Reese Kaplan -- There Are a Lot of Seriously Poor Mets Hitters

Yesterday we examined the head honcho on the field and came to the conclusion that while Carlos Mendoza is not going to make anyone forget the best of the best in a managerial role, neither is he responsible for the poor hitting, inadequate fielding and questionable pitching that have been at the root of this current thus far eight game losing streak. 

Today let’s instead take a look at some of the players at fault and ascertain what, if anything, can be done relatively easily to take corrective actions and hopefully snap this now becoming epic journey of hitters doing their best Claude Rains impression as they have seemed to disappear whenever they were needed most. 

• Jorge Polanco — Depending on whose account of his health you choose to believe, Jorge Polanco’s left Achilles bursitis is apparently not healing with a switch from playing the field to serving as DH.  Some are suggesting that an IL stint is on the near horizon which removes him from daily at-bats, though given his .179 batting average and 2 RBIs over his first 56 ABs of the season it could be a matter of addition by subtraction.  Working through injuries is usually not as effective as pure recovery and an IL stint might make sense.
• Marcus Semien — Many people actively questioned the deal made with the Rangers to send Brandon Nimmo packing and bringing Gold Glover Semien to New York.  The conventional wisdom was the need to improve defense and the payroll relief given the shorter duration of obligation to Semien vs. Nimmo.  Still, Semien between age, slumps and injuries has not had a good offensive showing in a few years and thus far he’s demonstrating that same problem in Queens.  He’s currently hitting just .194 though in his case he’s been a bit more productive when it counted as he’s tallied 7 RBIs. 
• Francisco Lindor — The All Star shortstop’s offensive struggles are well documented.  Some write it off as his usual cold weather slumps to start each year while others suggest he rushed back from his hamate bone injury.  He was without an RBI for the first few weeks of the season and if not for a solo homer he would have none on his stat sheet.  He’s hitting just .184 and also made some questionable plays in the field.
• Bo Bichette — Despite being a poster child for contact hitting, Bichette has not started out looking like any kind of All Star.  He’s currently hitting 90 points below his 2025 campaign though his .228 is an improvement over what he’d shown earlier.  He has 9 RBIs which is helpful but still subpar.  Defense at 3B has been a bit of an adventure. 
• Francisco Alvarez — Though slumping a bit lately, Francisco Alvarez is hitting a respectable .271 with 4 HRs and thus far does not look like one of the key problems that needs to be addressed.
• Luis Robert Jr. — Mired in an express lane downhill with his numbers, the quick start he had in New York between extra rest and a new coaching staff seems far off in the rear view mirror.  Right now he’s hitting just .241 with a pair of HRs.  Given the dearth of alternatives in the outfield he’s there to stay.
• Carson Benge — Of late Benge has finally started having some of his batted balls land for base hits.  He’s still well under the Mendoza line but a .141 is a vast improvement over where he had been.  Some are calling for him to go to Syracuse but a regular outfield including Tommy Pham, Brett Baty, MJ Melendez or Tyrone Taylor is not likely to be any better. 
• Brett Baty — Given the opportunity to play every day, Baty is leading the team in ABs but has not shown much for his frequent appearances at the plate.  He’s currently slumping badly, having dropped his batting average to just .203 with a slugging percentage of just .288.  Ugh.
• Mark Vientos — Not nearly as often giving starting assignments, Vientos started off surprisingly well after a horrific Spring Training.  He’s been in offensive free fall of late and now his average has dipped to just .227 though his slugging is not quite as ugly as Baty’s number with Vientos tallying .341. 

The rest of the myriad of substitute offensive players like Melendez, Taylor, Torrens and others are not offering any better despite the one good game by Melendez.  With Juan Soto still out, there is a need to generate offense and it doesn’t necessarily appear as if there are ready answers in Syracuse. 

Unless trades are going to be made the club needs to rethink it’s approach.  Whatever happened to small ball?  What about hit and run?  What about hitting behind the runners?  What about stolen bases?  Right now it’s on the players and the offensive coaches to take the hit for what’s not happening.