5 Reasons to Believe in the Mets in 2015

At 79-83 this year, the Mets improved their 2013 record by five games. Hopefully, the Mets will then be able to find a way to win at least 90 games in 2015 and get back to the postseason for the first time since 2006.

The Mets have a young core and some good veterans but could also use a few upgrades in certain positions. If the Mets front office can find a way to make those upgrades, the sky could be the limit for the Mets' success next year.

Here are five reasons to believe in the Mets next season as they try to make a run toward the postseason.

The Return of Matt Harvey Will Be a Huge Boost to the Pitching Staff

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The 2014 Mets pitching staff did pretty well generally speaking even without the contributions of ace Matt Harvey, who missed the entire season while recovering from Tommy John surgery last fall.

In 2013 before getting hurt, Harvey was 9-5 with a 2.27 ERA and 191 strikeouts in 178.1 innings pitched. He was among the NL Cy Young Award favorites that year and could have won if he had stayed healthy. Getting a fully healthy Harvey for a full season could be a huge boost in itself for the Mets because he could give the team 12-15 wins ideally.

The Mets have a lot of good young pitchers, but it's Harvey who will more than likely set the tone next season as the probable Opening Day starter.

The Rest of the Pitching Staff Should Continue to Improve

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Harvey, though, is not the only very good young pitcher the Mets have. Zack Wheeler and Jacob deGrom will continue to be big parts of the Mets rotation going forward. Veterans Jon Niese, Dillon Gee and Bartolo Colon will all return next season. Rafael Montero could be another factor in the pitching staff in either the starting rotation or the bullpen, and top prospect Noah Syndergaard could very likely get called up early next season.

Wheeler had a very good first full season with an 11-11 record, a 3.54 ERA and 187 strikeouts in 185.1 innings. DeGrom has a very good chance to win the 2014 National League Rookie of the Year with a 9-6 record, a 2.69 ERA and 144 strikeouts in 140.1 innings pitched.

Niese went 9-11 with a 3.40 ERA and 138 strikeouts in 187.2 innings pitched. Gee had a 7-8 record with a 4.00 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 137.1 innings pitched. As for Colon, he led the Mets with 15 wins and had a 4.09 ERA and 151 strikeouts in 202.1 innings pitched.

In eight starts and 10 total appearances, Montero was 1-3 with a 4.06 ERA. He had 42 strikeouts in 44.1 innings pitched. Syndergaard's minor league season includes a 9-7 record, a 4.60 ERA and 145 strikeouts in 133 innings pitched.

Obviously, not all of these pitchers will be pitching in the Mets starting rotation next season all at the same time. Only five pitchers will be in the starting rotation, which means the others will either be in the bullpen or get traded away most likely. The Mets, though, have plenty of pitching to work with in the future, and there could be some difficult decisions to make regarding which pitchers will stay put and which others will be put on the trading block.

The Young Bullpen Has a Lot of Potential

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For years, the Mets lacked bullpen depth and kept trying to find new additions all the time, but most of them did not end up working out. However, the Mets now have a young bullpen of relievers who can throw hard and be effective.

Closer Jenrry Mejia (6-6, 3.65 ERA, 28 saves, 98 strikeouts in 93.1 innings pitched), setup man Jeurys Familia (2-5, 2.21 ERA, 73 strikeouts in 77.1 innings pitched), Vic Black (2-3, 2.60 ERA, 32 strikeouts in 34.1 innings pitched), Carlos Torres (8-6, 3.06 ERA, 96 strikeouts in 97.1 innings pitched) and southpaw Josh Edgin (1-0, 1.32 ERA, 28 strikeouts in 27.1 innings pitched) have all formed a very solid bullpen core. All but Torres are under 30 years old and could help the Mets bullpen be a strength for years to come.

And then there's Bobby Parnell who missed just about the entire season with Tommy John surgery of his own and could very well retain his old job as closer next season. But Mejia also has a good chance to remain the closer, while Familia certainly pitched well enough this year to be in the running as well.

The Mets bullpen has a lot of young depth that will rack up strikeouts and should continue to improve even more in 2015.

The Lineup Should Continue to Make Big Strides Forward

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Although the Mets offense is weaker than the pitching, a few hitters took big steps forward this season. Lucas Duda had a breakout year in his first full season as the Mets first baseman. He finished the year with a .253 average, 30 home runs, 92 RBI and an .830 OPS as he asserted himself as the new feared cleanup hitter in the lineup.

Second baseman Daniel Murphy had another solid season with a .289 average, nine home runs, 57 RBI and a .734 OPS. Center fielder Juan Lagares raised his average significantly to .281 and also had four home runs, 47 RBI and a .703 OPS.

Other notable statistics from Mets hitters include Eric Young Jr. stealing 30 bases, rookie catcher Travis d'Arnaud hitting 13 home runs after a very slow start, utility rookie Eric Campbell batting .263 and scrawny shortstop Ruben Tejada setting a career high with five home runs.

To improve as a team and win more games, the Mets offense will probably need notable upgrades at shortstop and left field in particular. Nonetheless, the consistency of Murphy and the breakout campaigns from Duda and Lagares should be enough to give fans more hope that those three hitters in particular will continue to hit well next season as the Mets lineup will hopefully continue to be more productive.

Veteran Hitters Bouncing Back Should Make a Big Difference

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While the younger hitters will hopefully continue to improve going forward, the Mets will also need their veteran hitters to produce quite a bit as well. The Mets have two notable veteran hitters in third baseman David Wright and right fielder Curtis Granderson. Both of them had rather underachieving seasons this year and ideally should be able to put together better seasons in 2015.

Wright's performance ended up being significantly affected by a bad shoulder that eventually caused him to end his season a few weeks ago. The shoulder injury, which occurred in June, certainly didn't help Wright at the plate, with a .269 average and just eight home runs and 63 RBI all season, along with a .698 OPS.

This was clearly one of, if not the worst season in Wright's career. But with some offseason rehabilitation on his shoulder, he will hopefully return for a healthier 2015 season. As the captain, the Mets will need big seasons from Wright to lead them to the postseason.

As for Granderson, he got off to a very slow start and finished his season with a .227 average, 20 home runs, 65 RBI and a .714 OPS. Granderson may have been one of just two Mets hitters with 20 or more home runs, but it's a far cry from the 84 combined home runs he hit with the crosstown Yankees between 2011-2012.

A more consistent Granderson next year hits another five to 10 home runs and drives in at least 15-20 more runs, which could make quite a difference for the Mets offense. He was signed to be the feared slugger in the lineup and that is what he needs to be for the Mets to get into the playoffs.

The Mets' young offensive talent is great to have, but without veteran leadership on the field from Wright and Granderson, it will be very tough for the lineup altogether to reach its full potential.

All statistics shown are courtesy of BasebellReference.com and are accurate as of the end of the 2014 regular season.