The New York Mets have played 54 games this season, yet they are right back to where they started. Having played a third of their schedule, the Mets have won the same amount of games as they have lost, with a 27-27 record.

If you asked the offseason “Come get us” version of Brodie Van Wagenen, he would probably say that the Mets performance so far has been a disappointment. Here are some of things that have negatively impacted the Mets season thus far.

  • All-Star free-agent acquisition Jed Lowrie has yet to see the field after signing a two-year $20 million deal to be the Mets everyday third baseman.
  • Justin Wilson, Luis Avilan and Jeurys Familia were all signed in the offseason to be key bullpen arms, but have each spent significant time on the IL. When they have been healthy, they have not performed, as the trio has a combined 6.42 ERA across 40.2 innings pitched.
  • Robinson Cano waited until the Mets lowest point of the season to have his annual no-hustle controversy, nearly costing Mickey Callaway his job.
  • Then Cano does hustle and lands himself on the injured list.
  • The icing on the cake is that the team’s highest-paid player, Yoenis Cespedes, who has been rehabbing from offseason surgeries, broke his ankle in a freak accident ending his season before it started.

Now when you take all of that into account, being .500 really does not sound that bad. With that in mind, here are five reasons for optimism heading into the second-third of the 2019 season.

1. You Could Be the Washington Nationals

Last year, the Mets went 10-18 in May. They would then freefall down the standings with a 5-21 record in June as their season was effectively over before the All-Star break. The Nationals are on a similar trajectory this year.

Washington currently has a 10-16 record in May, with two games left to play in the month. The Nationals bullpen is the worst in baseball with their 7.14 ERA and 11 blown saves. In the process, their bullpen has wasted two months of great starting pitching from Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Patrick Corbin.

Sound familiar?

The Mets could easily be in that spot this year, but by winning seven of their last nine games they have managed to keep their heads above water.

2. Steven Matz and Jason Vargas

Coming into the season, the two biggest question marks in the starting rotation were Jason Vargas and Steven Matz. Those concerns only grew starker after both left-handed starters made April starts where they didn’t make it out of the first inning.

If you remove Matz’ lone bad start, where he allowed eight runs (six earned) without recording an out, his numbers would be the best in the rotation. Matz would have a 2.49 ERA with his 51 strikeouts across 50 2/3 innings pitched.

The Mets fifth starter has not been bad lately either, as Vargas has allowed just one run in four of his last five starts.

If the Mets can continue to get this level of production from their two left-handed starters, the Mets should be in position to win a lot of games.

3. Youth Movement

For years the narrative around the Mets is that they are a team built around young starting pitching. Well two months into the season, a budding core of hitters is breathing life into this team.

Of Mets hitters who have taken at least 100 at-bats this year, the top five hitters based on OPS all young players: Michael Conforto .933, Pete Alonso .921, Jeff McNeil .879, J.D. Davis .774 and Amed Rosario .728.

Those five players are establishing themselves as quality major league starters who will be pushing veterans for playing time. Also, not to be forgotten is Dominic Smith who is begging to get more playing time himself with his team-best .947 OPS, albeit in a smaller 49 at-bat sample size.

The Mets all of a sudden have a young core of position players. For the Mets to have a successful season, they will need their youth movement to carry them through the doldrums of the summer.

4. Syracuse Mets Keep Bringing the Magic

In the Mets most recent string of good play, it has been the Syracuse taxi squad that has pushed the charge back to .500. Adeiny Hechavarria, Carlos Gomez, Aaron Altherr and Rajai Davis have all hit pivotal home runs over the last nine games, playing key roles in the 7-2 stretch.

Van Wagenen continues to make additions through minor league deals, as he has signed outfielder Matt Kemp, starting pitcher Ervin Santana and reliever Louis Coleman over the last week to replenish his Triple-A roster.

If the Triple-A team was still in Las Vegas, we never would have had the Rajai Davis Uber to hero game and these players would not be able to make such a seamless transition to the big-league level.

5. Underperforming All-Stars Due to Play Better

If the Mets seriously want to make a run at winning the NL East, they will need to get a lot more from their former All-Stars. Wilson Ramos has shown some signs of life as of late, as has Todd Frazier, but the Mets will need a healthy and productive Robinson Cano and Jed Lowrie if they want to reach their full potential.

Along with the veteran hitters, New York needs more from their two aces in Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard. Both pitchers have struggled to find consistency thus far in the season yet have each had starts where they look untouchable.

If the Mets can get deGrom and Syndergaard to round into midseason form, they will have a real chance to challenge for a postseason berth.

Sitting at .500, this year can really go either way for New York. If the first third of the season was any indication, this is shaping up to be a very memorable season of Mets baseball.