Each Met Case For Rookie of the Year, And Why Benge Should Win

The Mets have two clear candidates for rookie of the year in Carson Benge and Nolan McLean. As much as I would love to say that the Mets will dominate all the placings in the ROTY ballot, JJ Wetherholt, Sal Stewart and TJ Rumfield will be their true competition.

I will start by breaking down Benge and McLean and then give flowers to the other Mets rookies.

The Mets Rookie of the Year Contenders

Carson Benge

I am going to start off by saying that I think Carson Benge should win the rookie of the year award, and I will try to explain this without bias. Benge is the clear most well-rounded hitter of this rookie class. TJ Rumfield leads in AVG and OBP, but has the benefit of playing in Coors Field. He also did not come close to even 20 home runs. None of his counting stats stand out, while Benge ended his season with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases. Sal Stewart has the home runs and RBIs, but also has the benefit of playing in Great American Ball Park. He also ended the season with less than 2.0 WAR (coming in at 1.9), and it would seem crazy to me for a player who had below-average overall production to get the award.

If we are sorting by fWAR JJ Wetherholt narrowly edges out Benge, but this brings up the question of how much second base defense should be valued. And at only 0.2 WAR higher than Benge, that lack of offensive production should, in my opinion, make him the fourth choice, let alone first.

Narratives and recency bias also can come to play with voting. Both Wetherholt and Stewart limped to the season finish line, while Benge ended with the hottest stretch of his season. Results-wise, Benge got better as the season went on, hitting over .300 across the last two months.

To me, the Rookie of the Year vote should go to the best all-around player. While Benge does not lead in any category among the top candidates except stolen bases, the other major hitter candidate has clear holes in their game. Benge is the most well-rounded rookie hitter by a large margin, showing off his five-tool profile, and he should win the ROTY award.

Nolan McLean

If Carson Benge does not win, Nolan McLean arguably should. He was by far the best rookie pitcher throwing 179.2 innings to a 3.16 ERA and 1.17 WHIP with 194 strikeouts. He did not cross the 180-inning mark or the 200-strikeout mark, both of which would have helped his case, but this is a rookie season that should easily garner votes across the board. It is possible this NL rookie class vote is split enough that McLean could get enough second-place votes to put him over the top.

Similar to Benge, McLean also ended his season strong. He pitched to a 2.61 ERA in the second half. His 6.10 ERA in May is likely what will rob him of the award, as his worst month after that was June at 2.79. But this was still a very impressive rookie season, and he will retain PPI eligibility until arbitration to hopefully place top three on a CY Young ballot.

The Other Mets Rookies

A.J. Ewing

A.J. Ewing does not have a real case for rookie of the year, but he had an incredible rookie season, especially factoring in how little time he spent in Triple-A. At 21 years old, he ended with a .700 OPS and showed off his absolutely elite center field defense. There were concerns about what his power would look like, but he ended up hitting 11 home runs in 120 games. That is a 15-home-run pace. His fWAR paced just shy of 3 WAR, while his bWAR paced just over 4 WAR. He set the Mets rookie stolen base record with 25 stolen bases, good for a 34 in a full season. In the later months, he took a step forward in his base running and was pacing around 45 stolen bases. His rookie season had its ups and downs, but he showed off incredible tools and athleticism, and he deserves his flowers.

Zac Thornton

Zac Thornton does not have the flashiest stuff. In many ways he is similar to David Peterson, but with better control. You probably feel more comfortable if he is the first or second player out of your depth, ready to make 20 starts rather than in the opening day rotation but he had a great rookie season throwing 84.1 innings to a 3.42 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. All of his expected stats from his FIP, xERA, SIERA, etc. as well as his pitch metrics do bring some sustainability questions (another David Peterson similarity) but whatever the future holds he can be proud of his 2026 performance.

Jonah Tong

I will be honest, when I started writing this, I completely forgot Jonah Tong was still a rookie this season. At only 30.2 innings, he is not even a Rookie of the Year consideration and his rookie year was very up and down. Toward the end of the season though, things seemed to really come together, and he put up some of his best starts of the season. If he continues to build upon that, he looks not only like a good depth piece, but someone who could force their way into the 2027 opening day rotation.

The Year of the Rookie

The Mets had many rookies come up this year, and while we can not take a deep dive into all of them, we wanted to briefly touch on each.

• Nick Morabito struggled when he first came up, and while he was below average the second time with an 83 WRC+, his .259 batting average was a marked improvement. If he can show he can play center field well enough, he could keep his 40-man spot as outfield depth for 2027.
• When Nate Lavender got the call to the majors, I would have been thrilled if he showed enough to be a second lefty in a Mets bullpen. He exceeded my expectations with his 1.66 ERA, 1.83 FIP, and 0.74 WHIP, with an incredible 32.9% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate. He looks like could be a leverage reliever as soon as next year.
• Jefry Yan had an entertaining up-and-down run with the Mets that included high highs, low lows, and an incredible celebration.
• The Mets tried Jonathan Pintaro in many different roles, some of which worked and some of which didn’t, but he flashed plus stuff as he tried to earn a roster spot for 2027.
• Chayce McDermott and Justin Hagenman both had pitched in the majors before but retained rookie eligibility into 2026 and had mixed results with the Mets. Hagenman, who spent much of 2026 injured, only spent 18 non-rehab days in the minors, so the Mets should retain his 2027 option.
• Matt Seelinger made his MLB debut, and while it did not go well, he can be proud to have finally made the majors.
• Dylan Ross and Guillo Zuñiga both pitched one scoreless inning.
• One interesting find was Jack Weisenburger, whom the Mets signed out of the Mexican League. He pitched 12.1 innings to a 2.13 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. He throws six pitches, including a plus slider, and generates both chase and whiff. He could be an interesting bullpen piece for 2027 and can be optioned next year.