Despite entering the 2023 season with a great deal of anticipation and expectation, the New York Mets were among the most disappointing teams.
They were a popular choice to make it to the World Series and possibly win it, led by Max Scherzer in their rotation and strengthened by the additions of Justin Verlander and Kodei Senga.
That didn’t happen because, following a terrible start to the year, they turned sellers at the trade deadline, regaining prospects for the future.
There were, nevertheless, a few encouraging aspects of the 2023 campaign despite the team’s overall collapse.
Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso, the two faces of the Mets team, had excellent statistical seasons.
With 46 home runs and 118 RBI, Alonso eclipsed the 40 home run threshold for the second consecutive season. He batted.217 in 2023 as opposed to.277 in 2022, which was a decline in his average. Though it’s obvious that his power is still there, he will look to improve that going into 2024.
With 31 home runs and 98 RBI, Lindor had his greatest season in New York. In comparison to his 2022 mark of.270/.339/.449., his slash line was down in two of the three categories at.254/.336/.470.
Even so, their two stars had excellent seasons in the face of challenging circumstances and underwhelming performances.
FanGraphs is projecting the Mets to have monster seasons once again, which is good news for them.
Alonso has smashed 40 home runs with 115 RBI, and Lindor has blasted 27 home runs with 91 RBI. Alonso and Lindor are predicted to raise their batting averages by.252 and.257, respectively.
Another sign is that Alonso is projected by FanGraphs to finish with an OPS+ of 137, which would be 37% higher than the league average of 100. Lindor is anticipated to score 117 points.
In 2024, New York should also have a stronger lineup thanks to the young, gifted players receiving more playing time.
Should that be the case, their two superstars may achieve seasons far exceeding FanGraphs’ projections.