Francisco Lindor closed a brutal first month as a Met with a .189 batting average, a .542 OPS and a lot of boos from the home fans.
After signing a record $341 million contract extension just before Opening Day, Mets fans were hoping to cheer on their next face of the franchise. Instead, Lindor has continued to struggle. So far in May, he is hitting an even .200 with two home runs in 70 at-bats, far from the superstar production he put up during his time in Cleveland.
Keith Hernandez, who has watched Lindor nightly as part of the SNY broadcast crew, has seen some improvements for Lindor at the plate, but not enough to pull himself back toward his star potential.
"I think in April he was certainly pressing," Hernandez said while joining Carton & Roberts on the show's debut simulcast on SNY. "I've seen in May now, he's certainly very frustrated. He looks better at the plate, but he has a long swing and he's not getting the ball squared up. He's having difficulty with the breaking ball, and when he does hit the ball hard, it seems to find someone."
Hernandez's assessment is certainly backed up by the numbers. During the month of May, Lindor is swinging and missing at 43.9 percent of breaking balls, compared to 23.1 percent in April. Like Hernandez said, Lindor has struggled to square up the baseball, with his hard hit rate identical to his April mark, and he is striking out at a higher rate. Instead of settling in, Lindor appears to be digging himself a deeper hole, and the Citi Field fans aren't getting any more forgiving.
"It's tough coming to New York," Hernandez said. "When there's great expectations and a monstrous contract."
So, how long until a slow start becomes a lost season? It's still less than two months into the 2021 campaign, but Lindor hasn't shown many signs of breaking out, though Hernandez thinks he should be given more time before calling his debut season with the Mets a bust.
"To me, it's the All-Star break," Hernandez said. "Sometimes guys have a bad first half, and I'm not saying Lindor is going to have a bad first half, but sometimes you get those four days off and you can kind of catch your breath and maybe have a strong finish."
The Mets would love for Lindor to not wait until the All-Star break to get going, especially given how depleted the lineup is right now, but if Lindor finishes the season strong and helps the Mets take the division title, his rough start likely won't be more than an afterthought.
"If you're going to have a bad half of a season, you'd rather finish strong when it counts," Hernandez said.
Follow WFAN's afternoon team on Twitter: @CartonRoberts, @Craigcartonlive, @EvanRobertsWFAN, @TommyLugauer, and @CMacWFAN
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
