Credit: SNY

After one of the longest and worst years any of us have endured, optimism was in the air yesterday in Port St. Lucie, as the New York Mets took the field for a little exhibition action against the Houston Astros.

In the seven-inning game we got a little bit of everything, as we witnessed some cameos from star players early on, before those players got replaced by top prospects that were sure to pique the interest of many diehard fans.

Most importantly, it was all televised, with Gary, Keith and Ron returning to the booth to call their first game of 2021. Despite the face that we got a 60-game season at the end of last summer, something about this game felt different.

There was a crowd of fans, albeit a small and socially distanced one, but there was energy in the air. This is a new era of Mets baseball and one we are abundantly excited for. Even sitting on the coach, watching this game felt different than it did back in August, because we are getting back to some normalcy with the return of fans and a regular 162-game schedule on the way.

Here were some of my biggest takeaways from watching the blue and orange take the field for the first time on SNY this spring.

Gary, Keith and Ron Are Back

Any good Mets fans realizes how blessed we are to have the best broadcasters in the game calling every pitch on both radio and TV. The combination of Howie Rose and Wayne Randazzo on the radio broadcast, as well as Gary Cohen, Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez on TV is something that none of us should take for granted.

On Tuesday, we saw a return of Gary, Keith and Ron and as always, it felt like we were all reunited with old friends. The trio were in regular season form, taking jabs at one another, telling stories and cracking jokes to keep the mood light during our first taste of Grapefruit League action.

Mets Improved Defense On Display

Throughout this offseason there has been a lot of talk about the Mets needing to improve their defense from where things were last year. Watching their first game at Clover Park this spring, we saw the great addition by subtraction the Mets have made by removing a few aging veterans from the everyday lineup.

Wilson Ramos and Robinson Cano were both considered fine defenders at one point of their careers, but that was years ago. Over the last two seasons we have seen the impact of their age and quite frankly, their lack of athleticism.

Now replaced by James McCann and Jeff McNeil respectively, the Mets appear to have upgraded at both positions.

While Cano still has soft hands, McNeil has far superior range and quickness to make some of the more difficult plays. In this contest, we watched McNeil snag a liner and also make a great running play on a ball he fielded in shallow right field.

Behind the plate, McCann presented a far better strike zone for Mets pitchers than Ramos with his pitch framing. He also showed off that cannon of his, gunning down a runner at second base to end the third inning.

Jeff McNeil Showcases Some Power

Jeff McNeil found himself in the middle of the lineup for his spring debut, batting fifth behind Pete Alonso and Michael Conforto. McNeil has spent a lot of his career atop the Mets lineup, but now may find himself in more of a run producer role, rather than trying to set the table for others.

If his first at-bat was any indication, McNeil will be ready to step into such a role, as he showed off his pop with a monster home run to get his spring off to a fast start.

Houston Astros starter Framber Valdez tried to sneak a curveball into the strike zone against McNeil and he was all over it, crushing the pitch into the berm out in right field.

After the game, Luis Rojas said that he believes in McNeil’s ability to be a 20-30 home run guy, citing all of the muscle he has added over the years.

First Look at Some New Arms

The New York Mets have added a ton of pitching this offseason and we got the chance to see a lot of those additions take the mound on Tuesday.

Marcus Stroman started the game and pitched two perfect frames for the Mets, before handing the ball off to previously scheduled starter, Jordan Yamamoto. Wearing Zack Wheeler‘s old No. 45, Yamamoto made his Mets debut and showcased some promising stuff.

Working off his breaking ball, Yamamoto was able to get ahead in a lot of counts and avoided giving up any free passes, which has been a problem for him early in his career.

All told, Yamamoto yielded two singles and struck out one, in two scoreless innings pitched. Jerry Blevins pitched the fifth inning, making his return to the Mets official with a scoreless inning of his own. The lefty labored through his outing however, allowing a hit and a walk, while needing 23 pitches to escape the jam unscathed.

Drew Smith made quick work of the Astros in his inning of work, recording three consecutive outs on 12 pitches with nine strikes thrown. Then we finally got the chance to see Sam McWilliams pitch, as the 6-foot-7 hurler has been turning heads so far in camp.

Like Blevins, McWilliams yielded a pair of baserunners and needed 23 pitches to make his way through final frame. He picked up the save and showcased his powerful fastball/slider combination, which could make him an interesting candidate to break camp in the Mets bullpen.

Top Prospects Take the Field

The New York Mets newest top-10 prospect Khalil Lee started Tuesday’s game in left field, making his first appearance since getting dealt to the Mets last month in the trade that sent Andrew Benintendi to the Kansas City Royals. Lee went 0-for-2 with a strikeout and was replaced by Drew Ferguson in the sixth inning.

Outside of Francisco Alvarez, most of the Mets other top prospects also made appearances during this game, as Ronny Mauricio, Brett Baty, Mark Vientos and Pete Crow-Armstrong all got out on the field.

That quartet of prospects combined to go 1-for-5, with three strikeouts as Vientos picked up the only hit with a sixth inning single. Mauricio still turned heads however, as the 19-year-old shortstop appears to have put on a lot of muscle, filling out his 6-for-3 frame.

Mauricio still has a long way to go before he is making an impact at the major league level, but between all of his tools and his improved physique, there is a lot to be excited about in his development this year.

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It was certainly an exciting day of baseball out in Port St. Lucie, as we all got the chance to see the Mets in action on SNY once again. Now we start another day in the Grapefruit League, with the Mets set to face the St. Louis Cardinals this afternoon.

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