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

“Well this is an improvement,” you could say as you look at this week’s position player meter. And you’d be right. For the second consecutive week, the position player has improved over the dismal state it was in before. But, the Mets still went 2-3 this week because the pitching meter is not going to look as nice as this one. So goes the story of the 2023 Mets.

We’ll start with Brandon Nimmo, who was the team’s hottest hitter this week. He earns a fireball for his team-leading 228 wRC+ in 24 plate appearances. He also leads the team in hits with seven and RBIs with six, including the walk-off hit in Wednesday’s victory over the Yankees. He had a good night at the plate in both games of the Subway Series, going 2-for-4 with a home run in Tuesday’s loss, but his costly miscue in the field was a big reason why the Mets went on to lose that game. Still, he made up for it with his bat, also hitting a key double in Sunday’s close loss that brought the Mets within a run.

Dad mode Francisco Lindor is undefeated and he showed it again on Father’s Day, hitting a solo shot in Sunday’s game that cut the Cardinals’ early lead in half. Overall, Lindor posted a 118 wRC+ in 18 plate appearances this week. Lindor walked three times, scored three runs, drove in two runs, and stole a base. Despite his low batting average for the week, Lindor was able to contributes.

Luis Guillorme hit his first home run of the season in Saturday’s loss—a two-run shot that brought the Mets within a run. It was one of three hits in nine plate appearances for Guillorme this week. He drove in three runs in total for the week.

Whatever mental break the Mets gave Daniel Vogelbach seemed to do him good because he collected two hits and and drove in three runs in Sunday’s game, including a home run. He had just eight plate appearances this week, but hopefully this is the beginning of a turnaound for him.

Pete Alonso was activated from the injured list for Sunday’s game and went hitless in four plate appearances. To make room on the roster for Alonso, Mark Vientos was sent back down to Triple-A Syracuse. Vientos had one hit and one walk in four plate appearances prior to his demotion this week.

Fellow Baby Met Francisco Álvarez struggled mightily this week, earning the sole poop emoji of the group with his -11 wRC+ in 17 plate appearances. He collected just two hits this week and also walked once and scored two runs. Omar Narváez, meanwhile, failed to reach base in any of his three plate appearances this week.

The only other major negative on this week’s meter is Starling Marte, who has made progress, but is still producing next to no output in the power department. Therefore, despite his five hits this week, he holds a 52 wRC+ over 23 plate appearances this week. Four of those five hits were singles. He also walked once, scored three runs, drove in a run, and stole a base.

Mark Canha continued his hot month of June, collecting two hits and three walks in 13 plate appearances—good for a 147 wRC+ for the week. His .462 on-base percentage for the week leads the team. He scored two runs and drove in two runs this week. Canha now holds a 133 wRC+ for the month of June and has shown steady improvement as the season has gone on.

Tommy Pham has cut into Canha’s playing time somewhat, hitting his way into the lineup every day. This week, he posted a 109 wRC+ in 21 plate appearances. His six hits and five RBIs this week are second only to Nimmo for the team lead and include a game-tying two run homer in Sunday’s game. Pham has been hitting the ball hard into some bad luck for awhile now and the results are finally starting to tip in his direction.

Brett Baty has gotten himself back into the green with his 108 wRC+ in 17 plate appearances this week. He amassed five hits, four of which were singles. He walked once, drove in three runs, and scored two runs. Baty’s two big moments this week were a go-ahead RBI single in the first inning of Tuesday’s close contest and a two-run double that got the Mets on the board in Friday’s victory.

Eduardo Escobar had just one hit this week but it was a fun one—a two-out RBI triple in Sunday’s game that helped the Mets begin their comeback in what would ultimately be a crushing loss. That was Escobar’s only run batted in for the week, but he did score three runs. He also walked once and stole a base this week.

It feels like every week I’m giving Jeff McNeil a side arrow. This week McNeil collected four hits—all singles—and walked once, good for a 96 wRC+. He also drove in two runs this week. Despite his unremarkable batting line for the week, his four runs scored do lead the team.