Friday, March 31, 2023 ⋅ 4:05 PM
Polar Park ⋅ Worcester, MA
RHP Tony Dibrell (0-0, -.–) vs. RHP Garrett Whitlock (0-0, -.–)

SYRACUSE LINEUP

1. Danny Mendick, LF
2. Brett Baty, 3B
3. Francisco Álvarez, C
4. Mark Vientos, 1B
5. Ronny Mauricio, SS
6. Jonathan Araúz 2B
7. Khalil Lee, RF
8. Lorenzo Cedrola, CF
9. Carlos Cortes, DH

Tony Dibrell, SP

After announcing Dibrell was moving to the bullpen, he is getting the Opening Day start. Part of the reason for that is the previously named Opening Day starter, Tylor Megill, was added to the Major League rotation due to Justin Verlander going on the IL. After some injury-plagued seasons, it will be interesting to see how much of his velocity he has regained in what amounts to at least one start to begin the season (even if he is probably just an opener).

The Mets top prospects at this level will bat 2-5. Obviously, this is going to be the focus of attention not just for fans, but also for opposing pitchers. It is somewhat interesting Baty is batting second, which analytically speaking is where teams are placing their best hitter.

WORCESTER LINEUP

1. Jarren Duran, CF
2. David Hamilton, SS
3. Bobby Dalbec, 1B
4. Enmanuel Valdez, 2B
5. Jorge Alfaro, C
6. Daniel Palka, DH
7. Niko Goodrum, 3B
8. Ryan Fitzgerald, RF
9. Greg Allen, LF

Garrett Whitlock, SP

Fans will know players like Alfaro due to his time playing with the Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Marlins. Dalbec is starting the year in Triple-A after posting a 96 OPS+ over the past two years for the Boston Red Sox. Palka starts the year playing against Syracuse after posting a 122 wRC+ for Syracuse last season.

Valdez and Hamilton rank 18 and 29 respectively in MLB Pipeline‘s top 30 Red Sox prospect rankings. Valdez will post a challenge after posting a .918 OPS last season across Double-A and Triple-A. If he gets on base, Hamilton is a speedster who can challenge Álvarez early.

Whitlock made nine starts and 22 relief appearances for the Red Sox last year with a strong 122 ERA+ and 3.29 FIP. He was especially stingy against left-handed hitters limiting them to a .192/.215/.344 batting line. That will present a challenge for Baty and Mauricio to begin the season.

GAME NOTES

Tylor Megill was supposed to be the Opening Day starter, but after Justin Verlander went on the IL, Megill was added to the Major League rotation.

Syracuse’s Opening Day roster features seven players from MMN‘s top 30 rankings. Those players are Álvarez (1), Baty (2), Mauricio (6), Vientos (8), Jose Butto (13), Grant Hartwig (26), and Eric Orze (29).

This game marks Dick Scott‘s return to minor league managing. He was last a minor league manager for the South Bend Silver Hawks of the Midwest League. Previously, he was named the 1991 Arizona League Manager of the Year, 1993 Northwest League Manager of the Year, and the 1994 California League Manager of the Year.

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR:

1. Defense: While the Mets have been high on the bats of their top prospects, part of the reason they are all starting the year in Triple-A is because they need to work on defense. Álvarez needs to be quieter behind the plate. Vientos is now at first where he did look good in the spring. Baty looked much improved defensively in the spring, so he needs to show that was the start of him taking the leap. Mauricio has had range concerns at short, but ultimately, he’s not destined for that position anyway.
2. Starting Pitching Depth: The Mets rotation already took a hit when José Quintana went on the IL after bone graft surgery, and it took another hit when Verlander started the season on the IL. That moved David Peterson and Megill into the Mets Opening Day rotation leaving the Mets to wonder who is next.
3. OF Depth: The Mets have started the season with five outfielders on their Major League roster, but Tim Locastro has never played more than 64 games in a season and has a career 77 OPS+. Tommy Pham has a -6 OAA in the outfield in each of the last two seasons. Arguably, the Mets starting outfield has injury risk from left to right meaning the Mets may need to call up someone as depth as the season progresses. As currently constituted, the Syracuse outfield has players with Major League experience, and they all have the opportunity to move up the depth chart. We also should not discount Baty and Vientos getting exposure in previous seasons and their getting some more exposure during the season to help them get called up sooner rather than later.