Players to Watch
Yoenis Cespedes:
Yoenis Cespedes is a bonafide diva in the truest form, and why shouldn’t he be?
He grew up poor and now finds himself as an all-star outfielder with a fat contract to go along with it.
He, much like Noah Sydnergaard, is a lightning rod for action. No one can forget his home run binge during the last two months of the 2015 season.
It will no doubt be difficult for him to repeat history, but is a +.300 average, 100+ RBI and 35+ home runs too much to ask of the 30-year-old Cuban?
Of course not. He’s equipped with a nice contract, a new arsenal of cars, and he’s definitely ready to prove his worth for a full season in Flushing.
Will he stay another year? That’s a question to be answered in about five, maybe six, months.
Noah Syndergaard:
There’s a whole lot that could be said of the rising superstar pitcher they call Thor. At 23-years-old he’s ridiculously polished and brings the heat. Within a star-studded flame-throwing rotation, no one slings the stitches as fast as this guy.
Seriously, every time this guy is thrown out on the mound he brings electricity, much like his superhero namesake. He strikes fear into opposing hitters faster than lightning strikes ground. (Hyperbole? Perhaps.)
Throwing a hard-breaking curveball at 80 mph, immediately after nailing 101 on the radar gun is a match made in heaven, bound to produce a plethora of downright ugly swings.
When the season is said and done, Syndergaard not only can be a top 5-or-10 pitcher, he should be. Adding the nasty ‘Warthen slider’ to his arsenal is plain unfair, just ask everyone he faced in the Grapefruit League.
Wilmer Flores:
Wilmer Flores may not provide the greatest impact for the Mets this season, but there’s no doubt he’ll be put to use.
The Mets are trying to turn Flores into some sort of Ben Zobrist super-utility man. In fact, they expect Wilmer to get his turn at nearly every position in the infield.
When (insert infielder here) needs a break – even Lucas Duda – Wilmer Flores will be there to answer the call.
He is, after all, the once-traded-turned-folk-hero of yesteryear who’s tears one day, and walk-off home run against the Nationals the next, turned a whole franchise around.
