213 Miles From Shea

The Mets head south tonight for another night spring training game as they take on the Nationals in West Palm Beach. Despite the 6 PM time slot, there will be no television coverage of tonight’s game. Unfortunately, this is not terribly surprising as MASN, the regional sports network of the Nationals, are only broadcasting seven games this spring. For context, SNY & PIX11 are televising 14 games during spring training in 2025.

Anyway we have a back-of-the-rotation Mets matchup as Paul Blackburn, trying to break camp as the Mets fifth starter takes on Trevor Williams, who had the role for the Mets in 2022.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Trevor Williams. Trevor Williams was a crucial pitcher for the 2022 Mets, posting a 3.21 ERA, 120 ERA+ over 89 2/3 innings spread over nine starts and 30 games. He then signed with the Nationals and had a rough 2023 with a 5.55 ERA, 77 ERA+ over 144 1/3 innings spread over 30 starts. Last season though Williams was terrific when healthy. He had a 2.03 ERA, 199 ERA+ over 13 starts, 11 of those starts happening before his missed multiple months with a flexor injury. Which Williams do the Nationals have in their rotation this year?
2. Paul Blackburn. Blackburn’s Mets results in 2024 were either good or terrible, with not much in between. That trend has continued over a small sample size this spring. In his first outing he pitched one inning where he struck out a batter and didn’t give up a hit, walk or run. IN his second outing he allowed four runs, three earned off three hits and two walks over 1 1/3 innings.
3. Max Kranick. The biggest surprise for the Mets this spring has been Max Kranick. He hasn’t allowed a run over 5 1/3 innings and hasn’t allowed a hit in his last two starts. Beyond the on-field response his stuff has just looked great. His proStuff+ was a 139 with a 71.4% whiff% in his last outing on the third.

Let’s Go Mets!

If you love evening baseball than I have some great news for you! The Mets are playing three night games in a row starting tonight. Over the next three weeks the Mets have eight night games, which feels like a lot for spring training.

Anyway, the Mets return to action after their first day off yesterday. So far this spring the Mets are 4-6 with two games ending in a tie. The Mets have had a few players start to step up make some noise throughout the first two weeks of spring training. Clay Holmes and Max Kranick have allowed no runs over 11 1/3 combined innings on the mound. Huascar Brazobán has quietly put together three scoreless innings over three games this spring. Brett Baty, Jose Siri and Jesse Winker have made a lot of noise at the plate, each with an OPS above 1.000. There’s a lot to be excited about!

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Almost An Opening Day Lineup! Today’s starting lineup is just Brandon Nimmo shy of the normal batting lineup. Let’s highlight Jose Siri at the bottom of the list. Siri has been crushing it this spring. In 2023 he had an OPS+ above 100, last season it was 76. The Mets will have a dangerous lineup if he can hit with an OPS+ of 100 at the bottom of the lineup.
2. Brandon Sproat. Sproat makes his second start of spring this evening for the Mets. He was phenomenal in his first start, facing only six batters over two innings, striking out one. Right now the Mets have to determine if Brandon Sproat or Blade Tidwell is the first pitcher up this season from Syracuse. I am very excited to see what Sproat can do in his second start!
3. Mark Vientos. Vientos has had a quiet start to spring, going 2-for-14 over his first five games. Tonight he gets the cleanup spot with Soto and Alonso hitting in front of him. This would be a great time to break out for the first time in 2025!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets brought back and old friend to spring training this season with Rafael Ortega. Ortega made his major league debut with the Rockies back in 2012 and has bounced around different organizations since.

The Mets gave Ortega a pretty significant look back in 2023 when he was 32-years old. Ortega started off his 2023 signed with the Yankees and was released by them at the end of spring training. He then signed a few days later with the Rangers, but never played with them in the majors. The Rangers released him in June and the Mets signed him a couple of weeks later.

The 2023 Mets had a major tear down at the trade deadline which opened up a playing time opportunity for Ortega. Ortega was called up at the start of August and played in 47 games for the Mets, slashing .219/.341/.272 with a 74 OPS+ and a 0.2 bWAR – essentially a replacement level player. At the time, this was exactly what the Mets needed as they were just treading water for the rest of the season.

Ortega went to the White Sox and only got in 14 games in 2024 hitting .071/.176/.071 over 17 plate appearances. Ortega was killing it in the minor leagues though, going .289/.414/.498 over 84 games for the White Sox’s Triple A team.

It makes sense why the Mets took another flier on Ortega. The Mets needed an average player who wouldn’t hurt the team in 2023, and he provided that for two months. Last year he showed in the minors that there is something still there (his .912 OPS was his highest in the minors since 2017).

As of writing the Mets have already cut him from major league camp, which makes sense. The Mets currently have eight outfielders on the 40-man roster, and that doesn’t include Jeff McNeil who can play outfield as well. A lot has to change for the Mets for Ortega to get on the 40-man and to the active roster. If things don’t work out with José Azocar or Alexander Carnario, then Ortega may find a way to some games with the Mets this season.

There are only three more players left in the our planed NRI series. After these next three players we need to go back and add in players who were signed since the start of spring training and players who became NRI’s because they got removed from the 40-man roster.

All three players we are going to look at over the next three days were cut from major league came on Tuesday 3/4, which makes sense because the Mets already have a crowded outfield. They’ll still see some time in games over the next couple of weeks and there is a chance we see them in major league games at some point this season.

Drew Gilbert is the last of the top prospects the Mets brought to camp this year. He came to the Mets with Ryan Clifford in the 2023 Justin Verlander trade. Gilbert was not on any top-100 prospect rankings going into this season but last year was the #91 prospect in baseball according to Baseball America, #29 from Baseball Prospectus and #53 from MLB Pipeline.

Gilbert was crushing it in high A ball in 2023 slashing .361/.421/.686. He got promoted to the Astros AA team and took a step back, and slashed .241/.342/.371. Then he got traded to the Mets who sent him to Binghamton where he finished the season .325/.423/.561. It was this ending of the season that turned heads from all the national prospect ranking lists.

Last season was a bit of a struggle for Gilbert. He was dealing with a hamstring injury that led to him only playing in 62 games with a .205/.313/.371 slash line. As of writing he didn’t get into any major league games as the team is taking things slow with him coming off of the injury.

The Mets have already seen that Gilbert is a gamer and plays with intensity. If he stays healthy, there is a significant chance that we see him with the Mets this season! When he comes, expect more hits and athleticism than just raw power, which is a profile the Mets system right now is loaded with.

Tomorrow the Mets finally take a pause.

Including today the Mets have played 11 days in a row, one split squad day, one weekend trip to the other side of Florida and one night game. It’s time for the Mets to take a break.

In this first stretch of Mets games we’ve seen Jose Siri launch three home runs in five games played. We’ve seen Brett Baty get off to a hot start. Max Kranick has allowed no runs and only three hits over 5 1/3 innings. David Peterson has allowed one hit and no runs over three innings while striking out five players. Sproat, Hamel and Tidwell have all taken positve steps forward. There’s been a lot to like so far.

There’s one important pitcher for 2025 that we haven’t seen yet – Tylor Megill. Megill was always going to compete for the back of the Mets rotation this season. Injuries to Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea make Megill even more important for the early part of this season.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Tylor Megill. Megill had a 4.04 ERA over 78 innings with a 98 ERA+ in 2024, argueably his best season in the majors. Megill was in the 99th percentile for arm extension in 2024 and did pretty well getting hitters to chase and miss pitches (67th and 74th percentile respectively). But when hitters, made contact, they made contact hard (12th percentile Barrel%, 17th percentile Hard-hit%). Can he generate the same amount of whiffs without hitters hitting him hard?
2. Trying Something Different. There are multiple players in the Mets lineup today who are playing in a position different than their normal position. As the Mets figure out who is going to play in their utility and bench spots this year. Jeff McNeil is in the outfield. Acuña is at third. However the player I’m watching is Baty at second. Let’s see what everyone can do in their new places!
3. Jose Siri. Siri has launched 43 home runs over the last two seasons. In 2023 he had a 105 OPS+, but last season that dropped to a 76 OPS+. He is off to a terrific start this spring, going 3-for-10 with all three hits being home runs while working three walks. Can Siri be the x-factor for the Mets in 2025?

Let’s Go Mets!

Over the last couple of seasons the Mets have graduated or are about to graduate a bunch of position players of the minor leagues (Francisco Alvarez, Mark Vientos, Brett Baty, Luisangel Acuña, etc). The next set of position players are in camp right now looking at a 2026 or later debut (Ryan Clifford, Drew Gilbert) including the focus of today’s article – Jett Williams.

Jett was the Mets first round pick in the 2022 draft out of Rockwall-Health High School in Texas. He instantly appeared on the top-100 prospect list for Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus the following season. Here’s how the baseball organizations have ranked Williams before 2025:

• Baseball America #58 (2024 – #30, 2023 -#98)
• Baseball Prospectus #48 (2024 – #23, 2023 – #75)
• MLB Pipeline #58 (2024 – #45)

Jett turned a bunch of heads after his first full season of ball, going from St. Lucie, to Brooklyn, to even playing a week or so in Binghamton all while he was 19-years old. Over three levels he hit .263/.425/.451 with 13 home runs and 45 stolen bases.

His 2024 season was derailed by a surgery on his right wrist, limiting him to 33 games. He played over three levels (St. Lucie, Binghamton and Syracuse) hitting .215/.358/.298 with no home runs and five stolen bases (while being caught three times). He ended the season in the Arizona Fall League where he sprained his ankle late in 2024.

The Mets have been using him early in spring training. As of writing eh has gotten into six games, going 2-for-10, with three walks (.200/.385/.200) with no extra-base hits and no stolen bases.

Jett Williams is an athletic prospect that will cause chaos on the base paths. There’s a future where Williams and Acuña run wild on opponents while the Mets sluggers power them home. If Williams has a strong start in the minors, and an injury creates an extended playing time opportunity on the Mets, he could be called up as early as this year. That being said 2026 seems way more likely for Williams.

We are going to watch where Williams plays on the field this spring and early in the minor league season. He can play second, short and centerfield. So far in the minors the Mets have used him mostly at short, but mixed in significant time at second and center.

The Mets return home tonight from their weekend road trip to the west coast of Florida to play the Marlins. Extra emphasis on tonight, because this is the Mets first night game of the season. The last couple of springs the Mets have sprinkled a few more night games into the schedule. This spring the Mets have an astounding nine games starting at 6:05 or later.

The main story tonight is Kodai Senga, who is making his 2025 spring debut for the Mets. Senga was a critical part of the 2023 Mets where he made the All-Star game as a rookie, posting a 2.98 ERA, 140 ERA+ over 166 1/3 innings spread over 29 starts. The Mets need that version of Senga for 2025.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Kodai Senga. Senga only made one regular season start in 2024 where he allowed two runs from two hits over 5 1/3 innings while striking out nine batters. The start was deep in July after battling back from multiple injuries that derailed the start of the season. Senga got injured after that start, and wouldn’t pitch for the Mets again until the playoffs. Tonight we just want to see Senga on the mound again. Everything else is just details.
2. Pete Alonso. Alonso has a 1.727 OPS this spring with no home runs. He’s accomplished this by going 3-for-6 at the plate, with all three hits being doubles, and working five walks this spring. He also has 0 strikeouts. This is unsustainable, but it’s fun watching Alonso put up ridiculous, weird numbers over his first four spring training games.
3. Catching Depth. Luis Torrens is 5-for-12 over his first five games this season with a .878 OPS. Chris Williams who is trying to become the Mets third catcher on the depth chart is 3-for-9 over five games with a double, home run and four runs scored. Torrens showed us in 2025 that he is one of best back up catchers in game. Chris Williams is in an open battle with Kevin Parada, Jakson Reetz and Hayden Senger for the third catching spot.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets are looking for this season’s Jose Iglesias! The Mets don’t have a ton of depth up the middle with fielders who can play second base and at shortstop.

In November the Mets brought in Donovan Walton to try to fill that vacancy. Walton was originally drafted by the Mets in 2012 but did not sign with the Mets. He enrolled at Oklahoma and was drafted in 2015 by the Brewers, but still did not sign. In 2016 the Mariners became the winners of the Walton sweepstakes, drafting him in the fifth round.

Walton has had a few cups of coffee with the Mariners and the Giants between 2019 and 2024, totaling 70 games hitting .174/.227/.305 with a 49 OPS+. He’s coming off a successful 2024 minor league campaign where he hit .306/.380/.441 (.821 OPS) over 99 games played. That’s pretty good!

Going into the spring it was difficult to see a path for Walton to make the major league team, outside of a taxi squad. The Mets had Nick Madrigal as the super utility player. Behind him was Brett Baty and Luisangel Acuña. Madrigal’s injury moves everyone up the depth chart, including Donovan Walton.

As of writing Walton is 2-for-11 over four spring training games with a double and one strikeout. If he can hit closer to what he did with Sacramento (Giant’s Triple A team, not the future home of the Athletics), then we’ll probably see him with the major league team at some point this season.

The Mets were firing on all cylinders in Saturday’s win against the Rays – the Mets third win in a row! Now the Mets look to get a winning record for the first time this spring since the first day of spring.

This weekend the Mets traveled to the west coast of Florida, playing against a pair of teams they normally don’t get to face in March. After today’s game the Mets will play their next nine games against the Marlins, Cardinals, Astros and Nationals.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Paul Blackburn’s second start. The Mets have an opening or two in the rotation due to the injuries to Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas. Paul Blackburn is one of a few pitchers competing for those two spots. Over the last couple of days we’ve seen the younger pitchers in camp (Brandon Sproat and Blade Tidwell) dominate in their starts. Blackburn pitched a clean inning in his first game, striking out one batter and allowing no hits and no walks. How far does he go into this game?
2. Rico Garcia. According to Saturday’s game notes, Garcia is scheduled to make his third appearance in spring this afternoon for the Mets. Garcia is in camp on an NRI deal. In his first two games he allowed two hits and struck out three batters while not allowing any runs to score. Garcia had a successful 2024 for the Nationals in Rochester, posting a 3.94 ERA over 61 2/3 innings. If he puts up similar numbers for Syracuse this season, we’ll see him in Queens at some point.
3. A New Face in Town. Walker Buehler held the Mets scoreless over four innings in the NLCS. It was not fun (assuming you, like me, are a Mets fan, reading a spring training game chat article about the Mets). He was a major signing for the Boston Red Sox this year who are looking to challenge the Yankees and the Orioles for the AL East. For the Mets bats, this presents a second straight day to get some reps in against a serious starting pitcher.

Let’s Go Mets!

Luke Ritter has garnered a lot of attention over the last two seasons. He was drafted in 2019 of Wichita and played in 68 games for Brooklyn that season, hitting .245/.351/.371 with only four homers.

It’s the season after the draft where numbers for prospects start to pop, but thanks to the pandemic, there was no minor league baseball. In 2021 he went to high A and hit .232/.311/.436 over 73 games with 14 home runs. Ritter had a fairly average 2022 season hitting .204/.311/.361 with 15 home runs across Binghamton and Syracuse.

In 2023 Ritter finally started to turn some heads. He started the year back down in Binghamton and had a .958 OPS over 43 games. He then got promoted back to Syracuse and had a .808 OPS over 64 games – both of these were career highs in the minor league. In total he hit 27 home runs while slashing .244/.372/.496.

Then last season he just went on a tear, hitting .257/.369/.480 with 26 home runs over 134 games for Syracuse. His power last year coincided at the same time when the Mets offense was faltering. There was noise across social media to call up Luke. His play earned him a spot on Team USA for the Premier12 tournament this past off-season where he hit 5-for-20 with two doubles and a home run.

Ritter has shown in the minors that he has some pop. There are just a lot of players in front of him on the depth chart. On the major league level there is Pete Alonso, Mark Vientos and Jesse Winker. Ritter is also competing against Joey Meneses and Jared Young. Young has the upper hand right now because he is on the 40-man roster.

Spring hasn’t had a great start to spring so far, going 0-for-10 across five games with three strikeouts. To move up the depth chart, he has to show that 2023 and 2024 were not flukes. He has a solid chance of being called up at some point this summer, especially because he’s 28-years old and the Mets are going to need to determine what they have in Ritter. If he goes on a streak again this spring, he may push out other bench players.