2 Mets players silencing their doubters, 3 birthing new ones

A rollercoaster of emotions? That’s kind of what it’s like watching any baseball team, especially the New York Mets of late. As soon as we put our heart and trust into the team, they tear it right back out again.

While some players have been silencing their doubters, others are creating whole new concerns.

NY Mets pitcher Max Scherzer has silenced doubts about his age

Max Scherzer has been good enough lately to have season numbers where we wouldn’t think there was ever a doubter. Through 9 starts, Scherzer is 5-2 with a 3.21 ERA. He has finally nudged himself over a strikeout per inning at only 9.1 per 9. It’s a positive trend for a guy people thought was completely cooked.

Scherzer’s ERA is only .10 higher than his career of 3.11 and his winning percentage of .714 puts him on pace to win more than half of his decisions. Scherzer hasn’t been his sharpest all of the time. His last four outings have been more of what we needed.

Going back to May 14 when he threw 5 innings against the Washington Nationals, Scherzer has not allowed more than one earned run in any appearance. He has gone 7 frames in back-to-back starts. Both were wins for the Mets and included pitch counts of 102 and 101.

Managing Scherzer correctly and having him ready for the postseason is a must for the Mets. Also a must—they need to start winning more consistently. Scherzer has been his usual self. His doubters haven’t had anything to complain about. This is the guy we need at the top of the rotation alongside Justin Verlander—a guy still trying to get his doubters to pipe down.

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.