Mack Ade – 2017 Resolutions and Predictions

Good morning.

First, some resolutions -

-         I’m going to try and stop fighting with Stubby on the site… wait, didn’t I ask him to leave? Oh, well.

-         I will continue to do everything I can to add quality writers to the site.

-         I will try not to retire for the third time.

-         I will do what I can to get Kaplan and Metsiac to agree on anything,

-         I will stop saying that Dominic Smith can’t hit home runs.

Now, some early thoughts (I will update these thoughts in the spring on a post just before opening day) on the 2017 season –

-         I believe that Noah Syndergaard will become one of the top three pitchers in the league. He’s that special.

-         I believe we will once again get a sub-par year from Matt Harvey, be it because he injures his pitching arm/shoulder again, or he just doesn’t have the zip on the ball anymore after having his latest surgery.

-         I believe that Jacob deGrom will become the 1-2 ace, just behind Syndergaard.

-   I also think that Steven Matz will continue his maturation as a successful major leave starter

-         I also believe that 2017 will be the year that the Mets do everything they can to sign (with a home town discount) a long term deal with both Syndergaard and deGrom.

-         If he isn’t traded, I believe the next ‘come out of nowhere’ ace on this team will be Robert Gsellman. I expect him to blossom, in Queens, this next season as the SP5.

-         The rising of Gsellman will, IMO, be timed perfectly with the complete burn out of Zack Wheeler. Sadly, I expect him to retire before the end of the year when he has to go under the knife for the third time.

-         I believe that the biggest pitching failure in 2017 will be the collective meh produced by the Mets pen, leaving open for the return of a 28-year old Jenrry Mejia.

-    I really believed that catcher Travis d'Arnaud was going to be the prime

     cut chip of the R.A. Dickey trade, but now I'm not even sure if he has a long term future on this team. I look for 2017 to be another dpwn year for him, especially defensively, and we probably will end the year praying for September 2018 when Tomas Nido walks into the clubhouse.

-         I believe that the Mets infield will continue to produce the most games lost due to injuries, including some games in which the entire opening day infield (Duda, Walker, Cabrera, Wright) will be down at the same time.

-         At the same time, I believe the Mets outfield (whatever that will eventually be) will suffer the least injuries and will lead the team in all hitting categories, especially ones involving power.

-         I look for outfielder Michael Conforto to break out this season and become the kind of hitter he was when he was drafted out of Oregon State. Experts had him ranked as the top hitter in the 2014 draft and I believe we will begin to see this kind of return in 2017. The Mets moved Conforto too quickly and we all need to remember that he only has less than two seasons so far in Queens. He will quietly settle in for years as the Mets’ RFer.

-         I expect the Mets other corner outfielder, Yoenes Cespedes, to have another one of his quality years. I do; however, don’t see him hitting over .300 or hitting over 35 home runs.

-         Right now, I believe the Mets only have three ‘A’ rated (I don’t consider Lugo or Gsellman prospects because of the time they spent in Queens last year) prospects in the pipeline… IF Amed Rosario, OF Wuilmer Beccera, and 1B Dominic Smith… but I believe that will change this year with the emergence/upgrading of P Justin Dunn, C Tomas Nido, OF Desmond Lindsay, and 3B David Thompson. If this is true, it will give the Mets a much easier job in the future to structure deals for established talent. There is an outside chance that the end of the year Top 100 prospect lists have 6-7 players in it.