Can the Mets Keep this Up?
New York, New York. The place that is home to two baseball teams that sport pinstripes on their home field. After getting Giancarlo Stanton this offseason, it was easy to assume the Yankees were going to be the better of the two teams. So far that isn’t the case.
The New York Mets currently sit at 9-1 to begin the season, grabbing three of those wins by sweeping the defending NL East champion Washington Nationals. Impressive, but Is this start for real? It could be.
If you look at the Mets roster as a whole, their is a plethora of talent.
With Noah Syndergaard, Jacob DeGrom, Steven Matz, and Matt Harvey, the only question mark surrounding New York’s rotation is whether or not their starters can stay healthy.
Through the first ten games, their glass frames have remained intact, helping New York post a 2.61 starters ERA that ranks fourth in all of baseball. The three teams in front of them in that category, you ask? All 2017 playoff teams (including the defending champions and 2017 runner-up) that are serious 2018 World Series Contenders.
Like I already said, talent is not the issue here. The Mets just need to make sure that their guys can get on the diamond to showcase the Cy Young caliber stuff that they possess.
Even their bullpen has been as, if not more, lockdown as their starters. Jeurys Familia leads the majors in saves with 6, and he hasn’t given up a run yet. Combine him with former Marlins closer A.J. Ramos (also has yet to give up a run) and Jerry Blevins (has posted 2.66 ERA since he came to New York) and you have a solid bullpen that currently ranks third in baseball.
As for the offense, the Mets look much better than what they did in 2017. Last year, their offense ranked 19th in runs scored. This was mostly due to injuries to their middle of the order. Michael Conforto was having a breakout season before he hurt his shoulder, and Yoenis Cespedes had to deal with problems of his own only being able to suit up for half of the season’s 162. New York also dealt Jay Bruce in August last year, only to get him back this offseason. If all three of those outfielders stay healthy (and off the trade block), that is a pretty formidable 3,4,5 in your lineup.
Without those three, it’s tough seeing the Mets do anything but their complementary players have not been playing bad at all. Former top prospect Amed Rosario is playing his stellar defense while also boasting a .290 average and Asdrubal Cabrera is hitting over .340 with 3 home runs. Even Adrian Gonzalez’s old ass is doing a decent job!
You can see a reoccurring theme here. Injuries. The Mets always have their seasons dismantled because of unfortunate scenarios where players go down whether it be Syndergaard, DeGrom, Conforto, etc.
You can not deny that the Mets have a solid major league roster. They even have 11 players still on their team from that 2014 World Series run, so they’ve shown they are capable of performing.
They have pitching and hitting that can get them back to the postseason, but it all comes down to whether or not they can keep their players on the field.
-Jarrod Ribaudo (@Jribs53)