Which Mets player will post a six-week hot streak?

Or has it already happened?

One of the highlights of my blogging career was the identification of the six-week hot streak, something discovered back in 2018. In rough terms, these hot streaks are around 30 games or 120 PA. They could be 38 games or 99 PA. But this is the ballpark. And it’s amazing how consistent this is from year to year. We’ve seen numerous examples of stiffs pulling off one of these six-week hot streaks. Good players have hot streaks, too. But the key with the stiffs is that they don’t come anywhere close to that ever again.

It’s been pretty common for me to have players on the Mets that are not my favorites. And it’s amazing how many of these players had a six-week hot streak completely out of line with their production before or since. Let’s take a quick review.

In 2012, Ike Davis had a 36-game stretch with 131 PA where he put up .273/.382/.591 line. That’s a .973 OPS. He never had an OPS higher than .742 for the rest of his career.

In 2013, Juan Lagares had a 33-game span with 113 PA where he posted a .340/.384/.524 line. That’s a .908 OPS. Prior to the streak he had a .507 OPS and afterwards in 2013, he had a .545 OPS. And he never approached that offensive level for the remainder of his career.

James Loney went from a 117 OPS+ to a 106 mark and then a 91 OPS+ before joining the Mets in 2016. In his first 15 games with the Mets, he had a .629 OPS. In his final 50 games with the club, Loney had a .600 OPS. But in the 35 games and 138 PA in the middle, he produced a .304/.362/.504 mark for an .866 OPS.

Harrison Bader had a .664 OPS in his first 53 games with the Mets in 2024. In his final 61 games with the club, he recorded a .496 OPS. But in the 29 games and 99 PA in the middle, Bader slashed .301/.323/.570 for an .893 OPS. He had a strong season in 2025 but this year, the 32 year old has a .559 OPS in 107 PA with the Giants.

There are plenty of more examples that can be held up to prove the point.

Now the question is: Can Marcus Semien have a six-week hot streak? Heaven knows we’ve witnessed the terrible part. Semien currently sits with 221 PA and a .571 OPS. It feels like we’re due for a dead-cat bounce. And the follow-up question is: If Semien does put up a stretch like Loney or Bader and the rest – will Carlos Mendoza recognize it for what it is and not play him when the hot streak ends? Unfortunately, we know the answer to that question. Of course, Semien will continue to play.

My hope is that everyone who plays for the Mets excels. The reality is that most will fail to reach that level. You can still help the club while playing at a lower level. But there comes a point where your level of production gets so low that you’re actively hurting the club. Semien is at that level now but he’s hardly alone.

Part of the manager’s job is to acknowledge when continuing to play certain individuals is actively hurting the club. It’s my opinion we’re at that point with Semien. But the sad fact is that there’s no one on the club currently who could be expected to surpass Semien’s terrible offensive production. Maybe when Francisco Lindor returns, that will change. So, it behooves Semien to go on that six-week hot streak before Lindor gets activated.

Another player that we have to be honest with ourselves about is Carson Benge. Yes, Benge is exciting and offers hope for a brighter future for the club. But in the right here, right now – he’s not exactly setting the world on fire.

Benge began the year with a .505 OPS in his first 24 games. In his last eight games, he has a .418 OPS. Yet in the 21 games and 87 PA in the middle, Benge posted a .358/.402/.457 line for an .859 OPS. It was great to see that stretch. But we have to recognize that was mostly about the hits falling in for him. Benge had a .424 BABIP in that span. He had 5 BB and 6 XBH during his hot streak – neither one really driving his improved production.

All of us want Benge to succeed. There’s nothing better than to root for a young, homegrown player. It’s my belief that Benge will be a great Met at some point; I’m just not wagering on that to begin here in 2026. May that 2026 prediction blow up in my face.

However, until it does, we have to consider Benge’s spot as one that could use an upgrade. We have to consider that we saw the hot streak and that’s as good as it gets in 2026. It’s not destined to play out that way, not by any stretch of the imagination. Still, it has to be an outcome that we consider, however unpleasant that thought may be.

Perhaps we have the title for the retrospective on this year’s club – The 2026 Mets: An unpleasant year.