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Three Mets who could make their first All-Star team in 2021

By Michael Calascione |
JUPITER, FLORIDA - MARCH 01: New York Mets stand during the National Anthem prior to the spring training game against the Miami Marlins at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on March 01, 2021 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
JUPITER, FLORIDA - MARCH 01: New York Mets stand during the National Anthem prior to the spring training game against the Miami Marlins at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on March 01, 2021 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
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BALTIMORE, MD – SEPTEMBER 02: Michael Conforto #30 of the New York Mets celebrates with Dominic Smith #2 after a victory against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 2, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD – SEPTEMBER 02: Michael Conforto #30 of the New York Mets celebrates with Dominic Smith #2 after a victory against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 2, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /

The New York Mets franchise has a lot of buzz around it as we head towards the beginning of the 2021 season. That buzz is rightfully justified as this team is very well equipped to not only contend for the playoffs but also contend for a National League title.

The offseason that the Mets have had is one of the best I have seen and the team that will soon take the field at the beginning of April will be the best team they have had on paper since 2006.

Paper teams are only as good as the paper they are written on and in order for the Mets to have the type of season all fans think they can have they must go play the games. Additionally, the players need to play well and with playing well comes potential All-Star game selections and appearances.

With the way this Mets team is constructed, they could be heavily represented this coming July down in Atlanta.

This Mets team has some players that have made the All-Star game in the past and could make it again in 2021 if things break right. Players like Jacob deGrom, Michael Conforto, Francisco Lindor, and Marcus Stroman are a few players that have been to the Mid-Summer Classic in the past that would be most fans guess as to who could represent the team in Mid-July.

Those are all good guesses but what about the players who have never made the All-Star team before but who could be a first-time representative for the New York Mets down in Atlanta in 2021?

PHILADELPHIA, PA – SEPTEMBER 16: Dominic Smith #2 of the New York Mets bats against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on September 16, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Mets beat the Phillies 5-4. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – SEPTEMBER 16: Dominic Smith #2 of the New York Mets bats against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on September 16, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Mets beat the Phillies 5-4. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

Mets First Time Selection: Dominic Smith

I think everyone would pick Dominic Smith given the choice to select a first-time All-Star to represent the Mets this July.

Conceivably Dom would have made it last year after having the best year of his career and one of the best offensive seasons in the National League.

Through 50 games last year Dom Smith hit to a slash line of .316/.377/.616/.993 with 32 extra-base hits and 42 RBIs. He was top ten in Slugging Percentage, OPS, doubles, and RBIs which led him to finish in the top 15 in MVP voting for 2020.

Over the last few years, Dominic Smith has been improving his offensive abilities and 2020 turned out to be his breakout year. There was a time in the recent past that Mets fans didn’t know if Dom would be able to stick around especially with Pete Alonso knocking on the door.

It turned out that Dom had undiagnosed sleep apnea and that was playing a large role in his subpar performances early in his Mets career. He got that fixed and it has been all positive returns since and it has been a joy to watch.

If Dom duplicates the type of season, he had in 2020 in 2021 he will put himself in an excellent position to make his first All-Star appearance.

Dom will most likely not get in as a starter due to left field having a couple of exceptionally good candidates including Christian Yelich, but Dom should certainly make it as a reserve, but a selection is a selection regardless of how you make it.

DETROIT, MI – SEPTEMBER 20: Carlos Carrasco #59 of the Cleveland Indians pitches against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on September 20, 2020, in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – SEPTEMBER 20: Carlos Carrasco #59 of the Cleveland Indians pitches against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on September 20, 2020, in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /

Mets First Time Selection: Carlos Carrasco

One of the newcomers to the Mets this offseason, Carlos Carrasco is a player who has surprisingly never made an All-Star team in his career.

Since 2014 Carrasco holds a 3.41 ERA over 1004 innings pitched and over 1100 strikeouts, which is particularly good. Outside of 2019, Carrasco has never had an ERA above 3.63 since 2014.

With all that being said I think Carlos Carrasco is poised to make his first All-Star appearance of his career this year.

Similar to Dom Smith, Carrasco probably was on his way to make the team in 2020 if it was a full 162 game season. He was pitching to a 2.91 ERA over 68 innings with 82 strikeouts in 2020. For comparison, Jacob deGrom pitched to a 2.38 ERA over the same number of innings and 22 more strikeouts and he is the best pitcher in baseball.

I think that if Carrasco can stay healthy and make his starts, he will be poised to have a very good season pitching in the National League where there will no DH in 2021 barring a last-minute agreement by MLB and the MLBPA.

I would even go as far as to say that even if there is a last-minute agreement to bring the DH to the NL for the 2021 season that Carrasco is still poised to make his first All-Star team in 2021. That is how good I think he can be this year with the New York Mets franchise.

Mar 9, 2021; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Trevor May (65) delivers a pitch during the fourth inning of a spring training game between the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Mary Holt-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 9, 2021; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Trevor May (65) delivers a pitch during the fourth inning of a spring training game between the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Mary Holt-USA TODAY Sports /

Mets First Time Selection: Trevor May

The Met that will be the answer to a trivia question as he was the first free agent Steve Cohen and the new Mets regime signed has never made an All-Star game in his career.

The last three years for May have been quite good, pitching to an ERA of 3.19 over 113 innings with 153 strikeouts. He worked with Jeremy Hefner when both of them were in Minnesota together and it paid significant dividends.

Hefner helped May become a great reliever after he had Tommy John surgery. May was able to lean on Hefner about a lot of things from his TJS recovery to how he should approach hitters to be able to get to the next level as a reliever.

Now the two are back together in Queens and I believe the progress will only continue. The Mets need a guy or two step-up while Seth Lugo is recovering from bone chips being removed from his pitching elbow and Trevor May is the guy everyone is looking to.

If May continues to pitch as he has over the last three years, then he should be a good candidate to make his first All-Star team.

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It’s not going to be easy as the National League has many good relievers including two on his own team in Lugo and Edwin Diaz, yes, I am a big believer in Edwin Diaz. Nevertheless, May has the makeup and the stuff to surprise some and make it to Atlanta this summer for the Mid-Summer Classic.

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