Mets Player Performance Meter: Position players, April 22-28

The Mets took two out of three from the Phillies and dropped two of three to the Brewers to put them at an even .500 record this week. For the most part, the offense still has not had much trouble scoring runs, although they were shut out on Wednesday by Vince Velasquez and the Phillies bullpen. There has been some shuffling of personnel this week, as Todd Frazier was activated from the injured list, Luis Guillorme was sent down to Triple-A, Travis d’Arnaud was designated for assignment, and Tomas Nido was recalled in his stead.

It’s truly a shame that Robinson Cano was hit in the hand again, considering how good he has looked at the plate lately. Lucky his MRI came back clean again, but he may be sidelined for a couple of days. Hopefully that doesn’t stifle his hot streak, which continued this week. His 196 wRC+ for the week leads the team for anyone with five or more plate appearances. He also holds the team lead in hits—along with two other players—with seven. Cano walked twice, drove in a run, and scored a run. He posted 0.3 fWAR for the week, which also leads the team.

The two other players with seven hits this week were Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo, who both have looked good at the plate. McNeil has been hitting out of the leadoff spot in Nimmo’s stead pretty often of late and has done well there. He holds a .407 on-base percentage for the week, which is second only to Cano among the starting players. McNeil leads the team in runs scored with five and put up a 147 wRC+ for the week.

We still haven’t seen much power from Brandon Nimmo this year compared to last year—six of his seven hits this week were singles—but he’s still getting on base and racking up base hits. Nimmo scored four runs this week, second only to McNeil for the team lead, and also stole a base. His wRC+ for the week is 117.

Of course, who we have seen power from is Pete Alonso, who had yet another good week at the plate. Alonso’s three-run shot in Saturday’s game helped bring the Mets within a run. Even though that comeback ultimately fell short, it was still a great moment for Alonso, who continues to prove to the Mets that their decision to put him on the roster from day one was the right one. Alonso posted a 128 wRC+ for the week, collecting five hits and five RBIs in total. He also walked twice and scored three runs.

Uncharacteristically, it’s been a somewhat rough week at the plate for Michael Conforto. After producing consistently all season until this point, he’s cooled off this week, although not to a concerning degree that would indicate anything more than the ebbs and flows of a long season. Conforto had just two hits in 24 plate appearances this week with a 60 wRC+. However, he is still getting on base, owing to the fact that he leads the team by far in walks this week with seven. No other Met drew any more than two walks this week.

The starting player who has struggled the most at the plate lately is Wilson Ramos, who posted just a 1 wRC+ this week. So far, he had been getting by on good batted ball luck and timely hits that drive in runs, but that luck seems to have run out a bit this week. He has struck out a few times in key at-bats this week and instead of finding holes, his grounders are resulting in outs instead. He either needs to regain some of that BABIP magic or start elevating the ball more in order for his bat to make up for his defense behind the plate, which has been less than stellar this season.

Speaking of catchers, it was a rough week for Travis d’Arnaud both at the plate and behind it. His season has gone so poorly thus far that the Mets designated him for assignment yesterday. He had one hit in four plate appearances this week before being sent packing.

The Mets elected to call up Tomas Nido to replace d’Arnaud as the backup catcher and somewhat surprisingly, he had an immediate impact with the bat. His pinch-hit two-run double provided key insurance runs in yesterday’s win over the Brewers. That was his only at-bat this week.

It was a triumphant return from the injured list for Todd Frazier. While he only posted an 86 wRC+ for the week overall, he led the team in RBIs with six, thanks in part to the grand slam he hit against the Phillies during his second game back. Frazier had four additional hits this week—all singles—and also stole a base. It’s also clear that Frazier hasn’t missed a step defensively and continues to provide strong defense at the hot corner.

Amed Rosario’s defense, on the other hand, still leaves a lot to be desired, as he continues to struggle in the field. But, Rosario had a very good week with the bat, bouncing back from a couple of days sidelined due to illness. He posted a 124 wRC+, collecting four hits, including a home run in Saturday’s game. He also walked once, drove in three runs, and scored two runs.

Luis Guillorme remained on the team even after Frazier was activated due to the fact that Rosario was sick and the Mets needed someone to play shortstop. But once Rosario recovered, the Mets optioned Guillorme and recalled Corey Oswalt. Before being optioned, Guillorme had two hits in nine plate appearances this week and scored a run.

The return of Frazier has hurt J.D. Davis’ playing time the most, which is unfortunate, since he had been hitting so well. That said, the presence of Davis as a pinch hitting threat significantly lengthens the Mets’ bench and he has continued to hit this week, despite more limited opportunities. Davis had three hits in eight plate appearances this week, drew a walk, scored two runs, and drove in one.

Dominic Smith continues to make the most of his limited plate appearances as well off the bench. Smith had a hit and two walks in his five plate appearances this week and scored a run.

It is the duo of Juan Lagares and Keon Broxton that have continued to struggle off the bench, more so the latter, at least with the bat. Lagares had two hits and two walks in thirteen plate appearances this week, good for a 50 wRC+. He also scored two runs. Broxton went hitless in five plate appearances this week. With Jed Lowrie beginning a rehab assignment soon, the infield will become awfully crowded upon his return, but it will be hard to justify sending the likes of Broxton up as a pinch hitter over someone like Davis. However, Broxton’s lack of options may be his saving grace.