Sal Stewart took home NL Rookie of the Year honors on Monday night, while New York Mets outfielder Carson Benge came in second. JJ Wetherholt of the Cardinals finished in third. Stewart earned 20 first-place votes (170 0verall), while Benge earned seven first-place votes (107 overall). Wetherholt, who started strong but missed the last month of the season with injury, finished with three first-place votes (99 overall).

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Benge was one of the best outfielders and rookies in the league in 2026. Among qualified rookies, Benge ranked first in hits (168), fourth in batting average (.282) and runs scored (86), fifth in home runs (20), eighth in RBIs (65), tenth in OBP (.346), eleventh in OPS (.776) and twelfth in SLG (.430). He broke the Mets’ all-time rookie hits leader set by Pete Alonso in 2019, and became the first Met to reach the 20-HR, 20-SB mark as a rookie.

While Benge was impressive at the plate after a rough first month, he shined brightest in the outfield at times. He recorded the hardest throw of 2026 at 103.9 mph, third-hardest in the Statcast Era. Benge also had the fifth-best arm strength in the majors at 96.6 mph. He was the best in baseball in fielder runs (+7), with Jackson Merrill and Nathan Lukes trailing at +6.

His 4.3 fWAR was third-best among qualified rookies. Only Kevin McGonigle (5.4) and JJ Wetherholt (4.6) led him, while Benge’s 118 wRC+ beat both Stewart (112) and Wetherholt (101).

Nolan McLean finished fourth and received 70 total votes (six second-place and three third-place) after posting a 3.16 ERA in his first full big league season. McLean posted a 12-10 record, striking out 194 in 31 starts. His 3.5 fWAR was third-best among qualified rookies behind Cleveland’s Parker Messick (4.9) and Boston’s Payton Tolle (4.1). Meanwhile, A.J. Ewing finished ninth and a single fifth-place vote in his 120-game stint with the Mets, hitting.252/.324/.376 and breaking the Mets’ all-time rookie stolen base record with 25.

Stewart was no slouch, leading NL rookies with 32 home runs and slashing .263/.330/.457 across 162 games.

No Mets rookie has won the Rookie of the Year Award since 2019, when Alonso took home the honors. RHP Kodai Senga came in second in 2023 when Corbin Carroll was named the unanimous winner.

Kevin McGonigle of the Detroit Tigers won AL Rookie of the Year, beating out Payton Tolle of the Boston Red Sox and Parker Messick of the Cleveland Guardians.