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The New York Mets will be heading to Atlanta to face the Atlanta Braves for the first time this year. After going to the postseason every year since 2018 and leading the NL East in six of the last seven campaigns, the Mets are now overtaking the Braves for the division title. But just because the Mets are now leading the East and have a sizable margin over the Braves, the Mets still shouldn’t take them lightly. The Braves will be putting out their three best starting pitchers this series, and the Mets need some key line-up pieces to tee off against them.
1) Francisco Lindor
Francisco Lindor is in the midst of what could be his first All-Star appearance since getting traded to the Mets. He is batting .279/.353/.475 with a .359 wOBA and 135 wRC+ in 320 plate appearances. He’s been one of the best-hitting shortstops this year. However, this upcoming series is a huge opportunity for Lindor to solidify his place for a starting spot for the National League in the Mid-summer Classic.
During the second game of the series, the Mets are scheduled to go up against Chris Sale. Lindor has 34 at-bats against the 2024 Cy Young winner. He has been one of Sale’s kryptonites, as he is batting .412 with a 1.076 OPS and two home runs against him. Spencer Strider is scheduled to go for the third game of the series. Although Lindor has less experience against Strider compared to Sale, with only 16 at-bats, he is still batting .375 with a .944 OPS against him.
2) Jeff McNeil
Jeff McNeil doesn’t just look like he’s rebounding after two straight unimpressive seasons between 2023 and 2024; he looks like a brand-new hitter. McNeil is batting .264/.365/.520 with a 146 wRC+ across 148 plate appearances this season. He is striking out less frequently than ever, with an 8.8% K% and walking at a career-high 12.8% rate. His .256 isolated slugging percentage is also a career-best by a mile.
McNeil needs to stay hot heading into this series. He has been scorching hot during June, with a .973 OPS, .418 wOBA, and 175 wRC+ in 53 trips to the dish. McNeil’s chances of hitting well in this series are very high. He is a career .333/.379/.471 batter against the Braves, with a .380 batting average and an OPS of .944 in Truist Park.
3) Brandon Nimmo
Brandon Nimmo is turning in a .244/.307/.445 triple-slash with a .327 wOBA and 112 wRC+ in 280 PAs this year. He got off to an ice-cold start and had just a .673 OPS, .287 wOBA, and 85 wRC+ at the end of April. But since then, Nimmo has found his stride and is hitting .266/.344/.469 with a 132 wRC+. Nimmo has continued to heat up as the weather has gotten warmer, with a 153 wRC+ in June.
Nimmo is yet another player with good career numbers against the Mets. He is a career .256/.380/.419 batter against them. His OBP is the highest among any other NL East rival. Although Nimmo hasn’t faced off against Schwellenbach or Sale much in his career, he has 16 at-bats against Strider. In that small sample size, he is hitting .500 with a 1.642 OPS and two home runs against him. With how good Nimmo is doing, continuing to stay hot could make him a dark horse candidate for his first-ever All-Star appearance, and he has a good chance of doing so in this series.