The New York Mets didn’t make any big money additions this offseason. They opted to spend frugally and sign some veterans to team-friendly contracts.
The Mets starting rotation hasn’t been able to stay healthy. They had a stockpile of young starters, but they keep falling apart. Nearly every starter has had Tommy John at this point. That surgery is rarely a career-ender, but Matt Harvey keeps finding new ways to get injured. Hopefully they all have healthy and productive seasons.
The NL East have two of the worst teams in the Majors. Can the Mets pad their win total enough to steal a Wild Card spot?
Here is the 2018 MLB season preview for the New York Mets.
2017 Win/Loss Record: 70-92
Key Additions: 1B Adrian Gonzalez, 3B Todd Frazier, OF Jay Bruce, SP Jason Vargas, RP Anthony Swarzak, SP A.J. Griffin & C Jose Lobaton
Key Losses: 1B Lucas Duda, SS Matt Reynolds, OF Nori Aoki, RP Josh Smoker, RP Erik Goeddel, RP Chasen Bradford, SP Tommy Milone & SP Tyler Pill
Interleague Schedule: AL East
Projected Starters: Travis, d’Arnaud, Adrian Gonzalez, Asdrubal Cabrera, Todd Frazier, Amed Rosario, Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Conforto & Jay Bruce
Projected Starting Rotation: Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, Jason Vargas & Zack Wheeler
Closer: Jeurys Familia
Fantasy Sleeper: SP Jason Vargas – I understand that Wins are a pretty fluky category, but Vargas was able to secure 18 wins last year. His WHIP may not help your team, but he could have an ERA around 3.50 in a pitcher-friendly home park. He is overshadowed by younger pitchers with more upside, but Vargas should be a very good NL-only pick and deep mixed leagues.
Prospect To Keep Your Eye On: None – The Mets don’t really have any blue chippers ready for a call-up this season. They’ve either already called them up or have been dealt for Major League talent the last two seasons. Pitchers David Peterson and Justin Dunn could be very good, but are at least two seasons away.
Team Analysis: The Mets are a team I thought would be in much better shape at this point. It was only two seasons ago that they had one of the most promising starting rotations in all of baseball. They were all young, talented with very high ceilings. Unfortunately, the injury bug has bitten just about everyone except Jacob deGrom. Syndergaard should still be great this season, but Zack Wheeler and Steven Matz are question marks. I’ve lost all hope Matt Harvey regains his past form. He was an utter mess last season.
As far as their position players go, they’ve built a team better suited for a smaller park. Todd Frazier and Jay Bruce will both hit for .230, but smack 30+ homers. Their upper-cut swings would do damage in hitter-friendly parks. They just don’t have many line-drive hitters on the team. I could see the Mets being very streaky as I don’t see much consistency on the team.
I don’t see them competing for the NL East division as the Washington Nationals are on another level. It’s not all lost for the Mets as they get to play the Braves and Marlins a ton, so it will pad their win-loss record. If they take care of those games, they should be above .500 by the end of the year.
2018 Wins Over/Under Betting Line: 81.5 (Prediction: OVER)
2018 Projected Win/Loss Record: 84-78 (2nd in NL East)
CLICK HERE to read the rest of our 2018 MLB Team Previews
Follow us on Twitter @Sweetbob & ‘LIKE’ us on Facebook!
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.