Lucas Duda on Fire
If you are a regular reader of this site (why, exactly?!), then you know I am not a huge fan of Lucas Duda. But he is on fire and is slowly making a believer out of me.
Duda leads the team with eight home runs and a .305 batting average. The last number is actually more impressive; there was never any secret that Duda had power. But hitting for average makes him a more complete player.
Duda is actually hitting lefties better than righties — ..383 to .275. Now, Duda has a third of the number of at bats against lefties as opposed to righties, but for a guy whose career batting average against southpaws is .230, this is a huge step forward.
Hitting with runners is scoring position was also a problem for Lucas Duda. For his career that number is a poor .249. This season he is at .321.
Duda just looks more confident at the plate. It cannot be a coincidence that the Mets offense perked up in the Phillies sweep while Duda went 5-10 with three home runs. Perhaps Lucas Duda can be the spark that ignites the lineup for the rest of the season. Who knew?
It is nice to see him turn that corner. I was really pissed when he took that one on the knee and there was no retaliation.