After his first full season with the Mets, it's not clear who the real Curtis Granderson is.
Curtis Granderson came into the 2014 season as Sandy Alderson's big addition, seemingly to bring relief to a Mets outfield in dire need of help. Over the past few seasons, on the other side of town, Granderson put up big power numbers, despite his batting average and defense declining. Alderson has said that he's a believer in a home-run-centric philosophy, and so his signing of Granderson made a considerable amount of sense, especially seeing as the Mets were twenty-sixth in the league in home runs in 2013.
Granderson got off to a very slow start this year, recording only 12 hits in 88 plate appearances in March and April. He only hit one home run in that span. Granderson heard the boos early and often, but he seemed to turn the corner going into May and the early summer.
Granderson began to show flashes of power in May, as he hit .253 with five home runs and a 144 wRC+ that month. But he truly came alive in June, when he hit five home runs, walked nineteen times, and stole four bases. He hit .300/.411/.522 with a 164 wRC+ in June. His .222 ISO seemed to be an indicator that his power was coming around, as well, but July and August would prove to be nothing short of confusing.
With June in the past, Granderson began to come back down to earth in July. He was seemingly making worse contact, and production dipped. Granderson's strikeout percentage also jumped from 17.0 percent in June to 22.5 percent in July. And his walk rate dropped from 17.0 percent to 8.8 percent. His four home runs in July, however, helped to keep him afloat at the time, but Granderson's August exacerbated his flaws in the worst way possible. He hit just .147/.231/.183 in that month.
Granderson's season became odder in September, as he exploded again, posting a .299/.375/.540 slash line on the back of four home runs and eight other extra base hits. Interestingly, Granderson's. His 163 wRC+ in the season's final month was second only to his July and gave rise to more questions than answers.
Granderson's defense can't be ignored, either. Defensive metrics were not kind to Granderson as he had a -11.7 UZR/150. He hardly passed the eye test either, as some the concerns from his Yankee years were evident as he often took questionable routes to balls, and his arm strength showed that he may just not be fit for right field. Although Granderson's defense seemingly bottomed out, over the past four years, his defensive metrics have alternated from being terrible to average.
Desired 2015 role: A 25-to-30 home run hitter who plays decent defense and complements Lucas Duda and David Wright in the middle of the lineup.
Projected 2015 role: A move to left field, and numbers similar to those he posted this year.