The Mets start another season with a familiar situation in the outfield: the Mets do not have a regular, everyday, actual center fielder. When the Mets field Bruce/Conforto/Cespedes, all three are corner outfielders. Nimmo could be in line for a break out season and after his spring he deserves a long look.
But there is always Juan Lagares. He is worth so much defensively that the Mets just need him to hit a little better and stay healthier a bit longer to make a big difference. Let’s take a look at what the computers think he will do this year:
| Juan Lagares | ||||||||
| Source | PA | AB | H | R | HR | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Baseball Prospectus | 347 | 71.485 | 41 | 5 | 0.255 | 0.295 | 0.366 | |
| ZiPS | 366 | 85 | 40 | 5 | 0.25 | 0.289 | 0.362 | |
| Steamer | 207 | 192 | 49 | 19 | 4 | 0.256 | 0.299 | 0.379 |
| ESPN | 233 | 57.085 | 26 | 3 | 0.245 | 0.283 | 0.352 | |
| MLB.com | 370 | 95.83 | 44 | 4 | 0.259 | 0.299 | 0.357 | |
| Baseball Reference | 352 | 323 | 81 | 41 | 7 | 0.251 | 0.303 | 0.364 |
| Average: | 318 | 279.5 | 73.23333 | 35.16667 | 4.666667 | 0.252667 | 0.294667 | 0.363333 |
| 2017 Stats: | 272 | 252 | 63 | 37 | 3 | 0.25 | 0.296 | 0.365 |
On average, it looks like the computers see Juan putting up a similar year compared to last year. That’s fine. But if Nimmo doesn’t break out, or at least perform where he should on average, and if Juan is below last season at the plate, the Mets will have to struggle defensively to put the best line up out there. That’s a shame with the pitching staff the Mets have.
There’s a lot to like about Juan. I hope this year is the year.
