What We've Learned About the New York Mets Near the Halfway Mark
The Mets are 37-37 and about a week from being halfway done with their 2015 season. The season got off to a great start and was highlighted by an 11-game winning streak. More recently, though, the Mets have struggled, and that is why they currently have a .500 record.
Fortunately for the Mets, despite their recent shortcomings, they're only 3.5 games behind the Nationals for the NL East lead, while the Braves are five games behind the Nationals. The Marlins (30-44) and Phillies (26-48) both seem to be out of the race this season, so the NL East should be a three-team race the rest of the season at most. Hopefully, the Mets will do well enough to at least continue to stay in the race.
What exactly have we learned about this 2015 Mets team up to this point? Let's take a look!
The 2015 Mets Enjoy Playing at Citi Field Quite a Bit
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The Mets are 26-11 at home within the friendly confines of Citi Field, which is the third-best home record in the NL, but are just 11-26 on the road so far this season. While having a home-field advantage is important, playing well on the road is just as important, and the Mets clearly need to improve their play away from Citi Field if they want to be a part of the postseason this year.
The Mets offense in particular has been a lot better at home, with a .247 combined average, 33 home runs, 156 RBI, 160 runs scored and a .707 OPS at Citi Field, compared to an NL-low .226 combined average, 30 home runs, 98 RBI, 105 runs scored, and a .624 OPS on the road.
On the pitching end, the Mets have a 3.23 ERA at home and a 3.92 ERA on the road. They have certainly taken advantage of Citi Field's pitcher-friendly dimensions.
The Mets will need to continue to play this well at home and will also need to improve significantly on the road in the second half to make a bigger push to the postseason.
The Mets Pitching Continues to Carry the Team
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Throughout much of their franchise history, the Mets have been more successful with their pitching than their hitting. 2015 is no different.
The Mets pitching staff's 3.56 ERA is fifth in the National League, and they are sixth in fewest home runs allowed, second in fewest walks allowed, sixth in strikeouts, seventh in batting average against and fourth in WHIP.
The Mets pitching is highlighted by the 2014 NL Rookie of the Year, Jacob deGrom, who is 8-5 with a team-leading 2.15 ERA and 100 strikeouts, and Matt Harvey (7-5, 3.18 ERA, 93 strikeouts). Rookie Noah Syndergaard has a lot of potential, and the recent promotion of top prospect Steve Matz could add another punch to the Mets' already deep rotation.
On the other hand, the Mets offense has been subpar all season. The Mets are tied with the Brewers for the NL's worst team batting average. They also have the second-fewest runs scored, the fewest hits, the seventh-most home runs, the second-fewest RBI, the ninth-most walks, tied for the fourth-most strikeouts, the third-fewest stolen bases and the third-worst OPS in the NL.
Lucas Duda has been the Mets' best hitter so far, with a .264 average, 10 home runs, 31 RBI, 32 walks and an .826 OPS. Wilmer Flores has improved of late and has 10 home runs himself, along with a team-leading 33 RBI, while Curtis Granderson leads the team with 11 home runs, and Daniel Murphy is batting .283.
The rest of the Mets lineup has struggled, to say the least. More of these hitters will need to pick up the slack to help the Mets give their pitching staff more consistent run support.
Jeurys Familia Has Emerged as an Elite Closer
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After the Mets' 2014 closer, Jenrry Mejia, got suspended 80 games for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug in early April, Jeurys Familia was given the job of being the Mets' closer and ran with it.
When Mejia returns, it will likely be as a middle reliever or setup man because of how dominant Familia has been. He is 2-0 with a 1.34 ERA and 20 saves in 22 chances. He has allowed just five earned runs all season and 10 walks, but h ehas struck out 36 in 33.2 innings pitched.
The Mets have not had an All-Star closer since Francisco Rodriguez in 2009, but Familia looks like one of the top NL All-Star candidates among closers. He is tied for fourth in the NL in saves and has the second-best ERA of any closer with 20 or more saves, behind Trevor Rosenthal of the Cardinals. Familia's 0.89 WHIP is also better than both Rosenthal's 0.96 WHIP and NL saves leader Mark Melancon's 0.98 WHIP.
Usually three or four closers will represent each league's All-Star team every season, and Familia has a good chance to make his first trip to the Midsummer Classic this season. One thing, though, is for sure: Familia will continue to be the Mets closer for the rest of the season and beyond. The sky is the limit for his potential, as long as he has good control with his pitches.
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The Mets Have Had Trouble Overcoming Various Injuries
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David Wright, Daniel Murphy, Travis d'Arnaud, Jerry Blevins, Rafael Montero, Buddy Carlyle, Vic Black and Erik Goeddel are all currently on the Mets' disabled list, along with Zack Wheeler and Josh Edgin, who are both missing the entire season after having Tommy John surgery. Bobby Parnell, Dillon Gee and Dilson Herrera have also spent part of the season on the disabled list, while Mejia is serving an 80-game suspension.
Dealing with all these injuries has been a challenge, particularly at third base in Wright's absence. Daniel Murphy (13 starts), Eric Campbell (34 starts), Ruben Tejada (16 starts) and Johnny Monell (three starts) have all seen time at third base this season. While Murphy has been the Mets' starting second baseman for most of the season, the rest of the group has done particularly well at the plate while starting at third base.
Thankfully, the presence of Herrera at second base can let the Mets put Murphy at third base once healthy, so that should make the infield stronger. Replacing the Mets' face of the franchise is no easy task, but hopefully, Murphy and Herrera can put together some solid second halves to their seasons.
Catcher has been another problem this season, in light of d'Arnaud's multiple stints on the disabled list. Kevin Plawecki has a good amount of potential, but his .232 average and .599 OPS are not good enough to help the Mets become a better team. Ideally, Plawecki would be best off developing a bit more in the minor leagues, but with d'Arnaud hurt, the Mets have no choice but to continue to play Plawecki most days.
Hopefully, Wright and d'Arnaud can get healthy sooner than later to help the Mets make the most of this season, but if it takes more time, the replacement starters will need to step up more and contribute their fair share to help the Mets win.
The Mets Have Done Well Against the East Teams but Not Elsewhere
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One thing helping the Mets is that they have done well against their rival NL East opponents. They are 23-15 against the NL East, including 3-4 against the Nationals, 6-6 against the Braves, 6-4 against the Marlins and 8-1 against the Phillies. They are also 5-4 against the AL East so far in interleague play.
But outside of both East divisions, the Mets have not done as well. So far, they are 5-12 against the NL Central and 4-6 against the NL West.
Obviously, doing well against division rivals is important, and the Mets will have to do particularly well against the division-leading Nationals in order to either gain ground in the standings or maintain a lead if they have it by the next time they face the Nationals.
Doing well against NL Central and NL West teams, though, could help with the wild-card standings if the Mets fail to overtake the Nationals for the division lead. The Mets are currently 3.5 games behind the Cubs for the second wild-card spot and will have to battle with quite a few teams to secure a wild-card spot. As tough as it might be to contend with the Nationals, the wild-card race could be even more of a challenge.
That being said, the Mets will certainly have their work cut out for them in the second half.
All statistics shown are courtesy of MLB.com.
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