3 brutal statistics holding the Mets back

The New York Mets lost their fourth game in a row for the first time with Buck Showalter as manager. Watching the team play is becoming a headache for fans.

The Mets are coming off a west coast route that produced a good team record only to end up playing disastrously in the first two games of the series against one of the worst teams in the national league, the Washington Nationals. Among various reasons for the recent bad performance of the team, three statistics stand out from the rest.

After Pete Alonso, the Mets are lacking for power

No matter how many advanced statistics you can read and understand, the game of baseball is still pretty simple, whoever scores more runs than the opponent, wins. The most optimal outcome to achieve this goal is power. As a hit connects with strength, the chance of extra-base hits and home runs will be greater, and with this, a more opportunity to score more runs.

The Mets' lack of power has been known since the conception of the roster. Pete Alonso is one of the best power hitters in the league but after him, the team has few options. This is evidenced in the team's collective slugging percentage, ranking below .380, number 21 in the league.

This shows that the Mets have hit fewer extra-base hits resulting in fewer runners in scoring position and fewer runs scored. If the Mets don't improve their roster or the angle or strength of their hitters' hits, they are in serious jeopardy this season.

The Mets are one of the worst teams in the league at putting balls in play

A fundamental aspect of the game is putting the ball in play since the outcome of that action can generate hits. This becomes even more important this season due to the banned on the shift.

The Mets are the third worst team in the league in BABIP (Batting Average on Balls In Play), which is incredible since this was one of the best teams putting the ball in play and connecting hits in 2022. This low BABIP is causing a lower number of Runs Created.

This is even more unheard of since the Mets rank in the top 5 teams in BB%. That means the team finds itself hitting the ball less, generating fewer hits, and producing less, which is serious because the team's conception is to achieve this.

Mets pitchers are being affected by their lack of control on the mound

The offense isn't the only aspect of the game that has been affected by the Mets. Pitchers collectively have been hurting by a high percentage of walks awarded.

The Mets are the fourth team with the most walks in the league. This has been affecting their command of the defensive game and leading to a higher probability of runs allowed, a category in which they are the 15th team in the league.

Control of a pitcher is a relevant variable. As more balls are thrown, the batter finds himself in an advantageous position that allows him to have more favorable options each turn. This may be one of the factors that, are influencing the number of home runs allowed by the team.

The Mets are the fourth-worst team in home runs allowed per nine innings. This demonstrates a chain effect of the lack of control of the Mets pitchers, causing better scenarios and opportunities for the opposing hitters, being forced in many turns to throw through the strike zone while finding more runners on base to generate more runs.