Mets Player Performance Meter, Week 9: Hitters

Kirk!

The Mets absolutely hammered the ball against the Rays this week after a disappointing weekend with the bats in the Bronx. At 4.55 runs per game, the Mets are fourth in the National League, but they're closing in on the third-ranked Braves, who have scored 4.67 runs per game.

Player	Last Week	This Week	Comment
Mike Baxter, OF			This icon will stick for a while.
Jason Bay, LF			Sure, he hit a home run, but that was virtually it for the entire week. Bay's .315 OPS was a team low.
Ronny Cedeno, SS			Still hurt, and he may not be as good as Quintanilla when he's ready.
Ike Davis, 1B			Is he back? Ike hit .471/.591/.765 this week. It'll take four or five more weeks near that level to make his season numbers decent.
Lucas Duda, RF			Duda wasn't quite as good as he's been in weeks past, but his double in Tampa Bay yesterday helped cap the Mets' sweep of the Rays.
Scott Hairston, OF			He hit .308 this week but didn't draw any walks or hit for much power. Decent.
Daniel Murphy, 2B			Murphy's .391 OPS was lower than six other Mets' OBP.
Mike Nickeas, C			Meh.
Kirk Nieuwenhuis, OF			Captain Kirk posted a 1.245 OPS and had as many walks as strikeouts. Great week.
Vinny Rottino, IF			He may not have played much, but he hit .333/.429/.500 this week. That'll work for a bench player.
Omar Quintanilla, SS			He continues to hit and, for the most part, play a very good shortstop. He should remain the starting shortstop until Ruben Tejada is back.
Ruben Tejada, SS			Tejada faced pitching and attempted some light running this week in Port St. Lucie as part of his rehab program.
Josh Thole, C			Thole hasn't been too good with the bat since his return from the disabled list.
Andres Torres, CF			Torres isn't getting a ton of playing time, and that's justified: he's rocking just a .293 wOBA on the season.
Justin Turner, IF			Turner will begin a rehab assignment for his ankle and foot injuries next Thursday at Triple-A Buffalo.
Jordany Valdespin, DH			Sure, the Mets may have a National League series this weekend, but Valdespin's still best suited as a designated hitter.
David Wright, 3B			It was just a routine week for Wright, whose .968 OPS was fourth-best on the team. If Matt Kemp continues to miss playing time, Wright's got a great shot at MVP.