Consider this my warm-up for Opening Day.
New York Mets at Detroit Tigers
Time/Place: 1:05 p.m., Joker Marchant Stadium
SB Nation blog:Amazin' Avenue
Media:Detroit Tigers Radio Network, Gameday Audio
Tigers scheduled pitchers: LHP Drew Smyly, RHP Justin Miller, LHP Phil Coke, RHP Bruce Rondon, RHP Al Alburquerque, RHP Jose Valdez, RHP Jhan Marinez
Tigers lineup: Kinsler 2B, Carrera LF, Hunter RF, Martinez 1B, Kelly 3B, Castellanos DH, Fields CF, Holaday C, Lombardozzi SS.
Mets scheduled pitchers: RHP Noah Syndergaard is starting.
Mets lineup: EYJ 2B, Lagares CF, Nieuwenhuis RF, Satin 1B, Brown DH, den Dekker LF, Flores 3B, Teagarden C, Quintanilla SS.
This is the part where you should be angry with Fox Sports Detroit for not televising more Spring Training games. Noah Syndergaard is still a prospect, but is expected to join Zack Wheeler and Matt Harvey in the Mets' rotation at some point this season. The three of them are expected to be a cost-controlled "Big Three" that will help vault the Mets to the upper echelon of the NL East.
Syndergaard split time between Advanced-A and Double-A in the minor leagues, combining to tally a 9-4 record and 3.06 ERA with 133 strikeouts in 117 2/3 innings. While the strikeouts are nice, his low walk rate has been the most impressive part of his quick rise through the minors. Drafted out of high school in 2010, he will likely debut with the Mets sometime before his 22nd birthday on August 29. He has impressed so far this spring in his bullpen sessions but only has a pair of scoreless innings under his belt in game action.
In the Mets' lineup, the player to watch listen for is Josh Satin. Satin saw limited action with the Mets in 2011 and 2012, but worked his way into Terry Collins' infield rotation in 2013. He started off hot in his first two months of action, hitting .302/.429/.453 with 10 doubles in 105 plate appearances. His production trailed off down the stretch, however, and he ended the year with a .781 OPS. This season, he will probably serve as the platoon partner for either Ike Davis or Lucas Duda at first base. Satin has hit .315/.394/.467 against left-handers in his short career.