3 signs the NY Mets will hop their way to an NL East title in 2025

The MLB season is so young it actually believes a 7-foot tall rabbit broke into its home Easter morning just to leave them some candy in fake grass. Too early to draw any conclusions, the New York Mets have thrown out a few signs that an NL East title is on their to-do list.

It won’t be an easy task with the defending NL East Champion Philadelphia Phillies keeping pace with the Mets. Positive signs are there. Like that gigantic Lagomorpha you think treated you to Cadbury Eggs, the Mets could hop their way to an NL East title based on these three premises.

1) The pitching looks legitimate and they’re doing it without one of their best starters

How legitimate is the Mets pitching? For them to shut down the St. Louis Cardinals as well as they have through the first three games at home, it helps to legitimize them a little further. The Mets schedule has been so soft it could do laundry commercials in the 1990s. The Cardinals provided them with one of their greatest tests and in the first three opportunities, the pitching has passed with flying colors.

Just a 2.27 ERA through 21 games, they’ve been sensational at run prevention. Also one of the best staffs when it comes to striking out opponents, they’ve shown they have the stuff to make it continue.

What’s most amazing is they have gotten this far without Sean Manaea pitching an inning. The most expensive pitcher on the roster was meant to be their Opening Day starter and yet his lack of presence hasn’t deterred them from winning games on the backs of their pitching staff.

Players will fall back to earth. Kodai Senga will falter. Tylor Megill will run into big trouble. Ryne Stanek will give up a run—he’s the last to have zero charged to him with Reed Garrett having that one ghost runner score against him.

This pitching staff was intentionally built to accomplish what it already has. Kudos, once again, for doing it without the flashbulbs.

2) There is a lot of room for improvement on offense and even so they’re scoring runs

There aren’t too many members of the offense who have avoided getting dragged through the mud at some point. Pete Alonso has been hot from the start. Luis Torrens, while cooled off, made us forget all about the absence of Francisco Alvarez. Those two might be the only guys who’ve managed to avoid any sort of critique. Even Francisco Lindor had us all collectively sigh with a “here we go again” at some point.

The Mets offense might not develop into being one of the best in baseball. They surely won’t be this timid and unsuccessful with runners in scoring position. Certain players will find their way. Juan Soto tops the list. Mark Vientos seems to finally be on his way to getting the results we figured were a lock.

Don’t be fooled into thinking the issues will go completely away. Second base remains a questionable position. Center field always was even before Jose Siri went down with an injury. Could we get a little more out of the DH platoon of Starling Marte and Jesse Winker please?

The Mets are finding ways to score runs in games where they’re leaving teammates stranded. Thanks to the pitching, they’ve been able to (mostly) overcome the lackluster production once a pal reaches second base.

Way too many regulars are batting .200 or less right now. We’ve all seen enough baseball to know established veterans work their way out of small sample sized funks like the ones Brandon Nimmo is going through. It’ll be okay even if it never gets perfect.

3) The Braves have a lot of catching up to do

Winning the NL East means the Atlanta Braves somehow had an off-year. It might be something as minor as last year where they settle for a Wild Card spot. No one should discount them just yet. The Braves didn’t build an inferior roster that would sit out the 2025 season. Absences of key players as well as a tough schedule to begin the year with a West Coast road trip against the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers help explain away some of their early troubles.

But early troubles can sometimes dig too big of a hole. Only the Chicago White Sox and Colorado Rockies have fewer wins than they do right now. This is a team getting very little production out of their outfielders. Sean Murphy and Matt Olson have both started poorly. Then there’s the pitching, a source of strength last season, that has been much less this year.

A very good Mets season in 2025 couldn’t be timelier with the Braves playing the way they have. This isn’t a case of one part of the roster carrying them. They’re below-average in just about every way.

We know better than to count anyone out, especially not the Braves who have a wormy way of sneaking their way back into the top of the division at the last moment.