With the Mets 8-3 win yesterday afternoon over the Astros, they closed out what was a rather hectic 2014 season, one filled with both surprises and disappointments, yet one that brought reasons to be optimistic for next season. They finished 79-83, solidly better than last year, but still leaving room to improve. Here are my five biggest takeaways from this year.
The Bullpen is Legit
The bullpen has been a huge question mark for the Mets over the past few seasons, but they seem to have solved the problem with a strategy a number of teams are now using: put young pitching in the bullpen.
Sandy Alderson finally gave back-end bullpen jobs to Jenrry Mejia and Jeurys Familia, who have both been nasty. After having among the league’s worst bullpens the past few years, the Mets now have a top ten ‘pen. And unlike many dominant bullpens, it is relatively young.
Instead of opting to stick pitchers like Familia and Mejia in the rotation, the Mets made the right call converting them to relievers. In order to be a starter, you really need three good pitches, with the third preferably being a changeup. Familia and Mejia just weren’t meant to be starters and it’s about time they were put in their rightful places.
Mets Made the Right Choice at First
The choice was finally made this April, when the Mets picked Lucas Duda over Ike Davis in one of the most significant decisions the front office made all season. Duda went on to post a 133 wRC+ and a 3.1 fWAR, while Davis lagged behind with a 109 wRC+ and 0.3 fWAR. Duda ended the year with 30 home runs, while Davis finished with 11. The right choice has obviously been made.
While the Mets will likely have to find a good platoon partner for Duda, they have found themselves a legitimate slugger, one who could hit 30 plus home runs for a few years (Duda is only 28).
Lagares is Baseball’s Best Defender
Juan Lagares catapulted himself this year from a question mark to a cornerstone player. Lagares put up a solid .281/.321/.382 line, hovering around a league average wRC+. That’s not bad, especially for a center fielder. When you combine Lagares’ incredible defensive numbers, this season was much better than you might think.
Say what you will about defensive metrics, but they were pretty consistent with Lagares this year. Almost every defensive metric, from SABR Defensive Index to UZR, had him around 20 runs above average. That’s astounding, especially when you consider the sample size. Lagares didn’t even qualify for the batting title this year.
On a per-game basis, there is no player slicker with the glove than Lagares. He put up a 3.8 fWAR in just 116 games. If he can play a full season, he is a perennial All-Star caliber player.
Starting Rotation is Loaded
The starting rotation was expected to be a force this season, but it exceeded its expectations. Not only did Jonathon Niese, Bartolo Colon, and Zack Wheeler deliver solid seasons, but the team also saw the emergence of a future ace, Jacob deGrom.
The rotation for next year was already looked loaded, even without deGrom. With Matt Harvey back next season, the Mets could have two 130 ERA+-type pitchers to go along with three or four in the 100 range. How many teams can say that every one of their starters is near or above league average? Not many. The rotation will be, barring a plethora of unforeseen injuries, among baseball’s best.
This Team is Built Right
How many teams can lose their ace for the season, have their best player play injured, and still win five more games than the previous year? Without an influx of new money, it doesn’t happen very much.
As tough as the past few years have been, the Mets are clearly on a brighter path. The record has looked more or less the same over the past few years, but the composition of the roster has changed drastically. Compare the 2011 roster with this year’s.
On the position player side, the Mets are a younger team, with more youth coming. With the way the Mets roster was constructed a few years ago, they had to get younger before they could get better. They are now clearly on the upswing.
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When the Mets come back to camp next year, they will have a healthy Matt Harvey and a healthy David Wright. Assuming similar production from the rest of the roster, that immediately makes them borderline playoff contenders. Then you factor in full years of second half-like production from Travis d’Arnaud and Jacob deGrom, and the Mets are right there. Granted that’s a very optimistic view, but it shows just how close this team is from being a contender. If the Mets can add one or two significant pieces this offseason, they will be a dangerous team next year.
