sportingnews
The New York Mets are having a rough 2026 season, as the team has really struggled, going 40-57 through the first half of the year.
Even after a win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday, the Mets are very likely to be major trade deadline sellers this season.
This isn't an ideal season at all, but that doesn't mean there can't be individual honors for the Mets this season.
Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter is predicting that Nolan McLean will win an MLB award that might've seemed like his to lose at the start of the year, but now it's unfortunately a long shot to come true.
It's a long shot for Nolan McLean's prediction to come true for Mets "New York Mets: Nolan McLean wins NL Rookie of the Year," Reuter predicts.
"JJ Wetherholt and Sal Stewart are his biggest competition right now, but McLean could be the Mets firsr ROY winner since Pete Alonso in 2019." McLean's 2025 season, with eight starts and a 2.06 ERA, was good enough that he came into the season as the leading NL Rookie of the Year candidate.
But now, McLean winning this award, as Reuter predicts, looks to be a bit of a long shot.
Across 19 starts in his full rookie season, McLean has a 3.52 ERA with a 6-6 record.
The Mets right-hander has been good, but compared to some of his top competition for the NL Rookie of the Year award, he might be a bit of a long shot.
So far this season, McLean has 1.3 bWAR.
Comparatively, St.
Louis Cardinals rookie JJ Wetherholt has 4.0 bWAR thanks to 14 home runs, a .262 batting average, and a .768 OPS with good defense at a premium position.
Stewart, the Cincinnati Reds infielder, has 1.6 bWAR.
While not as much as Wetherholt, it's 0.3 more than McLean, and his 19 homers, .257 average, and .814 OPS with a 120 OPS+, plus an All-Star nod, give him a real chance to be the NL award-winner.
For as good as McLean has been for a 24-year-old pitcher, his odds to win the NL Rookie of the Year don't look nearly as good as they would've been had he been pitching as well as he did in 2025.
Wetherholt is the likely front-runner right now, and Stewart might even be a step ahead of McLean this season.
Unfortunately, it might be a long shot for this prediction to come true for the Mets right-hander.
More MLB news: - Cardinals sign JJ Wetherholt to eight-year, $112.5 million contract extension - Why Astros are trading Lance McCullers to the Brewers - Mason Miller shares honest thoughts on Yankees trade rumors - Red Sox trade rumor involving All-Star shortstop includes Yankees, Braves - Phillies could get involved with Mason Miller again after trade rumor.