Jeff McNeil on SNY not too long ago talked about the depth of the Mets' lineup:
"This lineup from top to bottom is pretty incredible. There's so much protection in it too. So you gotta go after the guy at the plate because the guy behind him can do just as much damage."
Jeff McNeil never strikes me as a guy who is prone to exaggeration, but is rather an at-times-understated straight shooter.
When I interviewed him when he was in AA in early 2018, he quietly left me feeling more sure, by the end of the interview, that big things could be on the horizon for McNeil (and for some guy named Alonso, his teammate on whom he - briefly but clearly - lavished praise).
So I ask you - do you agree with Jeff?
Let's go one step further:
Is this the Mets' best line up ever?
Let's go around the diamond to consider the diamonds in the 2021 line up:
C James McCann - last two seasons, 536 ABs, 29 doubles, 25 HRs, 75 RBIs, .277. Impressive if he can come close to approaching that.
1B Pete Alonso - 53/120 as a rookie and slippage last year, but would anyone be surprised if he approaches 50/120 this season with this team? I wouldn't.
2B Jeff McNeil - a batting title and a .500 + OBP is not (to me) unreasonable to expect (not just hope for) from Jeff. Will he be better offensively than the next guy, though?
SS Francisco Lindor - his last 3 full seasons, before 2020, he averaged 153 games, 42 doubles, 3 triples, 35 HRs, 110 runs, 85 RBIs, and 21 steals. That's 80 extra base hits on average. Wow.
3B J.D. Davis - in two years as a Met, 600 ABs, 31 doubles, 28 HRs, 76 RBIs, .289. Some are not happy with him - but I like those numbers. I think 2021 is a very solid O year for JDD.
LF Dominic Smith - if you project his 2020 shortened season #'s over 150 games, you get 63 doubles, 30 HRs, 126 RBIs, and .317. What can one say? Other than, please do THAT in 2021.
CF - Brandon Nimmo - take out the period in early 2019 when his play was hampered by a bulging disk, and you have a top 5 major leaguer in terms of on base % since his sophomore season. With surprisingly decent power, as one can see with 2 of his last 3 seasons sporting a slugging % in the mid .480's or above. A real offensive plus, a guy who will keep many rallies going. A rally thriller, not rally killer
RF - Michael Conforto - he was the beneficiary of a very high BABIP, but he earns a lot of that with his HARD contact to all fields. Project his 2020 numbers over a full 162 games and you get 36 doubles, 27 HRs, 93 RBIs, a .322 average and .412 OBP. I’ll take a serving of that with my mashed, ma’am.
And then consider the cumulative effect - so many dynamic hitters, no one you can pitch around, which should lead to a relaxed, highly offensively competent starting line up. One that will enjoy pounding opponents.
And what looks like a solid offensive bench:
Pillar, Vilar, Guillorme, Nido, Martinez, and Almora as a guess. Pretty strong.
Best hitting Mets' squad ever?
There have been a few very good ones.
I think I'll take this one.
This one could be the best.
What, though, do YOU think?
15 comments:
The Wright, Reyes, Beltran, Delgado team had a lot of offense but this is problem the best 1-8 lineup we ever had.
Very impressive and even more so if they finally pass the DH for this season. Also when you think we didn't get any of the Big 3 players we were linked to in the off season it's even more impressive.
Mack, actually, the 1999 team with Piazza, Ventura, Olerud, etc. scored a team record 853 runs. I think this team can give that a real run if they stay healthy. I'd like to see them score 875.
Gary, if they had a DH and we got Springer, this would have been no doubt the team's best offense ever, at least on paper going in. It still might be.
Lets also not forget our ace in the hole Johneshwy Fargas!
"This is problem" should have said "this is probably"
Gary, with gas prices rising, the value of Fargas should also rise.
I see the OF depth as Conforto, Nimmo, Smith, Pillar, Albert, JD Davis, Mallex Smith, and then Fargas is in the next group of wannabes. He is in a tough spot. In 2013, he'd probably have been the Mets' 4th OF.
Mack, auto correct is not probably a problem, it is frequently a problem :)
Mack, I think Nido is out of options, but if he sputters, Mazeika has a walk and double in 4 PAs. He can't be counted out.
Drew Fergusion has a single, double, and walk in 3 PAs, and is also probably ahead of Fargas on the OF depth chart. Also Khalil Lee, who might be ahead of Ferguson.
I am surprised that Crow is playing yet Quinn Brodey is not, and Desmond Lindsay is who knows where.
There's always the solid gold Caleb Joseph in the mix, too :)
Brandon Nimmo needs to beef up his defense immensely if we're going to live with his OK but not stellar offense (other than OBP). J.D. Davis simply needs to up is defense. Ditto Dom Smith.
The Mets need to remember it is not a Stratomatic baseball game where offense is pretty much all that matters.
The Thing from the Fantastic Four would look at this line up and say, "It's CLOBBERING TIME." Whether Clobberin' Caleb is part of that one can only speculate. My guess is he won't be clobbering in Queens.
Nimmo has a .600 OBP so far this spring - that is his new target for 2021 - I won't settle for less.
Funny that Pete Crow has been up 4 times and Ferguson is playing - if Tebow was still here, who would have lost precious ABs?
Nimmo opening at bat homer.
Ans son of a gun, a Nimmo single. Ty Cobb is back.
I love Nimmo's "OBPS" On base plus smile. Gotta be worth 4 or 5 wins anyway :)
The Nimmo walks! OBP up to .750, good enough for 2 players.
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