Saturday, February 24, 2024 • 1:10 PM
Clover Field • Port St Lucie, FL
LHP Zack Thompson (0-0, -.–) vs. RHP Tylor Megill (0-0, -.–)
SNY

There are so many firsts when it comes to the start of the baseball season. There’s the first day players arrive at camp, the official first day of pitchers and catchers, the first address from the manager, the first whole team workout, the first live batting practice, etc. Today we finally reach the first spring training game of the year!

The Mets kept their mini-tradition alive of having a frontline starter announce an injury at the start of camp. Earlier this week we heard Kodai Senga was dealing with arm fatigue and then a few days later we learned that it was a bit more serious than that. This opens up a spot in the rotation that will probably come down to Tylor Megill, José Butto, and Joey Lucchesi.

Today is also the first time we’ll see Carlos Mendoza managing a game. It’s always interesting to watch what a manager does during a spring training game. Who is he talking to throughout the game? Which players come up to him? What’s his overall presence like?

Mets Lineup

  1. DJ Stewart RF
  2. Francisco Lindor SS
  3. Pete Alonso 1B
  4. Brett Baty 3B
  5. Mark Vientos DH
  6. José Iglesias 2B
  7. Trayce Thompson CF
  8. Tomás Nido C
  9. Taylor Kohlwey LF

Opposing Lineup

  1. Brendan Donovan 2B
  2. Lars Nootbaar LF
  3. Jordan Walker RF
  4. Iván Herrera C
  5. Luken Baker DH
  6. Alfonso Rivas 1B
  7. Buddy Kennedy 3B
  8. Victor Scott II CF
  9. Arquímedes Gamboa SS

Game Notes

MENDOZA LINES: Carlos Mendoza will begin his first season as the 25th manager in franchise history… The 44-year-old spent the previous 15 seasons with the Yankees organization, including the last four as the club’s bench coach…From 2018-2019, Mendoza served as the Yankees’ quality control coach…Prior to joining the big league coaching staff, Mendoza served as a manager and coach in the Yankees farm system…A native of Barquisimeto, Venezuela, Mendoza is the second full-time Venezuelan-born manager in big league history, joining Ozzie Guillén.

THREE’S COMPANY: The 2023 Mets tied a franchise record with three players recording at least 25 homers (Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, and Francisco Álvarez)…Carlos Beltrán, Carlos Delgado, and David Wright accomplished the feat in 2006 and 2008… The Mets also did it in 1999 (Edgardo Alfonzo, Mike Piazza, Robin Ventura) and 1987 (Howard Johnson, Kevin McReynolds, Darryl Strawberry).

STEAL THIS ALBUM: The Mets led the major leagues in 2023 with an 88.7% success rate in stolen bases…The team stole 118 bases in 133 attempts…It’s the highest success rate in Mets history…The previous high was 82.3% which was accomplished in 2004… From May 11 to June 29, the Mets stole a franchise-record 35 consecutive bases.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Tylor Megill and the American Spork: Tylor was scheduled to start this game before the news about Kodai Senga broke. Tylor is coming off of a year where he made 25 starts totaling 126 1/3 innings, the first time in his career he pitched over 100 innings at the major league level. He had a 4.70 ERA, 4.96 FIP, 1.575 WHIP, and a 90 ERA+. Throughout the offseason, he worked with Senga to develop a new pitch, holding the ball the same way that Senga’s ghost forkball. Tylor refers to this pitch as the “American spork” and he tossed it six times in his last start of the season. Do we see the “American spork” today?
  2. DJ Stewart Leading Off? Stewart was one positive surprise for the Mets last season, bursting on the scene hitting .244/.333/.506 with a 128 OPS+ over 58 games and 185 plate appearances. He has some serious pop, hitting 11 homers. Stewart leading off is a bit of a surprise, but why not? He worked 11 walks last year and leading off means a higher chance that he’ll get more PAs in today’s game.
  3. Brett at Third, Mark DH’ing: The most likely scenario for the Mets this season is to roll with Brett Baty at third base and Mark Vientos at DH. Mark Vientos could push into Brett Baty’s playing time. DJ Stewart and others could push into Mark Vientos DH playing time. After the Ronny Mauricio injury the Mets did not go out to sign a 3B/DH type player, so these jobs really are Brett’s and Mark’s to lose. One of the larger complaints about the Mets last season was they did not give consistent playing time to their young players. We’re excited to see what Brett and Mark can do with consistent playing time this year, starting today!

Let’s go Mets!