SAN FRANCISCO — Luis Guillorme went hit-less in his first seven games of the season, prompting him to shave off the bushy black beard that had become a staple for him both personally and within the Mets fan base.
About a month later, Guillaume’s beard is back, as is his success at the plate. Asked on Sunday if he was thinking of shaving it again, Guillaume said no. Beard, and he expects his results to continue to grow.
“I feel really good,” Guillorme said. “It feels like I’m batting consistently. I’m working on the count, I’m getting pitches to hit. So far it’s been really good. It’s repeatable. That’s the main thing about it.” “
Guillaume’s swings could be repeated as he is playing more games than ever before on one-quarter points in any of his five seasons in the big leagues. Since his hit-less streak, Guillaume developed a .415/.475/.547 slashline in his latest 20 games and 60 plate appearances, with a stealth base. Manager Buck Showalter joked that Gullorme was also recently surprised that he was getting so many opportunities to play.
Showalter has harnessed Guillaume’s strengths as a super-utility infielder by playing at shortstop, second, third and designated hitter so far in his tenure as Mets captain. He said that Guillaume has told him that he is also ready to step in as a catcher in case of an emergency if needed. Showalter, who has had a significant amount of time studying his new players during the owners’ lockdown, said he asked about Guillorme and the infielder has been “advertised”.
Added Francisco Lindor of Guillaume’s all-round influence on the Mets: “Every team needs that kind of player.”
Most fans who have seen Guillaume’s sorcery in the dirt are no longer surprised by his elite defense. But Showalter is still impressed by Guillaume’s hands-on ball skills. For the final of the seventh inning of Sunday’s win over the Rockies, Guillaume flaked his leather and intercepted a line drive on a hop before firing at first base for an out. As Showalter noted, third base is the hardest angle to field, and even though Guillaume has played just six games on hot corners this season, he made that play easier.
“It’s really hard to do, move around at different angles,” Showalter said of Guillaume. “He’s just a baseball player. A guy who’s always thinking about the game, talking, constantly asking me ‘stump the manager’ questions. He’s good at it. He’s engaged. A lot like him. There are no people.”
Perhaps no one has benefited more from the team’s early May decision to nominate Robinson Canoe than Guillorme. Since that May 2 DFA, Guillaume has started 10 games for the Mets — homing once and posting .989 Ops in two weeks of games. Let’s compare this to Dominic Smith and JD Davis, who were both main players who wanted to benefit from the Mets canoe’s decision. Smith has started eight games since May 2 and has scored .118 runs in this period. Davis has started in 12 games since May 2, two more than Guillaume, but he hasn’t been as productive, hitting .163 with .478 Ops.
Guillorme credits his success off the bench to the acquaintance. After all, this is the 27-year-old’s fifth season in the Majors. Guillorme said Showalter has given him so many opportunities to play in the first 40-plus games of the season, and he doesn’t take that confidence lightly.
“The more batsmen you get, the more consistent you are, it’s always going to help you,” Guillorm said. “But it’s something like, this is the position I’ve been in over the years. I feel like it’s just being able to replicate my swing, whether it’s playing three days in a row, or not playing three days.” Even when I wasn’t hitting, when I was going for 0’s earlier in the year, I think I still have good batsmen.
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