Nothing about the 2023 season has been ideal for the Mets. Any hope of watching New York turn things around ended with the front office’s substantial trade-deadline sell-off. But, trading away so many players gives others an unexpected opportunity to show what they’re capable of. That’s exactly what DJ Stewart has done.
The 29-year-old was a 2015 first-round pick of the Baltimore Orioles. He spent parts of five seasons with the O’s in the big leagues but never made a ton of his noise. The most playing time he received was appearing in 100 games in 2021. Stewart slashed .204/.324/.374 with 12 home runs and 33 RBI in 318 plate appearances.
He spent 51 games in Triple-A with the Syracuse Mets this season before getting called up on July 4th. His playing time was sporadic until the trade deadline passed. Stewart didn’t even really get going at the plate until the middle of the month. Across 26 plate appearances between August 1st and August 13th, he was slashing just .143/.280/.190.
But, since the Mets are in the position they’re in, Stewart kept getting run out there, and he’s gotten hot. Since August 15th (50 plate appearances), the outfielder is hitting .378/.429/.978. That’s accompanied by 11 extra-base hits (three doubles, eight homers), 15 RBI, and nine runs scored.
It all came to a head on Thursday night at Citi Field. Stewart was the driving force in New York avoiding a sweep. He slugged two homers (one tied the game in the eighth), provided a game-saving catch in the ninth, and then registered a walk-off hit-by-pitch in the 10th:
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Stewart’s two-week rampage has led to a .303 batting average, a 1.106 OPS, and eight home runs in August. He’s just the eighth Mets player to reach those numbers in a single month since 2000:
Since 2000, the only Mets to hit .300 with a 1.000 OPS and 8 HR in a single month are:
Mike Piazza
Carlos Beltran
David Wright
Carlos Delgado
Yoenis Cespedes
Curtis Granderson
Pete Alonsoand DJ Stewart baby. pic.twitter.com/0ASbnMS5JT
— jack (@Jolly_Olive) August 31, 2023
When a season turns into a bust like this one has for the Mets, fans need to find any way possible to remain engaged. What DJ Stewart did on Thursday makes it a little easier for the time being.
He’s already cemented his status as a Mets Legend, but is he playing his way into a role with the 2024 club? It’s certainly possible. We’ll have to see what the final month of the season brings first.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
