Mets starting lineup: 2 encouraging, 2 discouraging takeaways this season

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.