Here are five things to watch out for while Mets and San Diego Padres play a three-game series at Citi Field starting Friday night…
2024 Mars Starling looks like the 2022 version
At the plate, the 2024 version of Marte is starting to look a lot like the 2022 version of Marte — who was one of the Mets’ most indispensable offensive contributors.
In 2022, Marte slashed .292/.347/.468 with 16 home runs, 24 doubles, five triples and 18 stolen bases in 118 games — before his season was derailed when he was hit by a pitch in early September.
In 2024, Mars is cutting .286/.337/.433 with seven home runs, eight doubles, two triples and 10 stolen bases in 59 games. In 91 plate appearances over the last 26 games since May 12, he is on a roll, hitting .337/.396/.530.
And Mars’ performance at the base is supported by your advanced numbers via Baseball Savantwith him near the top of the league in xBA, xwOBA, xSLG, average exit velocity, hard hit percentage, and sweet spot percentage.
If the Mets end up running and salvaging their season, Marte will likely be one of the biggest reasons why.
Quintana enters Saturday’s start with a 5.29 ERA (5.24 FIP) and 1.43 WHIP in 66.1 innings over 13 starts.
His strikeout rate (6.0 per nine) is the lowest since his rookie season in 2012, his home run rate (1.5 per nine) is the second-worst of his career, and he has begun to put together a poor performance with an inability to provide length.
Quintana lasted just 3.2 innings against the Philadelphia Phillies in London on June 9, allowing six hits and three runs.
During his previous start, on June 2 against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citi Field, Quintana gave up three runs in 4.0 innings.
If Quintana continues to pitch poorly, the Mets will eventually make a change. But it is not clear whether Christian Scott — whose innings are now being managed at Triple-A Syracuse — would be his replacement. José Butto would be another option.
The performance of José Iglesias and McNeil’s struggles throughout the season caused the once-starting second baseman’s playing time to drop significantly.
Iglesias has played a lot, including against lefties, which means McNeil has only started a handful of games this month.
And when McNeil had chances to start, he didn’t do much at the plate.
The Padres series could represent a chance for him, though, with San Diego slated to start three right-handers.
With the Mets bullpen constantly changing lately, Nunez has come a long way.
The 28-year-old, who is getting his first taste of big league action this season, has a 2.30 ERA (2.32 FIP) and 0.83 WHIP in 15.2 innings over 10 starts.
In those 15.2 innings, he allowed just 10 hits and drew three walks to 24 strikeouts – equating to a rate of 13.8 strikeouts per nine.
Using a combination of fastball and slider, Nunez’s stuff is coming into its own.
His average fastball velocity (96.1 mph) is in the 84th percentile, and his xERA, xBA, average exit velocity, chase percentage, whiff percentage, strikeout percentage, and walk rate are all elite.
The Priests are in the thick of things
San Diego has had an up-and-down season, but the Padres enter this series on a high note – coming off a three-game victory over the woeful Oakland Athletics.
At 37-35, the Padres are currently the second Wild Card seed in the National League, within striking distance of the Atlanta Braves for the top Wild Card spot.
They are dealing with some major injuries, including Xander Bogaerts It is Joe MusgroveIt is Manny Machado He hasn’t had the best year so far (.688 OPS), but his offense has still been dangerous.
Led by Fernando Tatis Jr., Luis ArráezIt is Jurickson ProfarSan Diego has scored 325 runs this season – behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies in the NL.
San Diego also has a closer elite Roberto Suarezwho has a 0.61 ERA and 0.68 WHIP in 28 games this season.
