Watchable meaning, in this instance, a player who is capable of making spectacular plays that make your jaw drop. Think Mickey Mantle in his prime, smashing tape measure shots from both sides of the plate. Think Willie Mays making an impossible catch then completing the play with an impossible throw. Think Dwight Gooden and his dominating stuff, racking up the K’s and the W’s.
At the beginning of the season, the Mets two most watchable players were Yoenis Cespedes and Noah Syndergaard. Cespedes could smash those mammoth home runs that make the ESPN highlights, as well as rocket throws from the deepest parts of the ballpark. Syndergaard could blow a 100 mph fastball past a batter, then make the batter look silly with a 90 mph changeup. Both players, of course are on the disabled list and have been out of action for a good part of the season.
So, who are the most watchable Mets that are on the current active list? We’ll start off with rookie shortstop Amed Rosario, who has the potential to be a five tool player. He can scoop up that ball hit into the hole and throw out the runner. There was that spectacular play he made earlier in the summer where he made a great stop and then, basically while on his back, threw out a runner at second. He has gap power and flashes speed on the basepaths that can turn a double into a triple.
Brandon Nimmo could be considered a watchable Met as we see him finally developing before our eyes. He has made a few good catches of late and he has flashed power as evidenced by his recent two home run game. Also refreshing is his enthusiasm for the game, it’s fun to see a young player play hard and enjoy himself.
Then there is Jacob deGrom. Sure he has struggled a bit at times but he has an electric fastball that can register in the upper 90s on the radar gun. The right-hander has been among the league leaders in strikeouts all season, as of this writing deGrom’s 221 K’s are second in the NL to Max Scherzer’s 239.
Another watchable Met on the current active roster is Juan Lagares. Check him out on YouTube, with highlights showing him robbing homeruns, making diving stabs and launching great throws. In the recent series with the Astros Lagares made one of those throws to nip a runner at third. FanGraphs has him with a UZR rating of 58.9 over his five MLB seasons, most of which were abbreviated for one reason or another. That UZR means he has saved a lot of defensive runs in his tenure.
The Mets as a team are not particularly watchable right now, but hopefully Syndergaard and Cespedes will be back at full strength next season, and that could make the Mets a lot more fun to watch than they are now as the 2017 season winds down.
Nice piece John, and unfortunately true. The only other player that intrigues me is Kevin Plawecki, to see how much he has developed.
Thanks Gus
I like Plawecki, he seems like a battler to me and he has gotten some clutch hits this year
I’m sure they feel likewise about folks that hold opinions such as this above- “This is the ungrateful garbage we literally break our backs to perform in front of?” There is alot more to the team than Thor and Ces… but I guess it takes much more than being like a moth drawn to a flame to understand and appreciate this game.
Don’t sprain your wrist patting yourself on the back.
John was expressing an observation that many probably share.
If we’re voting, my favorite has to be Brandon Nimmo. Sure his fielding seems B at best but his attitude and passion move him above the line. He makes me pay attention every AB. For production with the right players around him in the batting order his OBP would be the plus.
And Nori Aoki as his competitor on the roster…I wish he wasn’t here making things even more confusing.
Pete, but that’s the Alderson way. Throw roadblocks at the kids to see how they overcome them. Quite genius actually, and that’s how Alderson feels about it. Notice how much smarter he is than everyone else? No other team has even considered blocking their youngsters like the Mets do. Even in wasted seasons, the Mike Baxters, Bobby Abreus, Nori Aoki (Who is due to become a free agent again), Rick Ankiels and the others that I’ve missed all get a free ride, but the kids have to earn it!!
Excellent post. A lot of interesting players were sent out of town and a lot of people were stuck holding tickets to see AAAA (at best) players. That is called bait and switch, and I don’t blame anyone for finding the current roster wanting.
My favorite guy to watch was Aoki, who is a true pro. He would be the perfect number two hitter if he was only born thirty years sooner. Instead the poor guy bounces around because what good is a guy who can get your leadoff hitter to third if no one else can do anything but strike out or hit a home run?
But I burned off all my tickets last week (went to four of those games) so I can check out on 2017. I can’t imagine watching this team on TV, I mean this is not the era of nine channels. We have choices.
If they put a real roster together in 2018 I will be back. The balls in their court.
Obviously you didn’t hear about Nido.