The perfect starting lineup for the Mets right now

The New York Mets have built an offense that is second in the National League and third in all of baseball in runs scored.

The Mets had three position players make the all-star team in Pete Alonso, Starling Marte, and Jeff McNeil. with two other position players being snubbed.

Ever since making additions at the trade deadline, Buck Showalter has the option to mix and match and has as deep of a bench that I can ever remember the Mets having. The Mets have the opportunity to put out two very different looking lineups depending on the starting pitcher.

What the Mets perfect starting lineup looks like against RHP

1. Brandon Nimmo, CF
2. Starling Marte, RF
3. Francisco Lindor, SS
4. Pete Alonso, 1B
5. Daniel Vogelbach, DH
6. Jeff McNeil, 2B
7. Mark Canha, LF
8. Luis Guillorme, 3B
9. James McCann/ Tomas Nido, C

Buck Showalter has been using a variation of this lineup virtually every day against right handed pitching since acquiring Vogelbach and it's worked like a charm. The Mets are 13-2 with Vogelbach in the lineup scoring runs at a very high rate.

The top four of this lineup is elite. It has been together pretty much all season long and there is no reason to change what is clearly working.

Vogelbach has been a godsend since the Mets acquired him, and him hitting fifth has seemed to get Pete Alonso more pitches to hit which is always a good thing. Jeff McNeil is too good to hit sixth but that's what happens when on a good team.

The seventh spot is where it gets more controversial. Since acquiring Tyler Naquin, Mark Canha's playing time has taken a major hit. Naquin has been playing most of the time against righties, and has really played well, posting a whopping 1.140 OPS as a Met.

While it might be surprising since he is a right handed hitter, Canha has been way better against righties than lefties. Even with Naquin's hot streak, Canha has a higher WRC+ (137) than Naquin does (135) against right handed pitching.

I'm a big fan of Canha's ability to work deep counts and if/when Naquin cools down, it should probably be his spot more often than not. He has not looked good as a pinch hitter at all and isn't the platoon player the Mets seem to think he is.

It would be nice if Eduardo Escobar could hit against right handed pitching but Luis Guillorme is more than capable at the plate and has a Gold-Glove caliber glove anywhere the Mets put him. And the catcher spot seems to be a 50/50 split which I think is a good thing.

What the Mets perfect starting lineup looks like against LHP

1. Brandon Nimmo, CF
2. Starling Marte, RF
3. Francisco Lindor, SS
4. Pete Alonso, 1B
5. Darin Ruf, DH
6. Eduardo Escobar, 3B
7. Jeff McNeil, 2B
8. Mark Canha, LF
9. James McCann/ Tomas Nido, C

As mentioned before, the top four of the lineup is absolutely perfect and should never be changed. Darin Ruf is essentially the Vogelbach against left handers, he's already come up with some clutch hits against southpaws as a Met.

Eduardo Escobar has been extremely disappointing as a Met so far, but has a 125 WRC+ against lefties, which has been one of the few bright spots. He's a very capable number six hitter against southpaws.

Jeff McNeil has hit lefties much better lately after a slow start, but doesn't have much extra base hit ability against them so I think putting him towards the bottom of the order is the right spot here.

Mark Canha is a guy I wish would hit better against lefties, but he has just an 84 WRC+ against them this season. His career mark is much better at a 105 WRC+. Canha is going to get the reps against southpaws because the Mets simply don't have a better option. Naquin has a .518 OPS against lefties, so he's not deserving of that spot.

The Mets acquiring a fourth outfielder who could hit lefties better would have made more sense in my eyes but it's hard to question anything with how well Naquin has played. The Mets will just have to hope Canha turns it around against lefties.

Overall, the Mets have two very strong lineups. The one against righties is more formidable and has been all year, but adding Darin Ruf should make the Mets much better against lefties than they were.