There are 157 games left in the 2021 season, Mets fans. Relax.
It’s pretty easy to understand why New York Mets fans are panicking right now. Every season it’s supposed to be their year. Yet most seasons the team starts hot just to fall apart by the All-Star break.
If anything this change in narrative is a good thing.
No baseball fan wants to see their team start 2-3, it can be disheartening, to say the least.
But let’s dive into the current state of the Mets, good and bad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UKkwT1B5Tg
I’m a bad news first kind of person so first up is the Mets offense — or lack thereof.
The Mets lineup has been notorious for not giving Jacob deGrom run support over the years, tarnishing the record of inarguably the best pitcher in baseball.
Yet this year it’s in a whole other ballpark (see what I did there?, sorry I’m done.).
In deGrom’s two starts, he’s posted a .64 ERA with 21 Ks, a .71 WHIP, and 1.55 FIP over 14 innings pitched.
You’re probably wondering right about now why you’re reading about deGrom in regards to the Mets offense.
It’s because he’s also hit three out of the 13 hits during his starts, which is more than any position player has.
Meaning deGrom has been his own run support.
Beyond Tuesday night’s game against the Phillies, the Mets bats have been virtually silent. With the majority of the hits unable to produce runs.
While slumps happen and it’s early in the season, the plate approach needs to change soon.
Taking a look at pitching itself, both the bullpen and the starting rotation has been pretty solid for the most part.
Despite David Peterson’s rough outing in Philly, most of the Mets pitching staff has held it together.
Especially Taijaun Walker who’s velocity was the highest it’s been since around 2015 with his velocity maxing out at 97 during the Mets home opener.
This increase has the potential to add some more depth room to the Mets starting roster if it continues.
Good news: the Mets defense has been much better than in previous seasons.
One of the strongest points of the Mets’ performance as of late has been the team’s defense.
With Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo making some great catches as well as a few nice pickoffs from the infield.
Especially since the team’s defensive dominance has struggled in the past it’s great to see the dynamic on the field improving.
When you break down each aspect of the team’s outings, the main issue has been run support in close games.
At the end of the day the Mets have great hitters and once they get into the groove the pieces should fall together.
It can be frustrating to see the roster struggling as the anticipation had quickly built over the off-season.
Yet at the same time, it’s a long season and some of the best seasons in Mets history have started with rough April games.
