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New York Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo (hip), third baseman J.D. Davis, and second baseman Jeff McNeil are on the bench for Thursday's contest against the Cubs. Nimmo is dealing with right hip stiffness, though it seems to be a day-to-day issue. Davis and McNeil are slumping in their own rights, with the former's struggles coming in the field and the latter's at the plate. Kevin Pillar will be in center for Nimmo. Jonathan Villar will play second, and Luis Guillorme will get the start at the hot corner.
New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, who is off to a slow start to the 2021 campaign, blasted a monstrous two-run home in the Mets' lopsided 16-4 loss to the Cubs on Wednesday. Alonso's home run, which had an exit velocity of 115.4 mph and traveled 429 feet, was one of the lone bright spots in an otherwise embarrassing loss for the Mets. Alonso went 1-for-4 on the day, with the HR as his lone hit. Alonso is now batting .229 with a .458 slugging percentage over his first 48 at-bats of the season, to go with three HR and nine RBI. Hopefully, Alonso's HR on Wednesday will jump-start his bat to the benefit of fantasy managers and the Mets. Alonso is one of the game's top power hitters and, despite the early season struggles, he should remain active in all formats.
New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs scored in the Mets' pitiful 16-4 loss to the Cubs on Wednesday. He was one of the lone bright spots in an otherwise disgraceful game. Lindor's home run was his first of the season and first with the Mets. Lindor has been relatively unlucky to start the 2021 campaign as evidenced by his .358 xwOBA. The hits will come and, perhaps, Wednesday's performance is a sign that his bat is on the verge of breaking out. Lindor now owns a .222/.357/.311 slash line over his first 45 at-bats, to go with his one HR and three RBI. It is only a matter of time before Lindor starts to produce consistent with his being selected as one of the first shortstops taken off of fantasy draft boards. The 27-year old shortstop should, accordingly, remain active in all fantasy formats.
New York Mets third baseman/outfielder J.D. Davis went 2-for-4 with a double and RBI in the Mets' brutal 16-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. After missing a number of games in the first few weeks of the 2021 campaign due to a hand injury, Davis is red hot at the plate, now hitting .412 on 17 at-bats on the season. Unfortunately, for as good as Davis has been with the bat, he has been horrible in the field. Davis committed yet another crucial error on Wednesday at third base in the fourth inning. This helped prolong the inning in which the Cubs ultimately scored seven runs and put the game out of reach. Davis now has three errors in only six games at third. Notwithstanding his offensive production, it will be difficult for the Mets to continue to run Davis out into the field at third base consistently given his defensive miscues. Assuming Davis does not lose playing time to Jonathan Villar or Luis Guillorme for defensive reasons, managers can reasonably expect 20-plus HR and 60-plus RBI production from Davis as the Mets' regular third baseman. That said, Davis' role as the everyday third baseman now remains tenuous until such time that he can resolve these fielding issues. Any loss in playing time would, obviously, negatively impact his fantasy value for managers relying on him as a corner infielder in mixed league formats or as a third baseman in NL-only leagues.
New York Mets starting pitcher David Peterson lasted just 3 1/3 innings pitched in the Mets' embarrassing 16-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. Coming off an impressive 10 strikeout performance against the Phillies last Wednesday, Peterson allowed six runs (three earned) on four hits and two walks while striking out three in this start. Peterson cruised through the first three innings. Unfortunately, he never made it out of the fourth, thanks to two errors including a crucial J.D. Davis error that helped prolong the inning. While Peterson wasn't as sharp this time out, his final line was not indicative of his relatively decent performance. Peterson will look to get back into the win column next Tuesday at home against the Red Sox with, hopefully, much better defense supporting his effort. Given his uneven start to the season, fantasy managers may want to wait to see more consistency from Peterson before deploying him in starting lineups.