There's a lot of hype for the New York Mets heading into the 2015 season, but now the Mets have to perform at a playoff-contending level to justify the talk and expectation. Wins will satisfy, but how will they be attained? Here's a look at the three important Mets stats to watch throughout 2015 -- one each for pitching, hitting and defense.

Offense: How often is David Wright driving the ball to the opposite field?

The Mets need David Wright to have a bounce back season and drive more pitches to the opposite field. Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

The Mets moved in the fences in right field and right center with the hope that this would provide a boost to some of their key bats.

Wright was injured and ineffective in 2014, finishing with only eight home runs and a slugging percentage of .374, the latter of which ranked 113th among 147 qualifiers for the batting title.

The biggest key to Wright's game has always been how much power he's produced when hitting the ball the other way. Wright hit the ball the opposite way at a higher rate in 2014 than he did in 2013, but his power cratered.

Inside Edge, which provides video analysis of every play in every game, had Wright with 29 hard-hit balls to the opposite field in 2013. That shrunk to 11 in 2014 despite making contact 74 more times.

Wright's production returning to 2013 form would be a huge boost towards netting more victories in 2015.

Pitching: How often does the bullpen protect the lead?

The Mets strength is their starting pitching and it cannot afford to be wasted. Over the last 10 years, the bullpen has blown its fair share of games for the likes of Pedro Martinez, Johan Santana and Matt Harvey.

Last season the Mets ranked sixth-worst in the majors in converting save opportunities into either a save or a hold. The Mets need their relievers to avoid the meltdowns that have plagued the team in past seasons and their starters to get them deep enough into games to avoid overtaxing the bullpen's weaknesses.

Not having Jose Valverde or Kyle Farnsworth will help with the meltdowns. The Mets ranked ninth last season in the number of times their starter got through at least six innings. But they drop to 17th in the number of times their starters got through seven frames. It will be up to Jacob deGrom and Harvey to keep their pitch counts low enough such that the seventh inning is regularly theirs.

Defense: Pitch and Catch

The Mets defense has its share of issues, but at this point, you know what you're getting from Daniel Murphy at second base and Curtis Granderson and Michael Cuddyer in the outfield. Those numbers are unlikely to change dramatically.

But the defense from their pitchers and catchers can improve. Mets battery members combined for minus-19 Defensive Runs Saved last season, the worst total in the National League.

Much of the potential for improvement here rests on Travis d'Arnaud -- whether his throwing problems as the 2014 season went along were caused by bone chips that were surgically repaired this offseason. He was also need to better at blocking potential wild pitches, a stat in which he ranked worst in the majors last season.

Mark Simon writes about the Mets and Yankees for ESPN NY. Follow him on Twitter at @msimonespn