Francisco Lindor is making strides toward recognition.
The unofficial leader of the Mets is a National League shortstop and is a significant contender in the early voting for the All-Star Game.
Remarkably, Lindor hasn’t participated in an All-Star game since joining the Mets, yet he’s racked up over a million votes, more than 400,000 ahead of Dodgers’ Mookie Betts, who’s in second.
Trea Turner from the Phillies holds the third spot.
Unless something unexpected occurs, Lindor is set to make his first All-Star appearance since 2019 and his fifth overall.
This season has been good for him—he’s finished in the NL MVP’s top 10 three times before, though July honors have eluded him.
This year feels different. Lindor’s contributions are impressive, featuring an .828 OPS, 14 home runs, and a .279 batting average with 13 stolen bases in just his first 70 games.
The Mets have a couple of other potential All-Star candidates, but it looks like Pete Alonso and Juan Soto are on the outside looking in right now.
In the recent voting update, Alonso was second among NL first basemen, trailing the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman by about 240,000 votes.
The rivalry is intriguing. Alonso showcases more power, while Freeman boasts a .332 batting average as of Monday.
Soto is currently fourth among NL outfielders with 625,618 votes, behind Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong with 1,126,119, teammate Kyle Tucker at 704,740, and Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernández with 685,553.
Among other Mets, Francisco Alvarez ranked third among catchers, while Jeff McNeill was fifth among second basemen. Mark Vientos stood sixth at third base, Sterling Marte was fifth in designated hitters, Brandon Nimmo placed tenth in the outfield, and Tyrone Taylor was thirteenth in the outfield.
The first phase of voting wraps up on June 26, after which the top two vote-getters at each position and the leading six outfielders will move on to the next round.
Brooks Raley, who was re-signed in April following Tommy John surgery, is slated to begin rehabilitation assignments with Low A St. Lucie on Tuesday.
The Mets, having lost AJ Minter and Danny Young this season, are in need of reinforcements in the bullpen, hoping Raley will be ready to contribute as soon as he’s fit for action.
However, it’s likely he won’t be back for a while, as he just underwent surgery last May.
“He’s returning from a significant operation,” said baseball president David Stearns last week. “This isn’t a brief rehab assignment. We need to go through a full spring training ramp-up to ensure he’s really ready… You might see him again in about 30 days.”
Raley, who just turned 37, has had a solid track record with the Mets, posting a 2.48 ERA over 74 games in the last two seasons.
