Series Preview: Mets Bring the Hot Bats to Seattle

Will the Mets find a way to keep winning? It is time to find out!

After a decisive sweep of the Miami Marlins, the Mets are out of the NL East cellar as they head out to the West Coast once again. Up first is a three-game set with the Seattle Mariners, who sport one of the best starting rotations in baseball.

There is plenty to dive into, and there is no time to waste! Without further ado, let us dive into the latest series preview for the New York Mets.

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Monday: Austin Warren (1-1, 1.40 ERA) vs. Emerson Hancock (4-2, 2.78 ERA)

Rolling with a bullpen game on Monday, the Mets will send Austin Warren to the hill to start things off against the Mariners. Sporting a 1.40 ERA on the year, Warren has a 27.8% strikeout rate and relies heavily on his sinker to get batters out. It will be fascinating to see how this game plays out, but Warren has a chance to start things on a high note for the Mets.
New York is getting thrown right into the fire to start this series, as they face a great pitcher in Emerson Hancock. Sporting a 2.78 ERA on the year, the righty has found success with his four-seam fastball (.169 BA, 37.8 strikeout rate), sinker, and cutter. Hancock does not throw extremely hard, but he mixes his pitches well and finds a way to get outs. This will be a nice challenge for the Mets’ lineup.

Tuesday: Jonah Tong (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Logan Gilbert (3-4, 3.69 ERA)

While it’s not confirmed yet how Jonah Tong will appear (start or bulk role), he will receive most of the pitching duties on Tuesday. Since getting called up, Tong has been rock solid for the Mets. He has been avoiding barrels at a high rate, limiting hard contact (30% hard hit rate), and has kept the ball on the ground (55.0% rate). Tong needs to improve on his control and find a way to generate more whiffs, but he has shown the talent to do so throughout his pro career. Facing the Mariners could be a great spot for the young pitcher to take yet another step in his development.
More of your traditional strikeout artist, Logan Gilbert, is a different type of test for the Mets in Game 2 of this series. Utilizing his 100th percentile extension of 7.6%, Gilbert has struck out 69 batters in 68.1 innings pitched. He is not walking batters either, as his rate of 5.8% is in the 87th percentile of pitchers this season. The Mets could do damage if they make contact, as Gilbert’s hard hit rate sits at 45.7%. However, it will be another test to see if New York can force the Mariners’ pitcher into disadvantageous situations.

Wednesday: Freddy Peralta (3-4, 3.55 ERA) vs. George Kirby (5-4, 3.77 ERA)

The up-and-down season of Freddy Peralta continues. Facing the Marlins once again on May 29, the right-handed pitcher lasted 4.2 innings and gave up seven hits. However, he struck out five batters and only gave up two earned runs. While he has struck out batters in 2026, Peralta keeps having blow-up innings or cannot give the Mets length. For New York to climb out of the cellar, they need the best version of a pitcher seen as a bona fide ace just a year ago. Peralta has the talent to do so, but he needs to execute at a high level consistently. Wednesday will be another chance for the right-hander to try to find that.
To wrap up this series, the Mets will face another dynamic pitcher in the form of George Kirby. Rocking a 3.77 ERA. Kirby has used his six-pitch mix to generate ground balls (52.3% rate) at an extremely high level. He does not walk batters very much (5.7% rate) and avoids barrels (5.4% rate), while also generating a very high chase rate of 35.8%. While Kirby does not generate strikeouts at a high level, he pitches in a way that could be effective against the contact-focused Mets. Once again, this is a game that will challenge New York.

Carson Benge & A.J. Ewing by Berto Carlo

The Main Storyline

Ahead of this series, my main storyline is whether the Mets can finally keep the positive momentum rolling.

The lineup has started to find depth and consistency. The pitching has been very effective, especially the bullpen. And, as a result, the Mets have started to string together wins.

However, New York has fluctuated between despair and positivity all season long. One week, they will do everything right, and, instead of building on their successes, will fall back to the play that leads to losses. It has worked the other way as well; when all has seemed lost, the Mets have found a way to battle their way to victory.

In a vacuum, the inconsistency of the Mets is not too surprising, especially as they start to rely on younger players as key contributors and deal with injuries. Baseball does not exist in a vacuum, though, and unfortunately for the Mets, they have to overcome one of the worst months a team has had in 2026. They cannot afford inconsistency and must find a way to fight their way back to relevancy. As a result, this is my main storyline of the week.

Player to Watch

In the latest early week series for the Mets, I am focusing on the “Psycopaths,” also known as Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing.

The duo, between their offense, baserunning, and defense, has been instrumental for the Mets. They play with a high level of energy that has been infectious in the Mets’ clubhouse.

It is unfair, at least in most situations, for the Mets to put so much of the burden on these two rookies. However, both Benge and Ewing are showing that they are more than capable of living up to the moment and expectations. Along with Juan Soto, New York has gone as Benge and Ewing have gone. They have earned the distinction of being the players to watch this week.