Hayden Senger finally reached the big leagues with the New York Mets in 2025, but his path to staying there in 2026 isn’t going to be easy. If you look at the box score, you might see a batting average starting with a “1” and move on. But that would be a mistake. Senger is the classic case of a player whose value doesn’t scream at you from a fantasy baseball lineup, yet he might be exactly what a contending team needs behind the dish.
The Long Road to Queens
Senger’s story is the kind baseball fans love. He wasn’t a first-round pick with a million-dollar signing bonus. The Mets took him in the 24th round back in 2018 out of Miami University in Ohio. That’s pick number 710. Most guys drafted that late never sniff the majors. Senger spent seven years grinding through the minors, and even worked shifts at Whole Foods in the offseason to make ends meet. He played over 400 minor league games before finally getting the call to the Opening Day roster in 2025. It’s a true testament to his work ethic that he even made it to Citi Field at all.
A Defensive Wizard
Here is where Senger actually shines. The 2025 season showed us that his glove is legitimate. According to his Baseball Savant page, he posted a pop time of 1.89 seconds, putting him in the 91st percentile of all catchers. That is elite. He also ranked in the 80th percentile for Blocks Above Average. When you have a pitching staff that needs to trust their catcher to keep the ball in front of them, Senger provides that security.
The Offensive Struggle
But we have to talk about the bat. Senger hit .181 with a .221 on-base percentage in his 33 games last year. He didn’t hit a single home run and struck out 22 times in just 78 plate appearances. An OPS of .415 is tough to carry on a major league roster, even for a backup catcher. The gap between Triple-A pitching and MLB arms is massive, and Senger looked overmatched for most of his time at the plate.
What the Analytics Say
When you dig into the underlying numbers, the issue becomes clear. It wasn’t just bad luck. Senger chased pitches out of the zone at a 39% clip and whiffed 33.1% of the time. You can’t hit what you can’t reach. However, there is a tiny glimmer of hope. His Hard-Hit rate was 38.5%, which is actually respectable. When he did make contact, he hit the ball decently hard. The problem is that his approach led to way too many empty swings. He needs to shrink his zone if he wants to survive against big-league pitching.
Expectations for 2026
So what should we expect from Hayden Senger in 2026? The projections systems like Steamer and ZiPS see a slight improvement, pinning him around a .205 batting average and a wRC+ around 60. That is still well below league average, but for a backup catcher with his defensive skills, it might be enough. His job isn’t to be a silver slugger. His job is to give Francisco Alvarez a rest without the defense falling apart. If Senger can cut down the chase rate and bump that average up to the “Mendoza Line,” he has a shot to stick around as a reliable backup catcher.
The projections don’t love his bat, and that makes sense given his 2025 numbers. If he can get his on-base percentage up even a little bit, he can become a lock for the backup job. He gives the Mets a defensive safety net they desperately need behind the plate.
More about:New York Mets
