Welcome back to the Mets Beat newsletter! Anthony DiComo has covered the Mets for MLB.com since 2007, including the past 16 seasons full-time on the beat. |
NEW YORK -- Much of the early Mets All-Star buzz has focused on Francisco Lindor, and for good reason. Even accounting for his recent downturn at the plate, Lindor compares favorably to the best shortstops in the National League. It was no surprise that he earned enough votes to become a finalist to start at that position. Yet the Mets have another player with perhaps an even better case to start. Unlike Lindor, Juan Soto has not ranked among the top three vote-getters at his position at any point of the balloting. But Soto’s recent surge at the plate -- he’s enjoying arguably the best calendar month of any position player in franchise history -- has him very much in the conversation to start for the NL in right field. The details of the balloting process also help his cause. Phase 2 of voting will begin at 12 p.m. ET Monday. Ballot totals will reset at that time, and fans will have 48 hours to vote up to once per day. That means Soto won’t be at a disadvantage compared to the five players who finished above him in Phase 1 balloting. • All you need to know about the 2025 All-Star Game In other words, Soto’s chances to start the All-Star Game are improving in much the same way as his bat. "It’s starting to happen,” Soto said earlier this week. “My swing, everything is going the right way. … Finally, the cold weather is gone, so I can have fun now.” |
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In Phase 1 of balloting, Soto received 1,490,489 votes, placing him sixth behind Pete Crow-Armstrong, Teoscar Hernández, Ronald Acuña Jr., Kyle Tucker and Andy Pages. All six advanced to Phase 2, as did two other Mets: Lindor, who earned the most votes of any NL shortstop, and Pete Alonso, who finished second at first base behind Freddie Freeman. It stands to reason that Soto, of all players, should fare better this time around. When Phase 1 began on June 4, Soto was batting .233 with a .799 OPS. He raised that OPS 100 points over the next 22 days, hitting five home runs over a five-game span from Saturday to Wednesday. If Soto can translate his improved production into an All-Star Game start, it would be the second overall -- and second straight -- of his career. Soto appeared as a reserve every year from 2021-23, before starting in right field for the American League last season. (He almost certainly would have started in 2020 as well, if the All-Star Game had taken place that summer.) In any event, Soto has positioned himself well for a trip to Atlanta -- something that may have seemed unlikely early this season, given the sluggish start to his Mets career. “Back then, he didn’t get too low,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Right now, he’s not too high. That for me, and for all of us, is pretty impressive.” |
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MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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How many teams have more NL East titles than the Mets? A) One B) Two C) Three D) Four |
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FROM ONE SHORTSTOP TO ANOTHER |
José Reyes, who made four All-Star teams with the Mets and started one of those games for the NL, knows a thing or two about what an All-Star shortstop should look like. So it carried some weight this week when Reyes, during a visit to Citi Field, said that Lindor “deserves to be there.” “I’m very happy that he leads all the voting for the All-Star Game,” Reyes said. Lindor finished Phase 1 of balloting with 2,296,443 votes, tops among shortstops in either league. Unlike Soto, who has spent June on an upward trajectory, Lindor has slumped over the past few weeks. But he built enough of a cushion with his April and May performances that he still stands a solid chance of outlasting runner-up Mookie Betts in the second phase of voting. Lindor is vying to make his first All-Star Game as a Met (after four straight appearances with Cleveland from 2016-19) and his first career start. Reyes pointed to Lindor’s recent struggles as further evidence of his importance to the Mets, saying: “When he goes, the team goes.” “Everything he does is unbelievable,” Reyes said. “He’s a superstar. I watch him play. The good thing that he does, he plays the game with joy. He smiles. He seems like he’s having fun out there. One thing about Lindor is he can go 5-for-5 or 0-for-5, and he’s going to be the same guy on the field. So that’s something that you really appreciate.” |
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C) Three The Braves (18), Phillies (11) and Pirates (nine, before moving to the NL Central in 1994) have more NL East titles than the Mets (six). The only other franchises to win NL East titles are the Nationals/Expos (five), Cardinals (three) and Cubs (two). The Marlins have never won one. |
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