3 UP

Nimmo Healthy and Hitting

Brandon Nimmo would miss Opening Day with a neck issue. It was a concern as Nimmo dealt with a bulging disc in his neck which cost him 55 games last season.

So far, it has only cost him one, and it has not had any impact on his ability to play. So far this season, he is hitting .333/.429/.708 with a double, a triple, two homers, and two RBI.

He was the spark plug the Mets needed in this series, and he’s been that since he returned to the lineup. When he’s healthy, this team is just on another level.

Designated Pete

Pete Alonso struggled in the pandemic shortened season, and the narrative became he can’t thrive as a DH. There was some truth to it with his hitting .203/.246/.469 as opposed to .247/.363/.507 when he played first.

Well, this year, in the inaugural season of the universal DH, it has been the opposite. So far, Alonso has gotten to a slow start at the plate when playing first while absolutely mashing as the DH. When serving as the DH this year, he is hitting .400/.400/1.200 with two doubles, two homers, and nine RBI.

Overall, the takeaway here is Alonso is going to hit no matter what.

Dominant Starting Pitching

So far this season, Mets starting pitching has been the best in the majors. They lead with a 1.29 ERA, 0.69 WHIP, and 35.0 IP. They are second with 43 strikeouts and an 8.20 K/BB.

Much of this is Tylor Megill, who has been phenomenal. He is 2-0 without giving up a run or walking a batter. It’s not just him as we saw Max Scherzer labor through his game but pick up a win. Taijuan Walker looked great in his two innings, though he has landed on the injured list and will likely miss a couple of starts.

Overall, the Mets plan was to build around their starting pitching. So far, it has been working, which is all the more incredible in Jacob deGrom‘s absence.

Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

3 DOWN

Buck Pushing Relievers

In the series finale against the Washington Nationals, Buck Showalter defended his use of Trevor Williams and scoffed at the notion he needed to push his best relievers to win an April game. He followed that by pushing his best relievers in the series against the Phillies.

On Monday, despite knowing Trevor May was dealing with biceps and triceps issues, he pushed May for a second inning. May is unaccustomed to that, and with the cold night, May would leave with an issue. Fortunately, he would be fine.

The following day, Drew Smith pitched 1 2/3 innings. Keep in mind, Smith has had his own history of arm issues in his young career. Despite that and Showalter’s earlier proclamation, Smith was pushed for five outs.

He did it again with Joely Rodriguez. After he got Kyle Schwarber to end the inning in the sixth and escape further damage, Showalter let Rodriguez sit on the bench between innings to go in and face J.T. Realmuto who homered off of him the previous game. Instead, Rodriguez issued two walks which led to a big inning thereby taking a once blowout and putting the game in jeopardy

The messaging from Showalter here is off, and there are concerns about pushing your best relievers this early in the season. Another point here is the Mets bullpen isn’t great, and using it this way makes them worse.

What happened to you, Mr. Robinson?

Robinson Cano seemed to come on late in spring training. He also got off to a good start to the season staring with that bunt against the shift. However, when you peel it back, things are looking ugly with Cano.

His exit velocity is a woeful 82.8 MPH. All three of his hits were infield hits. His bat speed is quite slow, and his speed on the bases is even slower. Really, there’s not justifying playing him even with that $20.25 million salary this year and the next.

What makes these struggles all the worse is he’s gotten playing time. He’s started in more games than either Dominic Smith or Luis Guillorme. He’s batted sixth twice and third once. No matter the salary or veteran standing, he needs to stop appearing in the everyday lineup, and the Mets really have to figure out how to handle this sunk cost.

Dom Struggles

While Smith has been sitting for Cano, he hasn’t been able to get in any sort of a rhythm. In fact, he has gotten off to an awful start. So far, he is 1-for-11 with eight strikeouts. You can’t force your way into the lineup hitting that way, and it is only going to allow the Mets to look past him for playing time.