill is velocity, and you’d be right since he’s in the 100th percentile of fastball velocity with an average fastball at 99mph that tops out around 102. You could make the argument that his top skill is his command, and you’d be right about that too since he’s in the 99th percentile of walk rate and he only walked 3% of batters he faced last season. Finally, you could argue that his best skill is getting swings and misses since he finished in the 100th percentile in strikeout rate and chase rate, and 99th percentile in whiff rate.

I guess what I’m saying is this: Jacob deGrom has many particular skills. He’s a freak.

Edwin Diaz - while divisive among fans - has been really good at limiting the home run ball over the last two seasons. In 2020 he only allowed two homers in 25.2 innings pitched, good for a 0.7 HR/9. He was even better in 2021, allowing just three homers in 62.2 innings pitched, good for a 0.4 HR/9. He was in the 99th percentile of hard hit rates and 99th percentile in barrel rates, so he really didn’t allow much hard contact last season. It’s time for Mets fans to feel confident about Edwin Diaz closing games.

What other particular skills do you think the Mets have?