3 Mets most responsible for measuring stick series win versus the Braves

It’s not always easy to remember that the baseball season goes on for a long time, especially when your team goes winless in its first five games. The New York Mets got off to such a horrific start in the season’s first week that many fans were already jumping ship, especially after a ho-hum offseason that was bereft of splashy moves did little to drum up excitement.

Don’t look now, but the Mets have climbed most of the way out of their self-dug hole, and their latest couple of wins were their most impressive yet. New York has been beaten down so relentlessly by the Atlanta Braves in recent years that no Mets fan in their right mind (are there any of those left at this point?) expected anything but more despair and humiliation from what was supposed to be a four-game set at Truist Park.

Rain wreaked havoc with the series, causing multiple delays and forcing the postponement of one game, but the Mets’ bats provided the real deluge, as they rained down 29 runs on the Braves’ pitching staff in three games. Thursday’s game was shocking in its ferocity, as the Mets hit early and never stopped, pouring it on for 16 (!) runs.

Most players on the roster contributed in one way or another, but there are three that deserve special recognition. Let’s take a look at all three before the Mets head home for a 2015 World Series rematch with the Royals.

1) Brandon Nimmo went nuclear after a slow first week

Mets fans spent much of the season’s first week being nervous about Brandon Nimmo. The lifelong Met is only a year into an eight-year, $162 million contract, but he was moved to left field after the team added Harrison Bader, a superior defensive center fielder, this offseason. Nimmo also started the season cold at the plate, which is not what you want from your highly-paid leadoff hitter.

Nimmo took any worries about his performance and smashed them to bits this week, because he went absolutely nuts on the Braves. He was the MVP of the first game of this series, going 4-4 with two homers and five RBIs, and he went 3-10 in the next two games, which included a double and a triple on Thursday.

Nimmo isn’t known as a power hitter, but he looked so balanced and locked in on Monday that it was no surprise when his second homer sailed over the right field wall. This is the Nimmo the Mets thought they were getting when they signed him to that huge contract, and this is the Nimmo the Mets need if they hope to make a playoff push this year.

2) DJ Stewart is starting to make the most of his time as Mets DH

Most Mets fans are anxiously awaiting the arrival of JD Martinez to fill the designated hitter role, though the veteran slugger’s ramp-up since signing with the team three weeks ago has been a painfully slow process. In the meantime, DJ Stewart has spent some time in the role, but before arriving in Atlanta this week, he was hitless in 10 at-bats.

That all changed in this series, and after crushing a homer in each of the Mets’ two wins, the left-handed-hitting Stewart is suddenly making a case to continue getting at-bats against righties, even after Martinez joins the team. Mets beat writer Anthony DiComo wrote a story about Stewart’s breakthrough, and he quoted the big lefty as saying, “It’s a little bit of that weight off your shoulders” to finally come through after his slow start.

Stewart came out of nowhere to become one of the Mets’ few bright spots in the second half of 2023, but it’s a very real possibility that he could be sent to the minors once Martinez is ready to go. If he keeps hitting like this, he could make it impossible for the Mets to send him down.

3) Brett Baty has leveled up in his second full season

One of the major questions the Mets faced this offseason was what to do at third base. Brett Baty faltered as last year went along, and it seemed likely that he had lost the job to either Ronny Mauricio or a free agent such as Matt Chapman or Justin Turner.

A lucky confluence of events gave Baty a second chance. Mauricio tore his ACL in February, and new president of baseball operations David Stearns opted not to splurge on a free agent as the Mets took a more conservative financial approach.

Maybe it’s the Mets who got lucky, because Baty has looked like a completely different player. He’s become a really difficult out, and he’s capitalizing any time an opposing pitcher makes a mistake. He went 5-14 against the Braves, and he even flashed the leather a few times defensively.

Even more importantly, he’s having fun again after a year in which the stress of being given a starting role clearly wore on him. Baty caught a laser beam off the bat of Ronald Acuna Jr. to end the third inning, and he remained crouched in a playful pose with a huge smile on his face as the Mets infield headed to the dugout. He also made an incredible play that had shades of Nolan Arenado in the sixth, as he went into foul territory to snag a grounder over the third base bag and fire it to first. Ozzie Albies was ruled just safe after review, but the fact that Baty made the play and just missed throwing out someone with good speed was incredible all on its own.

Unlike Nimmo and Stewart, Baty has looked good all year, and he’s now hitting .311 with a .732 OPS. If he really is making a breakthrough to become a franchise third baseman, it would have a far-reaching impact on the Mets’ odds, both this year and in the next half-decade.

The Royals have been one of baseball’s most surprising teams in jetting to a 9-4 start. This upcoming series will be another good litmus test as the Mets try to claw back to .500, and a good sign of the maturity of this team if they can avoid a letdown after taking two of three from their division rival. If Nimmo, Stewart, and Baty keep up their recent play, the Mets should be just fine.

This article was originally published on risingapple.com as 3 Mets most responsible for measuring stick series win versus the Braves.