Spring Training Game Preview: Nationals vs Mets

The Mets play the first of six games against the Nationals this afternoon in Port St. Lucie! Yesterday the Mets had the rare split-squad day at two very different times, against two teams that were each only playing one game. The Mets dropped the first game against the Astros with Brett Baty stealing the show with two hits, including a homer and a walk in three trips to the plate. The Mets won the night cap against the Marlins with Pete Alonso‘s long home run showing he’s ready for the World Baseball Classic.

The Nationals are coming to town this afternoon with a split-squad roster and they are bringing Josiah Gray with them. Josiah Gray was one of the key prospects in the trade the Dodgers made with the Nationals a couple of seasons ago for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner. Gray will be starting against Max Scherzer today!

Mets Lineup:

1. Jeff McNeil – 2B
2. Mark Canha – LF
3. Francisco Lindor – SS
4. Daniel Vogelbach – DH
5. Eduardo Escobar – 3B
6. Tommy Pham – CF
7. Omar Narváez – C
8. Mark Vientos – 1B
9. Lorenzo Cedrola – RF

SP – Max Scherzer

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Max Scherzer: Ottavino was the only pitcher we saw yesterday who is a lock to start the season in Queens. There’s definitely more excitement today with Max Scherzer starting the game. Over 23 games and 145 1/3 innings last year Scherzer had a 2.29 ERA, 0.908 WHIP, 2.62 FIP and a 169 ERA+. The Mets hopes this season are pinned to Scherzer and Verlander.
2. Daniel Vogelbach: It’s the smallest of sample sizes, just one game, but the shift ban is going to help Vogelbach. He had two hits yesterday, both that probably would have been outs in the shift era. There was some talk during the broadcast last night that the Marlins might be hiding how they will play Vogelbach in the regular season. Let’s see what happens against the Nationals today!
3. Tommy Pham: The new 4th outfielder for the Mets had three batted balls last night 104 mph or higher. Last season he was in the 93rd percentile for average exit velocity and 86th for maximum exit velocity. It didn’t materialize in xwOBA or xBA (45h and 32nd percentiles) last season but in 2021 it sort-of did (73rd and 50th percentile).

Let’s Go Mets!