The New York Mets have been one of the best teams in baseball over the course of Spring Training, leading the Grapefruit League in wins with 18. Their success has mainly been due to a surprisingly potent offense. The team ranks in the top five among all MLB teams in average (4th), HR (3rd), hits (3rd), and runs (4th). With the annual caveat that Spring stats mean nothing in mind, can this offensive prowess carry over into the season?
Curtis Granderson has been on fire this spring training, hitting .452 with three HR over 43 AB. While the high average will likely not carry over, he has hit below .235 for each of the past three seasons. Granderson should be a good bet to hit over 20 HRs again in 2015, and could push for the 25-30 range with the fences moved in at Citi Field. Â Juan Lagares is hitting .345 with three HR. It is extremely unlikely that those numbers carry over into the season, but Lagares should be able to repeat his .280 average. Â However, his Spring power surge could signal a jump in homers for Lagares in 2015, and he could flirt with 10-15 dingers. Free Agent addition Michael Cuddyer has hit six homers this Spring, and could find himself in the 20-25 home run range.
Another extremely positive sign for the Mets is David Wright‘s production. Wright struggled through an injury riddled 2014 campaign, hitting single digit home runs for the first time in his career. This spring, he has already hit four homers, which is a positive indicator that Wright is healthy and poised for a bounce-back 2015 season.
It is very easy to see how the Mets could be an improved offensive team in 2015. Â The addition of Cuddyer will be a huge improvement over the combination of Bobby Abreu and company that filled the third OF spot in 2014. Additionally, Wilmer Flores, who has been injured for part of the spring, will be taking over at SS, and should be a huge offensive improvement over the light hitting Ruben Tejada. The team is also hoping that Travis D’Arnaud can stay healthy for a full season and make true on his potential. Some pundits believe D’Arnaud has the potential to have a Devin Mesoraco-esque breakout in 2015.
Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda will be returning to the team and look to build upon their solid 2014 seasons. Although he will likely be starting the season on the DL, Murphy has been a .290 hitter for his entire career. Although he does not hit for a ton of power, he should be a solid table setter for the run producers in the middle of the order. Duda finally settled in to his massive potential and reached 30 dingers, and with the fences being moved in slightly this season, he could have the potential to reach and even eclipse that number in 2015.
There is a lot of upside in this Mets’ lineup going into the season, and even despite the loss of Zach Wheeler, they have a deep and loaded starting rotation. If their offense is able to reach their full potential, and the guys remaining in the rotation stay healthy and continue their own past success, this Mets team could find themselves still playing baseball come October.
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