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Making predictions about players and teams is a popular ritual of the MLB preseason. But how often do we look back and see how many of those predictions actually came true? Here at AA, we thought it would be fun to do just that in 2017.
Here’s how it’ll work: Over the next week or so, we’ll put out seven polls asking you to make predictions about various Mets-related topics. Then, at every quarter mark of the season, we’ll update you on which predictions came true and which ones didn’t. One of the more interesting parts of the baseball season is how different players and teams perform relative to expectations, and this could be neat way to measure that.
The first prediction we’re asking you to make is who you think will be the Mets’ best hitter in 2017. We’ll measure that by wRC+, arguably the best catchall offensive stat, and which is both league- and park-adjusted. By wRC+, 100 is league average, while 110 is 10% better and 90 is 10% worse. For our purposes, we’ll only count players with enough plate appearances to qualify for a batting title: That’s 3.1 plate appearances per game, or 502 over the course of a season.
Unsurprisingly, the Mets’ best hitter last year was Yoenis Cespedes, whose 134 wRC+ was the highest on the team and the ninth-highest in the National League among qualified hitters. Asdrubal Cabrera and Curtis Granderson rounded out the Mets’ top three with wRC+ of 119 and 114, respectively. Let us know who you think will lead the team in wRC+ in 2017, and be sure to come back and make your next preseason prediction in tomorrow’s poll!
Poll
Who will be the Mets’ best hitter in 2017?
This poll is closed
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3%
Jay Bruce
-
2%
Asdrubal Cabrera
-
70%
Yoenis Cespedes
-
9%
Michael Conforto
-
0%
Travis d’Arnaud
-
1%
Lucas Duda
-
2%
Wilmer Flores
-
0%
Curtis Granderson
-
0%
Juan Lagares
-
1%
Jose Reyes
-
4%
Neil Walker
-
1%
David Wright
-
0%
Other