The New York Mets haven’t performed up to their abilities so far in the 2020 season. They are 7-11, currently in last place in the National League East division. The beginning of the year has been rough, but we all know that the Mets are better than this. Will they start showing it on the scoreboard soon?
One of the areas in which they had been struggling, the bullpen, has improved considerably. Even former closer Edwin Diaz has thrown several scoreless frames since being removed from ninth-inning duties. But what about the most feared slugger in the lineup?
The New York Mets will depend on Pete Alonso’s contributions if they are going to turn around their season. The 2019 Rookie of the Year, who broke the home run record for first-year players with 53, is struggling at the plate so far in 2020.
In 18 games and 79 plate appearances, Alonso has a couple of long balls, but is batting just .197/.329/.303 with a .294 wOBA and a 91 wRC+. Last year, he slashed .260/.358/.583 with a team-leading 143 wRC+ and a .384 wOBA.
The Mets miss his slugging prowess
The Mets’ slugger has been walking more than last year (12.7 BB% compared to 2019’s 10.4) but also striking out more (30.4 to 26.4.) The biggest difference, however, has been felt in the slugging department.
In 2019, Alonso had a .323 ISO (isolated power, what we get by substracting slugging percentage minus batting average.) In 2020, the mark is all the way down to .106, similar to a slap-hitting major leaguer.
Alonso’s exit velocity, barrel percentage and hard-hit rate have also been down compared to last season.
Still, New York Mets shouldn’t be roo worried about Alonso’s slump. It’s still relatively early and they are a couple of games out of a playoff spot, and it is not uncommon for sophomores to struggle. These situations warrant some time, but Alonso is too talented to slug below .500 when all is said and done.