Finding Nimmo

 

So now that we've had some time to get a clear picture of the New York Mets going into this season, let's see what you're working with.

Right now, two thirds of the lineup is hitting well. McCann, Lindor, Pillar, Conforto, Nimmo and Alonso are all hitting for average and impressing people. Conforto, Nimmo and Alonso shouldn't be surprising because they've been hot for the last few years, but Pillar is picking up where last year left off, McCann is looking like a fantastic choice for starting catcher, and Lindor is making an extension look like an excellent idea. It's only Jeff McNeil and Dominic Smith who really aren't hitting, and those two can find their averages as they go. It's also looking like Luis Guillorme is gonna be a great bench presence while Jonathan Villar and Albert Almora might not do a great deal.

As for the pitching...aside from deGrom and Stroman, who both look incredible, the rest of the rotation options look...modest, if anything. David Peterson looks slightly shaky, and Jordan Yamamoto is looking more functional than anything so far, but Joey Lucchesi is looking at a bounce-back year, and Taijuan Walker is looking sharp for the second year in a row. So while we may need to wait a bit for Thor and Carrasco to heal, having Lucchesi and Yamamoto as options may not be the worst thing.

And Miguel Castro, Edwin Diaz, Jeurys Familia, Trevor May and Aaron Loup are all looking sharp out of the bullpen. So...if the team's looking this good, even after injuries have been taken into account...does that mean the Mets are gonna compete like the sportswriters are saying they will?

Well...it's really a case of whether or not the team is peaking too early. That's the biggest struggle right now with everybody in camp- are people peaking too soon, are teams being overworked due to the lack of minor leaguers relieving them? There's a reason so many players are getting injured right now, because there hasn't been as gradual of a ramp up to playing longer games as there has been in recent years. You can't just start at full capacity if you haven't played at full capacity since October, you have to work towards that. And so the players who are working too hard early are getting hurt, and that's a problem for lots of teams.

So is there a chance that guys like Pete Alonso, Marcus Stroman and Francisco Lindor could peter out quickly into the season due to how soon they're catching fire? There is. There's also a chance that this team could get banged up as we go and the momentum may not last. But if you were to capture this current momentum in a bottle and bring it to September, it'd probably get to the playoffs. So the Braves, Marlins, Nats and Phillies are going to need to work hard to stop the Mets from either being the division winner or being the spoiler again this year.

Coming Tomorrow- Eloy Jimenez just landed on the IL. Guess who just got a lot more playing time?