Reese Kaplan -- 2018 Season in Review

With the season now in the rearview mirror, what positives can we take as the team moves into the rest and relaxation period of the schedule – October – when real teams are still playing baseball?

Well, the starting pitching was a revelation this year.  I think it’s not coincidental that Mickey Callaway chose to remove Steven Matz on Saturday when he did because after 6 shutout innings his ERA for the year dipped below the 4.00 threshold and he finished the year at 3.97.  Add that to what’s been accomplished by Jacob deGrom (1.70), Noah Syndergaard (3.22) and Zack Wheeler (3.31) and it would appear that on the surface Mickey Callaway did what he was brought in to do – leverage the formidable starting pitching and make them perform at a very high level.  How much of Jason Vargas’ woes were due to injury, how much due to adjusting to a new league’s hitters and how much due to simple incompetence we’ll never know, but even he has been outstanding for the last several weeks of the season.

Jeff McNeil has done everything the Mets could have hoped short of some of the power he showed in the AA/AAA journey to the majors this year.  3 HRs in 221 ABs is a pace to hit a single digit total for the entire season.  You know what, I’ll take it.  His defense was way better than advertised, his baserunning was more aggressive than expected and the quality at-bats were the Mets’ version of must-watch TV.

Amed Rosario started showing why he was so highly regarded in the minors.  While his season ending average in the .260 range doesn’t pop out at you if you’re merely reading it in a stat list, anyone who’s watched him over the past two months saw a formidable offensive force and a weapon on the basepaths.  Some want to give Jose Reyes credit for mentoring him.  Hey, whatever worked, I’m happy for it. 

Brandon Nimmo was another must-see set of ABs for Mets fans.  He worked deep counts, allowed himself to get hit by pitches, sprinted to first during his many walks and showed a surprising and heretofore unseen weapon – power.  The strikeouts were a bit worrisome, but they came in bunches between some hotter stretches, so apparently he’s still adjusting.  For the year he finished in 2/3s of a full time role with 17 HRs which would be around 25 for a full season.  I’ll take that, particularly when it’s accompanied by an OPS well north of .800.

Michael Conforto was likely rushed back in the need for injecting offense into the moribund lineup (and it showed).  It took him quite awhile to get on track, but after the All-Star break he was a very solid contributor and is pushing the 30 HR barrier, finishing the season with 28 and 82 RBIs.  No one could have projected that with his ice cold start but everyone now expects him to deliver even more in 2019. 

Seth Lugo was the other brilliant revelation this year.  Used primarily out of the pen (with a trio of spot starts in the middle of the year) he finished with a 2.66 ERA which is very good in anyone’s book.  Some even advocate pushing him into the rotation and having Jason Vargas reinvent himself as a reliever.  They say Lugo is going to work out as a starter over the winter. 

Yes, there were plenty of things that went wrong this year, but certainly there were positive signs for the future as well.  Hopefully a new emphasis on offense and some more judicious personnel decisions by a new leader in the front office will help propel them to the next level.  That’s doubly important considering how awful the bullpen and the catching situation were all year long.