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The Mets' season does not look quite as good as it did just a couple of days ago. After a pair of ugly losses to the Braves, the Mets are 7-5 as they return home to host a four-game series against the Giants this weekend.
Twelve games into the season, the Mets have scored 3.75 runs per game, which ranks eleventh in the National League as is below the league average. The middle of the order has been ice cold outside of a handful of home runs, but the Mets should start scoring more runs sooner than later.
There's a high correlation between wOBA and runs scored, and the Mets' .320 wOBA ranks third in the National League. Their batting average and on-base percentage also rank third, and their slugging ranks seventh. In short, they should be a lot higher than eleventh in the league in runs per game, and there's still plenty of room for improvement for most of the lineup.
| Player | Last Week | This Week | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Baxter, OF |  |
In the very limited time he's played, Baxter has two single and two walks, good for a .286/.444/.286 line. | |
| Jason Bay, LF |  |
The .211 AVG and .295 OBP are ugly, but his pair of home runs - both bombs - have him at 96 wRC+ and 0.2 fWAR. Throw in a high amount of awful defense, though, and Bay's off to a pretty bad start. | |
| Ronny Cedeno, SS/3B |  |
In limited time, Cedeno's walked as often as he's struck out. He, too, sits at 0.2 fWAR, which I suppose says something about Jason Bay. | |
| Ike Davis, 1B | |
Despite some signs of life at the plate lately, Ike is still hitting just .156/.224/.356. We still like Ike, though, and his .138 BABIP suggests things will get better. | |
| Lucas Duda, RF | |
Duda has the same .224 OBP as Ike but has shown a bit more power so far with a .413 SLG. Also like Ike, Duda's .207 BABIP figures to improve. | |
| Scott Hairston, OF | |
Playing a bit more than expected thanks to the injury to Andres Torres, Hairston has been an out machine most of the time. | |
| Daniel Murphy, 2B | |
Murphy's .389 OBP ranks second among MLB second basemen, but some improvements in the departments of extra-base hitting or fielding would be welcome. | |
| Mike Nickeas, C | |
There's not much to say, but his .137 wOBA actually isn't the worst among position players on the team. | |
| Kirk Nieuwenhuis, CF | |
When Andres Torres went down with an injury on Opening Day, Captain Kirk stepped in and has done a fine job ever since. Through 36 plate appearances, his .431 wOBA is second to only David Wright. | |
| Ruben Tejada, SS | |
His hitting line - .262/.326/.405 - doesn't look as good as it did a few days ago. The OBP needs to trend in the right direction, particularly if he'll continue getting tons of plate appearance in the leadoff spot. | |
| Josh Thole, C | |
Of the Mets' regular players, Thole has been one of the best at the plate. His defense has been shaky, but he's hit enough to make up for it. | |
| Andres Torres, CF | |
Hitting the disabled list on the first day of the regular season is no fun, and he may have a tough time taking his position back from Nieuwenhuis when he's ready to return. | |
| Justin Turner, 2B/3B | |
Remember when I said Mike Nickeas isn't trailing the team in wOBA? That's because Turner is at .136. | |
| David Wright, 3B | |
It would be difficult to have a better start to the season: .500/.550/.706, .503 wOBA, 233 wRC+, and 0.8 fWAR in only 40 plate appearances. Traid! |