PORT JEFF, NY — Greetings and Happy Easter to all! Let’s jump right into today’s topics: Masters Picks & Early Mets Bright Spots.
Masters Picks
Scottie Scheffler
The world number one enters the week having played as poorly as we’ve seen from him at any point over the last five seasons. I’m not sure what’s happened to Scheffler since he won his first event of the season in late January, however, Scheffler has dominated at Augusta with two wins and another two top tens it wouldn’t shock me in the slightest to see him return to peak form and win a third green jacket, but I don’t think he does. Something is off with Scheffler, and this isn’t the course where guys find something out of form.
Rory McIlroy
Similar to Scheffler, Rory has also struggled to open 2026 and has been dealing with a lingering back injury. Given how rare it is for players to go back to back at the Masters and the slow start to the season, I think Rory is an easy cross off this week.
Cameron Young
After years of struggling to close out tournaments, Young finally broke through at the Players championship for his signature win on tour. Young has an exceptional track record at majors including two top tens at the Masters and enters the week playing as well as any player in the world. We’ve seen it countless times from players like this, when they get their breakthrough win, the flood gates open and it leads to an even bigger win. Cam’s elite skill set off the tee makes him an ideal course fit and I think he has a real chance at putting on the green jacket come one week from today.
Jon Rahm
Flying somewhat under the radar to non golf sickos like myself, Rahm has dominated on the LIV Tour in 2026 with a win and three runner ups and is striking the ball as well as any player on the planet. Rahm finally seems to be back at the top of his game since his decision to leave the PGA Tour and I think he contends at Augusta and could easily leave with a second green jacket.
Holmes & Vientos Fuel Early Optimism
Clay Holmes has been absolute money to begin the season, attacking hitters and giving the Mets valuable length when needed. Last night in San Fran he fired seven scoreless innings and won his second start of the year. If he continues throwing strikes and generating weak contact the way he has early on, he becomes a stabilizing presence in the staff.
Another arm I’d like to bring attention to is Tobias Myers who the Mets traded for as a part of the Freddy Peralta deal. Myers threw another two scoreless inning in relief last night and has looked like an absolute steal given that he was just thrown in as an apart of that trade. I found it very strange that Milwaukee did that. It was just two seasons ago that Myers dominated the Mets in the Wild Card round and looked like he’d be a big part of the brewers future rotation. Nevertheless I’d really like to see the Mets use Myers in some high leverage situation and continue to develop him as a real weapon at the backend of this bullpen.
Meanwhile, Mark Vientos has been another pleasant surprise to start 2026. Vientos seems to have found his 2024 form, starting off at 8-17 at the plate. It cannot be overstated how important Vientos is to the success of this offense. If he’s able to continue to produce, it adds an exceptional level of depth throughout this lineup.
