Mets pitchers are excelling on the mound, with their bats, and with their gloves

Everybody knows how good the Mets’ pitching has been. Led by young arms Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, and Noah Syndergaard, Mets starters rank seventh in baseball in adjusted ERA (3.40 ERA, 93 ERA-) and eighth in adjusted FIP (3.60 FIP, 93 FIP-). The team’s bullpen has been nearly as good, ranking tenth in both categories (3.13 ERA, 85 ERA-; 3.47 FIP, 90 FIP-). As a whole, Mets pitchers rank fifth in the former (3.32 ERA, 90 ERA-) and eighth in the latter (3.56 FIP, 92 FIP-).

But they haven’t just thrown the ball well; they are also among the game’s best offensive and defensive pitching squads. In fact, the Mets are one of only two National League teams whose pitchers are posting a positive wRC+. Their 12 wRC+ is second only to the Giants’, as is their 0.9 offensive fWAR, .218 slugging percentage, and two home runs. The Mets lead the league in pitcher batting average (.169), on-base percentage (.190), RBIs (24), and hits (44), and are tied for first with seven doubles.

Syndergaard and Jon Niese have led the way offensively. Syndergaard’s .200/.200/.314 batting line (39 wRC+) is the best among Mets starters with at least 10 plate appearances, with Niese right behind him at .191/.255/.213 (36 wRC+). Harvey has been the "power hitter" of the group, so to speak, leading with seven RBI and two doubles, second with a .222 slugging percentage, and the only pitcher other than Syndergaard to hit a home run:

Incredibly, all five Mets starters have been above-average hitting pitchers: deGrom’s .163/.196/.184 batting line (6 wRC+) and Harvey’s .130/.130/.222 (-9 wRC+) are both better than the league-average line of .131/.157/.167 (-16 wRC+). Even Bartolo Colon has gotten in on the action, hitting a much-improved .146/.160/.167 (-13 wRC+). He also just collected his career-high seventh base hit of the season:

Speaking of offense coming from unlikely places, Carlos Torres and Sean Gilmartin are a combined 3-for-6 at the plate. And, finally, who could forget Steven Matz’s tremendous offensive performance in his major league debut?

Mets pitchers have been just as good defensively. While measuring pitcher defense can be tricky, the available metrics back up what our eyes tell us: namely, that Mets pitchers can field their position. The team’s 13 defensive runs saved by its pitchers rank second in all of baseball to the Astros’.

deGrom has been the best of the group. His six DRS are third most among all pitchers in baseball, and the righty has been known to make plays like these:

Niese and Torres have an impressive three DRS apiece, while Colon and Gilmartin each have two, and five others are tied with one.

Players who excel on both sides of the ball are remarkable, multi-dimensional athletes. Mets pitchers this year—including a certain five-foot-eleven, 285-pound starter—have been just that. It’s one of the things that makes this team so unique and fun to watch every day.