Established in 1962, the New York Metropolitans have always played in the shadow of the Evil Empire over in the Bronx. The Mets didn't have to wait long for their first World Series, leveraging a superb rotation featuring Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, and Don Cardwell into a 4-1 series win over the Orioles. A few years later they were back in the World Series only to end up losing in game 7 to the Oakland Athletics. The Mets wouldn't return to the playoffs until 1986, when a gift from Bill Buckner and the Red Sox gave them their second World Series title.
Since then they have lost the NLCS three times and the World Series twice while the shadow of the Yankees has grown even larger. Can you take over the Mets in MLB The Show 19 and reestablish them atop the baseball world? Can you bring them back to prominence and claim a third World Series?
*All stats correct at time of writing
Team Rating
MLB The Show 19 doesn’t provide a single team OVR to compare teams like other sports games. Instead, they give you a team ranking that gives you a placement within the Majors, while there are sub-rankings for various parts of the game. This is good as it shows you exactly where the team lies within the league, but it doesn't show you the exact gap between teams.
The Mets come in ranked 13th. This is mostly based on their #1 ranked pitching. The next best part of their team is the speed (10th). The worst part for the Mets is their 22nd ranked defense while both the power (18th) and contact (19th) is below average.
The Mets team budget is nice and healthy at $187.5 million. It's not the biggest in the National League but it is enough to compete for free agents and re-sign your own key pieces. Who are the Mets key players? Who are the players that you could create a championship with?
Jacob deGrom, Starting Pitcher (98 OVR)
Age: 30
Throws/Bats: R/L
Contract: 1 year/$17 million + 1 year arbitration
Pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Changeup, 2-Seam Fastball, Curveball
Best Stats: Break (99), Stamina (95), Velocity (89), K/9 (89), Control (86), H/9 (82), Clutch (77), BB/9 (77)
Jacob deGrom was a ninth-round pick in the 2010 draft for the Mets but has flourished into one of the best pitchers today. He got his MLB debut in 2014, making 22 starts with a stellar 2.69 ERA and 144 strikeouts in 140.1 innings and winning Rookie of the Year. He continued in that vein, but his ERA jumped a little in 2016 & 2017, peaking at 3.53. In 2018 deGrom was spectacular. He made 32 starts, pitched 217 innings with 269 strikeouts and a ridiculous 1.70 ERA as he claimed the NL Cy Young award.
In The Show 19 deGrom is a scintillating pitcher. With elite break (99) and stamina (95) as well as very good velocity (89) he is a strikeout machine (89). His control (86) is stellar and he is solid in the clutch (77). With a 5-pitch arsenal that includes a slider and a curveball he can keep hitters off balance and really dominate a lineup.
Noah Syndergaard, Starting Pitcher (91 OVR)
Age: 26
Throws/Bats: R/L
Contract: 1 year/$6 million + 2 years arbitration
Pitches: Sinker, Slider, 4-Seam Fastball, Changeup, Curveball
Best Stats: Velocity (99), Stamina (88), HR/9 (82), Control (81), K/9 (79), Break (76), Clutch (76)
Noah Syndergaard was a first-round pick for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2010 but was traded to the Mets in December 2012. He got his debut in 2015, pitching 150 innings over 24 starts with a 3.24 ERA and 166 strikeouts. In 2016 he made the All-Star team and had his first 200+ strikeout season before injury struck. Syndergaard bounced back in 2018 with a 3.03 ERA over 25 starts.
In The Show 19 Syndergaard has elite velocity (99) and very nice stamina (88) to go deep into games. He pairs that with good control (81) and nice break (76) to really keep hitters off balance. With a 5-pitch repertoire that includes a 95mph sinker he can really rack up the strikeouts.
Robinson Cano, Second Base (86 OVR)
Age: 36
Throws/Bats: R/L
Contract: 5 years/$120 million
Secondary Position: 1B, 3B
Hitter Tendency: Pull Hitter
Best Stats: Durability (92), Contact vs R (88), Arm Accuracy (88), Vision (84), Arm Strength (77), Contact vs L (75), Clutch (75), Fielding (74)
Robinson Cano signed with the Yankees as an amateur free agent in 2001 and got his MLB debut with them in 2005, playing in 132 games with 14 homers, an .297 average but shaky defense and finished runner-up in Rookie of the Year voting. In 2006 Cano got his first All-Star appearance and hit a ridiculous .342 He added a more consistent power swing in 2009, hitting 25 homers, and won his first gold glove in 2010 as he became one of the best players in baseball. In 2014 Cano signed a massive free agent deal with the Seattle Mariners and performed well with them but was traded to the Mets ahead of the 2019 season.
In The Show 19 Cano has exceptional durability (92) for a player his age and also very good contact skill (88/75). He has good vision (84) at the plate and reasonable power (63/52) for a second baseman. His fielding (74) is still good and his arm accuracy (88) is exceptional.
New York Mets MLB Roster
MLB The Show 19 there can be some fluctuation in a players OVR from save to save, however the underlying stats are always the same so the production and performance will be too. Let's start our look at the Mets MLB roster with their position players and then move onto the pitchers.
Player | OVR | Age | Position | Bat Hand | Best Contact | Best Power | Fielding | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Robinson Cano | 86 | 36 | 2B | L | 88 (R) | 63 (R) | 74 | 12 |
Yoenis Cespedes | 85 | 33 | LF | R | 74 (R) | 78 (R) | 60 | 56 |
Wilson Ramos | 85 | 31 | C | R | 91 (L) | 76 (L) | 59 | 1 |
Jed Lowrie | 84 | 34 | 2B | S | 70 (R) | 60 (R) | 66 | 43 |
Michael Conforto | 80 | 26 | RF | L | 70 (R) | 78 (R) | 59 | 61 |
Juan Lagares | 79 | 30 | CF | R | 61 (R/L) | 40 (L) | 79 | 72 |
Todd Frazier | 78 | 33 | 3B | R | 47 (R) | 88 (L) | 72 | 28 |
Jeff McNeil | 77 | 26 | 2B | L | 96 (R) | 41 (L) | 63 | 61 |
Keon Broxton | 75 | 28 | CF | R | 42 (L) | 66 (R) | 80 | 89 |
Travis d'Arnaud | 70 | 30 | C | R | 66 (L) | 56 (R) | 60 | 46 |
Player | OVR | Age | Position | Throw Hand | Stamina | Control | Velocity | Break |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jacob deGrom | 98 | 30 | SP | R | 95 | 86 | 89 | 99 |
Noah Syndergaard | 91 | 26 | SP | R | 88 | 81 | 99 | 76 |
Jeurys Familia | 89 | 29 | RP | R | 25 | 60 | 99 | 88 |
Edwin Diaz | 88 | 25 | CP | R | 25 | 75 | 96 | 99 |
Zack Wheeler | 82 | 28 | SP | R | 84 | 66 | 92 | 91 |
Seth Lugo | 81 | 29 | RP | R | 65 | 74 | 78 | 90 |
Luis Avilan | 79 | 29 | RP | L | 21 | 58 | 83 | 90 |
Justin Wilson | 79 | 31 | RP | L | 23 | 54 | 81 | 91 |
Steven Matz | 78 | 27 | SP | L | 79 | 73 | 88 | 85 |
Paul Sewald | 74 | 28 | RP | R | 27 | 52 | 60 | 61 |
The Mets MLB roster has 13 position players and 12 pitchers. That is your 8-man lineup with a 5-man bench and a 5-man rotation with a 7-man bullpen.
The Mets offense is powered by Robinson Cano (contact R 88, vision 84) and Yoenis Cespedes (power R 78, power L 75). Those two are supported by Wilson Ramos (contact L 91, contact R 79), Michael Conforto (power R 78, power L 75), and Todd Frazier (power L 88, power R 72). Even the likes of Jed Lowrie (contact R 70, contact L 66), Jeff McNeil (contact R 96, contact L 75), and Travis d'Arnaud (contact L 66, power R 56) can contribute with the bat.
In the field Keon Broxton (fielding 80), Adeiny Hechavarria (fielding 76), and Juan Lagares (fielding 79) are your best players, but Robinson Cano (fielding 74) and Todd Frazier (fielding 72) can hold their own with the glove too.
The starting rotation if the Mets' strength. Jacob deGrom (break 99, stamina 95) is an absolute star and so is Noah Syndergaard (velocity 99, stamina 88). They top the rotation and are maybe the best 1-2 punch in baseball. Zack Wheeler (velocity 92, break 91) is a nice #3 starter. Steven Matz (velocity 88, break 85) and Jason Vargas (stamina 76, break 70) fill out the rotation and could be improved on but they will do ok.
The Mets bullpen is anchored by setup man Jeurys Familia (velocity 99, break 88) and closer Edwin Diaz (break 99, velocity 96). They are a deadly duo to finish games and you can bridge to them with Luis Avilan (break 90, velocity 83) and Justin Wilson (break 91, velocity 81) pretty well. Paul Sewald (break 61, velocity 60) and Robert Gsellman (velocity 84, break 72) can eat innings and Seth Lugo (break 90, velocity 78) is your long man.
Lineups
MLB The Show 19 gives you 4 lineups to set. They are against right-handed pitchers with and without the DH and against left-handed pitchers with and without the DH. As the Mets are in the National League most of their games will be without the DH.
The Show 19 will preset lineups for you. Against righties without the DH they put 3B Jeff McNeil at the top of the order followed by CF Juan Lagares and C Wilson Ramos. LF Yoenis Cespedes is in the #4 spot with 2B Robinson Cano and RF Michael Conforto after him. SS Jed Lowrie and 1B Dominic Smith round out the lineup followed by the pitcher spot. with the DH spot McNeil takes his glove off, Lowrie moves to third base and Adeiny Hechavarria plays shortstop and bats 9th.
Against lefties the lineup is unchanged, and against lefties with the DH Hechavarria comes in again to bat 8th with Dominic Smith demoted to #9.
These lineups are ok but we can certainly improve on them.
Against righties without the DH Jeff McNeil stays atop the lineup, but Michael Conforto comes up to #2 and both Cespedes and Cano are promoted up the lineup too. Ramos is dropped to #5 with Jed Lowrie at #6. Todd Frazier comes into first base at #7 with Juan Lagares hitting #8. With the DH McNeil leaves the field and Adeiny Hechavarria plays shortstop and hits 9th.
Against lefties Wilson Ramos will lead off with that excellent 91 contact against lefties. McNeil hits #2 ahead of Cespedes and Frazier with Cano at #5. Conforto hits #6 followed by Lowrie and Lagares with the same adjustment for games with the DH.
Farm System
The Minor Leagues can be frustrating in MLB The Show 19. The fluctuations in OVR also happen in potential, which massively effects young players. There is also a lack of some real life prospects which means you can't just lean on your favorite scout to do the work for you. The underlying player stats are still the same for Minor Leaguers though, and that means there are some useful players in the Mets farm system.
Kevin Mendoza, Center Field (68 OVR)
Age: 20
Potential: D
Throws/Bats: R/L
Secondary Position: SS, LF, RF
Hitter Tendency: Whole Field
Best Stats: Speed (96), Steal (88), Vision (76), Contact vs R (75), Baserunning Aggressiveness (72), Contact vs L (71)
The Mets outfield is pretty solid, but Kevin Mendoza can add to that pretty soon. With elite speed (96) and stealing ability (88) he can be a terror on the basepaths and he already has very good contact skill (75/71) for someone so young. His arm strength (79) is good though his fielding (39) is poor.
David Chin, Starting Pitcher (62 OVR)
Age: 20
Potential: D
Throws/Bats: R/R
Pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Sinker, Curveball, Cutter, Changeup
Best Stats: Stamina (95), Velocity (73), HR/9 (67), Break (65), BB/9 (60)
The Mets have an opening in their rotation, and soon David Chin may be able to fill it. Chin has superb stamina (95) already along with solid velocity (73) and break (65) that will improve with time. His control (58) isn't great but it is fine for now. In a year or two with development he can be ready for the MLB.
Abdul Stephens, Closing Pitcher (61 OVR)
Age: 18
Potential: B
Throws/Bats: L/L
Pitches: 2-Seam Fastball, Splitter, Changeup, Slider
Best Stats: Break (77), Velocity (68), K/9 (65), H/9 (57), Clutch (52), BB/9 (51)
The Mets bullpen may be strong now, but that doesn't often last. Abdul Stephens may be a teenager but he already has good break (77) and solid velocity (68). His control (40) is poor and his ability in the clutch (52) needs work but with time ahead of him to grow and improve by the time the Mets bullpen needs a new arm he could be ready.