Mets vs Cardinals Pick: NY’s Pitching Prospect Tidwell Makes His Debut (May 4)

• Our Mets vs Cardinals pick looks at New York trying to win its 9th straight game over St. Louis in the 1st game of a doubleheader
• One of New York’s best pitching prospects, Blade Tidwell, makes his MLB debut
• St. Louis responds by sending Erick Fedde to the mound
• The Mets are riding high in 1st place in the NL East; the Cardinals are in 4th place in the NL Central

Tidwell Gets His 1st MLB Shot With the Mets

Blade Tidwell was the Mets’ 2nd round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft out of the University of Tennessee. The 24-year-old righty, 6’4″ and listed at 207 pounds, has approached 100 mph with his fastball. His minor league ERA is a relatively high 4.07, but his peripheral numbers are impressive with 322 K’s in 274.2 innings. He has only allowed 34 homers. He will likely pitch this game and go right back to Triple-A.

First baseman Pete Alonso bet on himself by taking a two-year deal from the Mets with an opt-out after 2025, and he’s making himself a ton of money. He is being obscured in New York by the crosstown machine named Aaron Judge, but Alonso’s numbers stack up against Judge’s.

The Polar Bear leads the NL in hits, doubles, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, and OPS+. He has 8 homers and more walks than strikeouts. He has a 2.3 bWAR.

Juan Soto is starting to get hot. He’s up to an .829 OPS and a 1.1 bWAR.

Cardinals Try to Break the Mets’ Hex on Them

The Cardinals and Mets have had a longstanding rivalry. One team dominating the other to the tune of a 9-game winning streak is unusual. To break that streak, St. Louis sends Erick Fedde to the mound.

Fedde has a 4.68 ERA in 6 starts, but that is misleading. Two of his starts were atrocious. In one, he surrendered 6 earned runs in 3 innings against the Red Sox. In the other, his last start, he gave up 7 earned runs in 5.2 innings to the Brewers. Aside from that, he has been solid.

Against Fedde, Alonso is 6 for 16 with 2 doubles, but no homers. Francisco Lindor is 6 for 19 with a double and a home run. Starling Marte is 3 for 11 with a double and a home run. Jesse Winker is 4 for 12 with 2 homers. Soto is 2 for 3 with a double. Brandon Nimmo is 6 for 25, all singles, with 3 RBIs.

Nolan Arenado is slumping for St. Louis with a batting average down to .237 and 3 homers. Brendan Donovan is still reasonably hot, batting .333 and leading the NL in hits. Masyn Winn has been scorching with an OPS now at .780.

Mets vs Cardinals Pick: Tidwell Has a Solid Debut and the Mets Keep the Streak Going

A first MLB start can go several ways. But the Cardinals have been scuffling so badly, and Tidwell will be on a tight leash of 5 or so innings, barring a low pitch count and dominance. With the Mets previously handling Fedde, New York will win its 10th straight game over St. Louis.