Only two days ago, Mother Nature dumped about a foot of snow on New York City as temperatures dropped into the teens. But meanwhile in Port St. Lucie, Florida the sun is shining bright, the grass is green and freshly cut, and best of all baseball is officially back at Tradition Field, the Spring Training home of the New York Mets.
For the next six weeks, seasoned veterans, promising young players, and enthusiastic die-hard fans will gather at the Mets Spring Training Complex with big dreams and aspirations as they embark on a new season with the number one goal being a World Series championship.
It’s an exciting time to be a player and a fan as the front office has put together one of the most balanced teams they’ve ever had in their 55 year history. I’m not saying it’s the best Mets team I ever saw, only that this is a very balanced team and if they can stay healthy, this is also a very dangerous team. Here’s the evidence as I see it:
- A rotation packed with five hard-throwing pitchers, each possessing ace-like upside. Noah Syndergaard in his first full season was remarkably Gooden-like, raking 3rd in ERA (2.60), 4th in K/9 (10.68), 5th in K/BB (5.06) and 1st in WAR (6.5). Syndergaard will enter the season as the young ace of a hugely dominant and extremely talented rotation if they remain healthy.
- A starting lineup that can mash with the best of them. They hit a franchise record 218 home runs last season, and they could easily come close or surpass that mark with a healthy Lucas Duda back at first base and Jay Bruce in right field to begin the season.
- A bullpen that was already the fifth best in baseball last season, but now start anew replacing Antonio Bastardo, Logan Verrett and Jim Henderson with Fernando Salas, Seth Lugo and one of Zack Wheeler or Robert Gsellman.
I asked a few of my writers what they were were most excited or anxious about as the Mets get ready to open camp and get ready for a new season. Here’s what they had to say:
Mike Mayer – I would say I’m more anxious than excited for the Mets to began Spring Training. I’m anxious to see if the Mets rotation will be healthy tha spring, anxious to see if Mets infield can stay healthy. Being a prospect nerd I am excited to watch guys like Amed Rosario, Dominic Smith, Champ Stuart, David Roseboom and Corey Taylor in big league camp. Today really is a beautiful day though, baseball is back and Opening Day is itching closer.
Mets Daddy – Do you know what Generation K never pitched in the same rotation? Injuries prevented that from happening similar to how injuries have prevented the Mets purported five young aces from pitching in the same rotation. This could finally be the year it happens. All the Mets need is for the four pitchers returning from surgery to withstand the rigors of this Spring Training. Another thing I’m excited to see this Spring is our top prospects. Sooner or later, Dominic Smith and Amed Rosario will be Mets. Given the serious health issues at all four infield positions, they may be playing in Citi Field sooner rather than later. These two young studs will be able to play alongside players like David Wright and Neil Walker this Spring, and learn just what it means to be a major leaguer. This will help them in their continued growth as players, and it could very well soon help them take over for the very same players who helped them.
Mathew Brownstein – As Spring Training opens, I am once again optimistic, and downright giddy over the fact that we will FINALLY get to see the full complement of our young starting rotation (barring any health setbacks). It’s amazing to consider that Met fans have never seen Harvey, deGrom, Syndergaard, Matz, and Wheeler at the same time in the rotation. With talk of Wheeler opening the 2017 season in the pen, we might have to wait on Zack rejoining the rotation until mid-season. Obviously we have seen some semblance of the full rotation last year, however, with Harvey’s early season struggles and eventual TOC surgery, and eventually losing Matz and deGrom to their own elbow surgeries, the Mets’ starting staff gets an incomplete for 2016. Hopefully 2017 is the year fans finally get to see their vaunted rotation at full strength.
Tommy Rothman – Right now I’d call myself anxious, but I’m hoping that turns into excitement. Either way, the guy I can barely wait to see is Matt Harvey. Will he be the disaster he was last season before the injury was disclosed, or the superstar we’re more used to seeing? For all the talk about Thor (and deGrom), Harvey has the chance to be the best pitcher on this staff. There’s plenty of room for things to swing either way here, so Matt Harvey might end up being the X-Factor, for better or worse.
Rob Piersall – As the Mets begin Spring Training and eventually the regular season, I, like many Mets fans, am anxious to see our starting rotation healthy and pitching together for the first time ever. It’s been said ad nauseam, but if our guys are in tip-top shape, we have the best rotation in baseball. That is an exciting thought in itself. Also, I think Jay Bruce is going to prove everyone wrong, so I’m excited to see him in the middle of the lineup along with our big bopper Yoenis Cespedes.
Connor O’Brien – I’m most excited to see a fully-healthy Mets rotation. The last few years, we’ve never seen it in its full form. Only Noah Syndergaard was left standing at the end of last season. I don’t expect a healthy rotation forever — there will almost always be something — but if Terry Collins can get a few healthy months from the starters, we could very well see the best starting rotation in Mets history.
Brian Greenzang – Spring Training is a clean slate of sorts for each team with so many story lines to be ironed out before opening day. I am most excited to see how the outfield situation falls into place. Do we see the Mets finally find a trading partner to unload one of their outfielders, leading to a less murky situation? How they go about handling Michael Conforto could lead to the biggest storyline throughout spring camp as he may also see some time at first base. More than anything though, I am just excited for baseball.
