Predicting what the Mets starting lineup will look after Memorial Day

What will the New York Mets starting lineup look like on Memorial Day? Unless rain creates a currently unscheduled game to take place, it’ll be empty. The Mets will use May 29 to travel from Colorado to Citi Field before taking on the Philadelphia Phillies.

Now a month away, what will the Mets starting lineup look like when they return home? Let’s take a crack at it.

Predicting what the NY Mets starting lineup will look like after Memorial Day

Why Memorial Day? It does seem to be the significant point of the season where we can start to actually believe the Pittsburgh Pirates are good and the Chicago White Sox are the biggest mess in baseball. Mets fans will either be in all-out panic mode or trapped somewhere in the in-between of realizing the team isn’t perfect but they’re also probably headed to the postseason.

When the Mets take the field on May 30, a day after Memorial Day, what will the starting lineup look like? Let’s assume it’s a righty on the mound.

1) Brandon Nimmo, CF
2) Jeff McNeil, 2B
3) Francisco Lindor, SS
4) Pete Alonso, 1B
5) Brett Baty, 3B
6) Starling Marte, RF
7) Daniel Vogelbach, DH
8) Mark Canha, LF
9) Francisco Alvarez, C

There’s no point in predicting the lineup without some major changes.

Notably, Jeff McNeil moves up to the number two spots. There are a couple of reasons for this. Getting him on base ahead of Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso is pretty important. The added pop Starling Marte can bring to the bottom of the order can be pretty helpful, too. Batting him sixth and ahead of Daniel Vogelbach stops the station-to-station baseball the Mets can get too caught up with.

The lineup features Brett Baty in the number five spot. An optimistic prediction, his power bat behind Alonso can make a huge difference in the lineup.

We finish off with Mark Canha and Francisco Alvarez. Alvarez’s slow start in 2023 doesn’t have me feeling optimistic about him moving up in the lineup within the next month. I do, however, think the Mets will play him more often. Tomas Nido has been absent at the plate. The expected timetable for Omar Narvaez to return in 8-9 weeks will carry at least a little bit past Memorial Day. Nido can get the start before the getaway day. In the opener of this series, it’s Alvarez batting ninth with a .210 batting and a couple of home runs.

An injury or two or three could always create more havoc into which names Buck Showalter writes on the lineup card.