3 players whose spot in the NY Mets Opening Day lineup can sway the most

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What does your ideal New York Mets Opening Day lineup look like? In our dreams, everyone is healthy. Everyone had a hot spring. There is little doubt the offense will click and cause those who underestimated the Mets to fearfully try to back track.

We know better than this. Someone is going to get hurt. Another guy is going to get off to a slump that carries over into the regular season. Yet another Mets player will shine in an uncharacteristic way.

The Mets Opening Day lineup card is far from set. And these three players have a chance to sway the pen more drastically than anyone else.

1) Starling Marte

Nobody’s spot in the Mets Opening Day lineup has the ability to change more than Starling Marte. A leadoff hitter candidate when he’s doing well, the ideal situation for him seems to be hitting second. Or maybe it’s fifth. Maybe lower?

The Mets used Marte out of the number two spot 107 times back in 2022. The only other place he had more than two starts was in the number seven spot. This could change drastically in 2024 depending on his performance and how some of the younger players perform.

Options at the top of the lineup are plentiful and the Mets won’t have to force Marte in there if he isn’t performing. Unfortunately, another poor performance from Marte does set them up to have potentially two weak-hitting outfielders at the very bottom of the lineup. Most would expect Harrison Bader to hit ninth. Marte, if he drops as low as the number eight spot, might actually make more sense in this spot instead given how much of a proven base stealer he is.

In 2024, Marte has the potential to hit as high as the number two spot on a regular basis with the occasional leadoff placement. The low, at least to begin the year, should have him around seventh.

2) Francisco Alvarez

Francisco Alvarez has a few things going well for him. He is the most proven of the young players albeit with some shortcomings on offense of his own. A .209 batting average last year might have the Mets thinking twice about making him an automatic lock for the middle of the order. Although the power is undeniable, he may do better hitting closer to the bottom.

The fact that he’s a catcher may also play into this. It seemed to be one of the reasons why Alvarez started 35 games hitting ninth last year. His second most starts came as the number six hitter with a total of 16.

The results seemed to warrant a lower spot in the lineup. Alvarez batted .234/.317/.476 from the number nine spot. He was at his best hitting eighth with a .286/.300/.531 slash line in 50 plate appearances. When he hit fifth, sixth, or seventh, Alvarez had a batting average below .200 and in some instances well under.

At first glance, it would seem to make sense for Alvarez to maybe hit eighth in the lineup where he has succeeded. However, this pushes players like Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, and DJ Stewart ahead of him. Are they better big league hitters? Is this actually the best lineup the Mets can assemble?

Alvarez has a slim shot of hitting fifth on Opening Day and that’s if he has a huge spring. The Mets could drop him as low as the bottom spot as they ease him into the long haul of the season and delay his first at-bat. It shouldn’t last long.

3) Jeff McNeil

Brett Baty and Mark Vientos have room to move within the lineup. As far as Opening Day goes, they’re pretty much locked in at the bottom. The amount of movement they can do is quite limited compared to Jeff McNeil.

As always, McNeil will be affected by how others do. If Starling Marte is hitting second, he’ll drop to fifth or sixth. He’s the reciprocal of Marte and a solution for the Mets at the top and middle of the lineup.

Unlike Marte, there is less of a chance for McNeil to hit too low in the lineup. He had a much better 2023 season. The fact that he hits left-handed may make him an option to hit behind Pete Alonso even though he is far from a power hitter. Ideally, we’d see McNeil hitting second but to break up the lefties, we shouldn’t expect him to find a spot behind Brandon Nimmo in the leadoff spot.

Brandon Nimmo, Starling Marte, Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, and Jeff McNeil are a safe first five for the lineup to project. They can always get a little more creative with this, though. Lindor, Nimmo, Alonso, and then McNeil have an appeal. Lindor is free to run more. Alonso will get up to the plate with a better OBP guy in front of him. McNeil, the high-contact guy, will see his RBI opportunities increase.

The 2024 year is one to experiment. McNeil will be an important cog in the lineup. Exactly where he finds himself has yet to be determined.

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