2) Jake Diekman
What is there to say about Jake Diekman that hasn’t already been drunkenly tweeted at 8:55pm by a rabid Mets fan? He’s the reason they couldn’t resist the scotch in the first place. A horrific 5.53 ERA and only 27.2 innings of work while having a team-high 39 games under his belt, his greatest issue has been walks. A rate of 7.2 per 9, teams don’t even have to swing the bat to do damage against him.
When they swing and contact is made, they’re having a lot of luck, too. Diekman has started to give up more home runs. The 1.6 per 9 rate is twice his career total.
The spotlight shines on Diekman heavily because he is the veteran lefty in the bullpen. The Mets have shuffled through a couple of other southpaws to try and find one to stick. Danny Young has been one of the more regularly seen options. Unrelated, the team picked up Alex Young off of waivers. We also saw them trade for Matt Gage not long ago, too.
Diekman has been tough on hitters. Lefties are batting .167 against him. Righties are at only .220. However, it’s the .328 OBP versus lefties that has opened the door for righties to come up with bigger hits. They have a .375 OBP and a .580 slugging percentage.
The doors are coming completely off for Diekman who has a 19.29 ERA in July and a .429/.500/.1.000 slash line against him after 16 plate appearances. Pitchers can luck into some hard-hit outs. What about when you’re walking everyone and many of those hard-hit balls are landing over the fence?