This Week in Mets: Which Mets deserve to be All-Stars?

New York Times

2 days ago

'Sometimes
Is a good answer to any existential question.'
— 'American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin,' Terrance Hayes
This was a good week for the New York Mets.
New York clinched the season series over the Los Angeles Dodgers with a split in Chavez Ravine, and it took care of business over the weekend at Coors Field to complete a season sweep of the wretched Colorado Rockies. Oh, and elsewhere in the division? The Philadelphia Phillies put Bryce Harper on the injured list, were swept at the Pittsburgh Pirates and have lost nine of 10. The Atlanta Braves are 0-for-June so far.
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Let's put it this way: The Mets won five games last week. The other four teams in the NL East combined to win … four.
So now's as good a time as ever to think about awards for this Mets team — specifically, how many players might be making an extra trip to Atlanta next month for the All-Star Game. Voting for the starters commenced last week, and the rosters will officially be announced in July.
Which Mets, right now, deserve a spot, and which might make the conversation?
Alonso hasn't always had the easiest path to an All-Star berth at a position of depth in the National League. He's competed with the likes of Freddie Freeman, Paul Goldschmidt, Matt Olson and Harper.
That shouldn't be a problem for Alonso this year. He should be a shoo-in to be on the team, and the only question is whether his fifth trip to the All-Star Game is his first start.
He's tied with Freeman in wins above replacement (according to FanGraphs) to lead all first basemen, and his 17 homers and 61 RBIs are well ahead of Freeman's.
Yep, it's going to happen: Francisco Lindor is going to make his first All-Star team as a Met.
Lindor's five consecutive summers without an All-Star appearance will go down as a historical anomaly — a product of one canceled Midsummer Classic and four years when he wasn't at his peak when voting was held. His OPS on the morning of June 9 during his years as a Met: .637, .758, .716 and .723. This year it's .842.
That gives him a leg up at a loaded position, ahead of last year's starter Trea Turner, converted shortstop Mookie Betts and the Arizona Diamondbacks' Geraldo Perdomo, whom every Mets fan remembers chiefly for getting an All-Star nod over Lindor in 2023.
Senga has yet to sound all that pleased with his results this season, yet here he is, into June, with a 1.59 ERA that leads the National League.
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The peripheral numbers are not as enthusiastic on what Senga's done this season, and the likelihood from here is that Paul Skenes is making his second consecutive start for the senior circuit. But provided the bottom doesn't fall out over the next few weeks, Senga should be on the team for the second time.
How's this for a sneaky candidacy? Peterson is seventh in the NL in ERA at 2.80, backing up the 2.83 mark he posted over the final four months last season. Again, his peripheral numbers aren't as sparkling, and it's tough to crack the pitching staff in this game since a lot of teams with only one All-Star send a pitcher. However, that he belongs in the conversation is worth noting.
You could probably put Griffin Canning (2.90 ERA) and Clay Holmes (2.95) in this same bucket.
Díaz has been especially sharp lately, allowing a single run over the past six weeks. He's 14 for 15 in save chances this season and right next to San Diego's Robert Suárez as the best closer in the National League. (Hey, and each can opt out of their contracts at season's end!)
We've seen a few more setup men crack the All-Star roster in recent years, and in that context, Garrett has a strong case with an ERA that, even after a hit last week, sits below 1.00.
Garrett's problem is that, in San Francisco, Randy Rodriguez is pitching in the same role just a little bit better. Rodriguez is the only reliever in the NL with a better ERA than Garrett's, and he owns the league's top strikeout rate.
It will be interesting to see whether Soto can build a stronger case for himself over the next few weeks. Because right now, there isn't much of one to be made for him. He's seventh among NL outfielders in weighted runs created, and he doesn't offer much value elsewhere. Furthermore, outfielders who are behind him in production such as the Miami Marlins' Kyle Stowers and the Rockies' Jordan Beck have reasonable shots to make the squad as their teams' only representatives.
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The Mets swept the Rockies for the second consecutive weekend. They won't see Colorado again this season unless it's in the postseason. New York is 41-24 and has built its lead in the National League East out to 4 1/2 games over the floundering Phillies.
The Washington Nationals cooled a bit this week, losing consecutive series to the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers at home. Washington is 30-35 and in third place in the NL East.
The Tampa Bay Rays have been one of the hottest teams in baseball over the past three weeks. With its series win over the Marlins this weekend, Tampa Bay improved to 14-4 over its last 18 games. It's at 35-30 and in second in the AL East heading into a three-game set at the Boston Red Sox starting Monday.
vs. Washington
RHP Griffin Canning (6-2, 2.90 ERA) vs. LHP MacKenzie Gore (3-5, 2.87 ERA)
LHP David Peterson (4-2, 2.80) vs. RHP Jake Irvin (5-2, 4.02)
RHP Kodai Senga (6-3, 1.59) vs. RHP Michael Soroka (3-3, 4.86)
vs. Tampa Bay
RHP Clay Holmes (7-3, 2.95) vs. RHP Taj Bradley (4-5, 4.58)
RHP Tylor Megill (5-4, 3.76) vs. RHP Drew Rasmussen (5-4, 2.22)
RHP Griffin Canning vs. RHP Shane Baz (5-3, 4.96)
Red = 60-day IL
Orange = 15-day IL
Blue = 10-day IL
• Mark Vientos landed on the IL this week with a low-grade hamstring strain. Vientos should be able to start baseball activities by the end of this week or early next week.
• Sean Manaea started his rehab assignment Friday night for High-A Brooklyn with 1 2/3 innings. He'll build up inning by inning, a process that will take his return close to the All-Star break.
• Frankie Montas made his fourth rehab start Sunday with Syracuse, throwing 76 pitches over 3 2/3 innings. That's a good build on his pitch count, but the innings stagnated; he'd thrown four innings the start before earlier in the week. The results have also been less than encouraging, with Montas carrying an ERA over 9.00. As mentioned last week, the Mets' next need for a sixth starter is in the final week of June, and Montas figures to be targeting that spot on the calendar. Barring a setback, his rehab assignment must be completed by June 24.
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Triple-A: Syracuse at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (New York, AL)
Double-A: Binghamton at Richmond (San Francisco)
High-A: Brooklyn vs. Asheville (Houston)
Low-A: St. Lucie at Daytona (Cincinnati)
• Why the Mets' pitching staff is better equipped to handle the Dodgers now compared with last year
• Griffin Canning on how he's revived himself with the Mets
• Broken toe and all, Francisco Lindor saves the Mets again
• Some sloppy defense and other takeaways from a split with the Dodgers
• How Ronny Mauricio fits the Mets roster
• Paul Blackburn returns and stars in a start against L.A.
• TWIM: Looking ahead to potential trade deadline needs
I told you I was in a poetry phase!
Paul Blackburn recorded a four-inning save Sunday — the Mets' first save of that long since Brian Stokes in 2008. My initial question was going to be 'Who is the only Met to record a five-inning save?' However, it would be weird if the answer, for two consecutive weeks, was Doug Sisk.
So, which Mets reliever, known to a different generation as 'the second spitter,' owns the most career saves of at least three innings in franchise history?
Bonus question: This is a straight over/under: Is the largest margin of victory in a game in which a Met recorded a save over or under 14 1/2 runs?
(I'll reply to the correct answers in the comments.)
(Top photo of Kodai Senga: Justin Edmonds / Getty Images)