Last Updated on May 5, 2022 by Lil Ginge
The first month of baseball in 2022 has been damn good for the New York Mets. And it seems the major baseball acquisitions by Mets owner Steve Cohen and General Manager Billy Eppler have paid off handsomely so far. Let’s take a look at the Mets’ season so far.
Where The New York Mets Stand Today
As of today, the Mets sit atop the National League East with an 18-9 record. That’s good for a .667 winning percentage, third-best in the league behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers.
Though the Mets lost their last game against the Atlanta Braves, they are 6-4 for their last ten games and boat a +31 run differential. Additionally, the Mets are 9-5 at home and 9-4 away, showing the team hasn’t merely benefited from home-field advantage.
To date, the Mets have the best offense in baseball with 5.7 fWAR. And their wRC+ of 118 is second best behind the Yankees as well, driven by a team wOBA of .325. As a team, the Mets are hitting .257 with 112 RBIs and 21 home runs, plus 92 walks.
The Mets’ Pitching So Far
Surprisingly, the Mets’ pitching has also been great but slightly less stellar than its offense. The Mets team pitching fWAR sits at 3.9, fourth behind Milwaukee, the Yankees, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The staff is 18-9 with an ERA of 3.21 and an MLB leading 273 strikeouts.
The Mets’ starting pitching, in particular, has been elite. The starting staff is 14-5 with an ERA of 2.77, good for a baseball-leading 3.3 fWAR. And that’s been without the presence of all-time great and staff ace Jacob deGrom.
On the other hand, the Mets bullpen has been middling at best. The relief corps is currently 4-4 with a 3.93 ERA and 0.6 fWAR, good for merely 17th best (tied with Washington). So it’s pretty evident where the Mets are going to need to improve to remain at the top of the heap in 2022.
Which Mets Hitters Are Performing Best Right Now?
The Mets’ elite offense has been led by a resurgent Jeff McNeil, who is currently hitting 337 / 394 / 477 with 1 home run and 1.4 fWAR. Lindor has also been putting up All-Star numbers with a 243 / 336 / 408 slashy, 4 home runs, and elite defense for 1.1 fWAR.
The next three best hitters on the team have been perennial leadoff performer Brandon Nimmo, plus new additions infielder Eduardo Escobar and outfielder Mark Canha with 0.9, 0.8, and 0.6 fWAR respectively.
Arguably the biggest disappointment so far has been fellow newcomer Starling Marte, hitting just 245 / 300 / 300 with 2 homers and 4 stolen bases for 0.2 fWAR. Despite struggling in both the field and at the plate, it is likely that Marte is ripe for a bounceback month ahead, as it is unlikely that his considerable baseball skills have suddenly deteriorated overnight.
Which Mets Pitchers Are Performing Best Right Now?
Meanwhile, the starting rotation has been co-anchored by a terrific pairing of young potential ace Tylor Megill and comebacker of the year candidate Carlos Carrasco. To date, Megill sports an ERA of 2.43 and an identical FIP of 2.43, good for 1.0 fWAR. Meanwhile, Carrasco’s ERA is 3.30 but his FIP is a very good 2.89. He’s also pitched two more innings overall than Megill.
But Max Scherzer (ERA of 2.61) and Chris Bassitt (2.61 as well) have been nearly as good, making this perhaps the best 1-2-3-4 punch in all of baseball. And though David Peterson may have been overperforming to date, his 2.40 ERA over 15 innings pitched is downright gaudy.
The bullpen has been a completely different story. Certainly, Drew Smith has been a revelation, not giving up a single earned run in 11.1 innings pitched and a 1.77 FIP that says the performance is not a fluke. Chasen Shreve has also been terrific with a 2.00 ERA and 43.8% strikeout rate to pair with a 0.0% homer to flyball ratio.
Adam Ottavino and Edwin Diaz have generally also been solid in relief this season. Diaz has a sparkling 1.64 ERA. And while Ottavino’s 6.52 ERA looks disastrous, his 2.78 FIP implies it’s likely a mirage and probably the result of one bad night. On the other hand, Sean Reid-Foley, Joely Rodriguez, and the usually reliable Trevor May struggled mightily to keep runs off the board in the late innings.
Where Do The Mets Go From Here?
It’s good that the Mets basically know where they stand with their bullpen corps as they look to make upgrades in the next couple of months. Rodriguez could potentially improve, as his 3.57 xFIP indicates he has underperformed to an extent. And Reid-Foley and May were both likely hampered by injuries to a significant extent. But it would be wise for the Mets to look to add at least two reliable bullpen arms in the coming months to hedge against the failure of bouncebacks from all three players.
All told, the Mets have had an incredible first month of the season. Certainly better than I expected, and I expected it to be pretty good. This team just has to keep up the momentum and grind it out every single day to help propel them to a division win at the end of the season. The opportunity is theirs for the taking. Let’s go Mets!
If you enjoyed this article on the Mets’ first month of baseball, I encourage you to check out my recent article on why the Yankees should probably trade Aaron Judge.