Mets Need Martinez & Winker To Bounce Back

While the Mets’ offense has run into the occasional rough patch during the final stretch of the regular season, they have largely performed as one of the best units in baseball since the beginning of September. The team has tied for the sixth-most home runs (29) while posting the ninth-best wRC+ (107) and OPS (.726) over that period, and they’ve done so while receiving little production from two key pieces of their lineup.

J.D. Martinez and Jesse Winker have both enjoyed standout moments in their brief Mets careers, but neither has played up to par during the most consequential moments of the team’s playoff push.

Martinez’s recent struggles have been well-documented. He’s currently mired in an 0-for-32 rut, with his most recent hit coming on Sept. 9 against the Toronto Blue Jays. Furthermore, Martinez’s last home run was on Aug. 30 versus the Chicago White Sox, and he hasn’t recorded an extra-base knock since Sept. 7 against the Cincinnati Reds.

Interestingly enough, his strikeout rate has dropped to 26.0% in September, which is down several points from where it sat in the first half of the year. Martinez’s walk rate has remained in a strong spot as well at 10.0%, and he’s continued to make solid contact rather consistently while not pounding the ball into the ground at an elevated pace either. He’s due to break out of his slump, and the Mets need him to do so immediately in order to clinch their spot in the postseason.

In Winker’s case, he’s followed up a superb August (.865 OPS) by completely disappearing this month as he’s currently sporting a slash line of .075/.245/.150 over 49 plate appearances. His only extra-base hit and RBIs came when he clubbed a grand slam off Tanner Houck and the Boston Red Sox on Sept. 4.

Similar to Martinez, Winker has still managed to walk at an impressive rate (14.3%), and he also isn’t going down on strikes super often (18.4%). With that being said, his complete lack of power and production isn’t going to fly for New York, especially on a club that is short on left-handed batters.

Martinez and Winker are both proven MLB hitters who can easily flip a switch and catch fire over the final five games of the season, which may represent the push the Mets need in order to reach October. They play a huge part in the flow and fruitfulness of the offense, however, and have yet to show up when the team has needed them this month.

The post Mets Need Martinez & Winker To Bounce Back appeared first on Metsmerized Online.