Fansided

These teams can still save their season if they get hot in June

By Joshua Sadlock

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - APRIL 9: Joe Mauer #7 of the Minnesota Twins reacts to striking out against the Houston Astros during the sixth inning of the game on April 9, 2018 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Astros defeated the Twins 2-0. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - APRIL 9: Joe Mauer #7 of the Minnesota Twins reacts to striking out against the Houston Astros during the sixth inning of the game on April 9, 2018 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Astros defeated the Twins 2-0. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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Don’t write these five MLB teams off completely, because they are one hot month away from getting back into the thick of things.

With Memorial Day in the books, Major League Baseball has reached another checkpoint. For the first time in several years, all six divisions are still wide open as the season reaches the end of its second month. The arrival of the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies has made it clear the Washington Nationals will not waltz away to another easy title. There will be fireworks all year long as the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees battle it out for the AL East. Even the Houston Astros appear to be in for a challenge out west.

The teams closer to the top of the division standings will get most of the ink as June begins, but sitting outside of a playoff spot after two months is hardly a death sentence for an MLB team. At least one team comes roaring back from a slow start each year to make some noise in August and September.

It’s not how you start, but how you finish, and these five teams — who have all underachieved in their own way to date — still have what it takes to contend in October.

5. New York Mets

You can easily forgive any fans of the New York Mets who felt their team was destined to disappoint after a 12-2 start to the season. They were right. Since the hot start, the Mets are just 14-23 and have lost six of eight.

This doesn’t have to end like a typical Mets story, however.

As hard as it has been to watch the cushion built up over the first two weeks of the season go up in smoke, the Mets are still in position to make a run at a playoff spot. Obviously, things are much harder than expected with the Braves and Phillies emerging as contenders overnight. With Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo and Amed Rosario playing well, the Mets actually have a young trio of their own to match up against the dynamic lineups of the Braves and Phillies.

With Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard at the top of a rotation, the Mets are never going to be completely out of a playoff race. The break with Matt Harvey was ugly, and it needed to happen. The Mets actually got a solid return on that trade, with Devin Mesoraco homering five times in his first 15 games with the team. Yoenis Cespedes will be back soon, and the Mets offense will only continue trending upward if he can find a way to stay healthy. Don’t write the Mets off too soon.

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