- Joined
- Jun 6, 2020
I think the Mets could win the division. They've played 2, 4 and 2 games fewer than Washington, Atlanta and Philadelphia, respectively. They've got a 5 game lead over the second place Nats at the moment (although that will likely shrink to 4 as the Mets look like they're going to lose to the Phils while the Nats look like they'll beat Miami today as of writing.)I’m wondering if the Mets have the chance to make it to the Wild Card this year.
They've done this with Francisco Lindor hitting well below his normal production, but he's been coming on a bit recently. Jeff McNeil has also been producing well below what's typical for him, while also missing significant time this year. The pitching has been really good for them even with David Peterson (who has looked a lot better in his last three starts, the first two coming against the Cubs and Nationals) being a weak spot in the rotation so far, and not having Noah Syndergaard or Carlos Carrasco even throw a single pitch.
If they can remain relatively healthy (especially deGrom who has been nothing short of scary this year) and see Lindor and McNeil return to hitting like they should be, a division title isn't crazy to think about. Assuming they don't suffer a massive collapse between now and the end of July they'll probably add to the team, too. The next month will be really telling as they've got a bunch of games against Atlanta, a series against the Yankees and a series against Toronto. They do, however go into the All-Star break against Pittsburgh, and then also come out of the break with a series against them which should lead to some easy wins.
tl;dr - I think they can with the AL East which looks like it's easier to win than a Wild Card spot considering how good the records are for the Giants, Dodgers, Padres, and whichever team doesn't with the Central between the Brewers and Cubs.