Getty The New York Mets, who face off with the Washington Nationals on MLB Opening Day.
After yet another season that saw injuries ravage a promising team, the Mets head into Opening Day 2019 with a (mostly) clean bill of health and sky-high expectations heading into the new season. They kick off the 2019 season with a Cy Young winner showdown between the Met’s Jacob deGrom and the Washington National’s Max Scherzer.
3⃣ perfect frames for @JdeGrom19. 👑👑👑
Despite getting historically poor run protection from his lineup in 2018, Jacob deGrom was just barely able to edge out Max Scherzer for the NL Cy Young Award on the back of his otherworldly ERA. A three-time Cy Young winner himself, Scherzer gets the ball across from the man who snatched his fourth Cy Young Award away after his masterful 300 strikeout season.
Mets Opening Day Lineup & Roster vs Nationals
Mets Lineup
1. Brandon Nimmo LF
2. Pete Alonso 1B
3. Robinson Cano 2B
4. Michael Conforto RF
5. Wilson Ramos C
6. Jeff McNeil 3B
7. Amed Rosario SS
8. Juan Lagares CF
9. Jacob deGrom SP
Bench: Keon Broxton, Dominic Smith, J.D. Davis Luis Guillorme, Tomas Nido
Bullpen: Edwin Diaz, Justin Wilson, Luis Avilan, Seth Lugo, Robert Gsellman, Jeurys Familia, Tim Peterson
Pete Alonso Makes Opening Day Roster, Robinson Cano Set for Mets Debut
Given the recent trend from major league teams, most analysts came into the year expecting the Mets to stash star prospect Pete Alsonso in AAA until they could hold onto him on a cheap deal for an extra season. However, Alonso’s stellar spring training made him too good of a player for the Mets to break camp without. Already expected to start and hit in the meat of the order, Alonso should have a big-time immediate impact at the major league level.
Also joining Alonso for his debut in Queens is fellow infielder Robinson Cano. Despite being 36 years old and establishing himself as a star in New York over a decade before, Cano is looking for a fresh start after seeing his power numbers drop considerably in the cavernous T-Mobile Park.
The addition of Alonso and Cano to the Mets lineup should help with better run production for their incredibly strong starting staff. Headlined by Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom alongside Noah Syndergaard, the Mets rotation has one of the best 1-2 punches in the league. While deGrom saw an unrealistically low number of runs behind him, Syndergaard received some better support and it wouldn’t be unrealistic to expect the Mets offense to far outperform the hobbled 2018 unit.
While the rotation falls off a bit after deGrom and Syndergaard, Steven Matz is a competent middle of the rotation arm and helps offer a bit more support behind the big two. Unfortunately, the Mets are in a loaded NL East this year and making the playoffs will undoubtedly be a steep climb after winning just 77 games last year.