2015 Preview: New York Mets

When looking at the 2015 New York Mets, there is a lot to like, and good reason for people to be optimistic about what this team can do.

In my opinion, for all the good things going on, there’s also a lot of question marks.

The good things start, obviously, with the starting pitching. Without question, getting Matt Harvey back from TJS is a huge shot in the arm for the Metropolitans, but what can we expect from the prized ace? This year, I don’t think we see the 2.2-whatever ERA. Maybe I’m wrong, but I cannot think of an elite pitcher who has come right back from TJS and has gone back to their old form.

I do think, eventually, Harvey gets there, and if it’s later this year, I’ll sign up for that in a heartbeat, but I do think there will be struggles.

The nice thing is, unlike a lot of organizations, the guys behind Harvey are going to be very capable of picking him up. Obviously the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, Jacob deGrom, is going to be a big key in this rotation. Does he repeat what he did in 2014? A 2.69 ERA in 140 innings was impressive. deGrom’s next stage of development is huge for the Mets. Can he be a 200 innings a year guy? Can he make 32-35 starts in a year? All questions I think we’ll get the answers to this season.

It’s also painfully clear there is no spot in this future rotation for guys like Dillon Gee or Jon Niese. The former kills me they don’t have room for him. Gee has been a guy that has battled through personal struggles and on the field struggles and is such a consistent performer, but it’s the reality of having a stacked and deep young staff. For Gee to start the season in the bullpen to me is devaluing him. If you want him to be appealing to a team as a trade chip, and believe me, he will be appealing to someone, he needs to be in the rotation. But again, where do you put him?

I’ve never been a Jon Niese fan. I’ve not ever been impressed watching him, his numbers aren’t anything that gets me excited (3.87 career ERA, 30 starts is the most he’s made in a season and he’s never struck out more than 155 batters in a year). To be truthful, my opinion of his personality is that of what Bears fans think of Jay Cutler. Just a guy that mopes and acts like he doesn’t care when things don’t go his way.

To me, if the Mets can get anything for Jon Niese, I say pull the trigger. I have no use for him, I’m sure the organization will try to sell him like he’s a valuable piece to the pie, but truth be told, he isn’t.

One other guy that might be of trade value come mid-season is Bartolo Colon. The ageless wonder put up another 200 innings last year at the ripe young age of 40. Colon isn’t a the ace he used to be, but a contender late in the year in need of pitching (perhaps San Diego, Chicago [White Sox], or Baltimore) could use the big man’s services.

I speculate if the Mets will keep all three guys around this year because of two names that are on the rise.

The first is of course coveted prospect Noah Syndergaard. Syndergaard has been the subject of so much speculation about a trade, whether it’s to Colorado for Troy Tulowitzki or Chicago for one of their prized prospects. In my opinion, if the Mets were going to deal him, the would have already.

If he can keep his head on straight, plan on Noah Syndergaard being an impact guy in New York for a good number of years.

The next in line is Steven Matz.

I. Love. This Kid.

In the few healthy minor league seasons he’s had, he’s done nothing but produce. At age 23, I cannot say I’d be surprised if we see him come up and give an encore Jacob deGrom type performance. I heard Ron Darling earlier this spring say he thought Matz would arrive to the big leagues before Noah Syndergaard. I cannot say I disagree. I think Syndergaard has some more things to work on in the minors, but if Matz gets off to a roaring start in Triple-A Vegas, it’s time we see this lefty.

Expect by the end of this year to have a real good idea of who these two guys are.

I think one big key for the Mets in 2015 is the bullpen.

The Mets have a plethora of arms to run out there in almost any situation except lefty vs lefty situations. The Mets don’t have a go to lefty in their bullpen, and that may haunt them this year. But, the bullpen could end up being good enough, they’ll be able to get by without one.

I know I am going to be very much in the minority on this, but starting the year with Wilmer Flores at shortstop does not bother me in the least. I know he allegedly isn’t the best fielding shortstop in baseball, but from what I’ve seen of him, he is a perfectly serviceable shortstop, and the offense he is going to give you that Ruben Tejada and Omar Quinatanilla never could to me are far better reasons to give him a shot.

How long have the Mets gone without production at shortstop? Too long in my opinion, and now they have a guy that can give them something. I look for a very solid, productive year out of Wilmer Flores, and truthfully, I look for him to silence the critics that say he can’t play shortstop everyday.

Few more offensive keys. David Wright and Curtis Granderson have to get back on track. Wright had an absolutely miserable 2014 hitting just .269 with eight homers. For the Mets to be any sort of contender, the production offensively starts with Wright. If he can’t be the former .300 hitter with 15 home runs, they Mets aren’t going anywhere. You cannot have the kind of a void from from your franchise player.

Additionally, once Granderson got past the month of May, he was actually really good for New York. Granderson struggled again in August, but other than that, after May, he was on base well above .300 and even touched .400 in June, his most productive month.

I look for Granderson to have a bounce back year.

A nice surprise last year, for me at least, was Lucas Duda. Kid clubbed 30 homers en route to his most productive year in the big leagues. The Mets need a repeat performance of that because they truthfully don’t have any 30 home run guys in their lineup at this point. I think Grandy’s last 30 HR year is behind him. Same for Wright.

I’ll let you all take a look, but back in February I talked about Travis d’Arnaud and he’s another guy that could be in for a big year. So take a look.

All in all, I think the Mets have the potential to be a solid team, but I don’t think they are a playoff team. There’s just too many questions in mind this team needs answered, and I don’t think they can get enough things to fall into place that they will be a playoff team.

Their time is near though. An almost decade long playoff drought should soon be coming to an end in New York, no question about it.