NY Mets best players at each position five years from now

Who wants to borrow our crystal ball? We looked into the future of the New York Mets and can tell you a few things will change in the next five seasons in regards to who is the best at each position in franchise history.

A subjective endeavor, I asked three fellow Rising Apple writers for their thoughts not only as to who they believe belongs in the top five at each position right now but also who they believe will climb the ladder over the next five years. What will it look like and how much will change?

It’s 2026. Who are the greatest Mets players at each position? Matt Cacace, Elizabeth Muratore, and Michael Carballeira have the answers.

All-time best Mets pitchers five years from now

It’s going to take a lot to knock Tom Seaver off the pedestal as the greatest Mets pitcher of all-time; a lot more than five years. Let’s review our lists:

Matt
1. Tom Seaver
2. Jacob deGrom
3. Dwight Gooden
4. Jerry Koosman
5. Sid Fernandez

Elizabeth
1. Tom Seaver
2. Jacob deGrom
3. Dwight Gooden
4. Jerry Koosman
5. Sid Fernandez

Michael
1. Tom Seaver
2. Jacob deGrom
3. Dwight Gooden
4. Jerry Koosman
5. David Cone

Surprising or not, the three guinea pigs for my test all had a nearly exact projection. They don’t think much will change in the next five years other than Jacob deGrom will continue to solidify himself as the second-greatest pitcher in Mets history.

Matt and Elizabeth both submitted the same list. The one difference came from Michael who ranked David Cone at number five instead of Sid Fernandez.

There’s no right or wrong answer. What we do know is that not much will happen to change anyone’s opinion on the mound. And I agree. Whichever way you rank them, nobody new is crawling into the top five.

All-time best Mets catchers five years from now

The Mets have traditionally had some sensational catchers of the years. Defense has been a pretty big part of the club’s history. However, they have also had some absolute mashers at the plate.

Five years from now, what will the list of the top five Mets catchers look like? Once again, we ask our three guests:

Matt
1. Mike Piazza
2. Gary Carter
3. James McCann
4. Todd Hundley
5. John Stearns

Elizabeth
1. Mike Piazza
2. Gary Carter
3. Jerry Grote
4. John Stearns
5. Paul LoDuca

Michael
1. Mike Piazza
2. Gary Carter
3. Jerry Grote
4. Francisco Alvarez
5. Todd Hundley

I got a nice variety of answers here. Everyone believes Mike Piazza is number one and Gary Carter is second. If you put enough monkeys in a room and put a Mets cap on each of their heads, I think you’d get the same answer.

We start to see some arguments at number three. Matt is taking a big leap in predicting James McCann becomes the third-best catcher in club history within the next five seasons. I’d have to say, I disagree majorly here. Hopefully, he’s right and I’m wrong.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Michael both agree Jerry Grote is number three. Matt left Grote off of his list entirely. He wrapped his up with Todd Hundley and John Stearns respectively.

Elizabeth’s list took the least amount of risks. She doesn’t think anything will change. She was also the only one of the three to put Paul LoDuca on her list.

Michael did take one risk on his list. In the next five years, he believes catching prospect Francisco Alvarez will reach the majors and do enough to become the fourth-best catcher in Mets history. Is he that low on McCann or that high on Alvarez’s future?

As a part of this project, I didn’t ask for any input other than these lists. I’m purely speculating here as to what drove these Mets fans to make their lists the way they did.

The list I like the best is the one Elizabeth made. In the next five years, we’ll be lucky to see McCann accomplish enough to pass others. Alvarez, while someone with loads of talent, may need a little more time.

All-time best Mets first basemen five years from now

There’s a burning question I wanted to know most at this position: where do Mets fans think Pete Alonso eventually lands? Five years would be enough for him to at least establish himself as one of the best.

Of course, there are some fantastic first basemen in franchise history he would first need to pass. In addition to finding out where he ranks, will we see Dominic Smith make an appearance? After all, the DH could be on its way to the NL.

Matt
1. Keith Hernandez
2. Pete Alonso
3. John Olerud
4. Carlos Delgado
5. Ed Kranepool

Elizabeth
1. Keith Hernandez
2. John Olerud
3. Ed Kranepool
4. Pete Alonso
5. Carlos Delgado

Michael
1. Keith Hernandez
2. Pete Alonso
3. John Olerud
4. Carlos Delgado
5. Ed Kranepool

Interestingly enough, we see all of the same five names on these three lists. Keith Hernandez is number one on all and the rest are scrambled. It’s honestly a little surprising no one placed Dominic Smith on their list. In the next five years, I don’t think we see Alonso play much first base at all.

But this isn’t about me. This is about what three other people believe happens at first base.

Matt and Michael both believe strongly in Alonso and even handed in the same exact list. They think in the next five years he goes up to number two. I think this definitely fair. Elizabeth doesn’t think so at all. She ranks him at number four, below Ed Kranepool!

I’m not here to go on a diatribe about Kranepool. I’m honestly unsure if I would even put him in the top five and not just because he played the outfield often. Kranepool is a loyal member of the franchise and a legend in his own right. Compared to other first basemen in club history, I don’t think he’s close.

The three Rising Apple writers surveyed for this seemed to have varying opinions on John Olerud and Carlos Delgado. Two entirely different players, I’m okay with however you want to rank them. They were both in New York for the same amount of time and excelled at their strengths.

Matt and Michael’s list most resembles what I might put together, but I might drop Kranepool in favor of someone else.

All-time best Mets second basemen five years from now

The Mets have a pretty good history of employing solid second basemen. Even through some lean years and major misses like Carlos Baerga and Roberto Alomar, it’s a position of pride for the franchise.

With their current employment of Jeff McNeil, I’m expecting to see him appear on all three lists. How many of our Rising Apple writers will rank him at the top?

Matt
1. Jeff McNeil
2. Edgardo Alfonzo
3. Wally Backman
4. Daniel Murphy
5. Jeff Kent

Elizabeth
1. Edgardo Alfonzo
2. Jeff McNeil
3. Daniel Murphy
4. Wally Backman
5. Felix Millan

Michael
1. Edgardo Alfonzo
2. Jeff McNeil
3. Wally Backman
4. Jeff Kent
5. Tim Teufel

As expected, there’s no Robinson Cano on any of these lists. Matt, Elizabeth, and Michael also agree on one thing: Jeff McNeil and Edgardo Alfonzo should be number one or two.

Matt believes in McNeil the most, ranking him number one five years from now. Wally Backman is the only other man to appear on all three lists with a combination of a few other Mets second basemen on there as well.

I find it interesting to see the absence of Daniel Murphy on Michael’s list. I wouldn’t rank Tim Teufel over Murphy. Based on what Murphy did, I would probably put him number three or four.

Elizabeth was the lone wolf willing to add Felix Millan to her top five. I think this is a good and underrated selection.

Jeff Kent has always been a strange case for any list like this in Mets history. He was good with the team but not nearly as fantastic as he was once he joined the San Francisco Giants. I think it’s fair to consider him for the bottom of this list.

All-time best Mets third basemen five years from now

It’s going to take a lot for anyone to dethrone David Wright as the greatest third basemen in club history. No one currently on the roster has a chance to do so. Unless you’re high on Brett Baty, I don’t think anyone within the organization has a shot at even making the top five.

Maybe one of the three I asked this question to believes the Mets end up with a third baseman from outside of the organization. Put Kris Bryant on the Mets now and in five years he could be a top five player.

Matt
1. David Wright
2. Howard Johnson
3. Robin Ventura
4. Wayne Garrett
5. Ronny Mauricio

Elizabeth
1. David Wright
2. Howard Johnson
3. Robin Ventura
4. Wayne Garrett
5. Hubie Brooks

Michael
1. David Wright
2. Howard Johnson
3. Kris Bryant
4. Robin Ventura
5. Ray Knight

Much to my surprise, we got some vastly different lists.

Elizabeth played it safe. She doesn’t seem to believe anything changes in the next five years. Matt, on the other hand, thinks the franchise’s top prospect Ronny Mauricio moves over to the hot corner and within the next five seasons manages to climb into the top five. Whether he would have chosen Hubie Brooks, Ray Knight, or someone else doesn’t matter. The Mets certainly seem to have room for a youngster to quickly land on this list.

Or, in Michael’s case, maybe it’s a new star added to the roster in Flushing. He went as far as to predict Kris Bryant ends up with the Mets. Within five years, he surpasses everyone in third base history other than Wright and Howard Johnson.

I do tend to think someone will overtake Brooks and Knight at least in overall numbers. Will it be Mauricio, Bryant, or another player? Where is the love for J.D. Davis?

All-time best Mets shortstops five years from now

The position many of us have been waiting for! Shortstop is the shallowest position of any in Mets history. After Jose Reyes, we start to find flawed players.

The Mets do have a guy on their current roster very worthy of joining the top five. Francisco Lindor can do it with just one monster season in 2021. Within the next five seasons, though, how far can we expect him to go?

Let’s go to our sources and find out what they believe.

Matt
1. Francisco Lindor
2. Jose Reyes
3. Rey Ordonez
4. Bud Harrelson
5. Kevin Elster

Elizabeth
1. Jose Reyes
2. Francisco Lindor
3. Rey Ordonez
4. Bud Harrelson
5. Amed Rosario

Michael
1. Francisco Lindor
2. Jose Reyes
3. Bud Harrelson
4. Rey Ordonez
5. Jose Vizcaino

It’s tough to debate any of these lists as they are all pretty much the same. The main difference is we find Matt and Michael believing Lindor becomes number one while Elizabeth has him at number two within the next five years. Five seasons may not be enough for him to become the greatest shortstop in Mets history so I understand her thinking.

The middle of the list includes Rey Ordonez and Bud Harrelson in either order. I can’t really argue about placing them in either spot.

It’s the fifth spot that intrigues me most. We get Kevin Elster, Amed Rosario, and Jose Vizcaino in the chat for this. None of the three are top-five worthy but who else could you possible pick?

The big takeaway here is that all three think Lindor stays in New York for the long haul. If there’s one thing from this list I think all fans want to see come true, it’s that.

All-time best Mets left fielders five years from now

Left field is one position I think we can even debate right now as to who the best is. All other eight positions on the field have a more clear-cut winner or at least a bit more distance between first and second place.

Dominic Smith will start the 2021 season as the Mets left fielder with many believing he’ll eventually move to first base when the DH comes into the NL for good. Will he make any of our three predicted lists?

Matt
1. Cleon Jones
2. Kevin McReynolds
3. Yoenis Cespedes
4. George Foster
5. Steve Henderson

Elizabeth
1. Cleon Jones
2. Kevin McReynolds
3. Brandon Nimmo
4. Cliff Floyd
5. Yoenis Cespedes

Michael
1. Cleon Jones
2. Kevin McReynolds
3. Yoenis Cespedes
4. Dave Kingman
5. Cliff Floyd

At number one and two, it’s unanimous. Cleon Jones is the best and Kevin McReynolds is the runner-up. Things begin to change once we get to our third spot on these lists.

Matt and Michael agree that Yoenis Cespedes is number three. As short-lived as his success was, he did do a lot. Elizabeth, meanwhile, seems to be counting on Brandon Nimmo to move over to left field and continue his career as a member of the Mets as their starter at the position for a few more years.

The final two spots on these lists include a little more variety. Cliff Floyd makes an appearance on the lists supplied by Elizabeth and Michael. Matt opted for a combination of George Foster and Steve Henderson.

Elizabeth did sneak Cespedes onto her list in the Mount Rushmore reserve spot while Michael was the lone ranger to have Dave Kingman on his list at number four.

The outfield can be tricky to rank because many of those players will claim a different position depending on how the rest of the roster looks. Only Elizabeth believes a current Mets player will take any momentum and find a spot on the all-time list of greatest left fielders five years from now.

All-time best Mets center fielders five years from now

When was the last time the Mets had a great center fielder? Both defensively and offensively, it has been a challenge for this franchise.

Fortunately, there is a rich history of talented players who have called the position their own. Putting any current or future Mets on this list could be risky. I’m curious to see if we get a Pete Crow-Armstrong sighting.

Matt
1. Carlos Beltran
2. Mookie Wilson
3. Tommie Agee
4. Lenny Dykstra
5. Lee Mazzilli

Elizabeth
1. Carlos Beltran
2. Tommie Agee
3. Mookie Wilson
4. Lenny Dykstra
5. Lee Mazzilli

Michael
1. Carlos Beltran
2. Mookie Wilson
3. Charlie Blackmon
4. Lenny Dykstra
5. Tommie Agee

A quick scan and you might think we have three nearly identical lists. And we do! There are only six different names on these lists. Matt and Elizabeth are nearly the same. The only difference is Matt has Mookie Wilson as number two and Elizabeth has him swapped with her runner-up, Tommie Agee.

Lenny Dykstra finished fourth on every list. There are no real surprises except for one.

Michael makes the bold prediction that the third greatest center fielder in Mets history five years from now will be Charlie Blackmon. Chuck Nasty is going to end up with the Mets and accomplish enough to have a better career in Flushing than Dykstra and Agee. Personally, I have my doubts on this. Blackmon could surely end up with the Mets. However, I see him more suited toward transitioning into a corner outfield role. He turns 35 this summer and doesn’t strike me as an ageless wonder ready to roam center field for another five seasons.

I will say I appreciate the boldness of this prediction. Blackmon is a guy I think many fans outside of Colorado enjoy watching play. He can do a little bit of everything. If he was with the Mets in his prime, Blackmon would have easily climbed onto our top five list.