A Lineup Change Coming?
One of the surprises from this road trip is how much the Mets offense struggled at times. They scored over four runs only once in 11 games, getting shutout twice along the way as well. While Petco Park and Dodgers Stadium aren’t the easiest places to score, Coors Field is. Yet, the Mets offense was nonexistent in Colorado.
The Mets managed to scratch across only nine runs in three games in Coors Field this season after scoring 33 runs there in three games last season. It was disappointing to see them not hit Jon Gray and Eddie Butler in the first two games of the series, as the two own ERA’s of 7.47 and 6.14 at Coors Field on the season.
There were hopes that playing in Coors Field would wake the Mets’ bats up a little bit, but they stayed dormant there as they were during the road trip. As a result, there were some questions being raised about whether a change would be made to the lineup, specifically David Wright in the two-hole.
Wright has been striking out at an alarming rate this season, getting punched out 44 times in 109 at-bats. That has caused some people to ask if he would be moved down in the order, but it is difficult to justify that as he heads the team with a .373 on-base percentage. But, Wright will have to cut down on the strikeouts if he wants to stay near the top of the order.
Another person to keep an eye on is Curtis Granderson. The Mets do not have a quintessential leadoff man, but Granderson filled the role well last season. This season it has been a struggle, as he is not walking at the same rate he did last season and he too is striking out too much. He currently owns a batting average of .200 and on-base percentage of .287, so he could be a candidate to be moved down if things don’t improve soon as well.
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With the top-two players in the order struggling, it is having a direct impact on the rest of the lineup. The middle of the order cannot knock people in if there is no one to be knocked in ahead of them.