What kind of season will David Wright have? Read a season preview and provide your own projection.
One of my favorite moments from the 2013 season was David Wright hitting a home run (off Cole Hamels!) in late September in his first at-bat back from injury. Then he hit another home run the next day. Miss almost two months, then come back and immediately start mashing like you never left? Amazin'. I'm glad that guy is a Met for life.
Wright starts his second decade in the big leagues as one of the best players in the game, a spot he has re-ascended to after back-to-back fantastic seasons. His slash line from 2012-2013 was .307/.391/.501, good for a 149 OPS+. That's a better mark than the 141 OPS+ he posted during his dominant stretch from 2005-2008. His defense experienced a renaissance as well. Metrics, announcers, the eye test -- all agree that Wright is once again picking it well at third base.
At age 31, Wright is supposed to be entering the decline phase of his career. But if these last two seasons are any indication, he still has some All Star-caliber seasons left. Two or three more 5+ WAR seasons and he's already in lower-end Hall of Fame territory. Four or five more 5+ WAR seasons and he's got a strong case. Easier said that done, I suppose. A nice consolation prize for Wright would be a return to the postseason. That will probably have to wait until after 2014, though.
Wright broke a lot of hearts this offseason by getting married. After getting hitched, he provided one of the funnier quotes of the offseason during a chat with Adam Rubin:
"No, no, no," Wright said about children at this point, repeating "no" seven more times.
That's ten "no"s. I feel ya, David, although a few young Davids in the Mets infield in 23 years or so would be just fine. Post your Wright projection in the comments in the same format as below. I'll compare our projections to actual results at season's end.
PA: 632
HR: 22
AVG: .300
OBP: .380
SLG: .501