Here we go, strap yourselves in as we present our Mets vs. Nationals Positional Breakdown. We’ll compare these two teams head-to-head in five parts comprised of the Infield, Outfield, Rotation, Bullpen and finally the Bench and Manager in the final installment.
1B: Lucas Duda vs. Ryan Zimmerman
This one is interesting. Mostly because you just really don’t know what you’re going to get with Lucas Duda. Over the last three years, Duda has averaged a total of 24 HR, and in 2014 he seemed to have his breakout year when he hit 30 home runs with 92 RBI. While last year was a bit of an up and down season for him, he still managed to fall in the top 10 in HR amongst 1B with 27. However, he also struck out the 6th most times amongst first baseman last year with 138 whiffs. In the field, Duda only committed a total of three errors the entire year, however for some Mets fans, it sure is hard to get that Game 5 throw home out of your head. According to Steamers, Duda is projected to hit .238 with 23 HR and 70 RBI in 2016.
Last year for the Nationals, Ryan Zimmerman only played a total of 95 games due to injury. He played 93 of those at first base, and you figure he will be their primary guy at first in 2016. At age 31, Zimmerman certainly is not the player he once was, and over the years he’s had trouble staying healthy. In 95 games, Zimmerman hit .249 with 16 HR and 73 RBI, which actually isn’t that bad considering he played barely over half a season. 2010 was the last year Zimmerman had a batting average of +.300, and 2013 was the last year he played in more than 100 games. In that season he hit .275 with 26 HR and 79 RBI. Defensively Zimmerman is not the same as he was over in the hot corner, where he played the majority of his career up until 2014. Steamers has Zimmerman projected to hit .263 with 15 HR and 63 RBI.
EDGE: Lucas Duda
This one is about as neck and neck as you can get. Both come into 2016 with some consistency/uncertainty issues. Will Duda continue to be so streaky with his bat? Can Zimmerman play a full season? With Duda you get more power but not as high of an average, and although Zimmerman used to be a high average and RBI guy, those numbers just haven’t been the same. Defensively they are both average first baseman. With Yoenis Cespedes returning to the Mets, Duda is no longer the primary power guy for the lineup. This will take some of the pressure off of him.
2B: Neil Walker vs. Daniel Murphy
After failing to acquire their primary offseason target Ben Zobrist, the Mets acted quickly to acquire Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Neil Walker. When looking at these two head to head, they are very similar players. Both play with a ton of passion, and have great respect in the clubhouse. Last year for the Pirates, Walker hit .269 with 16 HR and 71 RBI. What’s nice about Walker is that he’s a switch hitter, although he proved to be a much better left handed hitter than right in 2015, hitting 39 points better and all 16 HR from the left side. One downside with Walker is that he does strikeout quite a bit. Last year he struck out a total of 110 times, 4th amongst second baseman in all of baseball. Steamers projects him to hit .258 with 18 HR and 63 RBI.
Last year for the Mets, Daniel Murphy was one of the more consistent hitters on the team. In 130 games, Murphy hit .281 with 14 HR and 73 RBI. He also only struck out a total of 38 times all season, easily one of the best marks in all of baseball. He also proved to have the clutch gene, as he went on to hit seven HR and become the NLCS MVP in one of the more memorable performances in postseason history. That however, was not the true Daniel Murphy. While he is one of more consistent professional hitters in all of baseball, some of that gets taken away with his poor defense and his base running blunders. Steamers has Murphy hitting .308 with 9 HR and 59 RBI in the 2016 campaign.
EDGE: Neil Walker
I give a slight edge to Walker, only because I believe he is a better overall fielder than Murphy is. Yes Murphy will most likely hit for a higher average than Walker in 2016, and may even be a more consistent hitter at the dish, but I like Walker’s power and RBI potential, along with his slightly above average defense.
SS: Asdrubal Cabrera vs. Danny Espinosa
Aside from 2011 and 2012, when Asdrubal Cabrera was an All-Star, last year was one of his more productive years in his career. In 143 games with the Tampa Bay Rays, Cabrera hit .265 with 15 HR and 58 RBI. Known more for his hitting and is versatility with being a switch-hitter, Cabrera is a below-average defender at short. Steamers projects Cabrera to hit .243 with 13 HR and 53 RBI.
With Ian Desmond departing from Washington, it looks like Danny Espinosa will get the bulk of the playing time at SS in 2016. Espinosa is more known for his defense, as he hit just .240 last year with 3 HR and 37 RBI. He may split some time with 22 year old Trea Tuner, who saw some at-bats towards the end of the season last year. Steamers projects Espinosa to hit only .230 with 9 HR and 37 RBI.
EDGE: Tie
Cabrera is the better hitter of the two, but you get above average defense with Espinosa. To me, this is a wash.
3B: David Wright vs. Anthony Rendon
The Mets played the majority of their season last year without their Captain David Wright due to Spinal Stenosis. In just 38 games last year, Wright hit .289 with five HR and 17 RBI. It remains to be seen if Wright, who turned 33 last December, will be able to hold up for an entire season. He certainly doesn’t have the range he once had over at third, but he is still an above-average third baseman in the league. Steamers has Wright hitting .266 with 11 HR and 46 RBI in 2016.
Rendon is another guy who has had trouble staying healthy. He missed about half of the 2015 campaign, and batted .264 with five HR and 25 RBI over 80 games. He is only 25 years old, and in 2014 he hit 21 homers and drove in 83 runs, both career highs. However, can he stay healthy for a full season and repeat what he did in 2014? Steamers has him projected to hit .277 with 15 HR and 61 RBI.
EDGE: David Wright
The question for both is whether or not they can stay on the field for more than half or even a quarter of the season. If both are healthy, there’s no reason to believe they can’t be dangerous. Wright is older, and probably on the downswing of his career, but I still think he has more upside than Rendon.
C: Travis d’Arnaud vs. Wilson Ramos
Health is a big concern with Travis d’Arnaud. Last year he missed 67 games due to injury, but when healthy, he is one of the best young catchers in all of baseball. d’Arnaud excelled when he was healthy last year, hitting .268 with 12 HR and 41 RBI. One of the big concerns with d’Arnaud is also his defensive abilities behind the plate, especially throwing runners out, as we saw was an issue last year in the postseason. Yesterday, d’Arnaud said he identified what he was doing wrong and he expects to put the throwing issues behind him. Steamers projects d’Arnaud will hit .257 with 16 HR and 54 RBI.
The opposite could be said about Nationals primary catcher, Wilson Ramos. Ramos is an excellent defensive catcher, but is not quite the hitter that d’Arnaud is. He caught two no-hitter’s last year, but had one of his worst offensive season in his career. He finished the year hitting just .229 with 15 HR and 68 RBI. However, Steamers projects that average climb a bit in 2016, having him hit .252 with 14 HR and 50 RBI.
EDGE: Travis d’Arnaud
There is just way too much upside in Travis d’Arnaud to not take him here. He’s got naturally quick hands with his bat, and has some pop for a catcher. Mets fans should be excited to hopefully see how this kid can do through the course of a full season. Ramos is a steady option at catcher for the Nationals, but is also coming off his worst offensive season in his career.
Scorecard: Mets 4, Nationals 0, Tie 1
Next Up: Mets vs Nationals – Outfielders
