Fantasy Baseball 2013: New York Mets Hitting and Pitching Projections
David Wright is the unquestioned star of the Mets.
Photo by Keith Allison.
New York Mets — Predicted Finish: Fourth Place, NL East
Meet the Mets! Meet the Mets! Step right up and greet the Mets.
The New York Mets aren’t much to look at this year,. Their roster is full of mediocre players with one legit star trapped in the middle of this lackluster lineup (some alliteration for Clave). I like David Wright. I like him a lot, actually. He is a still a top 3B, even though the position is substantially deeper than years past. Other than Wright, there just aren’t that many fantasy options here other than a couple of interesting sleepers.
Mets Offense:
| Player Name | Pos. | Age | Hand | AB | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG. |
| Ruben Tejada | SS | 23 | R | 524 | 57 | 1 | 36 | 6 | .278 |
| Daniel Murphy | 2B | 28 | L | 563 | 73 | 11 | 73 | 8 | .298 |
| David Wright | 3B | 30 | R | 565 | 87 | 22 | 90 | 14 | .287 |
| Ike Davis | 1B | 26 | L | 501 | 80 | 31 | 96 | 1 | .269 |
| Lucas Duda | RF | 27 | L | 518 | 59 | 19 | 78 | 2 | .252 |
| Mike Baxter | LF | 28 | L | 377 | 52 | 7 | 47 | 9 | .276 |
| Kirk Nieuwenhuis | CF | 25 | L | 397 | 61 | 11 | 43 | 8 | .259 |
| John Buck | C | 32 | R | 393 | 37 | 15 | 51 | 0 | .224 |
Crackerjack Fantasy Options: Wright, Davis
David Wright is an obvious pick, Ike Davis is a solid pick to hopefully fill a UTL or CI position, just not your primary 1B. Also, I’m not saying that Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda are not fantasy options, only that they are best as contingency plans Otherwise there really is not much to be excited about in this line-up until we get to some guys that need to prove themselves ready early on. Baxter needs to play well to hold off Collin Cowgill from usurping his at bats. Same goes for Buck holding off Travis d’Arnaud, the stud prospect hitting catcher obtained in the R.A. Dickey trade.
Mets Pitching
| Role | Player | Age | Hand | IP | BB | W | K | SV | ERA | WHIP |
| 1 Starter | Johan Santana | 34 | L | 185 | 61 | 11 | 162 | 0 | 3.98 | 1.24 |
| 2 Starter | Jonathon Niese | 26 | L | 190 | 55 | 10 | 153 | 0 | 3.46 | 1.35 |
| 3 Starter | Dillon Gee | 27 | R | 150 | 44 | 7 | 117 | 0 | 4.08 | 1.30 |
| Reliever | Bobby Parnell | 28 | R | 70 | 19 | 3 | 59 | 0 | 2.70 | 1.34 |
Crackerjack Fantasy Options: See below
None of these guys are slam dunk options, Bobby Parnell is your closest safe bet at productivity, however he is nowhere near a secure closer position guy, as you can see by my predicted saves. Johan had some moments last season including one Mets fans have been waiting on for a long time, but really cannot be relied upon on an every start basis. Neise and Gee are fine spot start/stream options and they may turn the corner this year but only time will tell.
Fantasy Star: Wright
As stated above, David Wright is a no brainer for a fantasy stud on this team. He is the cornerstone of the Mets franchise and can be the cornerstone of your fantasy squad for at least one more season. The projections above are conservative in my opinion, so you can certainly draft Wright with the hopes of a 90-30-100-15-.300 line if he can stay healthy and comfortable at the plate. And of course, there is always the chance that they trade away Wright for more prospects and then his value could take a nice spike!
Fantasy Bust: See below
It is hard to peg a bust on this team as there aren’t many guys that you should have great expectations for. The only real thing to be concerned with is the aforementioned Wright and his health and happiness with the team this year. Otherwise be warned to have tempered expectations for any other Met on your fantasy squad.
Fantasy Sleepers: Cowgill, d’Arnaud
Collin Cowgill could be a mainstay in this New York outfield and lineup by season’s end. He should start the season as the fourth outfielder and take at bats in a platoon with Mike Baxter, handling the left handed pitching. If Cowgill can prove himself and take over the everyday duties he will be a very nice pick up after the drafts.
Since I kind of ducked the bust section I guess I could be kind enough to double up on the sleeper section. Travis d’Arnaud should be able to hit his way into the lineup at some point, he has the makeup of a professional hitter that would be the best hitting catcher the Mets have seen since Mike Piazza, but don’t expect Piazza batting average.
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