Player Meter: Position players, September 19-25

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    MLB: <a href=New York Mets at Oakland Athletics" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Cd0On_OtNNM9ulaUF1YQ1iosP2s=/0x0:5047x2839/1920x1080/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71418142/usa_today_19117465.0.jpg" />
    Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

    The Mets went 4-2 on their road trip this week, taking two of three from the Brewers in Milwaukee and from the A’s in Oakland. The Mets were shut out on Wednesday and Saturday was a game which I would never prefer to think about ever again, but the wins this week were pretty decisive ones in which the offense came up big. As a team, the Mets put up a 136 wRC+ this week, which is the best mark in the National League over that span. The Mets’ big RBI guys in particular—Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso—are the Mets’ hottest hitters this week. Of course, this was a historic week for Alonso, who broke the Mets’ single-season RBI record with his huge game yesterday. The Mets head into their final three series of the year 1.5 games up on the Atlanta Braves in the NL East.

    We’ll start with Pete Alonso, who is now the Mets’ single-season RBI king with 128 RBIs this season, which matches Aaron Judge for the best mark in baseball. He is also the Mets’ hottest hitter this week, racking up a whopping 13 RBIs this week—five in yesterday’s game alone. His 259 wRC+ this week in 27 plate appearances leads the team for the week. Not only does he lead the team in home runs with four, he is the only Met to hit more than one home run this week period. Oh, and he leads the team in runs scored (9) and walks (3) as well. Talk about heating up at just the right time.

    Just about the only category where Alonso is not the team leader for the week is hits, where Francisco Lindor has the team lead with eleven—the only double-digit mark for the week in that department. And Lindor is second only to Alonso in just about everything else—wRC+ (223), runs scored (7), and RBIs (9). Lindor was a huge part of the Mets winning the Brewers series, going a combined 4-for-8 in Monday and Tuesday’s victories, including a triple in Monday’s game and a grand slam on Tuesday. Although much was made of Alonso’s RBI record, Lindor reached 100 RBIs this week, which is a career-best mark for him. Put simply, the Mets’ heavy hitters in Alonso and Lindor got the job done this week.

    So did Brandon Nimmo out of the leadoff spot, posting a 169 wRC+ over 20 plate appearances this week. He collected six hits and shares the team lead with Alonso in walks with three. He also scored six runs, drove in two runs, and stole a base as well. Nimmo left Wednesday’s game against the Brewers early with some tightness in his quad, but luckily he seemed to catch the issue early and it did not necessitate a trip to the injured list, although he did get an extra day off. With Starling Marte working his way back, but still sidelined, the Mets are going to need health and production out of their other outfielders as they head into their crucial (and potentially division-deciding) series with the Braves.

    Which is why it’s good news that Mark Canha picked it up this week, putting up a 165 wRC+ this week over 26 plate appearances. He collected six hits, four of which went for extra bases and scored five runs. With Marte still out and Nimmo missing a couple of days last week, Canha was shuffled around in the order and in the field and he delivered.

    Jeff McNeil, too, has been moved up in the order. McNeil got his hits as usual—seven of them—but only one of them went for extra bases, good for an 87 wRC+ for the week over 28 plate appearances. McNeil walked twice, scored four runs, and knocked in one run this week. McNeil had an especially big game in Friday night’s series opener against the A’s, going 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored. Despite his tumble in the outfield in Oakland, McNeil also continues to play sparkling defense, which he showed off in yesterday’s game at second base.

    Speaking of sparkling defense, Luis Guillorme notched one hit and one walk in ten plate appearances this week. That one hit was a pinch hit RBI single in yesterday’s game, in which he was also able to show off his skills in the field in limited playing time.

    Eduardo Escobar may not be quite as hot as he was before, but his productive September continues. Despite posting an even 100 wRC+ over 26 plate appearances, his six RBIs for the week trail only Alonso and Lindor for the team lead. Escobar had one home run this week and it was a big one for him: the first grand slam of his career (somehow). Escobar logged six hits in total, walked twice, and scored two runs.

    Somehow the milestones don’t stop with Alonso, Lindor, and Escobar. Mark Vientos hit his first major league home run this week in Saturday’s game—one of the few silver linings in that contest. After a rough first couple of weeks in the big leagues, Vientos is showing signs of life; he posted a very impressive 199 wRC+ in 14 plate appearances this week. Vientos rounds out the trio of Mets who share the team lead in walks with three and he collected three hits in total and drove in three runs.

    Daniel Vogelbach has continued hitting after he finally heated up again last week. But, the Mets faced a lot of left-handed pitching this week, which meant that Vientos and Darin Ruf got the bulk of the playing time instead of Vogelbach. In nine plate appearances this week, Vogelbach collected two hits—one of them for extra bases—and two walks. He also drove in a run.

    Speaking of Darin Ruf, well, you could say it’s...rough. His 58 wRC+ in 16 plate appearances this week wasn’t quite poop emoji territory, but he’s still well down the road to becoming unplayable. What’s worse is that Marte’s continued absence and Nimmo being sidelined a couple of games this week meant that Ruf got some innings in the outfield and it did not go well. A DH-only player who is in a platoon who isn’t hitting is not really a great use of a roster spot and Ruf is quickly becoming an anchor on the Mets’ ship.

    Due in part to Ruf’s struggles in the outfield, Tyler Naquin got a lot of playing time this week, even against left-handed pitching. And he fared okay, posting an 89 wRC+ over 15 plate appearances this week. He notched four hits, half of which went for extra bases. He scored three runs and drove in two runs.

    The lightning in a bottle of the Mets catchers hitting has sadly come to an end. James McCann went hitless in eight plate appearances this week, although he did walk once and score a run. Meanwhile, Tomás Nido, who got the bulk of the playing time this week, posted a 23 wRC+ in 16 plate appearances this week. He had just three hits; he drove in a run and scored a run.

    Terrance Gore played in two games this week and had one plate appearance in which he reached base via a weird dropped popup on the A’s infield. Gore also had the rare experience of playing in the field, coming in for defense in yesterday’s blowout, and he made a nice diving catch in center field.