31-year old lefty starting pitcher Johan Santana has been electric so far this season. He has started 5 games for the Mets so far this year and he is 3-1 with a 2.08 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. He has only given up 25 hits in 30 1/3 innings while whiffing 28 batters this season showing that his stuff is coming back. With a lot of the key hitters still out due to injury the Mets can’t afford to give up many runs in games and when Santana is out on the mound, they don’t. The Mets can’t afford to have Santana break down at any point this season because he is the anchor of the pitching staff without a doubt.

After starting the season at a disappointing 4-8, the New York Mets finally woke up and have gone 9-1 during their 10-game home stand.  They are currently on a 7-game winning streak and the Mets pitching staff deserves most of the credit.  During their current 7-game win streak, they have been giving up less than 2 runs per game and have 3 shutouts.  Mike Pelfrey has been the Mets best pitcher so far this season, with 0.69 ERA and a 4-0 record so far.  He has given up zero runs in his last four starts.  Johan Santana has also been pitching very well for the Mets this season, especially in his last three starts where he has given up just 1 earned run and has struck out 20 batters in 19.1 innings pitched.  Francisco Rodriguez has been doing a great job as their closer, with 3 saves and a 0.93 ERA.  Although the pitching has been doing most of the work for the Mets, the bats have start to come alive.  Jason Bay, who was a great acquisition for the Mets this year, is hitting .400 with 5 RBIs during his current six-game hitting streak.  Jeff Francoeur has been the Mets best hitter so far this season with a .278 BA, 3 HRs, and 12 RBIs.  If not for a small five-game slump against the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs, he would be atop the league in average and RBIs.  David Wright also has a very hot bat right now, with 6 hits and 4 RBIs in his last three games.  The Mets are hitting their midseason stride already, and they are the best team in baseball right now.

Who has been the best hitter on the Mets so far? Jason Bay? David Wright? Jose Reyes? Nope. It’s Jeff Francoeur. Francoeur has played in 19 games for the Mets so far this season and he is 20 for 70 (.286 avg, .864 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 3 homers and 10 RBIs. Despite his utter lack of discipline it seems as if Francoeur likes New York. He played in 75 games for the Mets after he was traded to them last season and he was 90 of 289 (.311 avg, .836 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 10 homers and 41 RBIs. The Braves might wish they never traded Francoeur to the division rival New York Mets down the road.

The Mets are 4-8 on the season which has them in last place in the N.L. East, 4 games behind the Phillies. The Mets have only been outscored 49-48 this season. They just aren’t hitting the baseball and they are wasting a lot of solid pitching so far this season. They have 7 games at home this weekend playing 4 against the Cubs followed by 3 against the Braves over the weekend. Hopefully the Mets can get there bats going and start winning some games.

26-year old righty starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey has been outstanding for the Mets so far this season. He has pitched in 3 games (2 starts) this season and he is 2-0 with 1 save, a 1.29 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. He has only given up 10 hits in 14 innings this season while whiffing 10 batters. Pelfrey saved the 20-inning win over the Cardinals on Saturday but he’s locked into the starting rotation where the Mets need him to continue pitching well as he has half of the Mets’ wins this season while saving another one.