A proposed NY Mets lineup reveals a unique "good problem" for the team

Everyone has a proposed lineup for the New York Mets. It’s a bit arbitrary. Things are going to change. Regardless, putting together the starting nine is one of the fun parts of baseball. It gets over-debated, often with more gut feel or cherrypicking fats to make your case.

In an attempt to compare the Mets lineup to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Bet MGM put together a lineup for both teams. They went a little whacky with the Mets. They get an A for being different while raising another question we never really thought we’d need to ask: who’s batting ninth?

Bet MGM has Francisco Alvarez batting eighth and catching with Mark Vientos behind him in the number nine spot as the DH.

This Mets lineup shows how there really isn’t a perfect number nine hitter

A few things jumped out from this proposed lineup. We might have to actually expect Brett Baty in left field, as weird as it may be. Juan Soto doesn’t need to hit third behind Bo Bichette even though it can make some logical sense. I just wouldn’t take away any chances for Soto to get on base in front of a guy who might lead the league in hits. Those are all fine, debatable, and will get settled. The ninth spot, with this proposed order having Mark Vientos there and DH’ing looks wrong.

This Mets lineup seems to have a “little league” style of thinking here. You know the kid who bats 14th in a little league lineup is the one who’ll play the minimum of two innings in a corner outfield position and strikeout or walk in his one at-bat. Vientos hitting ninth is what throws this out of whack more than anything else. Luis Robert Jr., with his speed as a secondary leadoff hitter, is a better candidate but also no sure thing to bat so low. Francisco Alvarez makes more sense than Vientos. He batted .359 out of that final spot in the order last year. It doesn’t mean much, but it’s something.

What makes this lineup especially different is how it doesn’t account for Carson Benge starting in left field. Many others have. Bet MGM is right to think of alternatives. In those other lineups, it’s Benge or Tyrone Taylor batting last. Talk about a good problem to have when no one really fits the true definition of a number nine hitter in your lineup.

All nine of these players have 15-20 home run potential minimum over the course of a full season. The three younger players, Baty, Alvarez, and Vientos, are shoved into the bottom third but have the potential to move up, passing Robert, Marcus Semien, and maybe even Jorge Polanco.

Benge will become a good candidate to hit ninth regularly for the Mets as it’ll limit the pressure but also give them someone with good speed to help turnover the lineup. Bet MGM’s lineup is slow and non-threatening at the bottom on the bases. Someone hitting their way to a higher spot in the order would be the best resolution. We don’t want to see Robert batting ninth because he had a lousy spring.