Tom Brennan - Where, Oh Where, is the Mets Minors Hitting?

Mr. Braveheart politely asks: 

"WHAT ARE WE, MEN? SLUGGERS? OR SLUGGARDS?"

I look at stuff like the the offense in the minors from time to time. 

Don't you?  Well, DON'T YOU?

Whether you do or don't, here is the 50,000 foot view (thru Wednesday):

Brooklyn?

Last in average (.215) by nearly 10 points.

Last in OPS (.639 vs. next worst team's .675).

Last in HRs (21).

Second to last in runs scored by 1 run with 164 runs.   (Greenville 246 runs, 2 more per game.)

Of course, they hit in Hitters' Hell in Brooklyn, which is a clear factor in hitter woes, but while doing better on the road, are not excelling there either.

Also, 8 hitters are below the fabled Mendoza Line.  Those 8 are 83 for 491 (.169).  

Note to those Brooklyn hitters: the Mets will never call up High A hitters who hit below .200. Do better. 

St Lucie? 

Last in average (.212).

Second to last in OBP (.317).

One point away from a tie for worst OPS (.644).

Last in runs (161); next worst team 171.  

 - Clearwater at 251, 2 more per game.

Adrian Hernandez, a former $1.5 million bonus baby and now 22 years old, is hitting 6 for 41 (.146), and just 20 for 149 from 2021 thru 2023.  Too many such non-hitters, and the Mets dumped another former bonus baby, Greg Guerrero, this past off season for extreme inability to hit.  Not every bonus baby can be an Alvarez or Mauricio, I suppose.

8 Lucie hitters with 10 or more ABs are under .200.  Combined, they are 59 for 381 (.154), so they are 46 points below the Mendoza Line.

Note to those St Lucie hitters: the Mets will never call up Low A hitters who hit below .200. Do better.

Binghamton?

2nd to last in average at .220.

2nd to last in OPS with .688.

9th of 12 in runs (181).

10th of 12 in HRs with 33.

These low rankings, despite having arguably the Eastern League's hottest hitter in Matt Rudick, who is barely 2nd (to Henry Davis) in OPS and leading the league by a wide margin in OBP, and Jose Peroza, who is producing the 5th highest RBI-per-game rate in the league. The rest of the team collectively is hitting exactly .200. 

7 Binghamton hitters are hitting below .200, totaling 93 for 530 (.175). 

Note to all other Binghamton hitters besides Rudick and Peroza: the Mets will never call up AA hitters who hit below .200. Do better.

Syracuse?

A weird one to evaluate because the team is an amalgamation of rookie hitters who were smoking until 3 were called up, and several reasonably productive AAAA veterans.  That said:

14th of 20 in average.

6th of 20 in HRs.

10th of 20 in scoring.

Helped, of course, by sizzling Ronny Mauricio, the remaining minors-imprisoned prospect of the "prospect quartet".  R Mo is ahead by 6 doubles with 22; 3rd in average at .351; 11th in RBIs with 33 (Mark Vientos had 37 RBIs and 13 HRs in 38 AAA games when called up to sit on the Mets' bench and observe).  Rumblings that R Mo May soon be called up are beginning, BTW. Amen to that.

And Brett Baty and Francisco Alvarez (the first 2 "Quartet Call Ups") combined for 7 HRs in 51 at bats before their call ups. (Both hit great in the Mets’ 10-1, cookie-resplendent win last night over the Shlubs

BTW, 6 Syracuse hitters are hitting below .200 (56 for 343, .163).

Note to those Syracuse hitters: the Mets will never call up AAA hitters who hit below .200. Do better.

So, overall, a familiar annual hitting refrain emanates:

Why (with a few very notable exceptions) do the Mets' minors hitters hit so poorly?  Why are so many sluggards, not sluggers?

Bad drafting?  Bad coaching?  Bad parks?  All three? Something else?

Edward G. Robinson asked it this way:

"I pose the questions, see, you're the experts, see, so what are your answers?"

Before I go, for the 4 teams above, those teams have a total of 29 hitters below .200. 

Those 29 sub-.200s are hitting a combined 291 for 1,745 (.166). 

Those teams have 5,467 combined at bats, so the sub-.200 hitters comprise 32% of those total at bats. 

Remarkable.  At least, I find it remarkable.   

A few other regulars, I thought I would mention, are barely above .200.  A hit or two less for those guys, and it would not have been 32%, it would have been closer to 40%.