2023 MLB Futures: Best Bets For New York Mets

New York Mets Futures Bets

The 2023 MLB season begins on March 29 and BetQL is your one-stop shop for daily best bets, expert picks, public data, written analysis, and more from the first pitch to the last. Before the season begins, I’m going through all 30 teams, detailing futures to target for every club and touching on some of the most intriguing storylines from around the league.

Three major rule changes will come into play this year, as a pitch timer, shift restrictions and bigger bases will be introduced. The pitch timer helped reduce game length by 25 minutes in the minors last year, shift restrictions increased batting average and decreased strikeouts, and bigger bases not only improved player safety but resulted in more steals and a better product. These changes can and most likely will have major on-field impacts, which makes predicting outcomes even more difficult in 2023.

Let’s take a look at the 2023 Mets.

New York Mets Roster

The Mets have made it known to the baseball world that they are going to open the checkbook wide enough that even the Yankees will take notice, and that is what they have been committed to doing over the past few offseasons. This year was no different, as the team added Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, Jose Quintana, David Robertson and Tommy Pham to their roster.

That is as impressive as an offseason as it might get, but even with all the money they have spent recently, they still haven't even made the World Series within recent memory. Can they finally turn that around in 2023? I have my doubts, and I think it's possible that they even take a step back. Let's take a look at the projected lineup.

At catcher, prospect Francisco Alvarez looks to be the projected starter, with Tomas Nido and Omar Narvaez also getting some playing time behind the plate. Pete Alonso will man first base, which was a given since he is one of the best at the position and a HR machine. Jeff McNeil is arguably their best at the plate, however, and he is back with his .326 average. Eduardo Escobar will be at the hot corner, with Brett Baty probably getting some appearances there as well. Francisco Lindor will be the starting shortstop, and he is still trying to find his form at the plate from when he was a Cleveland Indian. I suspect Daniel Vogelbach will get a lot of the at-bats for DH, but Darin Ruf and Pham will also get their shots in.

The outfield will consist of Mark Canha in left, Brandon Nimmo in center and Starling Marte in right.

The pitching rotation will still be one of the best in the league, despite the loss of superstar Jacob deGrom to the Texas Rangers. Justin Verlander is his replacement, and the veteran is still dealing as an ace at 40 years old. Last season, Verlander was 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA in 28 starts en route to the AL Cy Young Award. Joining him is his former teammate on the Detroit Tigers, Max Scherzer. At the ripe age of 38, he's been just as effective, going 11-5 with a 2.29 ERA in 23 starts. Rookie and former Japanese pitching superstar Kodai Senga will likely be third in the rotation. It will be interesting to see how he handles MLB batters after dominating in Japan. Jose Quintana has always been very underrated as a pitcher. Last season, he went 6-7 with a 2.93 ERA in 32 starts. Carlos Carrasco will probably round out the starting five, and he is pretty good for a fifth starter. He was 15-7 with a 3.97 ERA in 29 starts.

Of course, guys like David Peterson and Tylor Megill will be vying for a spot as well, and could get one if someone struggles. The bullpen looks to be pretty good, and will likely include a mix of the following names: Edwin Diaz, Adam Ottavino, David Robertson, Drew Smith, Brooks Raley, Elieser Hernandez, Bryce Montes de Oca, Zach Greene, Zach Muckenhirn, Denyi Reyes, Tommy Hunter, and Jimmy Yacabonis.

New York Mets Best Bets

Under 94.5 regular season wins (-115, DraftKings) is my best bet for the Mets. I think they will take a bit of a step back this year from their 101-61 season last year, as the weight of expectations might crush this team. We all saw what happened in 2022, but perhaps not doing overly great in the regular season might actually help this team. I feel as though the Mets are a team that needs to be an underdog in order to really succeed. Even with all the money spent, they still lost a few key pieces and they also play in an extremely competitive division that features the Braves and Phillies.