The New York Mets are catching fire, riding a four-game winning streak and sitting pretty atop the NL East with a 15-7 record. They’ve carved out a cozy two-game lead, and for the first time this season, it feels like everything’s starting to click into place.
The bats have woken up, slumps are shaking off like dust from an old glove, and the youth movement is showing some promise.
Young Blood Rising
For much of April, the Mets’ offense felt like a sputtering engine on a chilly morning—full of potential, but not quite firing. Now, Brett Baty and Luisangel Acuña, the club’s two young second base hopefuls, are showing signs of life.
They’re beginning to look more comfortable, more confident, more like they belong. After some rocky starts, they’re finally starting to figure it out at the plate, and it’s adding a fresh spark to a lineup that needed one.
The Veteran Returns
But just as things are settling, a familiar name is nearing a return. Jeff McNeil—the hitting machine, the spark plug—is almost back.
He’s been rehabbing an oblique injury that lingered a bit longer than the team hoped, but he’s now turning heads in the minors.
He’s been on a tear, homering in back-to-back games and going a perfect 4-for-4 on Sunday for Double-A Binghamton.
In total, McNeil is batting .450/.522/.800 with a jaw-dropping 265 wRC+ in six rehab games across Single-A and Double-A. If this were a video game, the screen would be flashing “Ready to Play.”
Good Problems to Have
So here’s the twist: when McNeil returns, where do you put him? He’s not someone you just bench. The guy’s a former batting champion, and when healthy, he’s one of the most consistent hitters in the league.
But Acuña and Baty are starting to earn their stripes, too.
This is what baseball people call a “good problem.” It’s like having three keys to two doors—someone’s going to have to wait, but everyone’s capable of unlocking something important.
To complicate (or perhaps simplify) things, center fielder Jose Siri is dealing with a long-term injury. That opens the door just a bit wider for McNeil and possibly even Acuña to get reps in the outfield.
It’s not traditional, but versatility is often the difference between good teams and great ones.
And right now, the Mets are starting to look a little closer to the latter.