7 Mets
IN LIMBO
SCOUT'S TAKE
KEY QUESTION
You've heard this one before: It's all about the health of the rotation. Everything's good now. Noah Syndergaard hasn't been holding anything back this spring. Zack Wheeler was lights out in the second half. Steven Matz's season last year wasn't a fluke. Can all these guys actually stay healthy?
UNDERRATED
Maybe he isn't the sexiest player for New York, but Brandon Nimmo has a nice, solid approach that makes him really valuable. He gets on base, and the power spike we saw last year was for real: He started pulling fly balls and the approach worked wonders.
ON THE CUSP
Even if Pete Alonso starts the year in the minors, he'll be up making a difference at first base sooner rather than later. Dominic Smith has also had a great spring. They can play matchups at first and Smith can play the outfield.
LAST LICKS
Edwin Díaz is, for my money, the best closer in baseball. Great addition.... Jury's still out on Mickey Callaway. He's like Gabe Kapler, coming in with all the answers, but he's still got a lot to learn. And with a new regime in place, I'd be worried about my job security.
THE PAYOFF PITCH
MOST OF the pressure in the Mets' clubhouse is on their many new acquisitions, from Robinson Canó to Jed Lowrie to Edwin Díaz and an almost entirely rebuilt bullpen. Their most important player, however, may be a holdover from the frustrating 2018 campaign. Amed Rosario was a top 10 prospect two years ago, but in 200 MLB games, he has hit just .255/.290/.384 with unimpressive defensive numbers at shortstop. Dig in, though, and you see reasons for hope. Over the final two months of the 2018 season, Rosario hit .284 and stole 15 bases while cutting his strikeout rate. You want to be careful about parsing small samples, but with a young talent—Rosario played all last year as a 22-year-old—that kind of in-season progress is encouraging. New York got much older last winter in an effort to win now; the key to doing so could be the youngest player on the team.
OVER UNDER
86.5
New York should avoid repeating a dismal 2018 thanks to new GM Brodie Van Wagenen's aggressive offseason. The issue—as always in Queens—will be health.
LINEUP
RF Brandon Nimmo
.263/.404 OBP/.483 SLG
3B Todd Frazier
.213/18 HR/.390 SLG
2B Robinson Canó
.303/10 HR/.374 OBP
C Wilson Ramos
.306/.358 OBP/.487 SLG
LF Michael Conforto
.243/28 HR/82 RBI
1B Dominic Smith
.224/5 HR/.420 SLG
CF Juan Lagares
.339/.375 OBP/.390 SLG
SS Amed Rosario
.256/.295 OBP/24 SB
BENCH
IF Jed Lowrie
.267/23 HR/.448 SLG
IF Adeiny Hechavarria
.247 BA/.279 OBP/.345 SLG
FANTASY BREAKOUT
BRANDON NIMMO's .404 OBP was MLB's fourth highest. The power is real too. At 25, the lefty is just going to get better.
ROTATION
RH Jacob deGrom
10 W/1.70 ERA/0.91 WHP
RH Noah Syndergaard
13 W/3.03 ERA/9.0 K9
LH Steven Matz
5 W/3.97 ERA/1.25 WHP
RH Zack Wheeler
12 W/3.31 ERA/1.12 WHP
BULLPEN
CL Edwin Díaz
57 SV/1.96 ERA/15.2 K9
RH Jeurys Familia
3.13 ERA/1.22 WHP/10.4 K9
RH Seth Lugo
2.66 ERA/1.08 WHP/9.1 K9
MANAGER
Mickey Callaway