Mets Fantasy Baseball Draft Preview | Pete Alonso, Kodai Senga, Francisco Lindor, Edwin Diaz, Brandon Nimmo and More
Discussing the top fantasy players from the New York Mets as the 2024 season approaches.
The fantasy baseball season is closing in quickly. FantasySP has published a number of articles relating to 2024 fantasy baseball draft prep and will continue to do so through the start of the MLB season.
Recently, we’ve been looking at things on a team-by-team basis. We’ve covered several teams already, and those articles can be found at the links below:
American League - Texas Rangers (hitters and pitchers), Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros (hitters and pitchers), Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays (hitters and pitchers), Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers
National League - Los Angeles Dodgers (hitters and pitchers), Washington Nationals, Colorado Rockies, Atlanta Braves (hitters and pitchers), Pittsburgh Pirates, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers
Now, we’ll take a look at the New York Mets.
Get ready for draft season! Check out our Mock Draft Simulator, Average Draft Position list and Draft Genius!
Top Fantasy Hitters
The first New York player off draft boards, according to the FantasySP Average Draft Position list, is first baseman Pete Alonso. He ranks 32nd overall with an ADP mark of 33.2.
Alonso will hit in the heart of the Mets’ lineup after posting a .217 average and .318 on-base percentage a season ago. He collected 123 total hits, 118 RBIs and 92 runs across 154 games played. Alonso homered 46 times among his 69 extra-base hits.
The average is definitely a concern, but Alonso still put up huge numbers otherwise. If he’s able to hit anywhere near his career mark of .251, all his other numbers could also jump up. Alonso is the fifth first basemen off draft boards after finishing sixth at the position in points leagues a season ago. If you can live with the lower average, Alonso is a great value pick early in the fourth round or late in the third.
Francisco Lindor is up next, ranking 43rd with a mark of 46.39.
Lindor hit .254 across 160 games in 2023. Lindor also had a .336 on-base percentage, 153 total hits, 98 RBIs, 31 stolen bases and 108 runs scored. He homered 31 times among his 66 extra-base hits.
Lindor hit 20 points below his career average a season ago, so like Alonso, an increase in batting average could do wonders for his other statistics. I love the value of Lindor near this ADP, as he’s the fourth SS off draft boards but finished second a season ago.
Brandon Nimmo is the next Met off draft boards, ranking 98th with a mark of 103.07.
New York’s projected leadoff hitter hit .274 last season and got on base at a .363 clip. Nimmo had 162 total hits, 68 RBIs and 89 runs scored across 152 games played. The outfielder also homered a career high 24 times among his 60 extra-base hits.
Nimmo has been climbing draft boards pretty much all draft season, and probably will go a couple rounds earlier than his current ADP mark in most drafts. He’s about to turn 31, so he still should have some really strong seasons left in him. I like Nimmo as a third outfielder - you can play him just about every day and he’s probably going to perform more like a second outfielder.
Jeff McNeil is next up, ranking 121st with a mark of 128.64.
He played in 156 games a season ago, tallying 158 total hits, 55 RBIs, 10 stolen bases and 75 runs scored. McNeil had a .270 average, .333 on-base percentage and 10 homers among his 39 extra-base hits.
His average dropped 56 points from 2022, which is definitely a concern. I recently named him as a bust candidate and definitely have some concerns with drafting him around his ADP. His point totals a season ago were masked a bit by playing in nearly every game. I personally like him as a backup option at 2B or as a utility/infield starter, but would also want to have a good plan in place in case his numbers don’t improve.
Francisco Alvarez is the next New York hitter on the ADP list, ranking 185th with a mark of 163.76.
Alvarez played in 123 games a season ago, finishing with a .209 average and .284 on-base percentage. He had 80 total hits, 37 of which went for extra bases (25 homers). Alvarez also drove in 63 runs and scored 51 times.
Alvarez is another Met with a low average, but pretty decent numbers otherwise. He’s only 22 years old, so there’s definitely reason to believe he can bump that average up a good ways, but because we haven’t seen it yet, you can land him pretty late in a fantasy draft. He’s a backup fantasy catcher in my eyes, and could serve as a utility starter if he hits for a better average. Alvarez could become a good trade piece if he and your starting catcher both excel at the plate.
The last New York hitter on the ADP list is outfielder Starling Marte, who ranks 268th with a mark of 215.
Durability is the biggest concern with Marte, who hasn’t played over 120 games in a season since 2019. Marte hit .248 and had a .301 OBP across 86 games a season ago. He had 13 extra base hits (five homers) among his 78 total hits, drove in 28 runs, stole 24 bases and scored 38 runs.
I only see Marte as a backup outfield option - I’m just too concerned to trust him to be any more than that. Marte is a risky pick, even at his later ADP. I’d prefer to look elsewhere for fantasy help, but you could justify picking Marte if you draft well with your other outfielders.
DJ Stewart, Brett Baty and Harrison Bader are the team’s other projected starting hitters for 2024, although Stewart and Baty are projected to be on the strong side of platoons. Baty is just 24 years old, so I’d keep a closer eye on him if he goes undrafted in your league.
Omar Narvaez is the backup catcher, while Mark Vientos and Tyrone Taylor are expected to fill out the platoons. Joey Wendle is the other projected bench player. Ronny Mauricio will be a late season waiver wire option if he can return from his current injury. Drew Gilbert and Luisangel Acuna are a couple of top-100 prospects expected to debut at some point this season, so they are also worth monitoring.
Top Fantasy Pitchers
Kodai Senga is the first Mets’ pitcher off draft boards, ranking 53rd with a mark of 59.2.
In his first MLB season, Senga went 12-7 across 29 starts. He posted a 2.98 earned run average and struck out 202 batters over 166 1/3 innings.
Senga is expected to be out until at least the end of April, so I’m a bit surprised to see his ADP as high as it is right now. I’d be much more comfortable taking him about two or so rounds later. If he can remain healthy the rest of the season, he’ll be a good fantasy option, but missing an entire month of games is something I’m not super excited about.
Edwin Diaz is next up, ranking 71st with a mark of 74.93.
Diaz missed all of 2023 with an injury, but should be good to go for 2024. In 2022, Diaz was 3-1 with a 1.31 ERA, earning 32 saves and striking out 118 batters over 62 innings.
That’s about as dominant a season a closer can have, but many are concerned if he can return to that form after a year off. I’m not one who enjoys spending an early pick on a closer, so I’d prefer Diaz a couple rounds later, but he should be in the hunt for the top fantasy closer if he can pitch a full season.
Luis Severino is next up, ranking 155th with a mark of 146.
Severino will join the Mets after spending his first eight seasons with the New York Yankees. Severino made just 19 appearances (18 starts) in 2023, going 4-8 with a 6.65 ERA and 79 strikeouts over 89 1/3 innings.
He’s got a career 3.79 ERA, so I don’t expect a repeat of last year’s numbers. Durability has been an issue though, so I’m not comfortable taking Severino near his ADP. I’d much prefer him closer to round 20 and as a depth fantasy arm.
Sean Manaea is the last Mets’ pitcher on the ADP list, ranking 271st with a mark of 218.38.
Manaea will join his fourth team in the past four seasons. Last year, he went 7-6 with a 4.44 ERA across 37 appearances (10 starts) for the San Francisco Giants. He struck out 128 batters over 117 2/3 innings.
Manaea should slot into the middle of the Mets’ rotation this season. This late in a draft, he’s a decent depth option, with the chance to outperform his ADP if he can get close to a full season of starts in.
Jose Quintana, Adrian Houser and Tylor Megill are the team’s other projected starters at this point. David Peterson could be another option after he returns from his injury (which could be sometime in June). I view all those guys as streaming options at this point, but any of them could get hot or be playable for long stretches of the season.
The FantasySP team will help you identify which guys are worth adding, so be sure to check back often during the season.
#2024-fantasy-baseball-draft
