As we enter one of the final Spring Training weeks there has been enough time on the Florida (and foreign) soil to start to draw some observational conclusions about how the future 2026 Mets team is performing. In our best Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach moments, let’s have a look at the Good the Bad and the Ugly of what we’ve seen thus far.
Wow, where to start. Carson Benge is as good a place as any. He is hitting .367, fielding competently and not looking overmatched by the pitching he’s facing in preseason. These results different dramatically from the 103 plate appearances he had delivering a .178 average in Syracuse.
A somewhat surprising positive result has come from would be Francisco Lindor substitute Ronny Mauricio. He has only been up three times less than Benge and thus far has tallied a .296 average which suggests he is fully ready to return to the formidable prospect level he had built during his minor league career.
After a hitless start to his Spring, Brett Baty has been on fire and through his 18 ABs has delivered to the tune of .389. He’s played all over the diamond, including first base, DH and RF while contributing solidly with his bat so well that he’s making the case to be the full time DH should Benge win the RF job.
A.J. Ewing is a player whose numbers in the minors have been highly impressive yet at the same time he has been somewhat written off as a one trick pony with sprinting being that highly formidable skill. In 2025 he was up nearly 500 times and finished with a .315 average accompanied by 70 stolen bases. He hit the ground running in Port St. Lucie and thus far has delivered to the tune of a .381 batting average and already 4 SBs.
Not getting as much opportunity as fellow spare outfielder Mike Tauchman is former hot prospect MJ Melendez hitting a robust .364. He’s had fits and starts throughout his career so people are taking these numbers with a rock sized grain of salt, but it’s still good to see.
Then there is newly minted first baseman, Jorge Polanco. He got off to something of a delayed start as he was taking additional fielding reps to grow accustomed to a new position on the field but thus far he’s swinging the bat even better than David Stearns could have expected with a Spring average of .357.
Then there is the .375 batting average owned by catcher Francisco Alvarez. Many are mourning his lack of power but he answered that with a tape measure shot last week. Others are more impressed with the average which suggests he’s not blindly swinging for the fences in every AB.
On the pitching side, Freddy Peralta, Kodai Senga and Clay Holmes have all had notable outings this Spring. In the bullpen it took a few outings but Devin Williams is looking more like the Milwaukee than the Bronx version.
Everyone is well aware of the less than impressive start Nolan McLean made after his vertigo-like illness backed up his preparation a bit. He was virtually unhittable last September. This year he’s looked human though how much of it was weakness after the illness is not yet known.
How you can call someone with a 2.25 ERA bad depends on expectations and roster status. In this case we’re looking at future Hall of Famer Craig Kimbel whose first two appearances were not dominant. He’s bounced back fairly well but he’s not the strikeout machine at rocket velocity he once was in his prime. He is not on the roster but with lefty AJ Minter likely to start the season on the IL it is still possibly for righty Kimbrel to get an extended look in early April
Here you can start with any of the three red letter (as in low report card grade) players, but each are not making things easy for the front office. Mark Vientos is back from his stint as part of the Nicaragua WBC team and he’s been so bad combined both here and there that he needs to rally to raise his batting average to .100. That is not a typo.
Second baseman Marcus Semien is going to be a joy to watch in the field and even more so when paired with All Star Francisco Lindor. Unfortunately his hitting has been flat out awful all Spring. For veterans there is less of a long term worry than there is for unestablished players, but given a few consecutive down years and the high price paid in the form of Brandon Nimmo he’s going to have quite a few early detractors.
Then there is the suddenly soft tossing lefty starting pitcher, Sean Manaea. Ever since his impressive debut for the Mets in 2024 he has not been the same. Injuries limited him to a dozen 2025 starts and the results were beyond ugly. The hope going into this season was that he would have adjusted and arrived fully healthy. What no one expected was the significant drop in velocity. Right now he’s pitching even worse than he did in 2025 and is quickly pitching himself out of the odd six-man rotation.
9 comments:
On Mark Vientos: Mendoza said yesterday that Vientos has been hitting the ball hard all spring with two outs yesterday that were struck at least 105 mph.
On Semien: a HR yesterday and almost a second one later on, maybe he is heating up.
On Manaea: the chess club is very popular in the clubhouse and it seems DJ Shifty Sean is playing all the hits players love. As for his full time gig, “it is what it is” according to Manaea. He needs to go to the bullpen. Start Myers.
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Those spring stats can sometimes be misleading. For example, LuisAngel Acuna is hitting .468 in 31 PA against MLB level pitchers. Just like Pache is hitting .450. On one hand, we all like to see success at all times. On the other hand, how do we acknowledge spring stats when “they aren’t supposed to mean anything”? Mendoza said early on that they aren’t looking at stats but rather swing efficiency, how hard they are hitting the ball and how they look tracking pitches.
Many times we have heard that the best thing that comes out of spring training is a healthy ball club. Lindor is starting to play and Soto should be back now that DR has been eliminated. Only one left is McLean who is starting the WBC championship game and fingers will be crossed in he is pitching a no hitter or something like that.
McLean…win and come home HEALTHY.
Semien had the HR and near miss sac fly, but also another liner caught as a second sac fly. For just 5 innings in a shortened game, he was GOOD, VERY GOOD.
Pete Alonso still has just one RBI after his 2 run shot in his first spring AB.
Lindor’s ability to play the 5 innings in the field and pick up a hit has to be good news, assuming no setbacks
I am totally happy with what spring has sprung. The starters look great and they aren't even seasoned with Soto and Lindor
As long as thy stay healthy… the Kid are Alright!
'Good piece Reece' should be your nickname. My number 1 wish is to be proven wrong about Alvarez. So far he's doing a great job of that. I wish I were wrong about Vientos because he could have been part of either a DH platoon or a 1B platoon both with Baty who could be close to an every day player in virtue of his overall versatility. Lots of places to play for him; not so much for Vientos. I wish Mauricio could hit right handed, which would make him a potential DH/ versatile infield back up or even part of 1B platoon or even a 1b if had ever gotten a chance to develop there.
As for recently shipped to the minors: for Ewing, Reimer and Lambert among others, it is only a matter of time. Don't know what to think of Clifford.
I lamented the loss of Acuna, Sproat and Williams, but ask your, where would they be on the current Mets team and projected players? Peralta and Myers, e.g. have a pretty firm place for now and hopefully for years to come.
What's left to do this spring? Make some difficult decisions, stay healthy and see if the team can begin to gel as a unit and create chemistry.
And one last question. Does anyone other than me think it is possible that Barnes replaces Torrens as the number 2 catcher?
I believe Barnes would fit better
I do too. I would be interested in knowing to whom the pitchers prefer to pitch.
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