Haven't written a full-length article in a while, but this felt pertinent with recent crescendos of batted-ball "luck" discourse & Jeff McNeil's .426/.450/.670 latest 100 PAs.
A deep dive on why hitting skill is so difficult to measure! 🐿️
#LGM
https://t.co/cW206WPijq
Don’t look too hard too early, but Bo Bichette is a cool 81st percentile in outs above average at 3rd base to start the season.
His maximum throw velocity of 88.6 MPH has already far eclipsed his hardest throw of 2025 (86.3 MPH).
An optimist might say he could continue to improve at his new position as the season progresses!
🎯
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Nolan McLean is meeting expectations.
🤠Elite run prevention
🤠Elite quality of contact allowed
🤠Keeping ball on the ground
McLean is generating Ks not through chases or swings & misses, but through called strikes. When he pitches, batters simply don’t want to swing.
#LGM
Is Francisco Lindor one of the streakiest hitters in Mets history?
Less than a month ago, Lindor was in his worst slump since May 2021. Now, he’s on the hottest burner of his Mets career!
🚪
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This is what a “ground ball pitcher” looks like!
Clay Holmes is at 65.7% GB through 2 games, which is 90th percentile in 2026, but amazingly wouldn’t even be the best of his career over a full season (he eclipsed that number 3 straight years from 2021-2023).
All 6 of his pitches are moving with significantly more vertical drop - for some pitches, nearly 10 inches - than “expected” for batters based on MLB averages.
It’s all working for Holmes, who is coming off just his second 7.0 IP outing of his Mets career in his second start of 2026!
👨🎨
#LGM
Nolan McLean’s pitch movement profile thus far.
His curveball (blue) is breaking by nearly double the MLB average in horizontal inches. His sweeper (yellow) isn’t far off.
The vertical gap between his 4 seamer (red) and his curve is averaging 30.3 (!) inches.
🤠
#LGM