April 3 Up, 3 Down: Mets Have Room For Improvement
3 UP
1. The Young Core
Entering this season, the Mets had a young exciting core of position players 27 and younger. So far this season, they are all contributing at a fairly high level.
The Mets said Pete Alonso was ready to contribute from day one, and Alonso has proven them right. So far, Alonso is hitting .292/.382/.642.
His 181 wRC+ is second best among Major League first baseman putting him ahead of players like Freddie Freeman, Paul Goldschmidt, and Anthony Rizzo.
Jeff McNeil‘s versatility has already proven immeasurably valuable, but not as valuable as his bat with him already racking up 13 multi-hit games.
As good as McNeil and Alonso have been, Michael Conforto may be the most valuable player. In 29 games, he’s hitting .269/.403/.519.
Finally, it seems Brandon Nimmo has shaken off a tough start partially due to injuries, and he is back to being Nimmo again.
With a young core like this, the Mets are well positioned to navigate their way through 162 games and hopefully take the division en route to their first World Series since 1986.
2. Matz Emerging as an Ace
We have been waiting a few years now for Steven Matz to put it all together. With the exception of one dreadful and historically bad start against the Phillies, he has been very good.
Putting that start aside, he has allowed two earned runs over fewer in each of his starts. He has And while it doesn’t quite work this way, if not for that start, he would be 3-0 with a 1.84 ERA, 0.921 WHIP, and a 4.1 K/BB. In essence, we would be talking about him being one of the best pitchers of 2019. If he continues pitching this well, we will be.
3. Sugar, Sugar
Edwin Diaz has been everything the Mets said he was going to be. Arguably, he is better than that. In his 13 appearances, he is 0-1 with a 1.54 ERA, 0.857 WHIP, and a 15.4 K/9. More than any of that, he is a perfect 8-for-8 in save opportunities, and he is a large reason why the Mets have won all 12 games they have carried the lead into the sixth inning.
Looking at Mets history, it is difficult to ascertain the last time fans could be this confident in a Mets closer. There was Armando Benitez before we knew what Benitez was. There was Billy Wagner, who was a different pitcher since the postseason. Certainly, Jeurys Familia was terrific in his stint as the Mets closer even if he was snake bitten come postseason time.
Really, you probably have to go all the way back to Randy Myers before you find someone this dominant and who put Mets fans this at ease. On that note, Diaz has been MUCH better than Myers.
3 DOWN
1. Not Quite According to Plan
When Brodie Van Wagenen took over as the Mets General Manager, he was brash. He told all who would listen the Mets were the team to beat, and at all times, the Mets were going to carry their 25 best. So far, the Mets are one game over .500 with a -19 run differential
Clearly, the best player he imported thus far is Edwin Diaz. Despite what people may want to tell you, Diaz has been everything he was purported to be. When you break it down, his only issue is Van Wagenen has set forth constraints which make it impossible for his manager to get the most out of him.
Van Wagenen’s other imports have been nowhere as good. Robinson Cano so far has a 105 wRC+ and a -3 DRS at second base in what is the first year of a five-year, $100 million commitment.
J.D. Davis has been terrible at third base, and while he has hit well, he may be due for a real regression. According to Baseball Savant, he can’t hit a fastball (.182) or an offspeed pitch (.125). Sooner or later teams are going to realize this and pitch him accordingly.
Jed Lowrie has yet to play a game, and Justin Wilson is on the disabled list. To a certain extent, that’s better than the 5.68 ERA we have seen from Jeurys Familia or the terrible offensive production from Keon Broxton who is hitting a lowly .146/.222/.146.
As bad as all of that is, Van Wagenen continues to show what is now just blind loyalty to his former client Jason Vargas. Van Wagenen brought in no competition for the fifth starter’s job in Spring Training, and when Gio Gonzalez became available, the Mets refused to even consider removing a pitcher averaging 3.1 innings a start with opposing batters hitting .313/.405/.563 off of him from the rotation.
2. Still Not Ready
At some point, something is going to have to give with Amed Rosario. Despite his still being an immensely talented player, he still has not figured it out. Since the start of the 2018 season, Rosario has a -24 DRS, which is the worst for a shortstop by a fairly healthy margin. His 86 wRC+ over this stretch is the fifth worst among shortstops.
What makes this all the more troubling is when looking at him and his stats, it is difficult to discern where exactly he has made any improvements to his game. Through all of it, the key thing to remember is he is still just 23-years-old, and he is still talented. As such, there still remains hope he will figure it out.
3. Pitching Nightmare
This team was supposed to be built on pitching, and yet, it is pitching that is holding this team back. Perhaps, as Noah Syndergaard noted, the ball is different, and it is causing him to lose faith in his secondary offerings. Even if that is the case, it still is an excuse, and the pitchers are going to have to figure something out.
Right now, the Mets as a staff have a 5.28 ERA, which is fifth worst in the majors. Short of Matz and Diaz, you are hard pressed to find a pitcher pitching up to their potential. At the moment, it is hard to find someone you have faith in when they take the ball. That includes Jacob deGrom, who has landed on the Injured List and has a 4.85 ERA partially because of his struggles in rain-delayed starts.
In the end, this Mets team is where they are because the pitching has been a mess. With the pitching leaving a lot of room for improvement, it also means this team has a lot of room for improvement. Therefore, if the pitching improves to the point where we think they can be, then this is a Mets team about to take off.