Mets are MLB's worst-hitting team against fastballs amid 12 game losing streak originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The New York Mets are off to a very poor start to the 2026 MLB season, with the worst record in baseball, thanks to a brutal 12-game losing streak.
It's an incomprehensible start to the year for the Mets, a team widely viewed as one of the top World Series contenders during the preseason. While it's hard to believe, there is a simple reason why the Mets are struggling so much this season.
As ESPN's Buster Olney highlighted, the Mets rank last in Major League Baseball among teams when it comes to their hitters getting hits off fastballs. MLB's simplest pitch is giving the Mets some issues this year.
"30. That's the ranking of the Mets' offensive production against fastballs," Olney writes. "...So far this season, the Mets have a .640 OPS vs. fastballs (four-seamers, two-seamers, cutters), which ranks last in the Majors."
The Mets are a terrible 7-16 on the season, which is a stark contrast from their 7-4 record at one point earlier this year. Their struggles have been a massive storyline this year.
And one of the main reasons why this team is struggling so much is their struggles against fastballs. A .640 OPS is below average, and the Mets are hitting that collectively as a team against fastballs.
If this were their production against off-speed, it might be a little more understandable. But the Mets cannot catch up to faster pitching this season. That's a huge issue.
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Olney further highlighted the issues with the Mets, as the team ranks 30th in MLB in run value on pitches thrown at 97 mph or greater.
Teams can pound the strike zone against the Mets hitters with fastballs and not worry about being punished like many other teams have been able to do.
While there are plenty of problems with the Mets, including Devin Williams, the biggest issue for the Mets is their offense. And one of the underlying reasons for the offensive struggles is their struggles to hit fastballs.
To catch up in the NL East and to the postseason field, the Mets will need to begin catching up to fastballs this season.
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