Mets Player Performance Meter: Position Players, August 17-30

The Mets’ little post-trade deadline dead cat bounce has come to an end over the past couple of weeks. They have lost three straight series and outside of one double-digit run total against the White Sox, have struggled to score runs during this two-week stretch. Just on its face, having two fireballs and no poop emojis on the previous meter and having no fireballs and two poop emojis on this meter is not a good trend. But the good news is that Juan Soto has returned from the injured list and we at least

have gotten a taste of Soto and Francisco Lindor in the same lineup.

Player	Last week	This week
Francisco Alvarez, C
Brett Baty, UTIL
Carson Benge, OF
Bo Bichette, 3B
A.J. Ewing, OF
Francisco Lindor, SS
Christopher Morel, 1B/DH	—
Cristian Pache, OF
Jorge Polanco, DH
Luis Robert Jr., OF
Marcus Semien, 2B
Juan Soto, OF
Luis Torrens, C
Eric Wagaman, 1B/DH
Jared Young, 1B/DH

We’ll start with a brief discussion of Juan Soto, who only has 8 plate appearances since returning from the IL. In a lost season, he will be eased back in with copious off days (such as tonight’s game) built into his schedule and lots of DHing. But the good news is that he doesn’t seem to have lost a step at the plate, despite not doing a rehab assignment. He has two hits, including a home run, in his eight plate appearances. When the Mets activated Soto, they optioned Eric Wagaman to Triple-A. Wagaman had one hit, a run scored, and an RBI in five plate appearances.

That home run came back-to-back with a home run by Francisco Lindor—a moment illustrating how nice it is to have them both in the same lineup, which has unfortunately been a rare occurrence in 2026. Overall though, Lindor has been struggling of late. He holds a 59 wRC+ over 51 plate appearances in the past 12 games. He does lead the team in runs scored with seven and he has gone deep twice, representing two of his eight hits. He has also walked four times and driven in two runs, but he has struck out ten times.

Lindor does not lead the team in strikeouts though. That unfortunate distinction belongs to A.J. Ewing, who is mired in a horrific slump. Ewing hit a double in yesterday’s game, which was notable because it was his only extra base hit over this entire two-week stretch. Even more shocking than his 7 wRC+ over his past 50 plate appearances, Ewing hasn’t driven in a run in the entire month of August. There are two things Ewing is doing even when he isn’t hitting much: stealing bases and playing good defense. He has swiped six bags in the past two weeks—far more than anyone else on the team.

Francisco Alvarez is the other player to be slapped with a poop emoji for this meter. Like Ewing, he has racked up 15 strikeouts over the past two weeks, but they have come in fewer plate appearances such that he is running a K rate of almost 50% in the past two weeks. Not good! Alvarez has just three hits—a double and two singles—in 33 plate appearances, good for a putrid -21 wRC+. Prior to this two-week stretch, he was at least drawing a lot of walks. That seems to have gone away as well; he has walked just twice in his past 10 games. He has driven in three runs and not scored any.

Tales will surely be told of the Month of Luis Torrens, though. After a torrid first half of the month, Torrens has evened out to a more reasonable but still quite solid 128 wRC+ in his past 19 plate appearances. Of his five hits, two were home runs, as his power surge continues. Those two long balls represent both of his runs scored.

As Juan Soto returned from the injured list, Jorge Polanco went back on the injured list, this time for good. Polanco had surgery to address his chronic ankle bursitis, ending his season. This paved the way for more playing time for Christopher Morel, who has put up a 52 wRC+ in his first 13 plate appearances. He has notched two hits (both singles), two walks, and a run batted in.

Jared Young has seen the lion’s share of the first base at-bats and deservedly so, but his production has fallen off a bit to the tune of a 74 wRC+ in his past 42 plate appearances. He is one of only three Mets with a double-digit hit total over the past two weeks, though. He has driven in six runs, which is tied for the team lead, and scored five runs.

Marcus Semien is another Met with a double-digit hit total in the past 12 games. But all 12 of his hits are singles—good for a so-so 95 wRC+. Despite 12 hits and five walks—a .370 on-base percentage—he hasn’t done much in the way of run production, scoring only one run and driving in two.

The Mets’ leader in hits over the past two weeks is Carson Benge as he makes his NL Rookie of the Year push. Of Benge’s 15 hits, four went for extra bases, including two home runs. He put up a 128 wRC+ in his past 49 plate appearances. In addition to scoring six runs and driving in five runs, Benge continues to play excellent outfield defense (particularly when it comes to gunning down runners on the base paths) alongside his fellow rookie psychopath.

However, one could make an argument that the Mets’ best hitter over the past 12 games has been Luis Robert Jr., who had been playing in left field most days with Juan Soto doing DH duty and Ewing getting most of the reps in center. Robert’s six RBIs match Young for the team lead and he also leads the team in home runs (4) and walks (6). He has posted a 157 wRC+ in 43 plate appearances over the past two weeks. Robert got hot at the right time because after trying to trade him at the deadline and not finding a suitor, the Mets placed him on waivers and the Orioles—desperate for an outfield bat for their stretch run—have claimed him.

Reduced to a part-time role, Brett Baty has quietly had a solid two-week stretch, putting up a 158 wRC+ in 24 plate appearances. Of his eight hits, three went for extra bases (all doubles). He scored a run, drove in two runs, and walked twice.

Bo Bichette posted a 95 wRC+ in 46 plate appearances, which identical to the mark of Semien, but Bichette got to it by logging fewer hits, but more extra-base hits. In fact, more than half of Bichette’s nine hits went for extra bases, including two home runs. He has scored four runs, driven in four runs. He has walked three times and struck out eight times in his past 11 games. He missed one game because he fouled a ball off his ankle, but luckily X-rays were negative and he did not end up needing an IL stint.

Cristian Pache has been serving as the last man off the bench, mostly as a defensive replacement and pinch runner. He has appeared in four games in the past two weeks, but has just one plate appearance in which he did not reach base.