New York Mets 

Johan Santana – The Mets hope they’ve landed their ‘missing link’ after last year’s end of season meltdown.  Obviously, the major news in the off-season for the Mets was the trade that garnered them Santana from the Twins.  Intriguing as most pitchers moving from the American League to the National League featured sometimes drastic up ticks in their performance.  In the case of Santana, that’s scary news for National League hitters.  Santana is the ‘ace’ of Major League Baseball boasting a sweet 2.99 overall ERA the last three years in exactly 100 games.  The only knock on the southpaw is a sometimes slow start, while he shows a three-year April ERA of 3.85.  His post All-Star break ERA over those same three years is 2.69.  Shea Stadium is a perfect fit for the flyballing left-hander and again the Mets have their ‘ace in the hole’.   

Pedro Martinez – The 36-year-old Martinez hopes for a return to form after a lost 2007 campaign.  Martinez made just five starts last year after undergoing surgery for a torn rotator cuff.  Of course, he’ll never be ‘Pedro’ again, but with this Mets team, he doesn’t have to be.  His velocity will most likely top out in the high-80’s, but he has the know how with his change-up and curve to get big league hitters out.  I’ll take a wait and see approach with Martinez, while certainly note the contract year for this hurler.   

John Maine – Maine has simply gotten the job done in his big league career with the Mets after recording 3.91 and 3.60 ERA’s the last two seasons.  He’s more of a deceptive/control pitcher rather than raw stuff.  Surprising was Maine’s 180 strikeouts and just 168 hits allowed in 191 innings last year.  Again, Maine is labeled as a pitcher who doesn’t miss bats, so a regression in these numbers will be expected and interesting to watch in 2008.  Note Maine pitched to a 5.53 ERA last year in his final 15 starts.  

Oliver Perez – It’s frightening for the rest of the National League East the Mets feature the ‘stuff’ of both Perez and Santana.  Perez still owns a large ceiling at 26-years-old, while he owns the teammates and pitching coach to reach a much higher level.  In addition, it’s a real positive that Perez can layback and pitch as the fourth or fifth starter on this ball club.  Remember the 2004 season for Perez where he dealt a 2.98 ERA with the Pirates while garnering 239 strikeouts in 196 frames.  Last season Perez showed glimpses of that form with a 3.56 ERA and 174 strikeouts in 177 innings.  He’s lost some bite on his heater, and his slider flattens out at times, but the stuff is still there.  His flyball ways fit Shea Stadium and if Perez lives up to his potential the Mets starting pitching can be as good as any in baseball.  Note his home/road split from the last three years with a 5.92 road ERA against a 4.38 home number.   

Orlando Hernandez – He’s back…  Whether he’s 38, 45 or 50-years-old, who knows, but ‘El Duque’ is back for yet another season.  However, Hernandez got the job done with the Mets last season with a 3.72 ERA in 148 frames, while assorted injuries eventually took their toll.  Hernandez is much tougher on the right-handed bat, as the ‘hook’ variety see the ball better out of his hand.   Certainly take a cautious approach with ‘El Duque’ this season as word strikes he’s barely touching 80-MPH on the gun this spring.   

Mike Pelfrey – Pelfrey is expected to be on the outside looking in at the start of the season in regards to the Mets starting five.  However, good things are still expected from the 24-year-old with nasty stuff.  His stuff is off the charts good with a 94-96 MPH sinking fastball, change, curve and slider.  Former Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca actually said Pelfrey boasted the best stuff he’s ever caught.  Unfortunately, for the Mets he hasn’t come close to showing anything consistent on the mound, while offering a 5.57 ERA in 13 starts last season.  His stuff is too good, and look for Pelfrey to respond this season when given a chance.