Through 20 innings, the Mets have only scored in two of them. Most of their runs have been scored when Eric O’Flaherty took the mound on Opening Day. As the Mets don’t get to face the O’Flahertys of the world 162 games in a season, some doubt can begin to creep into fans minds about this offense. 

With 160 games left on the schedule, it is way too soon to panic. And yet . . . .

There are some obvious flaws with this offense. Notably, this is not a team that gets on base.  This is important because getting on base is usually a prerequisite for scoring a run. Here are the OBP for the Mets lineup over the past three seasons:

1. Jose Reyes .321
2. Asdrubal Cabrera .319
3. Yoenis Cespedes .326
4. Curtis Granderson .342
5. Neil Walker .338
6. Jay Bruce .295
7. Lucas Duda .344
8. Travis d’Arnaud .314

According to Baseball Reference, the major league average OBP last year was .322. This means half of the Mets lineup is under the league average. Now matter how you may try to justify it, that’s not good. 

Now, there are some caveats to the above-listed OBPs. Since joining the Mets, Cespedes has a .348 OBP. Since being reunited with Kevin Long, Granderson’s is .350. Cabrera (.339) and Walker (.346) have each seen similar upticks working with Long. 

It’s a small sample size, but Bruce has certainly looked like an improved hitter this season. Surprisingly, we drew three walks on Opening Day.  

Duda’s OBP is skewed due to an injury plagued year last year. Eliminate last year, and Duda has a .350 OBP. Skewing in the opposite direction, d’Arnaud had a .340 OBP in 2015. 

Point is that while there are red flags all around this offense, there is still reason to believe this team can start clicking offensively. It’s a long season which gives the Mets a long time to figure things out. 

Still, we need to keep in the back of our minds, there’s a reason the Mets players have put up poor OBPs over the course of the prior three seasons. 

Overall, this means Kevin Long, Pat Roessler, and the entire Mets team have their work cut out for them. If they don’t address this OBP issue, the Mets are going to struggle offensively like they did in much of 2015 and 2016. 

If they do address the issue, the Mets will have quite the formidable offense.  It’ll be one that can carry you to the postseason. It could be one that brings home a World Series. 

But that’s getting ahead of ourselves. Before getting to the World Series, the Mets need to focus on getting to first base. As we see that may be easier said than done.