3 reasons the Mets shouldn't fear the Braves

2) NY Mets can take advantage of the Braves tendency to strike out

A strength of the Mets, their pitching, can take advantage of a major weakness of the Braves, their tendency to strike out a lot. The Braves have one of the league’s most powerful rosters in terms of home runs. With all of those heavy swings comes a lot of missing.

Only the Los Angeles Angels have struck out more this year than the Braves. Last year, they finished 11th in MLB. This season, it’s looking like they will at least lead the National League with the most Ks.

Meanwhile, it’s the Mets whose pitchers feast on opposing batters with strikeouts. From their top-tier starting rotation to the closer, Edwin Diaz, striking out batters is how they get a lot of their outs.  For a team like the Braves that doesn’t play much small ball, it feels like the Mets will have the advantage more often than not.

There will, of course, be days like the recent Taijuan Walker start where Atlanta beat him up. Those 5 recent games in Flushing were a nice test of what can happen over a longer series. The only thing missing was a change of location and Atlanta getting last ups.

After these four games, we’ll have a total of nine to reference. For Atlanta to strike any fear into the Mets, they’ll need to win at least three. With Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom slated to start the last two, that’s going to be a difficult task.

3) NY Mets have much better overall depth

The Braves starting lineup is better than what the Mets can put out there. However, when it comes to depth, New York has the advantage.

This includes bats on the bench, starting pitcher options behind the number one guy, and even those on the 40-man roster currently not with the team. The Braves are a very top-heavy team led by MVP candidate Austin Riley. They still do have some massive holes. Marcell Ozuna is a limited DH option not having a particularly good year. Second base is a spot they’re hoping Vaughn Grissom can fill.

It’s beyond those starting nine when things get ugly. While the Mets have guys like Daniel Vogelbach, Darin Ruf, Tyler Naquin, and Luis Guillorme who can perform well in the right situation, the Braves appear to have bodies only there to start in place of and not for the purposes of actually performing well.

Depth will help a team in the long run a little more than it does down the stretch of a season. In a specific game, however, a smart manager can make it matter a whole lot more.

We have seen Buck Showalter empty out the bench as needed. Despite the presence of a DH, the Mets still have a regular need to pinch hit for guys. Most notably, it’s the catcher spot that will probably get lifted regularly.

In a game that becomes a chess match, the Mets seem to have a board full of knights, bishops, and rooks. The Braves have them too, but there are a few too many pawns by comparison.