MLB season preview: Can Mets pitch their way back to World Series?

Editor’s Note: With the arrival of baseball season we’re previewing each MLB team, from worst to best. We’ll look at their key offseason moves, projected lineup, best and worst possible outcomes plus examine the team’s fantasy implications with the help of friends from Roto Arcade. Our daily series continues with No. 2: the New York Mets.

The question anymore isn’t whether the New York Mets core of young starters will be good. They made it to the World Series last season. That one is moot. The question now is whether they can get back to the World Series and win it.

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(Getty Images) The Mets went further than anyone expected last season following the return of Matt Harvey from Tommy John surgery, the emergence of Noah Syndergaard and another stellar season from Jacob deGrom. Zack Wheeler should be back this summer and Steven Matz is ready to build on a rookie campaign that showed promise. Add the ageless vet Bartolo Colon and the Mets have quite the pitching staff.

Losing to those tenacious Kansas City Royals in five games wasn’t ideal if you’re a Mets fan, but even if you don’t believe in moral victories, just getting that far had to be considered a win for the Mets. Because let’s be real, they weren’t expected to win the NL East last season let alone be a World Series contender.

Now, expectations are soaring. The Mets brought back Yoenis Cespedes on a potential three-year, $75 million contract (he can opt out after this year) to essentially get their band back together for another run at October. The Mets saw the very best of Cespedes down the stretch last season, but we’ll see how good they are when he inevitably comes back to Earth this season. For example: His .942 OPS in 57 games with the Mets was otherworldly compared to his career mark of .805.

The Mets’ pitching should hide some of that regression, and another year of maturity from the likes of Michael Conforto and Travis d’Arnaud should help the rest of the lineup. Other than that, the blueprint for 2016 isn’t too different for the Mets: Pitch well, hit just enough, stay relatively healthy and bring October baseball back to the Queens.

Key additions: Neil Walker, Asdrubal Cabrera, Antonio Bastardo

Key subtractions: Daniel Murphy, Michael Cuddyer, Kelly Johnson

The biggest addition during the Mets offseason was Yoenis Cespedes, but since we was on the club at the end of the year, he’s not included above. Aside from that, the Mets managed to make some modest upgrades around the diamond. Walker and Cabrera aren’t great, but both fill what would have been significant holes. Walker can replace Murphy and doesn’t come with a long-term commitment, while Cabrera allows Wilmer Flores to move off the position. Cuddyer’s retirement opens up a spot for Michael Conforto to play full-time. After last season, that seems like a positive thing. (Cwik)

Steven Matz: Some prospects struggle upon initially reaching the majors, but eventually figure things out. Some dominate from Day 1. Matz looks to be the latter after last year. In six regular season starts, Matz posted a 2.27 ERA with strong strikeout and walk rates.

[Season Preview: Can the Royals silence the doubters again?]

While you don’t want to overreact to just six starts, it certainly looks like he’s going to cut it in the majors. If he can do so with those peripherals, he’ll turn into one of the most overqualified fourth starters in the game. The only question here is health. Matz has a history of injuries, including a lat issue that shut him down for parts of his rookie year. If he stays healthy, watch out. If not, we’ll be left dreaming about his potential. (Cwik)

Lineup:
1. Curtis Granderson, OF (.259/.364/.457, 98 R, 26 HR, 70 RBI, 11 SB)
2. David Wright, 3B (.289/.379/.434, 24 R, 5 HR, 17 RBI)
3. Lucas Duda, 1B (.244/.352/.486, 67 R, 27 HR, 73 RBI)
4. Yoenis Cespedes, OF (.291/.328/.542, 101 R, 35 HR, 105 RBI)
5. Neil Walker, 2B (.269/.328/.427, 69 R, 16 HR, 71 RBI)
6. Travis d’Arnaud, C (.268/.340/.485, 31 R, 12 HR, 41 RBI)
7. Michael Conforto, OF (.270/.335/.506, 30 R, 9 HR, 26 RBI)
8. Asdrubal Cabrera, SS (.265/.315/.430, 66 R, 15 HR, 58 RBI)

Rotation:
1. Matt Harvey (13-8, 2.71 ERA, 189.1 IP, 188 K)
2. Jacob deGrom (14-8, 2.54 ERA, 191 IP, 205 K)
3. Noah Synergaard (9-7, 3.24 ERA, 150 IP, 166 K)
4. Steven Matz (4-0, 2.27 ERA, 35.2 IP, 34 K)
5. Bartolo Colon (14-13, 4.16 ERA, 194.2 IP, 136 K)

It’s long been said that pitching wins in MLB, and rumor has it the Mets are pretty loaded in that department. With an improved offense considered a reasonable expectation and even better health possible in the rotation (Zack Wheeler is coming, folks) the Mets could cruise past 90 wins and be a team to beat in October. (Mark Townsend)

Baseball can be cruel sometimes, and it’s been cruel plenty of times to the Mets over the years. With that in mind, a key injury or two in the rotation is the biggest threat to their success. But even then the offense could be improved enough to help prop them up. Barring complete disaster, this is no worse than an 85-win team. (Townsend)

Does your format allow a David Wright selection? Wright’s health has become a mess in recent years; he’s played one full season out of five, and tumbled down to 38 games last season. The Mets aren’t projecting him as a six-month player in 2016; they would probably be thrilled with the 112 games he played in 2013, or the 134 he logged in 2014. In leagues with ample bench space and daily transactions, you could roster Wright with the idea of jockeying your lineup around as needed; last year’s .289 average and .379 OBP will play in most formats, That said, he’s also coming off a modest .434 slugging, and uncertainty with health and schedule are major strikes against Wright if your league requires weekly transactions. It’s a crossroads season at age 33.

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What is Michael Conforto ready for in Year 2? Conforto more than had a cup of coffee with the Mets last year — he exhausted his rookie status in the process — but the club certainly didn’t overextend its top prospect. Part of that strategy was in deference to veteran Michael Cuddyer (since retired), and part of that strategy was the idea that you don’t want to overwhelm a young player. The Mets also steered Conforto away from left-handed pitching (just 15 plate appearances), though he didn’t show any problems with them in the minors. Conforto currently is being drafted outside the Top 50 outfielders in Yahoo leagues, but he could easily step into an OF 3-4 role in fantasy leagues this summer. Figure on a respectable average, 20 or more home runs, and quality run production. (Scott Pianowski)

With a nickname like Thor comes great power and responsibility. Noah Syndergaard earned the moniker due to his massive frame and his fastball that can touch 100 mph. The Mets right-hander also does his part to stoke the legend on Twitter @Noahsyndergaard and Instagram nsyndergaard. What he shows us there is that the beast on the mound is a big goof away from the ballpark that’s loving life. There isn’t a teammate that’s off limits from one of Syndergaard’s wisecracks, and with some of the characters on the Mets, that makes for a whole lot of funny. (Israel Fehr)

Man, @MrMet walking around camp all big (baseball) headed after that Sports Illustrated cover. #attentionhog

— Noah Syndergaard (@Noahsyndergaard) March 23, 2016

This has to be the least surprising answer in this entire series of MLB previews. The reason to root for the Mets? It’s oh-so-simple. It’s the Internet’s favorite baseball player. One word: Bartolo.

We love you forever, Bartolo. (Mike Oz)