Reese Kaplan -- Who Has Been the Biggest Mets Surprise in 2025?

If you want to get into a good debate with your fellow Mets fan friends, ask who is the biggest surprise of the 2025 season thus far?  Now bear in mind surprises can be both good and bad.  Let’s call out the positives first.

The Good

Pete Alonso had for him an off year in 2024.  There was the long negotiating process during which there didn’t appear to be much of a market for a guy perceived as a one-dimensional player and that the Mets were bidding pretty much against themselves in hoping to bring the Polar Bear back to Queens.  With the acquisition of Juan Soto it seemed somewhat less urgent to get Alonso back into the lineup, but the prospect of having two major long ball threats batting back-to-back was also enticing.  

The Mets seemingly grossly overpaid to get Alonso to return with a lopsided contract that not only had an opt-out after the 2025 season but also the heftier portion of the pay coming this year.  Who in the world would have predicted that Alonso in mid June is leading baseball in RBIs while also contributing a 40+ home run pace?  Even stranger is the fact that Alonso is keeping his batting average at a never before seen .285+ level.

Clay Holmes being transitioned from star reliever to regular starter was a major roll of the dice, but it would seem that the hurler and the front office indeed knew what they were doing.  Holmes is sporting a 7-3 record and a 2.95 ERA.  Even the rosiest forecasters likely did not have these kinds of numbers on their spreadsheets.

Griffin Canning was very much a “filler” type of acquisition and the assumption was he was another warm body to help the club after the likes of Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas.  Little did anyone know both of these starting pitchers would be down for months with injuries and that development pushed Canning front and center.  

Having pitched very poorly for the Angels in 2024 no one really knew what to expect.  No one could have fantasized he’d be sporting a 6-2 record with a 2.90 ERA.  In fact, he’s doing so well you have to wonder who goes down for the count when Montas and Manaea return?

We all wanted a healthy Kodai Senga after his long absence in 2024 after being brilliant in 2023.  No one, however, envisioned that his ghost fork would put him atop the ERA ratings for starting pitchers.  As long as he stays healthy, the Mets are going to win a large number of his starts.

In the bullpen Edwin Diaz has been virtually unhittable for most of the season.  In 26 games thus far he is 3-0 with a 2.39 ERA, 14 saves, a WHIP of just 0.949 and he’s whiffed 40 in the 26.1 innings he has pitched.  Yes, we’ve seen the good Edwin Diaz in the past but we’ve also seen him falter after missing a year with injury. 

Reed Garrett has never been a major type of relief pitcher but his record in 2025 has everyone wondering what indeed has gotten into the man.  In 28 games he has a 1-2 record, but look past that metric to see he is sporting a 0.99 ERA for the 2025 season.  Oh yeah, he has a pair of saves, too.

Huascar Brazoban had put up some very nice numbers in Florida but was highly uneven while being a member of the Mets for part of the 2024 season.  The 5.14 ERA was highly out of character and you had to wonder what role, if any, he would have in 2025.  No one foresaw the 1.72 ERA, the 3-1 record nor the WHIP of 0.927.  That’s not bad for a guy at age 35.

The Bad

Well, you don’t need a full dose of stats to understand that the following pair of players are not performing as expected:

• Francisco Alvarez
• Mark Vientos (pre-injury)

The Others Not Really on Either List

Francisco Lindor has been terrific but it’s not as if he hasn’t been in the past either, so he doesn’t really hit the “surprise” level of accolade.

Juan Soto has recently started picking up after his glacial start to the 2025 season, so he’s not quite on either side.

Brett Baty looked as if he might make the “Good” side of the groupings but his offense of late has fallen off considerably.  Right now he’s neither Good nor Bad — just mediocre.

Starting pitchers Tylor Megill and David Peterson are acceptable in the 4th and 5th roles but if Paul Blackburn has another start like his first one then Megill in particular might be on thin ice as a starting pitcher. 

Starling Marte, injured Jesse Winker and Tyrone Taylor are all on that middle ground as well.  Throw in Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo, too.