Things haven’t gone well for the New York Mets so far this season but there have been some positives too. Pete Alonso is leading the team again with 26 home runs, a total that earned him a trip to the All-Star Game, while Kodai Senga also earned his way to Seattle by posting a tremendous first half that saw him go 7-5 with a 3.31 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 89.2 innings pitched. Brandon Nimmo is also living up to his huge new contract with a career-best power pace but the Mets’ most valuable player in the first half has been shortstop Francisco Lindor.
A much-maligned target for fan criticism thanks to his $341 million contract, Lindor did some incredible offensive work for the Mets in the first half. Lindor’s 19 home runs and 60 RBIs are second on the team to Alonso in both categories but are among the top two for all shortstops in baseball. The Mets have also benefitted from another strong defensive year from Lindor, who was snubbed from the All-Star Game as players inexplicably voted for both Danbsy Swanson and Geraldo Perdomo to get a nod ahead of him.
Lindor’s .239 batting average may not look pretty but his .798 OPS is higher now than his mark for the entire 2022 season (.788). Another area where Lindor has performed well is in WAR, where his 3.5 is on pace to match his 2022 total of 5.4, which was also in line with his top years in Cleveland. Things have trended much better for Lindor since the birth of his second child, allowing him to relax more at the plate and get into an offensive groove that helped carry the Mets towards the end of the first half. There is still a ton of work to do for the Mets in the second half but Lindor’s performance has been huge for them thus far.
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