Mets Player Performance Meter: Position players, August 21-27

Going from a meter with several fireballs to a meter with several poop emojis is never a good sign. The Mets lost both their series this week, dropping two of three to both the Braves and Angels. The offense started the week on a high note, scoring double-digit runs in Monday’s game, but then things petered out from there; they were shut out in the series finale against the Braves on Wednesday and never scored more than three runs in any of the rest of their games after Monday’s raucous victory. Francisco Lindor, DJ Stewart, and Daniel Vogelbach have stayed hot, but Brandon Nimmo cooled off significantly since last week and Francisco Alvarez’s monumental struggles with the bat continue.

We’ll start with the positives. Namely, Francisco Lindor is in the green for the second straight week with a 171 wRC+ in 28 plate appearances, which is the second-highest mark on the team. He led the team in runs scored this week with six and his four RBIs and two stolen bases are both tied for the team lead. He was one of only two Mets to go deep twice this week; he hit a three-run bomb in Monday’s lopsided win and was responsible for the Mets’ only run in Friday’s loss with a solo shot. He now has a 148 wRC+ in the month of August and a 132 wRC+ in the second half.

The other player to hit two home runs this week was Daniel Vogelbach, who also singled three times to round out his hit total at five—good for a 160 wRC+ in 20 plate appearances. Vogelbach got the Mets back in the game with both his home runs—a two-run shot on Tuesday that cut the Braves’ lead to one and a solo homer on Saturday that brought the Mets to within two runs. He shares the team lead in RBIs with Lindor this week and seem to be finally finding his groove late in the season.

Speaking of big boys mashing, DJ Stewart continues to be productive as well. He put up a team-leading 181 wRC+ in 24 plate appearances this week. He had a big day on Saturday, going 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and an RBI. He shares the team lead in hits this week with eight and half of those went for extra bases, including a home run in Monday’s game that got the Mets on the board.

The other player with eight hits this week is Jeff McNeil, whose .333 batting average this week in 25 plate appearances is second only to Stewart for the team lead. McNeil scored three runs, drove in one run, walked once, and posted a 108 wRC+ overall for the week. McNeil is also the only Met besides Lindor to steal multiple bases this week, swiping two bags. McNeil gets a positive grade for the second week in a row and is finally building some momentum this season.

Rafael Ortega was also a standout performer this week, if for no other reason than his walk-off single in yesterday’s game to salvage a win from that series. Ortega had a good weekend, going 1-for-2 in Saturday’s game with two walks and a stolen base. Overall, he posted a 134 wRC+ this week in 20 plate appearances. He collected three hits, scored two runs, and drove in three runs. He also walked four times, which leads the team this week.

That about does it for the good news this week, unfortunately. Probably the most notable negative feature in this week’s meter is the fact that Francisco Alvarez has been lost at the plate for over a month now, but this week was the worst week of this current slump yet. He posted an abysmal -7 wRC+ in 15 plate appearances, notching just one hit, one RBI, and one walk. Alvarez has been getting more time off of late, but the problem is that Omar Narváez did not exactly distinguish himself this week either, also getting just one hit and walking once in his nine plate appearances.

Also getting slapped with the poop emoji this week, uncharacteristically, is Brandon Nimmo, who had the starkest turnaround from last week to this week—and not in a good way. His -29 wRC+ for the week is the worst mark on the team for anyone with five plate appearances or more. Nimmo logged just two hits all week—both singles. He also walked twice and scored two runs. But, he also struck out nine times, an unusually high amount for him. Needless to say a .154 on-base percentage from your leadoff hitter is never a good sign. But hopefully this is just a blip in what has otherwise been a very good season for Nimmo.

Jonathan Araúz rounds out the trio of Mets whose wRC+ is a negative number this week, putting up a -11 wRC+ in 14 plate appearances this week. He had two hits—both singles—and did not drive in any runs or score any runs this week. But, the Mets don’t have much of an alternative, so he’ll continue to stick around—as will Danny Mendick, who fared marginally better this week, notching one hit (a double) and one walk in seven plate appearances.

Mark Vientos did return from the injured list this week after a very short rehab stint, though. He went hitless over his first four plate appearances back, but he did walk once. Abraham Almonte, who did not reach base in either of his plate appearances this week, was designated for assignment when Vientos was activated. Tim Locastro also went hitless this week, but did score the winning run in yesterday’s game in his capacity as a pinch runner.

After a blistering hot week last week, Pete Alonso cooled off this week, posting an 89 wRC+ in 25 plate appearances. Notably, he did not hit a home run this week, but one of his plate appearances did result in fireworks when he was hit in the back of the neck in Saturday’s game, which caused both benches to clear (though no punches were thrown). Alonso and the Mets continue to get hit by pitches often; Alonso was plunked two times this week in total. Alonso collected four hits this week and only one of them went for extra bases. He walked three times, drove in two runs, and scored one run.