{"id":3203,"date":"2019-08-26T13:58:53","date_gmt":"2019-08-26T17:58:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ceetar.com\/optimisticmetsfan\/?p=3203"},"modified":"2019-08-26T13:58:58","modified_gmt":"2019-08-26T17:58:58","slug":"hitting-mets-pitchers-incredible-the","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ceetar.com\/optimisticmetsfan\/2019\/08\/26\/hitting-mets-pitchers-incredible-the\/","title":{"rendered":"The Incredible Hitting Mets Pitchers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I\u2019ve pretty much come around on DH for all over the years. I\u2019d prefer pitcher\u2019s bat but it just seems that no one really takes it seriously, so let\u2019s get a batter that\u2019s actually trying. It seems like a farce most of the time. Plus David Wright may have been able to extend his career if it was DH only a few years ago, and the juiced ball would’ve been kind to Wright’s hitting profile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So it came as somewhat of a shock to see just how well the Mets are doing as pitchers at-bat this season. I don\u2019t know if this is a quirk of the Mets pitchers just being really super athletic and good, or if there is some extra batting practice going on, but they\u2019re really doing quite well. 
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Mets pitchers as a group have 1.7 fWAR, which is way more than the second place Dodgers at 0.5 fWAR. That\u2019s a not-insignificant contribution from the Mets pitchers at the plate. They are the only NL club with a positive wRC+, at 32, which means they are 32% of an average MLB hitter, which is probably way better than you think a typical pitcher is. Jacob deGrom and Zack Wheeler are at 0.6 fWAR each, or more than every other team\u2019s entire rotation. 
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The Diamondbacks have five home runs, though only a 0.1 fWAR overall, from their pitchers, the Brewers have two, and the Mets have six. This means that only one other team has more pitcher home runs than Noah Syndergaard or deGrom. 
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Thor in particular is swinging for the fences. He\u2019s got three singles, 1 double, and 2 home runs. The average distance of his contact is 225ft, which is 50 ft further than Jon Lester, who\u2019s second, minimum 10 results. Lester and the Cubs do edge the Mets slightly in average exit velocity, 78.6 mph to 77.8.
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There have been 23 plays by pitchers classified by Statcast as Barrels, or ideal contact, and the Mets have six of them. Syndergaard has three, Zack Greinke actually has five himself for the lead, and Madison Bumgartner is the other pitcher with more than one, with two. Greinke with three home runs is the only non-Mets pitcher with more than one. 
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Mets pitchers can swing some wood! Who knew!
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Special shoutout to Stephen Matz, the fourth guy who\u2019s contributing value here. Stephen Matz also is the fastest pitcher in baseball, as far as Statcast can be trusted in measuring something that\u2019s fairly small sample. 28.9 ft\/s puts him in the top 8% of the league, or 53rd. That\u2019s also 5th for 28 year olds. Statcast doesn\u2019t really put the pitcher\u2019s on the leaderboards, but of the Mets position players, only Amed Rosario at 29.2 ft\/s is faster. 
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Something to keep in mind if the Mets are looking for late-game pinch runners for the playoff run or postseason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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