Mets Player Performance Meter: Position players, August 12-18

The Mets went an even .500 this week, dropping two out of three to the Braves and taking two out of three from the Royals. Two of the victories involved games in which the Mets scored double-digit runs and the offense collected 23 hits in Thursday’s victory in Atlanta. It was a record-setting week for Pete Alonso in more ways than one. He, Juan Lagares, and Amed Rosario were the standout performers this week.

After a somewhat lengthy second half slump, Pete Alonso is back in full force. He leads the team this week in fWAR (0.6), RBIs (10), home runs (2), and wRC+ (252). Yesterday, he launched his 40th home run of the season, which broke a National League rookie record for a single season. On Thursday, Alonso went 5-for-5 with six RBIs. In addition to his twelve hits this week, which are second on the team for the week, he walked four times and scored five runs.

The hits leader this week is Amed Rosario, who had 14 hits, good for a .483 batting average for the week. Rosario joined Alonso in collecting five hits on Thursday, making them the first teammates in franchise history to both record five hits in one game. Rosario continues to be scorching hot in the second half; he now has a 150 wRC+ over 144 plate appearances since the All-Star break. He posted a 213 wRC+ over 31 plate appearances this week with six runs scored and five RBIs. Like Alonso, he also accrued 0.6 fWAR this week alone.

This week has been Juan Lagares’ best week of 2019. He has seen a sharp increase in playing time due to injuries to other players and he has come through this week when the Mets have needed him most. He collected 11 hits over 25 plate appearances and put up a 179 wRC+ for the week. He scored four runs and drove in two. Not only have the results been there at the plate, he looks much better in the field as well, making several nice catches in the outfield this week.

Speaking of injuries to other players, Jeff McNeil had one hit, one walk, and a run scored in five plate appearances before he went down with a calf strain. The Mets are hoping he misses the minimum amount of time and returns from the injured list as soon as he is eligible because they can ill afford to be without his bat in the lineup for much longer.

It looks like J.D. Davis, on the other hand, won’t be hitting the injured list for his calf issue, which flared up again yesterday, forcing him out of the game after he logged a key pinch hit base hit. He had seven hits this week—all singles—a walk, a run scored, and three RBIs over 19 plate appearances, good for a 124 wRC+.

After a torrid stretch, Michael Conforto has come back down to earth somewhat, but has still been key to the Mets’ success this week. His three-run shot in yesterday’s game put the Mets on the board. He had seven RBIs this week in total, which is second only to Alonso for the team lead. His five walks lead the team this week. He also scored two runs. Overall, he holds a 99 wRC+ for the week.

Joe Panik has done just about everything the Mets could have asked of him since they picked him up. Since Robinson Cano’s injury, Panik has played close to every day and has performed well. He posted a 145 wRC+ this week over 20 plate appearances and has been right in the middle of several Mets rallies that resulted in big innings. He scored five runs and drove in one this week.

Amongst Alonso, Rosario, and until recently Conforto all being red hot, the player that has been lost somewhat in the shuffle is Wilson Ramos, who has put together a few good weeks in a row at the plate. He put up a 144 wRC+ over 26 plate appearances. He is the only Met other than Rosario and Alonso to collect double digit hits this week. In addition to his ten hits, he walked twice and drove in two runs.

Todd Frazier is the Mets regular that has struggled the most in recent weeks, as he gets his second down arrow in a row. Frazier rocks a .192/.192/.385 batting line for the week, good for a 45 wRC+. He collected five hits—including a home run—scored two runs, and drove in one this week.

The injuries to the Mets’ every day players have stretched the bench thin and forced the Mets to play some combination of Ruben Tejada, Luis Guillorme, and Aaron Altherr every day. Unlike Lagares, none of these players have really stepped up to the plate. Altherr has one hit, a walk, and a run scored in seven plate appearances. Ruben Tejada is hitless over eight plate appearances this week. Luis Guillorme has two hits and a walk in nine plate appearances. He also scored a run and drove in one.

With his two doubles yesterday, Tomas Nido has boosted his overall performance for the week after struggling mightily in the second half. Those were his only two hits for the week over seven plate appearances, but they resulted in two runs scored.