However, that doesn't mean it's all bad between now and October. You don't have to aimlessly count down to the NFL season. Here are three things I'm excited to see more of from this year's Met team and why you should be looking forward to it too.
1. Carson Benge and A.J Ewing
Okay, so that's two in one reason, but it goes without saying that these young outfielders have been one of the few bright spots on the Mets. I think it's safe to say this now, but the Mets, for the first time since Pete Alonso, have developed not one, but two solid position players that look like they fit right in at the Big League level.
At just 21 years old, A.J Ewing is second on the Mets behind Juan Soto in WAR at 2.1. Whether or not you read into that stat, you can't deny his other offensive numbers. In 60 games, he's batting .276 with an OPS of .779 and has even shown some flashes of power with seven home runs and ten doubles.
What made Ewing shoot up the prospect rankings was his hitting, plate discipline, and speed. We've seen some of that so far with ten stolen bases and 22 walks. While he hasn't been putting up the numbers we saw in the Minors, as a 21-year-old making his first appearance in the Majors, the Mets have to be more than impressed with Ewing.
Carson Benge made the roster on Opening Day. He got off to a horrid start, batting just .189 in April, and there were talks of sending him back down to the Minors. He's shaken that bad start off since. He batted .306 in May, and July is shaping up to be his best month yet.
He's batting .288 and has an OPS of .809 in July, his best of his short career. He's also stolen five bases, driven in six runs, and collected seven walks as the 23-year-old outfielder is starting to find himself at the plate.
This is beyond encouraging to see. The Mets haven't had a first-round position player draft pick pan out in what feels like forever, but it was probably Brandon Nimmo way back in 2011. With Ewing, Benge, and, of course, Juan Soto manning the outfield, the Mets have a potential core to build around who are all under 30 years old. We shall see what the team does in the offseason, but I'm hoping that the Mets don't continue to sign aging players and put an albatross around their neck and payroll.
2. Young Guns
When the season began, not many would have been surprised if you told them Nolan McLean would be having a good first full MLB season. While he's hit a couple bumps in the road in May, as the summer continues, McLean looks more and more like an ace with each start.
After putting up an ERA of 6.10 in May, many fans wondered if McLean was turning into a bust after a stellar 2025 campaign. Not so; in June, he pitched to the tune of a 2.79 ERA in 29 innings, collecting 36 strikeouts along the way. He's improved on that in July and should be considered for NL Pitcher of the Month.
In three starts this month, he has an ERA of 1.00 in 18 innings pitched. He has struck out 22 while allowing just five walks. In three of his last four starts, he didn't allow an earned run, and in that span has allowed just two earned runs.
While McLean's success surprised few, Christian Scott's emergence might've caught some off guard. Scott was coming off Tommy John and hadn't pitched in nearly two seasons. The Mets traded Brandon Sproat during the offseason, and Jonah Tong has taken a step back in 2026; those two things are tempered by the fact that Christian Scott seems to not only be good, but could even turn into an ace.
In 13 starts this season, Scott has an ERA of 2.87 along with 72 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.22. Like McLean, he's enjoyed a recent run of dominance. He hasn't allowed a run in his last two starts and in those 12 innings has given up just one walk.
2026 might've been a year to forget for the Met organization, but in hindsight it might be the year where the Mets discovered they have two young aces for years to come. Not a bad foundation to build around in 2027 and beyond.
3. The Trade Deadline
An odd thing to look forward to, but as a prospect hugger, I'm always intrigued when the Mets are in the business of adding top prospects rather than sending them away. Of course, usually when a team is doing the latter, it means they're competitive going into the pennant drive. Taking a look at the MLB standings, virtually every AL team not named the Angels, A's, or Royals has a realistic shot at taking a Wild Card spot. This is great news for the Mets as the NL is just as competitive and wide open. The Mets will join those AL teams along with the Giants, Rockies, and likely the Reds as some of the top sellers at the deadline.
An odd thing to look forward to, but as a prospect hugger, I'm always intrigued when the Mets are in the business of adding top prospects rather than sending them away. Of course, usually when a team is doing the latter, it means they're competitive going into the pennant drive. Taking a look at the MLB standings, virtually every AL team not named the Angels, A's, or Royals has a realistic shot at taking a Wild Card spot. This is great news for the Mets as the NL is just as competitive and wide open. The Mets will join those AL teams along with the Giants, Rockies, and likely the Reds as some of the top sellers at the deadline.
There will be more buyers, so the Mets are at an advantage. Another edge the Mets have is pitching. An ultra-rich prize in any deadline, the Mets have starting pitching in Freddy Peralta, and relief pitching like A.J. Minter, Luke Weaver, and Brooks Raley. With a pretty hefty lineup of star players but with bloated contracts, the Mets are the most interesting team at the deadline in my opinion.
How aggressive will they be in trading players away? Will they be willing to eat a bulk of the money on bad contracts to obtain higher-rated prospects? They did this in 2023 with Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, and the results were Ryan Clifford, Drew Gilbert, and Luisangel Acuna.
Two weeks until the trade deadline, and it seems very likely the Mets' active roster and their top-30 prospect list will look very different by August 4th.
13 comments:
Drew Gilbert is playing a lot more than I thought for SFG. But his WAR is 0.1, so it seems we’ve lost little there. He was, at least, a trade chip.
Scott only 10 earned runs in his last 40 innings…and lots of Ks…that is truly exciting. FOUR ROY candidates? Benge, Ewing, Scott, McLean. Have the Mets ever had 4 rookies simultaneously as good as these?
I think McLean has 35 scoreless innings going
Can't forget the current top hitter in the NL
SOTO
Mack brings up a good point. I will go one further…combined, Scott’s last 8 outings plus McLean’s last 7?
7-3, 2.23, 100Ks in 81 innings.
Seaver and Koosman are back.
Since you guys brought up the lack of first base prospects last week, do y’all want to go after Rafael Devers if the Giants sweeten the deal enough, of signing him until 37 turns you off? I have to say that I’m torn on that. Just too many years, seven more…
He is owed $32MM per year, Alonso money, for seven more years until 37. I struggled with it and don’t expect the Giants to give up two top prospects to take him, so I decided to pass. That’s alot of money and alot of years, but he would fix a problem. Then, I see the Mets too left handed….
I'm sort of sick of old men that go directly to the IL after arriving
sit down Soto and talk first base... he's a team player that doesn't want to get hurt... explain how the career of that guy in Philly has been extended with a similar move... see if he agrees that a good target for him to become the first baseman would be OD 2029... if he agrees, piecemeal 2027/2028...
They ought to make a movie: No Baseball for Old Men.
Especially hitters.
Meaning that the hitters fade faster because unlike in the days of AARON and MAYS, the much higher average pitching velocity overwhelms the slowing-with-age fast twitch response time. They would have declined faster and more sharply if they were playing nowadays.
Pitchers also fade faster because hitters have longer distance ballistic missile capabilities than the did prior to the last 20 years or so. Seaver would have faded quicker facing musclemen
Don't agree. Seaver was a pitcher and would have made necessary adjustments.
Tom was a truly great pitcher, but less so his last 5 years. He gave up a pretty high level of homers late in his career, but he was in an era of 50% of homers that occur today. He pitched in an era of far fewer home runs. I think in those 5 years, if they were today, he would have had huge challenges with homers.
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