I know that this isn’t an easy thing to do. I also realize some people may not look at the New York Mets seriously. The New York Mets though are a major league team as hard as that may be to believe. The New York Mets just like any team in the league have some guys that are worth something in fantasy baseball. I am going to take a look at the Mets roster and go over the dos and don’ts for them. I welcome any comments you have, positive or negative but my only request is to keep it civil. This is going to be a list of dos and don’ts to be used when evaluating the fantasy value of players on the Mets 25 man roster.
- Do take David Wright. I still think that Wright has a lot of value as a third baseman. He has suffered playing in Citi Field but I expect him to have a good year and also he may be traded at some point which will boost his value. Wright last year only played in 102 games but this was an isolated incident. It was his lowest since 2005 when he was just breaking into the league and played 69 games. He only batted 254 with 14 homeruns and 61 RBI. It was the lowest batting average of his career. His on base percentage was still 345 which isn’t so bad. The five prior years to last year he was an all-star. I expect him to bounce back
- Don’t take a big risk with Johan Santana. Yes he may come back and pitch all year, yes he was a great pitcher. He hasn’t pitched in almost two years though and he has had a lot of arm surgeries over the last few years. I can see him coming back and being smart enough to pitch but I wouldn’t take a risk.
- Do take Ike Davis as not one of the big name first baseman but a good one. If Davis is fully healthy now I can see him coming into his own. He was playing well two years ago when he got called up and was poised for a big season last year until he got hurt. I would expect him to play a full year and be productive. He only played in 36 games but was hitting 302 with seven homeruns and 25 RBI. His line in 2010 was 264, 19, 71, 351OBP, 440SLG. I would expect something like 280, 25, 85, 350.
- Don’t take a risk with Ruben Tejada. He is a defensive whiz but in fantasy baseball that doesn’t count for much if anything at all. I am not sure if he will ever be more then a 250 or so hitter. Even if he is he will be a punch and Judy type hitter.
- Do take a good look at Jon Niese. He is a good young lefty starting pitcher. His only problem is that he is on a bad team. Niese last season was 11-11 with a 4.40 ERA. Not great numbers but on a better team I think he would be better and I think he will get better. He is a guy to look at as a back of the rotation or extra starter as insurance.
- Don’t take Bobby Parnell as a closer. There are plenty of better options out there. He first of all won’t be getting many chances and second of all he isn’t that good despite the potential. I would look everywhere else before I even looked at him.
- Do give catcher Josh Thole a good look. He may not be your best option as your first catcher but as a backup and especially in a keeper league he isn’t bad. He batted 268 with three homeruns and 40 RBI last year. His on base percentage was 345 with a 344 slugging. I think you can do a lot worse at the catcher position, Thole is also young at 25 years of age and has the potential to get better.
- Don’t waste your time on Jason Bay. He was a good player especially the one year he spent in Boston. He is one of those guys though that came to the Mets and saw his career go down the drain. I don’t think there is any hope of him recovering and he will never be a big impact player again. There are so many good outfielders in the league that you don’t even have to get desperate and look at him. Bay is a nice guy and was a nice player but not good for your fantasy team.
- Do give Lucas Duda a good look. He last year hit 292 with 10 homeruns and 50 RBI in 301 bats. He is a young player who is very big and strong and could develop into a legit power hitter in the league. He just turned 26 years old yesterday and will have a chance to develop with the Mets.
- Don’t be fooled by Justin Turner having some flair for the dramatic and showing some potential. He is probably only going to be a bench player at best. He hit 260 last season with four homeruns, seven steals, 51RBI and 49 runs scored.
- Do think about Dillon Gee long and hard for your pitching staff. I would especially give him a long look if I was in a keeper league. Gee has shown the ability to win games and although the SABR crowd might not agree that is still very important. I am more of an old school guy and value wins. He was 13-6 last season with a 4.43 ERA. He pitched 160.2 innings and only gave up 150 hits. I like the potential he brings and the ability to win games even on a bad team.
- Don’t think that Andres Torres will give you much value at all. He can steal some bases which is good but he doesn’t hit for average and his career year he hit 16 homeruns and had 63 RBI. He hasn’t even come close to that in any other year.
If you think I did a good job I will be happy to know that. If you think I did a bad job, I won’t mind hearing that also and want to hear why you think that is so. Is there anyone on the Mets roster I missed, like I said this isn’t easy with a team like the Mets. Is there someone in the minor leagues that I should of looked at that you think could have a fantasy impact, is their a potential surprise player?? Let me know any and all opinions. I hope this is a big help to you as you enter the 2012 fantasy baseball season.