Lucas Duda would have smiled more if he hit lefties a lot better.
Some things in baseball are set in cement as common-sense truth.
One of those purportedly infallible dogmas is that righty hitters hit lefties better than righties, and lefty hitters hit righty pitchers better than lefties.
Except that logic seems to be inaccurate when it comes to young Mets hitters and prospect hitters.
Take Chris Suero. (Mack says, “I definitely will, and can I have two Sueros, please”)
Anyway, Suero is a righty hitter and prospect, so lefty pitchersshould be fodder for him.
But…no.
In 2024, vs. lefties, he went 7 for 57 (.123) with 3 doubles, no HRs, and 4, RBIs, while fanning 21 times. He did walk 16 times, to be fair, but .123 is .123.
In 2025, vs. lefties, a dreary 16 for 78 (.205) vs. lefties, with 5 doubles, a triple, a HR, just 7 RBIs, and 29 Ks.
He hits righties as a righty hitter quite well.
But those lefty pitcher at bat #’s have the scent of unrefrigerated Limburger cheese. Phew, dude.
“So…What’s the problem?”, Lisa from My Cousin Vinnie asked impatiently.
Wait, Lisa, I am not done.
Ronny Mauricio as a righty against lefties? Total Limburger.
Vientos? Only slightly better against lefties than against righties. The positive gap vs. lefties should be more pronounced.
Baty, a lefty hitter?
His slug % against lefties was 72 points lower than against righties.
Let me continue:
Ryan Clifford, a lefty hitter and prospect who faces tons of righty pitchers (78%) but relatively few lefty pitchers (22%), clearly rakes vs. righties: .247/.379/.497.
But against lefties, against whom he averaged just 20 plate appearances a month in 2025, he hit .204/.273/.381. Limburger.
Carson Benge? The lefty hitting prospect hit 63 points higher against righties (.295) than lefties (.232).
Righty prospect slugger Jacob Reimer slugged 71 points lower against lefties than against righties.
Continuing on, Nick Morabito (righty hitter) hit .293/.364/.419 against righties. Sweet. So the righty hitter must have killed lefties? Wrong.
Against lefties? .206/.296/.275. Limburger.
Lastly, Lucas Duda throughout his minor and major league career as a lefty slugger hit vastly better against righties than against lefties, as I chronicled many times while he was playing.
I think much of it has to do with the relative scarcity of lefty pitchers in the minors.
Proposed Solution:
I would, if I were the Mets, hire SEVERAL quality lefty pitchers to pitch heavily to these current dudes in the off season, to get their batting testosterone vs. lefties kick-started. Especially in the minors, where, it seems, lefty pitchers are quite scarce and thus provide too few developmental plate appearances for Mets minor league hitters.
Seems obvious. Practice makes perfect. Give them more quality practice.
WOULD YOU SIGN THIS GUY?
Our mystery player, for your consideration, has put up these stats:
526 ABs, 29 doubles, 3 triples, 17 HRs, 108 walks, 114 RBIs, 126 runs.
.287/.424/.451, and 41 of 44 steals.
I sure would sign him.
So, who is this mystery hitter?
A guy named Scottsdale.
Actually, those are the stats of the entire Scottsdale Scorpions team through 16 games.
Hitters’ league.
9 comments:
Morning Tom
Frankly, I like the idea of specific coaches for specific needs, especially ones where the team stuck up the joint in the past.
I also like the idea of Duda, but please don't make him the Throw to The Catcher Late In A Game coach.
Frankly, I'm going luke warm on Suero. He's imaging both the good of Pete (HR/AB) and the bad (K/9 and BA). Just wants to hit home runs. That just isn't enough, even as a DH.
I know that guy, I mean, I REALLY know that guy, Carmine Scottsdale. Grew up with him in the OZ. We called him Scotty Linguini. Played left field on my softball team. Can't believe he's still playing. He's friggin old.
Carmine got bit by a Scottsdale Scorpion, he’’ll be good for another 100 years.
Having guys not hitting lefties is like seeing your tire is deflated by several pounds. Do you see it and ignore it, or correct the problem by reinflating it?
The hitter averages are deflated….so…inflate them.
If Toronto loses the World Series, last night’s 6-5, 18 inning loss will be on them. Up 5-4 in the 7th, they could have walked Ohtani. Instead, high strike fastball was blasted out.
After that point, in his last 2 home games, they reported he had 6 shutout innings with 10ks, and 5 HRs and 2 doubles in a 7 at bat span. Greatest player stretch in baseball history.
Easy
Draft, trade, and sign more RHH until you get this right
EIGHT positions to fill
Come on
No
Greatest player ever
And he is a totally cool customer. They insulted him when they called him the Japanese Babe Ruth. If he stays healthy, Victor Wembanyama in NBA has similar chance for all-time greatness. He literally can do everything at 7’5”, and is smart, to boot.
Anthony DiComo on Alonso:
“I’ve long believed Alonso has a better chance of staying. While Alonso may find a friendlier free-agent market awaiting him this winter without a qualifying offer attached to his services, he arguably fits better with the Mets than with any other realistic suitor. Sure, president of baseball operations David Stearns is not going to love giving Alonso five, six, seven years if he can avoid it. But Alonso’s skill set, the Mets’ roster hole and Alonso’s importance to the franchise are all factors here. For those reasons, I have a bit of a hard time envisioning the two sides not coming to a mutually beneficial agreement.“
You want to bring Alonso back? Then move the fences in, as it will help an aging Alonso’s HR numbers not start to deflate. His signing will look like a smart investment if he hits a half dozen extra home HRs each year.
BROKEN RECORD ALERT !!!
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