The Mets defeated the Marlins 7-1 at Tradition Field this afternoon, notching their 17th win in Grapefruit League play. Here are some of my takeaways from Monday’s game…
Rafael Montero is making this team.
Whether it’s as a starter or in the bullpen, Rafael Montero has solidified his spot on this roster. The big concern when Montero came up last season was what happened to his control, as he struggled with walks in his eight major league starts.
However, Montero seems to have gotten over that hump and return to the pitcher we thought he could be this spring. On Monday against the Marlins, the 24-year-old dominated the strike zone, pitching six shutout innings while allowing two hits, no walks and striking out six. Today’s performance extended Montero’s streak of good control, as he’s now faced 54 consecutive batters without allowing a walk.
Prior to this afternoon, I already expected Montero to make the Opening Day roster, but now it seems like it’s a near certainty. It’s yet to be seen whether he or Dillon Gee will win the fifth starter job, but if it were my decision, I’d give the nod to Montero.
Lucas Duda is back in form.
After going 3-for-4–with the three hits coming off of left-handed pitchers–with a pair of RBI on Sunday, Lucas Duda had an even bigger day today, as he went 2-for-3 at the plate with a home run and five RBI in the ballgame.
Duda got off to a slow start this spring, and how could you blame him? After an entire offseason of not playing, Lucas missed nearly a month of activity when he was sidelined with an oblique injury and has been working his way back ever since. All of a sudden, Duda is on fire–like the rest of the team–at the plate, and this comes as talk of a potential contract extension loom.
Jeurys Familia looked better.
Set-up man Jeurys Familia is going to be counted on by the Mets significantly this upcoming season, and thus far, his spring has been worrisome. Familia entered Monday’s game with a Spring Training ERA of 6.75, lacking the zip, movement and control we saw in his pitches last season.
Familia’s appearance was a short one today, throwing just five pitches, but he retired the two batters he faced. It was too small a sample size today to analyze his velocity, but he did dial his fastball up to 95 MPH on Monday, on the slow gun in PSL.
Other notes from Monday:
Michael Cuddyer hit a two-run home run as part of the team’s five-run 7th inning, his team-leading 6th home run of Spring Training.
Scott Rice–sent to minor league camp this weekend–made an appearance, pitching 0.1 innings and allowing a hit to a LHB.
Jenrry Mejia allowed a run in the 9th inning, increasing his ERA to 6.14.
The Mets are now 14-1 when scoring five or more runs this spring.
Just Mets 