Brewers (12-23) @ Mets (20-15): Series preview

Well the tough luck kept rolling for the Brewers. After starting out strong in the series against the White Sox the Brewers dropped the final two games when put up against two very good lefties. Then yesterday came the news that Jean Segura fractured his pinky sliding into third base on a triple and would be sidelined indefinitely. In his stead the Brewers recalled Luis Sardinas but it's yet to be seen whether he or Hector Gomez will get the first shot filling in as shortstop.

The Mets are much better off than the Brewers in the standings having found a way to the top of their division. However after getting swept by the Cubs they're now just one game up on pre-season favorites the Nationals. The Mets have a good to even very good pitching staff but their offense is lacking. I recently wrote about that here.

The Mets are currently ranked 26th in offense with a team 84 wRC+. That's pretty bad for a team doing so well. For reference the Brewers are ranked 29th with a 77 wRC+. Even though the Brewers are performing worse right now I would expect that to flip around before the season ends.

The only player on that team that is doing any real damage is Lucas Duda. Travis D'Arnaud and David Wright might join him when they come off the disabled list. Curtis Granderson isn't hitting for power. Michael Cuddyer isn't hitting at all. After them it's a hodgepodge of mediocre players with marginal offensive upside.

Pitching Match-Ups

Friday May 15, 6:10 pm CST: Kyle Lohse vs Bartolo Colon

I love that Bartolo Colon is still pitching. Dude turns 42 next week. He throws almost exclusively fastball (88-89 mph) and slider with the occasional change-up. His game plan is actually the same as Kyle Lohse's. Induce poor contact. So far this year Colon has done a much better job as exhibited by his 3.30 ERA, 3.16 FIP, and 3.19 xFIP.

Saturday May 16, 6:10 pm CST: Matt Garza vs Jacob deGrom

The book on deGrom last year was back-end starter. He surprised most everyone by performing like a legitimate ace in 140.1 innings. This year he's doing well enough but not quite the same. His strikeout rate is down a bit and his HR/9 is way up. He does have a decent 3.49 ERA but his 4.25 FIP and 3.81 xFIP suggest it will rise. Even if he's just a decent No. 3 starter that's a lot more than people expected just a year ago.

Sunday May 17, 12:10 pm CST: Wily Peralta vs Noah Syndergaard

His nickname is Thor. I love him already. Syndergaard made his first career MLB start earlier this week against the Cubs. He was going along nicely until the 6th inning when he gave up 3 runs. He'd get pulled that inning and ended up going just 5.1 innings with 6 hits, 4 walks, 3 runs, and 6 strikeouts. Don't be fooled though, he's a good young pitcher. He throws in the upper 90's and has an above average curveball and changeup.

Statistics courtesy of FanGraphs