The New York Mets have a new hitting coach, and Mets fans have questions. They’re used to seeing a guy named “Snitker” in the opposing dugout given the recent presence of former Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker, but the new Snitker in town is Brian’s son.
Troy Snitker is young, too, which raises even more questions. Adding a 36-year old coach usually means the new guy will emphasize analytics like launch angle and swing path, but what Mets fans should really focus on is the younger Snitker’s success with Houston Astros hitters. Eitan Hain of Metsmerized Online took a deep dive into Troy Snitker’s performance and numbers, and they’re impressive, to say the least.
The Mets new hitting coach joined the Astros back in 2019, remarkably enough, and during his tenure from 2019-2025 the ‘Stros ranked fifth in home runs while having the lowest strikeout rate in MLB. Houston was elite with runners in scoring position (RISP), too, and they ranked high in nearly every advance metric associated with this critical stat.
Forget the advanced metrics, though. The Astros had the fifth-lowest ground ball rate in MLB under Snitker’s tutelage, and they put the ball in the air and pulled it at an impressive rate, too. Much of that was by design given Houston’s band-box ballpark, but that kind of adjustment is part of being a good hitting coach.
Snitker will have plenty to work with in New York, but his job will be to even out the inconsistency of the Mets offense. The Mets put up plenty of gaudy expected stats, but expected stats are just that. One of the most frustrating things Mets fans had to endure during the team’s second half collapse was plenty of strikeouts in the late innings when baserunners were needed, along with ongoing failure with runners in scoring position.
The new hitting coach won’t be working alone in trying to solve this problem, however. He’ll be working with and reporting to lead hitting coach Jeff Albert, a developmental guy who will be on the field and in uniform this year.
The reporting structure is designed to alleviate an ongoing coaching problem that plagued the Mets last year as they used a pair of co-coaches, both of whom were let go in the recent staff purge. Former Oakland A’s star Eric Chavez was one of them, and on his way out Chavez derided advanced stats and advocated for a single coaching voice to avoid confusion.
No one knows if any of this is going to work, and the Mets still have plenty of moves to make to finalize their lineup for 2026. But Troy Snitker brings a track record of success to his new job, and it will be interesting to see if he can produce in New York and help the Mets turn things around.