With the season set to begin for the Mets this Friday, we have to ask, which player will exceed our expectations? Will it be Amed Rosario? Edwin Diaz? We all know it won’t be Jed Lowrie (too soon?), but there are many others who do have the potential to.
Matt
Edwin Diaz
I don’t think you can have as unlucky a season as Diaz had in his first year in Queens. Statistically speaking, Diaz’s 2019 marks of a 15.36 K/9, a 3.07 xFIP, and a 26.8% HR/FB are a trio of numbers that bode well for his 2020 campaign. I don’t think repeating 2018 is a realistic outcome, but the right-hander should still be an above-average commodity in 2020.
Marissa
Amed Rosario
I don’t really have analytics to back me up on my argument right now, but I feel like every Mets fan has been waiting for him to break out into the player we are hoping he can become. He has shown flashes of what he can do in every aspect of the game throughout his career, but has not found the consistency. Rosario will be entering his third full season now in the league (while still only being 24), so I believe that this is a better year than any for him to finally put it all together.
Dilip
Hopefully he’ll be healthy because I think he’ll benefit from a smarter pitching staff. He’s flashed 2,900+ RPM curve balls and has shown legit movement on his changeup. When the Mets don’t drive his arm into the ground, he’s shown an ability to be an effective reliever. With concerns about the guys not named Seth Lugo, I think Gsellman can emerge as one of the better pitchers in the Mets bullpen. Anyone throwing 96-97 MPH sinkers and has shown Gsellman’s potential can break out at any time. I think this is the season that he turns into a good reliever.
Mojo
Edwin Diaz
I’m going to piggyback Matt and go with Edwin Diaz. The dude is still 26 and has some of the most dominant stuff in the game, and even though he struggled with location last year, his strikeout rate was still elite. He won the AL Reliever of the Year award in 2018 in what was honestly one of the best years by a relief pitcher in recent memory, so I honestly think that the sky is the limit for the young electric fireballer. He’s one of the biggest bounceback candidates not just on the Mets, but in all of baseball.
Marshall
I’ll go with a player who I’m hoping can solidify the bullpen and return to some semblance of his old self. And that of course is Dellin Betances. A four-time All-Star with the Yankees, Betances also holds the distiction as the only reliever in MLB to have struck out at least 100 batters in five-straight seasons.
In 2019, Betances suffered a bone spur behind his right shoulder. Then, after one appearances with the Yanks, tore his achilles tendon. Though his velocity is still not where it needs to be so far in 2020, it has been rising steadily approaching the mid-90s. If Betances can be a stalwart in the pen, that will trickle down and help a Familia, Lugo and Diaz among others. I think the bullpen holds the key to this abbreviated season, and I think the team that controls the later innings this year, will go a long way this fall. Here’s hoping it’s the Mets bullpen.
Emmanuel
For exceeding expectations, I’ll go with Steven Matz. After making a splash when he first came up, it’s been a roller coaster, particularly with the injuries. With Noah Syndergaard out, Matz’s role in the rotation becomes that much more magnified behind deGrom and Stroman. I’m banking on Matz being able to better set the tone in his starts. The reports out of camp and simulated games have been encouraging and I believe Matz can take a big step forward this year. Plus, pitching usually has the upper-hand early on in a season which is more accentuated in a 60-game dash.
Ryan
I may shock some people in saying this, but I actually believe in Robinson Cano’s ability to exceed expectations this season. Especially since they have been lowered after last year’s struggles. While Cano is mere months away from his 38th birthday, I still think there is something left in the tank for the eight-time All-Star.
People seem to forget that he played through a myriad of injuries last year, before putting together a solid second half. Cano hit .284/.339/.541, with nine home runs and 21 RBIs across 42 games after the All-Star break. His second half 129 OPS+ was also in line with his career mark of a 125 OPS+. If Cano replicates his second half, that will exceed most people’s expectations.
Michelle
Edwin Diaz
You know how they say to put things into the atmosphere to make them come true?
That may be what I’m doing here, but hey, I hope it works!
There’s no denying that Diaz had a rough season last year, even he admits it. He took time this offseason (and well, the extended offseason), and has made mechanical adjustments. It shows that he took last season seriously and rather than being deterred by it, he wants to be better.
Joe
It’s been a long time since Yoenis Cespedes made any noise with his bat. Plagued by various injuries and other misadventures, Cespedes has not played a game for the Amazins since 2018. Since inking a four-year, $110 million extension with the Mets in 2016, the 34-year old Cespedes has yet to give the organization the kind of bang for the buck they paid handsomely for.
Now, in the final year of his contract, the planets could be aligning for the two-time All Star and once-dangerous slugger. When the Mets open at home on July 24 against their divisional rival Atlanta Braves, look for Cespedes to be slotted into the designated hitter spot and don’t be shocked if he puts up some big crooked numbers hitting in the middle of an exciting young Mets lineup.
Cespedes is a prime candidate for a big comeback campaign in a shortened schedule of 60 games. Teammate Michael Conforto thinks Cespedes will be “a monster” this season and new manager Luis Rojas is very pleased with what he’s seen in summer camp.
But perhaps the most eye-opening remarks have come from Cespedes himself, who sounds like someone with a big chip on his shoulder.
“To be honest, I’m not out here to prove anything to anyone. I’m out here to prove something to myself — that after three surgeries that I can come back and play the way that I know that I can.”
In his last full season, Cespedes was one of the league’s most productive left fielders, hitting .280/.354/.530 with 25 doubles, 31 home runs and 86 RBIs. However that was many years and many injuries ago. Still there’s no denying how dangerous Cespedes can be when he is healthy and so far the early reviews are encouraging. I wouldn’t bet against him.
