Early Surprises for the Mets: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The New York Mets are in freefall, but looking under the hood, the situation is more complex than just wins and losses. Some Mets have gotten off to great starts. Other have struggled or have been downright atrocious.

Which players have performed, which haven't, and why?

The Good: Francisco Alvarez, Clay Holmes, and Huascar Brazobán

I will continue to sing the praises of starting catcher Francisco Alvarez, who is supplying some much-needed juice to the Mets batting order. Alvarez's four home runs are twice the amount of any other Mets hitter to date. However, with just five RBIs to his name, it might be time for manager Carlos Mendoza to move Alvarez up in the lineup - he usually bats 6th in the order - to see him drive in more baserunners.

Meanwhile, Clay Holmes has come out of the gates firing in the 2026 season. Holmes has partnered with Nolan McLean as the two most effective starting pitchers in the Mets rotation thus far, with an outstanding 1.96 ERA across 23 full innings of work across four starts. He's been excellent at getting opposing batters to chase his off-speed pitches (a sweeper, a changeup, and a curveball) outside of the strike zone, and continues to transform his reputation from hot-and-cold closer in the Bronx into rock-solid starter in Queens.

Clay Holmes, Wicked 82mph Sweeper....and Sword. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/pRtYvThUmr
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 5, 2026

The last notable standout I'd like to highlight is Huascar Brazobán. The hard-throwing 36-year-old righty reliever has only gotten better with age, and has slowly but surely established himself as a core piece of the Mets bullpen since he was acquired from the Miami Marlins via trade at the 2024 deadline. He hasn't surrendered a run through nine innings of relief, recording a strong 8:2 K:BB ratio in the process.

The Bad: Francisco Lindor and Luke Weaver

New York Mets star shortstop and leadoff hitter Francisco Lindor is swinging a cold bat right now. His decent walk rate (10.1%) is roughly in line with what we can expect from Lindor, but he simply isn't squaring up pitches and finding the sweet spot on the bat. His All-Star caliber process at the plate hasn't changed for Lindor, but the results have. Baseball can be cruel sometimes. I think he'll be fine.

"It's going to get loud. It's going to get very loud. And ultimately, everyone here knows it and we've just got to stick together and stay within ourselves and fight, fight."

Francisco Lindor was asked how the Mets can make sure their losing streak does affect the team mentally: pic.twitter.com/7YLdskKMQy
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 19, 2026

I'm more concerned about Luke Weaver. While the movement profile on his three-pitch repotoire (4-seam fastball, changeup, and cutter) hasn't changed, in the early going of this season, the hitters he's faced have adjusted. They're no longer swinging and missing at nearly the same rate as they were during Weaver's two full seasons of stellar high-leverage relief pitching with the New York Yankees.

His pitch velocity is also a tick down across the board from where it's usually been. All of this is reflective in Weaver's 6.23 ERA and 4:3 K:BB ratio through 8.2 innings. However, his 4.75 FIP and 1.04 WHIP provide causes for relative optimism that he'll return to form sometime soon.

The Ugly: Brett Baty, Bo Bichette, and Kodai Senga

To put it simply, when a team brings in a career plus hitter with the skillset of an all-around star infielder on a contract worth $126 million, they expect a slash line better than .217/.255/.283. Bo Bichette has caught the ire of Mets fans far and wide for his uncharacteristic struggles at the plate. Yes, it's only April, and yes, getting adjusted to a new home in a new city takes time, but the organization is counting on (and paying a fortune for) Bichette to produce at the plate. If the Mets are to turn the season around before it spirals out of control, Bichette needs to figure it out.

Bo Bichette feels that the Mets ran into some bad luck during today's loss to the A's

On the offense overall: "This team is really talented. We're going to score runs. Everybody needs to have better at-bats and compete better. We'll be alright." pic.twitter.com/Shw7M42rH1
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 12, 2026

I was among many observers who saw Brett Baty as a likely candidate for a 2026 breakout. Instead, Baty's gradual improvement over his first 600 plate appearances as a New York Mets farm system graduate has evaporated. Baty's abysmal .200/.206/.483 slash line is punctuated by the fact that manager Carlos Mendoza can't seem to find a natural position in the field for him.

He has looked out of place everywhere the coaching staff has tried to use him, apart from his natural position at third base. However, with the gloves of Bichette and Lindor locked in on the left side of the Mets' infield, it seems inevitable that Baty will continue to play out of position.

Finally, Kodai Senga's hamstring injury from last June, sustained at Citi Field against the Washington Nationals, is threatening to derail his MLB career. This is no exaggeration; before picking up that injury, Senga was leading the majors with a 1.47 ERA across 13 starts. However, since his return to the mound in July of 2025, Senga hasn't been the same pitcher.

In 2026 thus far, through 4 starts, Senga has the highest ERA of any Mets pitcher (8.83), and apart from generating swings and misses, absolutely nothing has worked. His spot in the team's starting rotation is now in considerable doubt.

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