2 Mets players silencing their doubters, 3 birthing new ones

NY Mets reliever Brooks Raley has been one of the most reliable arms in the bullpen

David Robertson has had some recent bruises. Adam Ottavino’s early-season scabs are healing. Looking finer than ever is Brooks Raley. The team’s lone consistent lefty in the bullpen hasn’t allowed a run since April 27. Although a blown save was thrown his way in Saturday’s loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, his ERA has constantly been going down for more than a month.

Big doubts about Raley came from the first month of the season due to one beating against the Milwaukee Brewers early and another against the Washington Nationals where he actually came away as the winner. Those are his only two games with a run allowed. He has been sharp and most of the numbers prove it.

Raley does still have a 4.56 FIP compared to his much more impressive 2.75 ERA. His 3 home runs allowed are the biggest culprit here. It’s already as many as he gave up last year with the Tampa Bay Rays. It doesn’t help either that he has hit 4 batters.

Far from perfect, Raley has been a trustworthy addition to the Mets bullpen this year. Early doubts about whether or not he was the right fit for them are taking themselves behind the shed and digging a shallow grave to jump into.

NY Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor is nowhere close to what he needs to be

I hate to pile on Francisco Lindor but the man has been putrid of late. Now batting .213/.284/.404 on the season, the lone saving grace are his 15 doubles, 10 home runs, and 40 RBI. He has been so-so defensively with a booted ball this past weekend against the Toronto Blue Jays essentially costing them a game. Fortunately, Buck Showalter helped make a managerial decision to make us forget about Lindor being less than golden with his glove.

Lindor is 2 for his last 22 with 8 strikeouts sprinkled in. He has been a strikeout machine for most of the season. Now that he’s feeling the pressure, the longer this slump lasts the worse it feels like it’s going to get.

The real problem with Lindor and his doubters is how many there have been from almost the time he started with the Mets in 2021. His underwhelming debut season was filled with positive spin that was often an overextension of what he was actually accomplishing on the field. We saw a much better version of him in 2022. This year, he’s serving us what he did in year one.

It’s not only the last week featuring a Lindor slump. He has gone 24 for his last 113 for a .212/.250/.381 batting average. Over the last 30 days, it’s not even the worst on the team.

NY Mets third baseman Brett Baty has gone cold at the plate

Maybe Brett Baty wasn’t quite ready? He’s one of the guys slumping over the last 30 days worse than Lindor. Baty is 14 for 81 over this stretch which gives him a .173/.253/.284 slash line. Only the .146/.293/.229 they’ve gotten out of Daniel Vogelbach compares.

Baty’s season totals aren’t even all that impressive anymore. Now a .227/.301/.367 hitter on the year with 36 strikeouts in his first 39 games, his slash line numbers with one exception are now below what Eduardo Escobar has produced at .234/.277/.415. While Escobar has thrived with the more limited playing time, Baty is getting exposed.

An effective and monstrous Baty at the plate gives the Mets lineup so much more depth. He’d be the missing power hitter they needed on Opening Day. Instead, with Baty now joining so many of his teammates with some less-than-impressive totals, he’s giving birth to some new doubts about whether or not he can handle the everyday third base job.

The Mets can continue to throw him out on the field nearly every game or begin to hand a few of those starts back to Escobar. If they’re going to keep both on the roster, riding the hot bat has its benefits.

Baty could have helped save the Mets from needing to buy a bat at the trade deadline. Due to his slump, they may need to get some reinforcements.

NY Mets need to see more from Mark Vientos to justify his roster stay

It’s tough to criticize Mark Vientos too much because of the way the Mets have handled him. His hot bat was tamed upon his major league call up by the Mets not playing him regularly enough. Would it have made a difference if he was playing more? It’s hard to imagine him playing much worse.

Vientos is slashing .188/.206/.281 after his first 32 at-bats. He has 9 strikeouts which may sound bad but it’s almost as many as Lindor had this entire weekend against the Blue Jays. The Mets have given Vientos doubters plenty of fuel. The infrequency in which he gets to play is maddening because why even have him on the roster?

Even if we want to blame management, it’s always up to the player at the end of the day to perform. They must make the most of the position they’re in even if the hand they were dealt is a two of clubs and the instructions that someone forgot to remove.

Baty has struggled mightily but he at least did have a stretch when he was producing. Vientos hasn’t gotten there yet and unless he starts having some big hits it’s hard to see how he fits in with the team.

The Mets are coming off of a frustrating week where they won back the fans and lost them the very next series. Doubters will be out in full force this week when they begin their series against the Atlanta Braves. Stay away from social media if you’re not ready to accidentally get into an argument with someone.