213 Miles From Shea

The Mets look to get back in the win column this afternoon as they take on the Nationals at Clover Park! There were two positive take always from yesterday’s game. First, Drew Smith allowed a hit and a walk with no runs in his spring debut – he could very well be the x-factor in the bullpen this year. Second, the third base battle continued to heat up on the Mets. Eduardo Escobar went 1-3 at the plate. Brett Baty had to take it one step farther going 2-3.

Today the Mets welcome back a familiar face to Clover Park as Trevor Williams looks to build on his last scoreless outing. Williams will square off against Max Scherzer who is making his second start of the spring. Last season Scherzer pitched four innings in his spring debut. This year he went two innings, but if he didn’t throw so many pitches in his second inning it’s conceivable that he could have gone three.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Max Scherzer: In Scherzer’s first spring training start he struck out a batter in 27 seconds. He also held onto the ball for 14 seconds waiting until the last possible moment to pitch it to mess with the batter. He’s gone on the record discussing how the pitch clock gives the pitchers an additional advantage. We are excited to see what new games he creates on the pitching mound today!
2. Francisco Álvarez: After yesterday’s game Showalter said the plan for today was to give Álvarez time behind the plate for the first time this spring. This is a significant step for Álvarez’s preparation this spring. I am curious to see which pitchers he will catch this afternoon.
3. Daniel Vogelbach: So far in spring Vogelbach has been the main beneficiary of the new shift rules in baseball. There was some talk over the weekend during the SNY broadcast that while Vogelbach is going to benefit from the shift, teams may not be showing their hand on they will play Vogelbach during the season. We are so early in spring that I doubt that right now, but it is something to look for as while the Mets play teams that they are both seeing a lot in the spring and the regular season.  

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to win two games in a row as they take on the Atlanta Braves this afternoon!

You can call the Mets PSE&G, Con-Ed, etc. because yesterday’s win was all thanks to power. Francisco Lindor hit his first homer of the spring. Pete Alonso smacked his second. Ronny Mauricio hit an MLB leading third homer of the spring. This is further evidence that Lindor and Alonso are ready to go to the World Baseball Classic next week. For Mauricio, this hot streak, coupled with the World Baseball Classic, means more time against higher talent opponents.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Carlos Carrasco: As of today Carlos Carrasco projects to be the Mets fifth starter and what a blessing that is to have that much depth. Carrasco had a rocky 2021 coming back from injury and was able to make 12 starts pitching a total of 53 2/3 innings with a 6.04 ERA, 5.22 FIP, 1.435 WHIP and a 67 ERA+. Home runs crushed him in 2021, he gave them up at a rate of two per nine innings, almost double his career mark of 1.1. Last season he was a different story. Carrasco made 29 starts and pitched 152 innings with a 3.97 ERA, 3.53 FIP, 1.329 WHIP and 97 ERA+. He also cut his home run per nine inning total in half compared to 2021.
2. Jeff McNeil: McNeil has been off to a slow start this spring with a hit and a walk in ten trips to the plate. This puts him an absurdly low, and small sample size .200 OBP. Very unlike Jeff McNeil. It’s still early and Jeff is going to get time playing higher-leverage spring baseball in the World Baseball Classic next week. That being said, a little positive momentum can keep the overreactions away.
3. Drew Smith: Smith makes his Grapefruit League debut today also! Drew Smith pitched in 44 games, 46 innings, last season with a 3.33 ERA, 4.33 FIP, 1.152 WHIP and a 117 ERA+. Good numbers for any reliever, but also a step backwards from his phenomenal 31 game, 41 1/3 inning 2021 campaign where he finished with a 2.40 ERA and 168 ERA+. The Mets brought in reinforcements to flank Edwin Díaz with this off-season. Drew Smith finishing anywhere between his 2021 and 2022 performances will be a huge boon to the Mets. 

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets make another trip to Jupiter this afternoon, this time to take on the Marlins. The ESPN booth on Monday was discussing the playing field at Jupiter after Pete Alonso fielded a ball that took a bad hop. Since two teams are playing on the field, it’s a lot tougher for the field to be resilient. I’ve personally never considered this before and it could be something to look at throughout March to see if there is any truth to this.

Anyway the Mets are looking to bounce back from yesterday’s loss against the Astros. Most of the damage was damage was done against the Mets in the first inning, with Quintana getting tagged for five runs after allowing three doubles to start of the game. Not a great start for the Mets new starting pitcher. T.J. McFarland also had a rough inning towards the end of the game allowing three earned runs. He’s currently in a battle for a roster spot and his major league experience is giving him an edge. Hopefully he can shrug this off.

Enough about the negatives though – there was a lot to be positive about! Edwin Díaz had a great first outing the spring, striking out two batters while striking out one. Adam Ottavino worked himself into trouble, and then got out of it without allowing a run. Mauricio got on base again. Baty got a hit again. Francisco Lindor got two hits and stole a base. Hopefully these are the vibes the Mets try to keep going today.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Tylor Megill: Megill makes his spring debut today! In 15 games last year, including nine starts, he pitched 47 1/3 innings with a 5.13 ERA, 3.77 FIP, 1.246 WHIP and a 76 ERA+. Megill started the season strong last year, filling in for an injured deGrom at the start of the season throwing 10 1/3 scoreless innings over two starts but then hit some bumps in the road. He ended the season in the Mets bullpen pitching five innings over five games with a 3.60 ERA and 3.11 FIP. Most likely he will start the year in Syracuse unless the Mets need a starter due to injury at the beginning of the season.
2. Jonathan Araúz: The Mets brought a handful of infielders to camp this year on non-roster invites including Araúz. Signed by the Phillies, he has been traded to the Astros, claimed by the Red Sox and played for the Orioles all before the age of 24. His time to play with the Mets this spring is quickly evaporating as he gets ready to go to Taiwan for Panama in the World Baseball Classic.
3. Stephen Nogosek: Nogosek is out of options this year, which is giving him an inside track to breaking camp with the team. His first outing was great – no hits and no walks while recording a strikeout. Let’s see what his second game brings!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to get back in the (mostly meaningless) win column today as they take on the Astros to close out the month of February. Yesterday the Mets lost to the Cardinals 12-7 thanks to a big inning the Cardinals were able to put up against Jose Chacin.

But it’s spring and the results don’t exactly matter. David Peterson had a tremendous start to the game where he held the Cardinals to no hits and a walk while striking out three over two innings of work. Ronny Mauricio continued his hot start to spring, homering in a second straight game. Brett Baty went 1-2 at the plate with an opposite field single and William Lugo hit his first homer of the spring. A big day for the young guys trying to make noise.

Mets Lineup:

1. Tommy Pham – LF
2. Jeff McNeil – 2B
3. Francisco Lindor – SS
4. Pete Alonso – 1B
5. Daniel Vogelbach – DH
6. Mark Canha – CF
7. Eduardo Escobar – 3B
8. Omar Narváez – C
9. DJ Stewart – RF

SP – José Quintana

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Eduardo Escobar: Escobar needs reps in left field in order to get ready for the World Baseball Classic. With the way Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio have been playing this spring, the Mets could be interested in a more versatile Eduardo Escobar. Remember this for the next time someone says something negative about the WBC. Right now Escobar is slated to start at third – we’ll see if Showalter shifts him to left at some point today.
2. José Quintana: Quintana quietly had a strong year in 2022. Between the Pirates and the Cardinals he had a 2.93 ERA over 32 starts and 165 2/3 innings. This was because he led the league in HR/9 at a paltry 0.4 (career 0.9). This is pretty much the polar opposite of his 2021 campaign where he pitched in 29 games making 10 starts with a 6.43 ERA and a 1.7 HR/9 innings.
3. Look To The Backfields! It was announced last week that Kodai Senga was scheduled to throw in the backfields today. With today’s broadcast on ESPN, we aren’t sure how much coverage this will get if it happens today.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets head to Jupiter today to take the Cardinals for their fourth spring training game of the year. After dropping Saturday’s afternoon game against the Astros the Mets have won their past two games and look to extend that streak to three today.

One of the challenges the Mets have in 2023 is finding positions for Ronny Mauricio and Mark Ventos. Ronny Mauricio, who was on fire in the Dominican League this past winter, destroyed a baseball yesterday hitting it 450 feet with an exit velocity of 110 mph – that’s Pete Alonso territory!

Mets Lineup:

1. Tim Locastro – LF
2. Luis Guillorme – SS
3. Pete Alonso – 1B
4. Abraham Almonte – RF
5. Mark Vientos – 3B
6. Tomás Nido – C
7. Francisco Álvarez – DH
8. José Peraza – S
9. Lorenzo Cedrola – CF

SP – David Peterson

Three Things To Watch For:

1. David Peterson: David Peterson and Tylor Megill are the two key pitchers for the Mets pitching depth this season. As of right now it looks like the Mets will be going into the season with one lefty in the pen and Peterson in Syracuse to prepare for deep spot starts if needed. Last season he pitched in 28 games for the Mets, making 19 starts with a 3.83 ERA, 1.334 WHIP, 3.64 FIP and a 101 ERA+. He wasn’t too different as a starter vs a reliever. As a starter he had a 3.86 ERA over 91 innings with a 1.341 WHIP and a 10.9 K/9. As a reliever he pitched 14 2/3 innings with a 3.68 ERA, 1.296 WHIP and a 9.8 K/9. If there is an injury in spring training to the rotation, Peterson will be on the short list to replace them.
2. Francisco Álvarez: The Mets number one prospect gets his first start of the spring. Álvarez has the potential to be one of the most exciting players on the Mets this season when he gets called up. The question is – when? With the Mets signing Narváez, there is a little less pressure to rush Álvarez at the start of the season.
3. Abraham Almonte: Almonte has played 10 major league seasons across seven different organizations. He turned heads in his first spring training game this weekend recording two hits. Let’s see what he does with a start this afternoon!

Let’s Go Mets!

Jonathan Araúz is one of two infielders the Mets have brought to major league camp this year. Araúz was signed by the Phillies in 2014. He was packaged with Ken Giles and sent to the Astros for five players (most notably including Vince Velasquez). He was left unprotected by the Astros before the 2019 Rule V draft where he was selected by the Red Sox. Araúz made his major league debut the following season.

Araúz got into 25 games in the shortened 2020 season hitting .250/.325/.319 but took a step backwards the following season hitting .185/.274/.369 over 28 games and 75 plate appearances. Last season he went hitless in 12 trips to the plate for the Red Sox and was later picked up by the Orioles where he hit .179/.207/.286 over nine games.

Jonathan has done all this while still being only 24-years old. His non-roster invitee profile reads more like an older veteran player considering the amount of different organizations he’s been in and the amount of times he has been up and down already. The Mets signed him for depth. He’s here in case the Mets need an emergency infielder and if the Mets don’t want to burn an option for one of their top infielder prospects.

He is directly competing this spring with José Peraza who is back with the Mets on a non-roster invite as well. It is a little difficult right now to predict how much we’ll see Araúz this spring. He’s playing for Panama in the World Baseball Classic, and Showalter said he was going to prioritize players in the WBC but Panama is playing in Taiwan (Pool A) for the opening round. This obviously involves quite a bit of travel time compared to the games that the other members of the Mets will be playing in.

There are several former Mets playing Pool A as well including Ruben Tejada, Matt Harvey and Yoenis Céspedes. You can check them out and do some early morning scouting of Araúz once the tournament starts on March 8th!

The Mets play the first of six games against the Nationals this afternoon in Port St. Lucie! Yesterday the Mets had the rare split-squad day at two very different times, against two teams that were each only playing one game. The Mets dropped the first game against the Astros with Brett Baty stealing the show with two hits, including a homer and a walk in three trips to the plate. The Mets won the night cap against the Marlins with Pete Alonso‘s long home run showing he’s ready for the World Baseball Classic.

The Nationals are coming to town this afternoon with a split-squad roster and they are bringing Josiah Gray with them. Josiah Gray was one of the key prospects in the trade the Dodgers made with the Nationals a couple of seasons ago for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner. Gray will be starting against Max Scherzer today!

Mets Lineup:

1. Jeff McNeil – 2B
2. Mark Canha – LF
3. Francisco Lindor – SS
4. Daniel Vogelbach – DH
5. Eduardo Escobar – 3B
6. Tommy Pham – CF
7. Omar Narváez – C
8. Mark Vientos – 1B
9. Lorenzo Cedrola – RF

SP – Max Scherzer

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Max Scherzer: Ottavino was the only pitcher we saw yesterday who is a lock to start the season in Queens. There’s definitely more excitement today with Max Scherzer starting the game. Over 23 games and 145 1/3 innings last year Scherzer had a 2.29 ERA, 0.908 WHIP, 2.62 FIP and a 169 ERA+. The Mets hopes this season are pinned to Scherzer and Verlander.
2. Daniel Vogelbach: It’s the smallest of sample sizes, just one game, but the shift ban is going to help Vogelbach. He had two hits yesterday, both that probably would have been outs in the shift era. There was some talk during the broadcast last night that the Marlins might be hiding how they will play Vogelbach in the regular season. Let’s see what happens against the Nationals today!
3. Tommy Pham: The new 4th outfielder for the Mets had three batted balls last night 104 mph or higher. Last season he was in the 93rd percentile for average exit velocity and 86th for maximum exit velocity. It didn’t materialize in xwOBA or xBA (45h and 32nd percentiles) last season but in 2021 it sort-of did (73rd and 50th percentile).

Let’s Go Mets!

Hayden Senger was invited to Mets spring training for the second spring in a row. The 25-year old was drafted by the Mets in the 24th round back in 2018 from Miami University of Ohio and was a .272/.359/.409 hitter in college. Throughout his time in the minors he has been a .249/.334/.378 and has played every where in the Mets system from now non-existent Kingsport Mets and Columbia Fireflies all the way to the Syracuse Mets.

After missing a season of minor league baseball due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Senger came back to baseball roaring in 2021 slashing .263/.341/.429 between Brooklyn and Binghamton. He then followed that up with a stint in the Arizona Fall League where he had a .375 on base percentage over 40 plate appearances. In between the 2021 and 2022 seasons he started to pop-up on Mets prospects lists (generally around 20th in the system).

Last season wasn’t as good for Senger (.240/.309/.358) but Senger was never projecting to be the star Mets catcher. Senger has solid defense and fairly solid hitting. Right now he seems Nido-esque in a farm system that boasts two of the top hitting catching prospects in baseball.

This spring Senger needs to look better behind the bag than Nick Meyer and needs to hit better than Michael Pérez in order to continue to move up the Mets emergency catching depth chart. The Mets are built differently at catcher this season with Nido and Narváez ready to start the season in Queens and Álvarez on deck. Last season though the Mets had McCann, Nido and Mazeika and still needed to bring in Pérez for a short stint – so you never know!

The Mets and Marlins square off tonight for an evening spring training game in Port St. Lucie! This is the first of six games the Mets will play against the Marlins this spring before they go to Miami to open up the regular season on March 30th.

Brett Baty was the headline this afternoon – getting on base all three times in his first three plate appearances including a homer he hit in the first inning. Most of the Mets regular starting players stayed back for the nightcap in St. Lucie, and we can’t wait to see them take the field for the first time this spring!

Mets Lineup

1. Jeff McNeil – 2B
2. Tommy Pham – CF
3. Francisco Lindor – SS
4. Pete Alonso – 1B
5. Eduardo Escobar – 3B
6. Mark Canha – LF
7. Daniel Vogelbach – DH
8. Abraham Almonte – RF
9. Tomás Nido – C

SP – José Butto

Three Things To Watch For:

1. The Starting Lineup: Only Starling Marte and Brandon Nimmo are missing from this lineup. Showalter said he was going to prioritize players heading to the World Baseball Classic – which is a solid chunk of the Mets regulars. The amount of regular starting players in the lineup will make the first broadcast game of the year a lot more fun.
2. Eduardo Escobar: Brett Baty already put the pressure on Escobar this afternoon. Baty hit a homer in his first at bat, then walked during his second and got a single his third time around. Eduardo is one of the most positive players on the Mets roster. Twitter feeds are already filled with videos of Escobar greeting coaches and having fun on picture day. At the end of last season Escobar went on a tear – can he repeat that with a strong spring?
3. José Butto: The Mets top prospects are position player heavy with José Butto being probably the highest ranked pitcher who could see time in the majors this season. Butto had one start in the majors last season and it was a doozy. He allowed seven runs from nine hits and two walks over four innings of work. Over 28 games and 129 innings in the minors he had a 3.56 ERA and 1.209 WHIP. We are hoping to see him have a strong outing against major league quality hitters.
4. Bonus – Pitch Clocks: We said this earlier today but its worth mentioning again since more of the Mets regulars are playing tonight. Both games yesterday were right around two hours and thirty minutes. If the Mets are going to have any problems adjusting to the clock it will probably happen during the first two weeks of spring.

Let’s Go Mets!

Mets baseball is finally here! The Mets play two split-squad games today that are more like a doubleheader with one starting at 1 PM and the second one starting at 6 PM.

First up for the Mets this afternoon are the Houston Astros. Like every spring, the teams on the East coast of Florida play each other frequently and this is the first six games against the Astros the Mets will play over the next four weeks.

Mets Lineup:

1. Luis Guillorme – SS
2. Tim Locastro – LF
3. Brett Baty – 3B
4. Mark Vientos – 1B
5. Omar Narváez – DH
6. DJ Stewart – RF
7. Jonathan Araúz – 2B
8. Michael Pérez – C
9. Alex Ramírez

SP – Denyi Reyes

Three Things To Watch For:

• Denyi Reyes: Reyes made his major league debut with the Orioles briefly last season where he allowed only two runs from eight hits and a walk over 7 2/3 innings. His numbers last year in the minors weren’t great (7.17 ERA, 1.519 WHIP) but he had a low walk rate (3.3%) which was also seen in the majors. He has a low to mid-90’s mph fastball, a mid-80’s changeup and mid-70’s curveball. Reyes’ upside makes him one of the more interesting pitchers the Mets have brought to camp this year.
• Mets Young Hitters: One of the major stories we’ll be following all spring is who is going to be the Mets Opening Day third basemen. After the Carlos Correa deal fell through all eyes turned to Baty and Escobar. Baty made an immediate first impression yesterday with two hits including a double in the Mets intrasquad game. Mark Vientos is looking to make a splash somewhere with the Mets. There are players in front of him all over the depth chart. That being said, the Mets are thin at first base which is where he is starting today.
• Omar Narváez: Narváez joins a crowded Mets catching field that includes Nido and a couple of top Mets prospects. How Narváez and Nido play this spring could determine their playing time split before Álvarez arrives full time.
• Bonus – Pitch Clocks: This is the first real game the Mets will have with pitch clocks. Both games yesterday were right around two hours and thirty minutes. If the Mets are going to have any problems adjusting to the clock it will probably happen during the first two weeks of spring.

Let’s Go Mets!