New York Mets v Detroit Tigers

Travis d'Arnaud #18 of the New York Mets swings and makes contact in the second inning during a MLB game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on August 6, 2016 in Detroit, Michigan. (Dave Reginek | Getty Images)

SAN FRANCISCO -- It's been a good month for Travis d'Arnaud.

Entering Sunday, the Mets catcher is hitting .300 (15-for-50) with two homers, six runs scored and three RBI in 13 games in August. D'Arnaud's hot stretch comes at a pivotal time for the Mets (61-62), who are 4 1/2 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the second wild card spot and have significant ground to make up if they plan on keeping their postseason hopes alive.

Viewed as one of the more promising two-way catchers in the league, d'Arnaud figured to play an integral role in getting the Mets back to the playoffs this season. But he couldn't shake his injury-prone reputation, missing 50 games with a right rotator cuff strain earlier this season. He struggled to produce at the plate after returning from the injury and was hitting .239 with a disappointing .611 OPS by the end of July. His name became the subject of trade rumors, as the Mets reportedly offered him to the Milwaukee Brewers as part of a proposed package for All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy.

The Brewers, however, passed on the Mets' offer, eventually dealing Lucroy to the Texas Rangers at the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline. D'Arnaud remained a Met, and coincidentally, began heating up shortly thereafter.

The 27-year-old backstop has now improved his batting average to .255 with a .651 OPS this season.

"I feel like the whole year I felt pretty good," d'Arnaud said. "Just right now they're finding holes and I'm getting my pitches. I just got to thank K-Long [hitting coach Kevin Long] and Sixer [assistant hitting coach Pat Roessler] to just remind me to just keep things simple and let the game come to me versus try to do too much and me getting myself out."

Long said d'Arnaud's resurgence resulted from the decision to duplicate his form from last summer, when he posted a .901 OPS in August.

"He just went back to kind of what he did August of 2015," Long said. "The exact same setup where his bat is more pointed toward the pitcher and his hands are pretty much set there. And it's helped him with everything. He's moved up to the plate, and it's just kind of put everything in place for him. He feels really good and really comfortable with where he's at, but he's hopeful that he can continue to stay there."

Still, d'Arnaud has not shown the same flashes of power that he did during his first three seasons in the majors. Though he also missed significant time due to injury in 2015, d'Arnaud still finished the season with 12 home runs in 239 at-bats. This year, he's hit four in 184 at-bats.

D'Arnaud said he isn't quite sure what's behind his drop-off in power.

"I really don't know," d'Arnaud said. "I'm not sure. I know I'm hitting the ball hard, it's just going more in the ground versus in the air but you know that's something that I can just keep studying and watching film to see if it's something with my swing or maybe if it's just the location of the pitch. Maybe they're just leaving them more down than normal or something like that."

Indeed, d'Arnaud's ground ball rate is at 51.7 percent this season, up from 37 percent in 2015. His fly ball rate, meanwhile, has fallen from 41.7 percent to 32 percent this year.

Long said he's still confident in d'Arnaud's power potential, despite his uncharacteristically low home run total this season.

"I think they'll start to pick up," Long said. "He's got power in there. Power is one of those things that if you try to hit homers, it usually doesn't work out well for you. His swing is built for power. I don't think that's as much of a concern as it was getting him hot and getting him feeling good. I think that's more important.

"He's making consistent contact. He's a big kid, he's strong, he creates bat speed. I think now that he's starting to get some loft in his swing, I really do believe the power will be there."

Maria Guardado may be reached at mguardado@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @mi_guardado. Find NJ.com on Facebook.