New York Mets roster is built to makes its way to the postseason

A closer look at the New York Mets and why they have a roster built for the postseason.

The New York Mets are off to a pretty good start in 2019. Fans have aspirations for the postseason. For those hoping to see the Mets play into October, you’re in luck. The Mets have a roster built for the postseason.

The Best Pitcher in Baseball

Do I even have to write about this one? Jacob deGrom is the BEST pitcher in baseball and it’s not really close. Last season he pitched 217 innings, to a spectacular 1.70 ERA.

We all knew he wouldn’t be able to repeat that this year, but fresh off a 5-year contract extension, he might just have a more deGrominant season. He can hit a home run too!

All of the tools to become the best

Noah Syndergaard has everything you’d want from a New York sports superstar. He has the long beautiful blonde hair, he has an “us vs the world mentality”, he may have even fueled deGrom’s extension with a few choice words.

To top everything off, we know he has what it takes to be an incredible pitcher. The only question is whether or not he will turn all of his attributes into a fantastic season.

Obviously, deGrom and Syndergaard are important, but we kind of have an idea what to expect from them, as the season that Zack Wheeler and Steven Matz have, will be a deciding factor for the New York Mets.

If these two are good, the Mets will be good

We know Zack Wheeler can be a great pitcher in this league. In the first half of 2018, Wheeler was 3-6 with a 4.44 ERA, but the second half was incredible. Wheeler pitched to a 9-1 record with an astounding 1.68 ERA.

We need the Wheeler of the second half because the Wheeler who gave up 7 ER in only 4.2 innings while allowing 7 BB and only 2 K against the Nationals won’t help the Mets make the postseason. If Wheeler can rebound from this start, there’s no reason the Mets can’t make a run with 3 strong pitchers.

Four strong pitchers? Why not. Steven Matz can be very effective as we’ve seen him in the past couple of years. The issue that Matz has had so far this year is his pitch count. He had 103 pitches over 5 innings in his last start vs the Nationals. He only allowed 2 hits and had an impressive 8 strikeouts in 5 innings, but the innings are a huge issue.

As we’ve seen this year, we can hardly count on one out from anyone in the bullpen not named Edwin Diaz, let alone 12 outs. Matz needs to be more efficient by putting hitters away earlier in the count if the Mets want to save their bullpen.

And Jason Vargas

If the Mets aren’t going to sign or acquire another starter, there’s only one word the Mets need to know regarding Vargas’ day. Survive. Jason Vargas has been for a lack of a better word, terrible, for the Mets since his signing last offseason.

If the Mets are going to make the postseason, they can’t have an automatic loss every fifth day. They need to save up all of their runs for Vargas’ Day, or else they will be losing every fifth day and taxing their bullpen in the process.

The Closer

Sugar has never been sweeter. When Diaz comes into the game, I don’t have that same nauseating feeling that I used to have, or should I say, still have, with another name on this list. The most incredible stat I’ve ever heard regarding Diaz was the Mariners 66-0 record when he entered the game with a lead last season.

Obviously, that probably won’t happen again this year with the Mets, but the Mets sure have their closer of the future and hopefully, this postseason.

The Bullpen

When Jeurys Familia comes into a game, I NEVER know what is going to happen. He can have an incredible season like 2015 but then have three blown saves in the World Series, I for one, don’t blame him for a few of those blown saves, but it happened and it’s in the past.

Familia is asked to be the setup man this year, but he has faltered a little bit up to this point. I know Familia has nasty stuff and he will eventually get back on track as the setup man to Edwin Diaz.

I have Justin Wilson penciled in as the Mets number three bullpen guy. I think he is an established reliever that has a lot of good tools that he uses to get a batter out late in a game. Hopefully, he continues to pitch well.

I mentioned this earlier with Wheeler and Matz, but the Mets go as Seth Lugo goes. Even though he is a reliever, he is the difference between having three go-to guys, to four which is an incredible difference.

Everyone knows that Lugo’s unfathomable spin rate on his curveball can fool any batter, anytime, but we need Lugo and his curveball to be an out-making machine this season for the Mets to be a title contender.

Robert Gsellman has always been one of my favorites, however, it has seemed to cloud my judgment on him. He has struggled a lot recently and I’m really hoping to see that streak change. He is the difference, assuming Lugo rebounds and has a good year, between the Mets having four or five go-to guys.

The Mets might have to look elsewhere

These two have gotten off to less than MLB standard starts.

Luis Avilan was virtually a lock halfway through Spring Training. However, now we know that might’ve just been due to a lack of other options.

I had some decently high expectations for Avilan coming into this season. He has fallen flat on his face through the early part of the season. Hopefully, he can turn it around, or else the Mets might have to be looking somewhere else.

Tim Peterson has been interesting since the end of Spring Training. He was reassigned to minor league camp, to only be brought up a few days later and make the Opening Day roster.

Ever since then, the Mets have been reluctant to use him. He’s back in the minor leagues with Corey Oswalt taking his place on the roster. One could argue, it’s not much of an improvement.

The answer behind the plate

Isn’t it amazin’ to have a great catcher? That’s what Wilson Ramos has been through the first few series of the season as there is no sign of him slowing down anytime soon. The Mets dodged a bullet by not wasting a 4-year $60 million contract on Yasmani Grandal, by actually saving money and term on who I think is a better all around catcher.

Ramos has seemed to be the only guy who’s been consistently hitting all season. Ramos has been an extremely improved hitter ever since his Lasik Eye Surgery. The Mets finally have a catcher who isn’t an offensive liability or a below average defender.

Whatever your thoughts may be on Travis d’Arnaud, we can all agree he is a massive upgrade from Tomas Nido. d’Arnaud, when healthy has proven to be a solid hitter who has hit up to 16 home runs in a major league season. His injury history has prevented him from fully reaching his potential, however, he’s not expected to be the Mets catcher of the future anymore.

He is not the starting catcher and it can only benefit him. He will still play one or two games a week, and he will have a lesser chance of injury, keeping him healthy and fresh for the Mets push toward the Postseason.

The Core Infielders

Oh my goodness. Pete Alonso is the future of the New York Mets. I understand that he’s only been in the big leagues for about 14 days, but there is no doubt in my mind that we are going to be seeing a lot of Alonso. He is finally that power-hitting first baseman that the Mets thought they might have had with Ike Davis and/or Lucas Duda.

It’s impossible not to love this guy and his passion for the game. All of the work he has put in over the offseason and Spring Training on the field, trying to round himself out as an all-around first baseman, is inspiring to us Mets fans. Alonso’s pure excitement to play at Citi Field, his “Ya Gotta Believe” comment, and not to mention his incredible exit velocity amongst a countless number of other admirable qualities is why Alonso will be a huge reason the Mets make it back to baseball in October.

Robinson Cano’s first game with the Mets was a reason to believe in this team. Cano drove in both runs in our Opening Day win in Washington. Not to mention, he still has the most beautiful swing in the game.

But the reason Cano is so important to this Mets team is his veteran leadership. He has taken over David Wright‘s stall, I’m not saying he will replicate David Wright, because nobody will ever be able to replicate the Captain, but if there’s one guy I’d want in my clubhouse to lessen the blow of losing him, it would be Cano.

We’ve already seen evidence of his leadership this season. He is a firm believer in Chili Davis‘ plan to get the Mets hitting to the opposite field. He has taken on a mentorship to Amed Rosario, and that’s proven to be beneficial to start the season as well. Cano is vital toward any sort of run the Mets are going to make.

As mentioned earlier, Rosario has gotten some excellent guidance from Robinson Cano. Rosario has continued his excellence from the second half of last year, as he has had some clutch hits already in this young season by taking the ball to the opposite field.

He has reintroduced his leg kick, but it has been a lot more controlled as he feels the leg kick is necessary for him to stay comfortable in the box. His sudden offensive emergence is a great addition to his already superb glove.

I wasn’t sure whether or not to add Jeff McNeil to the infielders or the outfielders. That is just how important he is to this ball club. He is the super utility guy that has officially shown that last year was no fluke, proving that he can hit for a very high average in the major leagues.

The Mets must find a way to get his bat into the lineup every single game. Whether it is in left field, third base, second base or any other positions the Mets want to put him at, his bat will come to play every day.

The Center Fielders

Juan Lagares is a Gold Glove-winning outfielder known for his out of this world defense, but he’s never been able to hit at the major league level to cement himself as an everyday player. I think this is finally the year Lagares has a nice offensive season, but like so many Mets this year, there just isn’t a lot of playing time.

Lagares will platoon with Broxton, getting occasional starts in center field, almost always coming into the game as a defensive replacement, but the Mets postseason lineup just doesn’t include Lagares at this point.

Keon Broxton is similar to Lagares as he has had a good offensive start to this year, but he just doesn’t have a history of being a good enough hitter to play every day.

In saying that, it doesn’t mean he isn’t an important piece because he surely is, as Lagares and Broxton will both be defensive replacements and will surely get some major at-bats this season.

The Injured

We all know he isn’t the Todd Frazier of his Reds’ days, but he is a key player if the Mets want to return to the postseason. The Mets are currently trying him out at shortstop in his rehab games to see if he can be a back-up there.

To go along with his defensive versatility, he still has a lot of pop in his bat as he can be a veteran pinch-hitter off the bench. Most importantly, he is another vocal leader in that clubhouse, and will be more of a mentor to some players, the same as Robinson Cano but with less on-field production.

Jed Lowrie was a very underrated addition to his team as I still believe he will have a big part in the Mets push for the postseason. He hit 23 home runs last year and drove in an impressive 99 runs. There is no way that the Mets can keep that kind of production out of the lineup once he returns. He will get the bulk of the games at third base, shifting Jeff McNeil to left field.

Although this wouldn’t be the greatest defensive lineup, it would give the Mets the deepest lineup that they’ve had in years. Depth is a huge key in getting 90+ wins this season.

The Really Injured

It would be incredible to get something out of Yoenis Cespedes this year, but it’s just hard to see that happen. We’ve invested a lot of money into Cespedes and it was rightly deserved as he willed us to the 2015 World Series. If he can come back late this season, fully healthy, he could be the difference between making the postseason and winning the World Series.

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Overall, the Mets have incredible depth, an outstanding front of the rotation, and a fantastic closer. The Mets have the pieces for the postseason, now we must wait to see if those pieces come together.