The Mets improved the potential at the top of their rotation with the breakout late last season of Nolan McLean and the acquisition late in this offseason of Freddy Peralta. 

So the fate of the rotation does not rest as heavily on Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga as it did last year. And yet, they still feel like the bellwether of just how overall good the starting group can be. For if Manaea pitches close to the last 13 starts of 2024 (3.17, 27.7 strikeout percentage, .171 batting average against) and Senga close to the first 13 starts last season (1.47 ERA, 23.9 strikeout percentage, .195 batting average against), the Mets will have among the best rotations in the sport.

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At this moment, the Mets feel good about the quantity and quality of what they will unfurl in Port St. Lucie the day after the Super Bowl. But it is not all that different from their vision last year, which turned into yet another reminder that you can never have too much starting pitching.

For those who need a quick refresher, David Stearns opened camp by saying, “I feel much better about our starting pitching depth sitting here today than I did a year ago. We made that a priority of our offseason. We brought in a number of players at all levels of free agency.”