The New York Mets came into the 2020 season with a minimal role for utility infielder Luis Guillorme. He took advantage of some Mets injuries in August and parlayed that into starting opportunities. Guillorme’s glove remained reliable, but this was the first time we saw him find success with the bat as well.
Stay hot, Luis Guillorme. pic.twitter.com/TtlszqRhm7
— Jacob Resnick (@Jacob_Resnick) August 16, 2020
Guillorme only played in three of the Mets’ first 13 games of the season. He started the season 1-for-7 at the plate with two strikeouts and grounding into two double plays. Guillorme finally got a chance to play every day from August 11 through September 1 and took full advantage of it.
In 12 games (11 starts), he slashed .469/.550/.563 with three doubles, seven walks, and eight strikeouts. His outstanding .600 BABIP made him an impossible out at the plate despite lacking the power at the plate. 34.1% of his batted balls were line drives, and 43.5% were hit to the opposite field. Guillorme was not doing anything special at the plate. He was trying to hit line drives the other way, and it paid off very well for him.
Brodie Takes Away Playing Time
At the trade deadline, general manager Brodie Van Wagenen opted to bring in Todd Frazier, which drastically cut Guillorme’s playing time. As the Mets got healthy, there was nowhere to play Guillorme. It even resulted in him being sent to the alternate site at one point despite his average hovering around .400.
Guillorme’s bat went cold since he was relegated to bench player duty. He finished the season going 3-for-18 with seven strikeouts and put a damper on a very promising season. It was disappointing to see the Mets take one of their better hitters and push him to the side. Guillorme also added stellar defense to his production, and the Mets should have continued to ride the hot hand.
Overall, it was a terrific year for a player the Mets expected nothing from. He batted .333 with a .426 on-base percentage and six doubles in just 57 at-bats. Almost one-third of those at came with runners in scoring position, where he hit .389 in those situations. Guillorme might not be an everyday player, but he proves to be a quality bench player as he heads into his age-26 season.
2020 Grades On 20-80 Scale (2021 Projection)
Hitting: 80 (50), It was an amazing year for Guillorme, but it is hard to see him hitting .333 over a full season.
Power: 20 (20), Still only one homer and a .341 career slugging.
Run: 45 (45), Did have two stolen bases this season but the slowest sprint speed of his career.
Arm: 60 (60), Strong and very accurate arm from his three infield spots.
Field: 70 (70), Made the team for his glove in the first place, made numbers amazing plays throughout the season.
Overall: 65 (45), It was an amazing year in a small sample size, but he should regress to a solid bench player in 2021.