Not only were the New York Mets a dark horse contender last year, but they made it all the way to the World Series.
How did the Mets make such a huge leap? Pitching. You knew they would eventually have a stacked young rotation with so many young arms in their farm system, but everything just fell into place last season. It’s scary to think that they didn’t even have one of their best young starters (Zack Wheeler) at all last season. Could their rotation even be better in 2016?
The NL East is top heavy this year with the Mets and Nationals expected to battle for the division crown. Do the Mets have enough offense to keep up with the Nationals?
Here is the 2016 MLB season preview for the New York Mets.
2015 Win/Loss Record: 90-72
Key Additions: 2B Neil Walker, RP Antonio Bastardo, SS Asdrubal Cabrera, OF Alejandra De Aza & RP Jim Henderson
Key Losses: 2B Daniel Murphy, OF Michael Cuddyer, RP Carlos Torres, SS Ruben Tejada, SP Jonathon Niese, 2B Kelly Johnson, RP Bobby Parnell, RP Tyler Clippard, SP Dillon Gee, RP Jenrry Mejia, 3B Juan Uribe, RP Alex Torres, OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis, RP Eric O’Flaherty, C Anthony Recker & RP Logan Verrett
Interleague Schedule: AL Central
Projected Starters: Travis, d’Arnaud, Lucas Duda, Neil Walker, David Wright, Asdrubal Cabrera, Michael Conforto, Yoenis Cespedes & Curtis Granderson
Projected Starting Rotation: Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Bartolo Colon & Steven Matz
Closer: Jeurys Familia
Fantasy Sleeper: SS Asdrubal Cabrera – It’s hard to pick a sleeper on the Mets since nearly everyone is a known quantity or properly-rated/overrated. Cabrera was signed this offseason after a rebound season in Tampa Bay. It’s hard to find cheap, middle-infield power. You won’t be overly-excited about having Cabrera on your team, but he’s safe and productive.
Prospect To Keep Your Eye On: None – The Mets have already promoted all their top arms and top outfield prospect Michael Conforto will be their Opening Day starter. The Mets farm system is becoming quite bare.
Team Analysis: The Mets were my dark horse pick to make the postseason last season. Not only did they make it, but they appeared in the World Series. They didn’t win a ring, but they made it a lot farther than nearly everyone expected.
The Mets are built in a very old school way. The front office has been focused on building their team around pitching ever since they built the spacious Citi Field. It didn’t work out in the first handful years. They even moved in the fences to better accommodate their roster. The team now has a filthy starting rotation full of young arms.
The Mets let playoff hero Daniel Murphy walk and signed Neil Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera this offseason. They also re-signed Yoenis Cespedes who knocked the cover off the ball after he was acquired by them last year. I don’t expect Cespedes to be as productive this year, but he should still be solid at the plate…he still also has a rocket arm in the outfield.
The Mets are now a contender coming into this season and the pressure is on. The NL East is top-heavy with New York and Washington, so it will be a two-headed race all season. It will be close all season.
2016 Wins Over/Under Betting Line: 89.5 (Prediction: OVER)
2016 Projected Win/Loss Record: 91-71 (2nd in NL East)
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About the Author…
Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.