Fantasy baseball: 2020 New York Mets fantasy preview

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PORT ST. LUCIE, FL – MARCH 08: Pete Alonso #20 of the New York Mets in action against the Houston Astros during a spring training baseball game at Clover Park on March 8, 2020 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The Mets defeated the Astros 3-1. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

2020 New York Mets projected starting lineup:

Brandon Nimmo, CF (.221, 8 HR, 29 RBI, 3 SB in 199 AB)
Jeff McNeil, 3B (.318, 23 HR, 75 RBI, 5 SB in 510 AB)
Pete Alonso, 1B (.260, 53 HR, 120 RBI, 1 SB in 597 AB)
Robinson Cano, 2B (.256, 13 HR, 39 RBI, 0 SB in 390 AB)
J.D. Davis, LF (.307, 22 HR, 57 RBI, 3 SB in 410 AB)
Michael Conforto, RF (.257, 33 HR, 92 RBI, 7 SB in 549 AB)
Wilson Ramos, C (.288, 14 HR, 73 RBI, 1 SB in 473 AB)
Amed Rosario, SS (.287, 15 HR, 72 RBI, 19 SB in 616 AB)

The $100,000 question seems to be if Alonso is a first-round pick. The only weaker position at the top besides catcher is OF. 3B and SS are loaded. 2B is no slouch either. Bellinger is a first-round guy. Freeman might be as well. Is Alonso better than them? All around, probably not. His average will hurt, but he is the best threat in the game to lead the league in homers. That’s worth paying for.

Another reason why 3B is so loaded is that a guy like Jeff McNeil, with that average and power with runs scored potential barely moves the needle. You can nab him outside of the top 60 and still get great return.

Conforto and Davis are strong options for your third OF position. Each have their shortcomings, but Conforto’s power makes him worth the risk. The downside is that one of them will cede at-bats to Yoenis Cespedes if he’s healthy. This team is loaded on the outfield.

I really like Nimmo sitting atop the lineup. He’s a great bounce-back candidate later in the draft after last year’s disaster. Nimmo has never been a good hitter, but his OBP has been at least .375 in each of his first three full seasons. There is potential there.

In previous years, the stats on Ramos would have him as a top three catcher. Not in today’s game. Still, those are nice stats that you can grab in the 9-12th round. I’ve ended up with a lot of Ramos so far.

Cano and Rosario are average as far as MI go. Cano is batting cleanup in a strong lineup, but how much does he have left? Three of those 13 homers came in the same game last year. The fact is that Cano is 37 and his best years are long behind him. Don’t pay a premium for the name.

Prospects to watch:

If Cano struggles, there’s a chance that the Mets could elect to move Rosario to 2B and bring up their third rated prospect, Andres Gimenez. Gimenez has good speed, but he wont do much else to help fantasy teams.

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