The New York Mets enter Citi Field on Wednesday night, 21-9, and lead the Majors in wins and winning percentage.
You don’t have to look at the standings to know the Mets are a great team. You don’t have to wait until Memorial Day to take a temperature on the team. You don’t have to look at Fangraphs for playoff odds.
There’s plenty to like about the Mets. This team continues to find ways to win. They put on a professional performance every game. Their pitching has been excellent, especially the bullpen. Their offense has been efficient, and it is coming together with Francisco Alvarez and Jeff McNeil returning from the injured list.
It’s hard to believe, but the pitching could be better than last season. The starters are giving the Mets a chance to win, and the bullpen has done a great job of closing games out. The Mets are getting contributions from free agents Clay Holmes and Griffin Canning as starters. David Peterson continues where he left off last season by pitching efficiently. Tylor Megill has been reliable as a fill-in starter. After making one start last season, Kodai Senga has been pitching like an ace in his previous three starts so far.
Moreover (as of Monday), the starting pitchers have allowed four or fewer runs in each of their first 29 games to begin the season. It’s the longest streak by a National League team to start a season in the modern era since 1901. The starting rotation is pitching to a 2.29 ERA.
Holmes and Canning have a chance to show they can stick in the rotation. Their strong command and ability to escape jams demonstrate their mastery of pitching. They can finish hitters out when they have to. It’s easy to see why Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns was high on those two guys he signed this offseason. I think the Mewhoman will add reinforcements later in the season. Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas should be back from the injured list. They can call up pitching prospects Brandon Sproat and Blade Tidwell in the summer.
The Mets’ boasting pitching depth will be crucial as the season progresses. This gives Mets manager Carlos Mendoza plenty of arms to work with, especially in the postseason, where everyone will be valuable.
The bullpen has been the team’s strength so far, pitching to a 3.07 ERA. Reed Garrett, Danny Young, Ryne Stanek, Jose Butto, Justin Hagenman, Huscar Brazoban, and Edwin Diaz have been reliable when they have been out there.
Max Kranick (photo courtesy Newsday)
How about Max Kranick? Where did he come from? All he does is throw zeroes when he is out there. The best part about him is that he wants the ball every day, just as Dennis Cook does. Mendoza can plug any reliever in a prominent spot and get positive results. He can always use anyone to set up and achieve success.
One of many reasons Mets owner Steve Cohen lusted for Stearns was based on the baseball boss’s ability to know pitching from his days as the Milwaukee Brewers’ baseball boss. We saw that last year when his offseason acquisitions, Luis Severino and Manaea, were successful. We saw how the Mets’ president of baseball operations built his bullpen as last season went on.
The pitching lab Stearns created has been a boon for the Mets. The starters have benefited from it, such as Manaea incorporating his leg kick to be effective and Canning using his slider a lot more.
Francisco Alvarez (photo courtesy NorthJersey.com)
Then, there’s the hitting. Francisco Alvarez mentioned that the team could have the best lineup in baseball. He may be on to something from seeing the Mets’ offense belt out 19 runs. Alvarez and Jeff McNeil recently came off the injured list, and they both seemed like they hadn’t missed a beat. Alvarez homered on Saturday afternoon, and McNeil homered on Monday afternoon.
The lineup is well-rounded from one to nine. The Mets can beat the team via the long ball and small ball. They know how to create big innings. There’s no doubt they will score runs.
Soto hasn’t exactly been hitting home runs, but it will be a matter of time until he does. When the weather gets hot, that will help him gain confidence.
We knew Francisco Lindor would get it going despite an 0-for-12 slump in April.
There’s no easy out in that lineup, and it will get even better, as we saw this weekend against the Nationals.
This Mets team has something. They expect to win after all these decades of hoping everything goes right. They know how to get the big hits, outs, and strikeouts. That was the culture of the tea, which we created last year during the summer of Grimace and lasted until the NL Championship Series.
They were a good team heading into this season, and how they’ve started tells you all you need to know about this club.
