Ranking the Mets players on the current roster, 1-26

In the NCAA basketball tournament, the selection committee ranks all of the teams from 1-68. Let’s take that principle and do it for the current players on the 2024 Mets, 1-26. Typically, the backup catcher and middle reliever would occupy the bottom of the roster but that’s not necessarily the case with this team. To be sure, we’ll see relievers bring up the rear. But will they hold all five of the bottom spots? Let’s find out.

1. Francisco Lindor – Some years this might be a tough decision but here’s a guy who’s legitimately in the MVP discussion. There’s a huge gulf between here and the next spot on this list.

2. Brandon Nimmo – He’s really struggled for most of the second half but here’s hoping he goes on a kick in the final 30-plus games of the season.

3. Mark Vientos – The player that the org didn’t believe in is one of the top five players on the club. Maybe he’s the second-best player; it doesn’t seem like you could rank him below fifth.

4. Pete Alonso – It’s frustrating to see him wildly flail at breaking balls out of the zone and we don’t really want to see him trying to go from first to third on a single to left field, either. But let’s not completely lose track of what he does. He’s got a .909 OPS in 86 PA here in the month of August.

5. Sean Manaea – The closest thing the Mets have to an ace. In his last five games he has a 2.61 ERA and a 2.39 FIP and that comes with outings against the Twins, Mariners and Orioles, three teams a combined 54 games over .500 on the season. This span also includes a game against the Cardinals, who were two games over .500 when Manaea went up against them.

6. Edwin Diaz – While not as big as the gulf between 1-2, there seems to be some distance between 5-6 here. But Diaz gives the Mets a security blanket that cannot be denied. Since returning from the IL on 6/13, Diaz has a 1.06 ERA, a 0.765 WHIP and has limited batters to a .408 OPS.

7. Francisco Alvarez – It’s not a coincidence that the Mets’ worst stretch of the season came when Alvarez was on the IL. Like Nimmo, he’s in a funk offensively right now. But he still contributes defensively whenever he’s in the game.

8. David Peterson – Yeah, it seems like he’s doing it with mirrors and that it could fall apart at any moment. But in his last 11 games, Peterson has a 2.64 ERA and in his last four outings, he’s 3-1 with a 1.85 ERA.

9. Jeff McNeil – It’s odd to rank a guy this high who doesn’t even have a triple-digit OPS+. But McNeil has been a different player since early July and in his last 143 PA, he has a .954 OPS.

10. Jose Butto – In an ideal world, he’d be in the rotation, which is where he’ll hopefully be in 2025. But right now, he’s needed in the pen. In 14 games and 26.2 IP as a reliever, Butto has a 1.35 ERA, a 0.975 WHIP and he’s limited batters to a .493 OPS.

11. J.D. Martinez – Most would have him ranked higher and maybe he deserves a better spot with his off-the-field contributions. But in a head-to-head, “you can only pick one guy to have for the playoffs,” Martinez would be behind the first 10 guys on this list for me.

12. Jose Iglesias – Yet another odd ranking. It’s seemingly a coin flip if he’s in the starting lineup on any given day but there’s no debating the impact he’s had on the team offensively, defensively and off the field.

13. Paul Blackburn – If he’s going to give 6 IP, 1 ER performances three times in four starts the rest of the way, he’ll move up on the list. Of course, he’ll have to do that against better teams than he’s faced so far with the Mets. Still, the unknown of how he’ll do versus the good teams is better than the known crappiness of the next guy listed.

14. Luis Severino – There’s value to beating the bad clubs on your schedule and Severino has done a terrific job of that this year. But he won’t be able to face the Marlins any more this season and has at most one game left against the Nationals. He’s 4-0 with a 1.93 ERA against those two clubs and 5-5 with a 4.60 ERA against everyone else.

15. Phil Maton – On a staff where it seems everyone issues too many walks, Maton has a 2.30 BB/9. He also has a 1.72 ERA, a 0.830 WHIP and has limited batters to a .472 OPS. He doesn’t inspire the same confidence as Butto but it’s hard to argue with the results.

16. Starling Marte – He’s far from my favorite player on the team but the simple fact is that he has a 111 OPS+ in 277 PA. My preference would be to see Iglesias at 2B and McNeil in RF. But Marte gives the club another offensive weapon and maybe he’ll be better in the field after his two-month IL stint.

17. Jesse Winker – Here’s where it gets really difficult. Winker is starting to have better ABs since Marte returned and at a time where it figures he’ll likely get less playing time moving forward. But he’s also a guy who doesn’t seem scared of the moment. That seems valuable in a playoff situation.

18. Tyrone Taylor – He’ll likely get more playing time moving forward than Winker and might deserve to get the higher ranking. But he’s scuffled through large segments of the season and if push comes to shove, my preference would be to see Winker in the batter’s box in a key situation.

19. Luis Torrens – His hitting has fallen off drastically – a .566 OPS in his last 14 games, despite a .321 BABIP – but he still inspires a ton more confidence than the backstops he replaced. And he’s nabbed nine of the 16 runners who’ve attempted a steal.

20. Danny Young – Most people value him because he’s the only lefty in the pen. And while he’s been excellent against LHB, he’s held his own against RHB, too. In 73 PA against righties, Young has held them to a .186 AVG.

21. Reed Garrett – He’s not been good at all here lately and his scoreless appearance last night might have saved his roster spot. But if he can get back to throwing strikes and limiting walks, he has more upside than anyone else in this general area.

22. Harrison Bader – Everyone say it with me – he had a six-week hot streak and has been terrible outside of that stretch. From 5/31-7/12, a span of 33 games and 113 PA, Bader had an .844 OPS. Before the hot streak, he had a .680 OPS (with a .348 BABIP!) in 167 PA and after the streak he has a .463 OPS in 81 PA. His best use is as a late-inning, defensive replacement.

23. Adam Ottavino – At this point, he’s nothing but a low-leverage reliever. Yet he’s been serviceable in his last 19 games, with a 3.52 ERA, a 1.304 WHIP and with a .710 OPS against. But at no point ever should Ottavino be brought into a game with runners on base.

24. Jose Quintana – He has no room for error. Quintana is capable of giving a 6 IP, 1 ER performance, like he did on 6/15 against the Padres, if everything is going right. But he’s much more likely to give a 5 IP, 7 ER performance like he did last time out against the Orioles.

25. Huascar Brazoban – Last night’s ultra-shaky performance with a big lead clinches his ticket to Syracuse. Yet it still feels like we haven’t seen the last of him in a Mets uniform this season.

26. Ryne Stanek – In eight games as a Met, Stanek has a 9.00 ERA, a 1.573 WHIP and opponents have an .855 OPS against him. And it’s not like he was good earlier in the year, either. But six of his eight appearances have been scoreless. It’s just that when he’s bad, he’s really, really bad.

*****

The expectation is that Dedniel Nunez will be activated for tonight’s game, with Brazoban all but certain to lose his spot. You could rank Nunez as high as 12th on this list.