2 Mets who have already redeemed themselves, 1 who still has much more to prove

Carlos Carrasco was one of the most consistent pitchers in all of baseball between 2014 and 2018 but has battled injuries and inconsistency since then. Many Mets fans were ecstatic when they found out that not only did they trade for Lindor, but they also got Carrasco in the same trade. However, while Carrasco was expected to be a solid stabilizing presence in the rotation, he battled injuries early in the year, and struggled once he returned, particularly in the first inning of games with home runs.

But, Carrasco has returned to form early this year, and been more everything the Mets hoped he would be and more. Through three starts, Carrasco has pitched to a 1-0 record, with a 1.47 ERA, and 20 strikeouts, in 18.1 innings, according to mlb.com. Even more impressive, Carrasco was the first Mets pitcher to pitch into the eighth inning, going 7.2 innings in his third start of the year.

Carrasco has been extremely effective with mixing up his pitches and using all five of his pitches, including his curveball, which is much sharper then last year, after he had elbow surgery in the offseason. He has been part of a rotation that includes: Max Scherzer, Chris Bassitt, Tylor Megill, and David Peterson, and this group has excelled despite the absence of Jacob deGrom and Taijuan Walker

Carrasco has clearly redeemed himself after a down year last year. While it's unreasonable to him to pitch as excellent as he has early in the season thus far, it's definitely reasonable to expect him to be a key piece of this Mets rotation this year.

James McCann signing still doesn't look good

Unlike Lindor and Carrasco, James McCann has not improved upon his play from last year. In fact, he might be having a worse year thus far, as he started off 3-25 this year. Unlike Lindor, McCann is not only not hitting, but he has not performed with runners in scoring position either.

His shaky start has resulted in less playing time, as Tomás Nido has seen an uptick in playing time. While Nido doesn't provide much with the bat either, he does provide a defensive upgrade over McCann, so until either of the two start to hit, look for Buck Showalter to continue splitting their playing time.

Last offseason, McCann signed a four-year contract worth $40.6 million, and the Mets were hoping they'd get the production they'd get out of him in his two years with the White Sox, which included an All-Star appearance.

The Mets will hope for McCann to turn things around as the season progresses, otherwise this will be a contract that will look like a waste of money on their payroll. But, he does still have time to turn things around, and with the rest of the lineup hitting and the rotation looking strong, McCann's slow start has not hurt them yet. However, the team will need more out of the catcher position as the year goes along, whether that is from Nido, McCann or both.

Clearly, the Mets have impressed early on in the season, and the hot starts from Lindor and Carrasco have been huge parts of that. And, while James McCann has started off slow yet again, there is a lot to like about how the Mets have played thus far, and there is a lot for the Mets fanbase to be excited about going forward.