5 most important players in the Mets vs. Padres Wild Card Series ranked

The New York Mets will take on the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card round to open up their first trip to the postseason since 2016. It wasn’t what we had planned only a few weeks ago. Hopefully, it just gives us some extra games and a week and the Los Angeles Dodgers have to give the excuse that they went cold because of the bye.

Both of these clubs have some very important players on the roster. But who is the most important?

It’s these five who stand out as the most important to their team winning the series. How they perform can completely alter the feel of the series.

5) NY Mets vs. SD Padres: Why Blake Snell is important

The lefty starter on the Padres likely to get the ball this series, Blake Snell is someone that can absolutely shut down the Mets. It’s not just the fact that he’s a southpaw and they seem to go silent against lefties. Take a look at his second half numbers.

Snell was 1-5 with a 5.22 ERA in the first half before completely turning things around for the finale. He was 7-5 with a 2.19 ERA post All-Star Game in 14 starts. He was the exact kind of pitcher the Mets wouldn’t want to face.

This is a series where the games could very well come down to who starts for the ball club. Based on the performance of the regular season Mets, Snell should have an advantage. We’ll need the righties to step up and the lefties to maybe lean into a couple of inside fastballs.