NY Mets starting lineup: 2 encouraging, 2 discouraging takeaways through 27 games

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The New York Mets have a nearly identical starting lineup from the end of last season with a few tweaks. Instead of Darin Ruf, there’s Tommy Pham. Tomas Nido is currently joined by Francisco Alvarez for the catching duties. Third base is a shared position between Brett Baty and Eduardo Escobar.

Few changes had many Mets fans questioning how far the team could go. The lineup was able to score runs last season, mostly thanks to some timely hitting.

As we near the end of April, we have some encouraging and discouraging takeaways from the bats.

Encouraging: The NY Mets starting lineup knows how to get on base

The Mets know how to get on base. They’ve been among the best at drawing walks this year almost to a nauseating level. It has helped them in games against weak or at least wild pitches. Versus tougher pitching staffs, the Mets haven’t looked as good because of their overly patient approach at the plate.

We should be encouraged by anyone getting on base. This tends to be one of those skills a player or team doesn’t suddenly flip a switch and change. This was an expected quality of the 2023 Mets starting lineup. With Brandon Nimmo at the top as one of the most capable OBP guys in the game and even a tremendously patient eye of Daniel Vogelbach somewhere in the middle, we knew the Mets would clog up the bases frequently.

The one downside is it creates more station-to-station play. When the Mets drew 17 walks against the Oakland Athletics, it was all they needed. Not many pitching staffs will serve up that many free passes. The lineup needs to use their bat. It’s one of the discouraging signs we’ve seen from them so far.

Discouraging: The NY Mets starting lineup cares too much about patience

Maybe the Mets don’t necessarily need a free-swinger like Javier Baez back in this lineup, but it might not hurt to have at least one guy a little more eager to swing the stick. Saying a “walk is as good as a hit” doesn’t ring true when you’re only able to get two or three an inning and not do much else.

Mets hitters have been slow for the most part in the batting average department. Reigning National League batting champion Jeff McNeil is starting to piece together hits. It hardly makes up for the absence of production from the catcher spot and from other places in the lineup.

The .332 OBP is exactly what the club finished with last season. The difference is their batting average is at .240 compared to the .259 they hit in 2022. This means they’re walking more frequently to help keep up with the lack of OBP numbers coming from a good batting average.

With 109 walks, the Mets are second to the Los Angeles Dodgers in team walks. It hasn’t resulted in nearly enough hits to make them one of the most feared offenses in baseball. The Dodgers are undergoing something similar with the difference between these two clubs being how much more power Los Angeles can hit for. More on that later.

Encouraging: The NY Mets starting lineup is scoring runs despite their weaknesses

Even with a couple of shutouts against them already this season, the Mets are finding ways to score runs at a decent rate. They’re not pummeling the opponent into submission nor do they look like a lineup of guys who will regularly reach double-digits.

A poor team batting average and a few other discouraging signs haven’t held them back from crossing home plate. Their 122 runs scored through 27 games is about middle of the pack. With five shutouts along the way already, it is actually a backhanded compliment about how much they can score when the offense is cooking.

After 27 games each for these contenders, the Mets actually had more runs scored than the Philadelphia Phillies (117), New York Yankees (114), and of course the San Diego Padres (99). The Padres have bigger problems than their ability to get around the bases.

Adversity has continually popped up and slapped the Mets in the face this season. The lineup hasn’t been affected greatly by injuries. The bigger problem has been the lack of hitting from key players like Francisco Lindor and Starling Marte. Several cold nights at the plate from them and others at the bottom of the order have made the Mets a little easier to defeat.

Discouraging: The NY Mets starting lineup has as little power as anticipated

Pete Alonso could use a little help. Unfortunately, our fears of him getting very little of it are very true.

The Mets opened the year with Alonso as the only true power hitter on the roster. Francisco Lindor is capable of hitting 30. Nobody should’ve believed Eduardo Escobar would be good for all that many either. Thoughts of Brett Baty or Francisco Alvarez pulverizing baseballs early and for a great distance are beginning to subside. Neither has taken the league by storm. We’ll have to sit back on our heels before either becomes a major power threat in the league.

Remove Alonso from this lineup and the Mets are practically void of power. I know you can do that with many teams. How many good ones expected to compete for a playoff spot don’t have at least a pair of real power threats in the lineup, though?

It’s definitely discouraging for the low power numbers we feared to be this true early on. Unless Baty, Alvarez, or even Mark Vientos if they could find a way to squeeze his bat into the lineup go on some kind of a surge, increasing the pop will have to come from an outside source.

Champions aren’t won by slugging home runs, but that doesn’t make it feel any better. The middle of the Mets lineup isn’t scary for opposing pitchers. It’s more frightening for Mets fans who show up to Citi Field hoping to catch a souvenir home run ball. Sorry kid. Leave your glove at home next time.

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