It’s finally here, the 2015 World Series. Who would have thought the matchup would be the New York Mets and the Kansas City Royals?
By David Hong
That’s right folks, the 2015 World Series features the Mets from the NL and the Royals from the AL.
The Mets are coming off a sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS in reaching the Fall Classic, after edging past the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games in the NLDS. The Mets have played like a contending team ever since they made their late July acquisitions to boost the club and they have continued it on in the postseason to unexpectedly reach the World Series, where they will look to win the World Series for the first time since 1986.
The Royals are back in the World Series for the second straight year after losing a tough seven game series to the San Francisco Giants in last season’s World Series. They will look to get that elusive title this time around and win it all for the first time since 1985.
This looks to be the makings of a really competitive and interesting series. Both of them have lineups with players that can beat you in different ways. The Mets have one of the best if not the best starting rotations in the game while the Royals have one of the deepest bullpens in the game.
Here are the positional breakdowns for both teams.
Catcher: Travis d’Arnaud vs Salvador Perez
This is going to be an interesting matchup.
d’Arnaud, when healthy, has proven he can hit, especially with some pop like he’s shown in the playoffs at times. He has also improved his defense behind the plate this year.
Perez has been an All Star this season and is one of the better catchers in the game now. He has some pop in his bat as well and calls a good game behind the plate.
While d’Arnaud has come into his own this year and looks to improve, Perez has been a proven catcher for the last several years and is still solid.
Edge: Royals
First Base: Lucas Duda vs Eric Hosmer
Both of them are nearly similar in game. Both of them provide power, whose swings can instantly change a game. Duda has more power and looks to have a big World Series after his game NLCS heroics. Hosmer is slightly the better fielder at first although Duda has improved. Their hitting could be key for their respective squads.
Edge: Even
Second Base: Daniel Murphy vs Ben Zobrist
Zobrist has always been a fine player who can hit, provide some power, and still provides versatility in the infield, but he is going against the hottest hitter in the postseason in Murphy, who has put up ridiculous home run numbers in the playoffs.
Like Zobrist, Murphy can also play multiple positions around the infield. Zobrist has had his playoff moments like the home run he hit off David Price in Game 6 NLCS. But Murphy is on another world now, hitting-wise, in the playoffs to go with his NLCS MVP.
Edge: Mets
Shortstop: Wilmer Flores vs Alcides Escobar
Flores has done a decent job filling in for the injured Ruben Tejada. He’s provided some offense while making sure his defense hasn’t cost the Mets in any games.
However, much like Murphy, Escobar has raised his level of play this October hitting .478 in the ALCS (ALCS MVP).
Edge: Royals
Third Base: David Wright vs Mike Moustakas
After a slow start this postseason, Wright has picked it up in the NLCS, including his three-hit showing in Game 3. Moustakas has had some moments in October including a home run off Price in Game 6 although a fan might’ve reached over.
Wright may have struggled with his bat at times in the playoffs but his glovework has been solid. And based on his improvement offensively in the NLCS, he will look to have a solid World Series in his first trip there.
Edge: Mets
Left Field: Michael Conforto vs Alex Gordon
With the Royals starters coming in the form of all righties, I assume Conforto will start every game at left field, unless if Terry Collins decides to put Yoenis Cespedes there and put Juan Lagares at center. But for now, I’ll stick with Conforto, who’s had a stellar rookie year with the bat and the glove. He will only get better and will look to make more of an impact as he gets more playing time in the W.S.
Gordon has been a three-time MLB All-Star and is still a solid hitter with pop. Conforto could be a future All-Star, but for now, the veteran Gordon is already a proven commodity.
Edge: Royals
Center Field: Yoenis Cespedes vs Lorenzo Cain
Terrific matchup here. Maybe the best.
Both of them are perennial All-Stars and probably the two biggest bats in their respective lineups. We all know about Cespedes and the impact he’s made to the Mets lineup since coming here, adding lots of power to go along with a dash of speed.
Cain has also been big offensively over the last couple seasons, especially in the playoffs. Cain may not have the power like Cespedes, but he is one of the faster players in the game and his speed is a game changer as he showed in Game 6 ALCS when he scored the winning run from first to send KC to the Fall Classic.
Cespedes may be the better five-tool player, but the fact that Cain has been more consistent in October mixed in with the concern about Cespedes’s shoulder injury, makes this a more fair sided matchup.
Edge: Even
Right Field: Curtis Granderson vs Alex Rios
There was a time when Rios was a premier power hitter with 30-homer power, mainly when he was in the Blue Jays. He is no longer that kind of hitter, but he is still serviceable and had some moments, like the big RBI hit in Game 6, ALCS.
Curtis Granderson has had a renaissance 2015 season and it continued in the playoffs. If not for Murphy, Granderson would’ve clearly been the Mets most productive player in the postseason.
Edge: Mets
Designated Hitter: Michael Cuddyer/ Kelly Johnson vs Kendry Morales
No one’s exactly sure yet who the Mets will put at DH in the games at KC. It’ll probably be someone from the bench like a Cuddyer or Johnson. There’s also been talk about perhaps putting Duda at DH, but the Royals’ Morales is still the best DH out of anyone on either squad. Morales has enjoyed his first productive year since 2009, hitting over 20 homers in the regular season and hitting a few more in October too.
Edge: Royals
Starting Pitching
Clearly, the advantage here goes to the Mets.
The Royals rotation has been inconsistent and unpredictable. Other than the Game 5 gem vs the Astros, the once Reds ace, Johnny Cueto, has been a disappointment since coming over to KC. Edison Volquez and Yordano Ventura have been inconsistent and while Chris Young and Kris Medlin can be solid, neither of them are durable.
You can’t say enough about the Mets bright, young rotation of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Steven Matz. None of them seem intimidated by the October spotlight and overall they have been dominant.
Edge: Mets
Bullpen
Both of them employ lights out closers who can strikeout hitters and pitch more than an inning.
The Mets have Jeurys Familia and the Royals have Wade Davis. After them, the Royals have more reliability in the 7th and 8th inning roles. Kelvin Herrera is a stud who throws hard and has a nasty slider which makes him virtually unhittable. Set-up man Ryan Madson has had a nice comeback year, but blew Game 6 of the ALCS.
The Mets also have a shaky set-up man in Tyler Clippard, who has been shaky since September rolled around. Addison Reed has been up and down in these playoffs but had a nice NLCS. The Mets best reliever outside of Familia in the postseason has clearly been starter Bartolo Colon.
Edge: Royals
Bench
The Mets can bring Lagares off the bench for defense in the latter innings. Kirk Niewenhuis provides some pop off the bench and if Juan Uribe can come back, that would be a huge boost for the Mets. The Royals bench is full of speedsters who can change a game instantly on the basepaths as pinch runners. They are Jarrod Dyson and Terrence Gore. Even though they don’t provide much hitting, their speed is as much of an impact.
Edge: Even
Manager: Terry Collins vs Ned Yost
Ned Yost was once criticized for his managerial moves. With the Royals recent success, he’s been less scrutinized. Although he did make one hiccup when he didn’t bring Wade Davis to pitch to Jose Batista in the 8th-inning and Batista promptly hit a game tying homer off Madson which nearly cost the Royals.
Terry Collins is finally getting the credit he deserves a manager. He has changed his approach from his early stints managing and has been more assertive and has connected with the players. His bullpen moves have worked, whether it’s bringing Syndergaard and Colon in relief and putting Familia in for a 6 out save. He never gave up on his players who were struggling (Wright, Duda) and his patience has paid off as they both have had big NLCS.
Edge: Mets
Outlook
Overall, this looks to have a making of a long and competitive series. The Royals have a lineup that can get you from the top to the bottom. They don’t walk a lot abut they don’t strike out a lot either. Their defense and their bullpen is great, which could be huge factors.
One concern for them: Their starting rotation, which could also be a huge factor, especially comparing to the Mets rotation which has been dominant and I think that can be the decider. Pitching does win games, indeed, and the Mets rotation clearly has the edge.
The Royals are a good fastball hitting team and the Mets starters all throw hard, but another thing is that all the Mets starters are not just fastball throwers. They all have good secondary pitches which makes them even more unhittable and which separates them from other strong starting staffs.
If the Mets play good defense up in the middle, the Royals won’t be able to do too much offensively. Furthermore, the Mets have an offense that can definitely hurt you when they’re on with power bats and surprisingly speed as well in the playoffs. So, the Mets offense can clearly get to the Royals starters, along with the Mets strong rotation, the Mets would not be trailing by the time the Royals throw in their strong bullpen and as long as the Mets face Herrera and Davis when they’re up, that’s not good for KC.
Oh, and the Mets have a stopgap closer as well in Familia when they have a lead in the 9th or even 8th inning (since Familia can get more than three outs during a save).
In the end I believe the starting pitching depth is too much in the Mets favor, and most of the time that becomes the deciding factor in a playoff series, most notably the World Series.