Mets: Three important player attributes that could help win games in 2021

3) Jeurys Familia’s Control

While this third attribute might surprise many in terms of importance, it shouldn’t. Jeurys Familia is making a little over $11 million this season and the Mets bullpen seems to be a bit of a question mark this season, aside from Edwin Diaz, Trevor May, Aaron Loup, and Seth Lugo. The 31-year old Familia doesn’t seem currently penciled in as a favorite for late-inning duties due to his command issues, but should he get off to a good start in the regular season that narrative could certainly change.

Plain and simple, should Familia harness his control and pitch adequately, he could give the Mets the opportunity to have one of the deepest bullpens in the National League, as well as prove he deserves every bit of the $11 million that he is scheduled to make this season.

Throughout the entire Spring, Familia had displayed top-notch velocity but the command simply was not there as he continued to fall behind early in counts and threw more pitches than he should have. Familia wound up posting a decent 2.57 ERA over seven innings, but he walked seven batters in that span while only striking out three.

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Astoundingly Familia has walked a little over 15% of the batters he has faced over the last two seasons combined. That number has to decrease if the Mets want to have a shot of answering some questions on the effectiveness of their bullpen this season, while also keeping Manager Luis Rojas away from the Rolaids. Familia could play a bigger role in the Mets bullpen and their playoff chances than many fans think, but only if he can get his control to match the elite velocity that he has displayed in Spring Training.