Mets Spring Training Week 1 Recap

Mets Spring Training Week 1 Recap

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MLB

The New York Mets are back in full swing down in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Although their record in the Grapefruit League isn’t all that important, the Mets went 4-3 in their first seven games. So much to talk about already, as the final MLB roster is already beginning to take shape.

The Good

Many Mets are off to an impressive start to begin the Spring season. It’s important not to jump to conclusions this early on, but it was nice to see some of these guys get off to a hot start.

Pitching

Tylor Megill is probably the most notable name off to a solid start. Through five innings of work (over two games) he’s given up four hits and one earned run while striking out seven. The one run given up was a fielders choice following a shaky first couple batters, but outside of that he’s been very impressive. Against the Astros on Friday he went three innings, two hits, 0 runs, striking out four. 

This was impressive because he did it in a wildly efficient 19 pitches! To make things more impressive, he did it against a star studded Astros lineup of Altuve, Bregman, Alvarez, and Kyle Tucker. The fastball looks good and it’s being complimented well with his off-speed pitches plus the newly introduced splitter. With Kodai Senga out, performances like this early in the season would go a very long way.

Luis Severino also had a great first outing, looking a lot more like the Cy Young candidate he used to be as opposed to the washed up version we’ve seen over the past few years. Pumping 98 with the fastball he worked efficiently through two scoreless innings. Severino might have the biggest upside in the rotation if he can remain healthy.

As for the rest of the Mets (potential) starters Houser and Butto threw two scoreless innings a piece, which was nice. Quintana had a shaky start, which we will get to later. Sean Manaea will get his first few innings soon.

In the bullpen, nobody has turned more heads than minor leaguer Nate Lavender. Although he’s only thrown two scoreless innings, he has looked impressive in both outings. His use of mixed timing in his windup (similar to Nestor Cortes across town), with his deceptive fastball, which appears to get on hitters quick, have looked good. Many have pointed out that his motion looks similar to former Mets closer Billy Wagner and I can’t say I disagree. He’s a name to look for cracking the final MLB roster as camp breaks if he keeps this up.

Hitting

The lineup has had some interesting surprises early on. We can start with Pete Alonso and Francisco Alvarez who are hitting .667 and .400 respectively, with a homer each out of the gate. Pete also had an impressive opposite field hit down the right field line, which means he is probably seeing the ball well early on. This is a surprise to nobody though. 

What is surprising is Klay Thompson’s brother, Trayce hitting two long homers in his first handful of at-bats. Tyrone Taylor, an off-season acquisition who followed new GM David Stearns from the Brewers, is also 4 for 8 to start the spring, with a stolen base. Both guys are solid fielders fighting for that final outfield bench spot. Would love to see these two make things interesting as we get deep into spring.

Rookies

Some rookies have also showed up hungry for a roster spot. Luisangel Acuna, Jett Williams, and Alex Ramirez are all hitting over .400 through their first week. Williams has also impressed with his speed, beating out an infield single and swiping a bag, something the Mets could desperately use more of. However, I don’t believe any of them will make the roster out of spring training, but it’s certainly possible we see one of these names, if not multiple, during the 2024 season.

Other Notes

Ben Gamel appears to have good speed still. Kevin Parada, a highly touted catching prospect, had a nice little snap throw over to first base to pick a runner off. THE JI-MAN, Ji-Man Choi hit an absolute nuke homer over the right field fence and is 3 for 6 to start the spring.

The Bad

Baty and Vientos

I won’t go too crazy on the bad this week, after all it’s the first week of spring training. The most obvious and worrisome low point this week was the sloooow start for sophomore year players Brett Baty and Mark Vientos, who are hitting .100 and .250 to start the spring. 

This off-season, new GM David Stearns passed on multiple third base and designated hitter options to give these two young guys a chance. I totally agreed with his decision to do this, as neither has had nearly enough time to write off entirely as serious MLB options. However, if this slow start is any indication, it may end up costing the Mets to see what these guys had instead of buying more solidified options (some of which are actually still free agents). But again, week one, let’s give them time to breathe and figure it out. Each of them did have a highlight in their first week, with Vientos cranking a homer in Friday’s game against the Cardinals and Baty making a diving catch at 3B against the Astros.

Quintana

Jose Quintana was another low point. With Senga down, he appears to have an inside track to be the opening day starter. However, in his first game back this season he walked three, gave up two hits, and two earned runs in only 1.2 innings. Bad start. But AGAIN, week one of spring training. We refuse to overreact.

Team Vibes: It’s Only Week 1 of Spring Training

All-in-all it was a good first week. Good to see old faces back on the diamond, good to see new acquisitions in Mets colors, good to see rookies trying to earn themselves a ticket to the bigs. The team appears to be loose and enjoying the Florida weather so far, and reports say they are also enjoying the style of new Manager Carlos Mendoza. It’s important to never get too high or too low on a team, especially if we’re only through a week of games that do not count. Looking forward to see what the rest of spring looks like.

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