NY Mets: Simulating 8 years into the future with MLB The Show 21

San Diego Studio’s MLB The Show game has always been a favorite of mine since the glory days of the New York Mets David Wright gracing the cover in 2007. In honor of the MLB The Show 21 and the near conclusion of the 2021 MLB regular season, I have put in the effort of reporting the results of simulating the Mets franchise 8 years into the future, to the year 2029.

Just to give you a taste of how accurate in prediction this game can be take a look at Pete Alonso’s 2021 statistics as we approach the end of the season compared with his simulated statistics for the 2021 MLB season in the MLB the Show game:

Real-life 2021 through September: .260 BA, 35 HR, 89 RBI

MLB 21 The Show simulated 2021 season statistics: .257 BA, 40 HR and 112 RBI

Let’s take a look into the glass ball and predict the future with this game starting with the year 2022.  Find out who stays loyal, who wins the hardware, how the team performs as a whole, and ultimately whether the Mets win a World Series with this MLB The Show 21 New York Mets franchise mode simulation.

Notable Pre-2022 season in-game trades and free agency:

June 20th, 2021, Mets trade 26-year-old 73 overall B potential 2B Luis Guillorme (last year on contract, ~$500k but still three arb years ahead), to the Yankees for 37-year-old, 70 overall, A potential LF Brett Gardner (2 years at 2 million a year left on the contract).

July 18th Mets make blockbuster move to acquire 25-year-old 78 overall A potential CF Kyle Lewis for SS Shervyen Newton, 20 years old, 64 overall, B potential.

Note* Player potential ratings are done on an A-D scale, with an A-level potential player expected to eventually reach an overall rating of 90-99 by their age 29 or 30 season (their peak).

Notable Free agency

The Mets sign sp, 86 overall, 35-year-old Corey Kluber 1 year 18.9 mill

Mets lose 90 overall 28-year-old Noah Syndergaard in free agency to the texas rangers, he signs 6 years/23 million dollar a year deal

Mets sign sp Eduardo Rodriguez to a 2-year deal worth 15.7 million dollars a year

Jonatha Villar signs with 2 year deal with CWS

Not surprising to lose Syndergaard here and it actually makes sense, see him going back to his home state of Texas. Eduardo Rodriguez is a solid replacement.

Here’s what the 2022 starting lineup, rotation, and bullpen shapes to be:

Starters

Starting pitching rotation

deGrom, 99
Kluber, 86
Carrasco, 85
Eduardo Rodriguez, 81
David Peterson, 79

Player ratings are done on a 1-99 scale. Clearly, deGrom’s excellence is still being recognized and he hasn’t started to decline yet one bit. There’s one name that missing here in the rotation and that is Marcus Stroman. It is surprising to me too. The game favors young players, as it should because they have longer and more promising futures. Take a look now at what the 2022 bullpen shapes up to be:

Bullpen

Lrp 79 Walker

Lrp 79 Stroman

Mrp 78 Betances

Mrp 72 Luis Avilan

Mrp 72 Shane Greene

Su 83 Lugo

Su 82 May

Cp 85 Diaz

People might be wondering where Aaron Loup is. Unfortunately, the game disrespected him and maybe due to his age or a stigma towards slow throwing pitchers, he was left out with a 70 overall rating. He’s probably floating in the minors somewhere on the veterans minimum.

And now for the offense:

Lineup

2B McNeil 89

DH Donovan Solano 77

LF Smith 84

1B Alonso 88

RF Conforto 87

SS Lindor 91

CF Kyle Lewis 79

3B J.D. Davis 80

C James McCann 84

The first thing to address here. The Mets did not sign Javier Baez.

Note* The game disrespects Brandon Nimmo with a 74 overall rating. He is a depth piece, presumably a platoon bat against right-handed pitching.

Mets top prospect(s)

Brett Baty, 70 overall third baseman, A potential

Mets lose A potential catcher Francisco Alvarez somehow to the Reds in a trade. He is currently 73 overall and I will continue to check in on him to see how his career plays out. I’d go ahead and simulate at this point to the middle of the season and here’s who got recognized for their great play at the all-star break:

Mets 2022 All-Stars and the team’s season results

Jacob deGrom 11-4, 125.1 ip, 131 strikeouts, 2.66 era, 1.10 whip

Edwin Diaz 1-0, 35.1 ip, 44 strikeouts, 1.02 era, 1.10 whip, 30 saves

Francisco lindor 317 ab, 16 hr, 63 rbi, 6 sb, .278 avg

Dom smith 309 ab, 20 hr, 47 rbi, 3 sb, .317 avg

Skipping ahead to the end of the regular season because there are several more years I would like to cover here’s how the Mets season finished out, and everything else:

The Mets win the NL East with a 102-60 record (.630) and will take on the Cardinals in the division series!! The series is a breeze for the Mets as they sweep the Cardinals and look forward to playing the Dodgers in the NLCS. The Mets play the Dodgers in a competitive series and take the series 4-3. Believe it or not, the Mets will appear in the 2022 October classic. Against who else but cross-town rivals the New York Yankees. The Mets fall to the Yankees in a five-game series in the first Subway Series World Series since the year 2000.

Now for the glory, awards season. Jacob deGrom finishes third in the NL MVP race, ultra-impressive especially for a pitcher with a 19-5 record, 2.48 ERA and 241 strikeouts. Carlos Carrasco finishes second for the NL Cy Young award with a 20-9 record, a 3.11 ERA, and 182 strikeouts. With those stats, deGrom runs away with the NL Cy Young award, the third of his career. The Mets also have some gold glove winners, pitcher deGrom adds another trophy to his case, Jeff McNeil for 2B and Lindor for SS. Lindor also takes the NL Silver Slugger award, an impressive bounce back from his 2021 season. Despite the Mets losing the World Series, Jeff McNeil takes the World Series MVP award with .362, 3 hrs, and 8 RBIs in the series.

Mets 2022 award season

Jacob deGrom in third for NL MVP, 19-5, 2.48, 241 strikeouts

deGrom wins NL Cy Young award

deGrom wins NL P gold glove

McNeil wins 2B NL gold glove

Lindor wins NL SS gold glove

Lindor wins NL SS silver slugger

Carrasco in second for NL Cy Young award, 20-9, 3.11, 182 strikeouts

McNeil in third for NL batting title

McNeil wins postseason MVP with .362, 3 hrs, and 8 RBIs

Pre 2023 offseason trades and free agency

Legendary slugger Albert Pujols is inducted into the baseball HOF

The Mets trade declining SP Marcus Stroman to the white sox for CP Andy Gowdy, a computer-generated prospect.

The Mets are unable to keep Edwin Diaz as he signs a 5 year/ 5 million dollars a year contract with the Boston Red Sox. Brandon Nimmo also walks on a 1 year, 5 million dollar deal with White Sox.

Here’s what the starting lineup, rotation, and bullpen for the 2023 season shapes out to be:

Starters

2B McNeil 89
3B J.D. Davis 82
LF Smith 87
1B Alonso 91
RF Conforto 87
SS Lindor 94
CF Kyle Lewis 80
C James McCann 85
DH Jose Peraza 80 overall

And now for the rotation and bullpen:

Rotation

Jacob deGrom 99
David Peterson 84
Eduardo Rodriguez 84
Carrasco 83
Kluber 83

Bullpen

Lrp Taijuan walker 82

Lrp Lucchesi 80

Lrp Jordan Yamamoto 77

Mrp Betances 75

Mrp Gsellmen 74

Su Trevor May 82

Su Shane Greene 75

Cp Lugo 83

Notice Walker makes the veteran move to the bullpen, and David Peterson finally begins to take off.

2023 All-Stars, team’s finish and award winners

The Mets have two All-Stars named at the break pitcher Jacob deGrom, 9-4, 123.2 ip 146 strikeouts, 2.62 era, 1.02 whip; and Dominic Smith, 313 ab, 25 hr, 57 rbi, 2 sb, .307 avg.

Skipping ahead to the end of the regular season, the Mets finish above .500 at 84-78 (.519) but fail to make the playoffs in a competitive NL East division. Former Mets top prospect, now with the Reds finishes the year unimpressively with 259 ab, 1 hr, 19 rbi, .224 avg.

The Mets trade Carlos Carrasco to the Braves for catcher Robert Hanley, another computer-generated prospect.

The Yankees defeat the Phillies in the 2023 October Classic for their second World Series title in a row.

On the bright side, DeGrom, now surely an inner-circle Hall of Famer wins his fourth career NL Cy Young award with stat lines of 18-5, 2.77 era, and 263 strikeouts.

On to 2024…

2024 Trades and free agency

Robinson Cano who never recovered from his PED suspension in 2021 finally retires and stops collecting paychecks. Despite the poor end to his career, he and Miguel Cabrera are inducted into the Hall of Fame.

In free agency the Mets sign veteran slugger Brandon Belt to 1 yr/3.9 mill contract. The Mets flip one of their previously acquired computer-generated prospects for catcher David Dahl, previously with the Yankees.

Here’s what the 2024 lineup, rotation, and bullpen shakes out to be:

Starters

2B McNeil 88

3B J.D. Davis 85

LF Smith 88

1B Alonso 91

RF Conforto 87

CF Kyle Lewis 84

SS Lindor 95

C James McCann 84

DH David Dahl 81

Notable depth

OF Khalil lee 75 overall

Finally, Khalil Lee makes a natural, not out of injury-depleted desperation, rise to the show. The Mets still are keeping top prospects, 3B Brett Baty, 74 overall, and SS Ronny Mauricio 72 overall in the minors, not an issue when McNeil and Davis are hitting one and two in the lineup and Lindor is one of the best players in the game with a 95 overall rating. Catcher Francisco Alvarez, still with the Reds, is now a 77 overall, and as expected, progressing the fastest out of all the 2021 Mets top prospects.

Now for the rotation:

deGrom 99

Peterson 88

Rodriguez 85

Lucchesi 82

Taijuan Walker 81

With the departure of Carlos Carrasco following his being traded to the Atlanta Braves, Taijuan Walker makes his return to the rotation. DeGrom is clearly still, in the year 2024 the best pitcher in the game.

And now for the bullpen:

LRP Sean Reid-Foley 74

LRP Thomas Szapucki 73

MRP Gsellman 77

MRP Miguel Castro 72

MRP daniel Zamora 59

Su Trevor may 82

Cp Lugo 83

Everything else has been going great, but this seems to be one area that will need management’s focus, now in the second year since the departure of Edwin Diaz to the Red Sox.

The season progresses towards the all-star break and the Mets, considering Lindor is the shortstop of the long term future, decide to trade highly-touted SS prospect, Ronny Mauricio, to the Reds for catcher Carson Kelly, who is having a fine year hitting .317 at the plate with 5 home runs by this point. The Mets then turn around and trade Carson Kelly again for more prospects, a move that makes sense in the now and the future considering Lindor’s contract.

2024 All-Stars and team finish

The All-Star break hits and the biggest surprise of them all, Joey Lucchesi is named an all-star with a 7-1 record, 111.1 ip, 102 strikeouts, 2.18 era, 1.01 whip. Also named all-stars are 3B J.D. Davis, 332 ab, 21 hr, 61 rbi, 2 sb, .292 avg, and SS Lindor, 334 ab, 16 hr, 54 rbi, 6 sb, .240 avg.

The Mets go on to win the NL East with a 104-58 record (.642) and will take on the Dodgers, the winner of the wild card. In five games, the Mets lose to the Dodgers and are eliminated from the playoffs. The Athletics go on to defeat the Padres in the 2024 World Series.

Now time for 2024 award season…

deGrom comes in third for NL Cy Young, with a 17-12 record, a 3.26 era, and 234 strikeouts. Gold Gloves to SP Jacob deGrom, 1.000 pct, 22 putouts, 15 assists; 2B Jeff McNeil, .997 pct, 213 putouts, 368 assists, and SS Lindor, .994 pct, 195 putouts, 423 assists. Silver slugger awards go to P Taijuan Walker, .258 avg, and 9 rbi, and 3B J.D. Davis, .290 avg., 33 hr and 98 rbi. Lindor leads league in runs with 115, Alonso leads league in base on balls with 114 and David Peterson leads league in win pct with .875.

Haven’t seen enough of the future yet??

No 2025 HOF inductees

Things get shaken up this offseason with a lot of coming and going.

2025 pre-season trades and free agency

J.D. Davis and Dom Smith both depart on five year deals, to the Red Sox and Diamondbacks respectively, with Davis’s contract being the richer of the two. The Mets however, bring in a whole new lot of players including the return of Wilmer Flores on a one year deal worth five million dollars. Also new to town are 1B Trey Mancini, C Victor Caratini and best of all, former Cy Young award winner Shane Bieber who signs a seven year, 31 million dollar a year deal. The Mets also address the needs in the bullpen by bringing in closing pitcher Michael Fulmer on a two year, five million dollar a year deal.

Here’s what the 2025 starting lineup, rotation, and bullpen shakes out to be plus a check-in on old prospects:

2B McNeil 87

CF Kyle Lewis 86

RF Conforto 88

1B Alonso 94

SS Lindor 97

LF David Dahl 83

DH Trey Mancini 75

C Victor Caratini 82

3B Bretty Baty 77

Notable depth Khalil Lee 77

Welcome to the big leagues, Brett Baty! With the expiration of J.D. Davis’s contract, the time was finally right.

Now for a look at the rotation, one of the Mets best ever with the addition of Bieber and Peterson, finally now in the year 2025 reaching that elite level.

deGrom 96

Bieber 95

Peterson 92

Eduardo Rodriguez 86

Joey Lucchesi 84

And now lastly the bullpen. You gotta love Walker just accepting his role and running with it as the long-relief man. The closer spot isn’t great and who the hell is this guy Daniel Zamora at 60 overall. Some virtual Baseball Ops guy in the Mets front office might need to make a call up from the minors to fill his role. To check in on some old beloved prospects, Ronny Mauricio and Francisco Alvarez are now both with the Cincinnati Reds. Alvarez, 80 overall, is now the starting catcher for the Reds and is coming off a year where he platooned with a .270 batting average, 5 HRs, and 14 RBIs. Reds SS Ronny Mauricio, 76 overall, had a limited role with only 44 at-bats in the 2024 season but managed to have a .341 avg, and 2 HRs.

2025 All-stars and team finsh

Now to skip ahead to mid-year and the all-star break. Just to note, the Red Sox at mid-season traded closing pitcher Edwin Diaz, having a bad year at the All-Star break with a 5.92 era to the San Francisco Giants for prospects. The Mets have four 2025 All-Stars. SP David Peterson with a 10-5 record, 124.1 ip, 105 strikeouts, 2.32 era, and 1.09 whip. 1B Pete Alonso with 346 ab, 30 hr, 63 rbi, 1 sb, and a .277 avg. OF Kyle Lewis with 293 ab, 26 hr, 65 rbi, 2 sb, and a .317 avg. And OF Michael Conforto with 318 ab, 20 hr, 54 rbi, 5 sb, and a .346 avg.

Skipping ahead to the end of the regular season, the Mets finish the year 91-71 (.562) and make the playoffs as a wild card team. Unfortunately, the Mets season would end there soon after, losing to the Giants in the one-game wild card playoff. The Giants would continue their success, making it to the World Series, but ultimately would lose to the Yankees in the October Classic.

Now for the 2025 award season.

Brett Baty and Francisco Lindor both win Gold Gloves for 3B and SS. Kyle Lewis, finding his power, wins the Hank Aaron award with the most home runs, 44. Kyle Lewis also notably comes in 2nd place for the NL MVP award, with a .321 avg and 108 rbis to add to his total of 44 home runs. deGrom has another strong year but falls short in the NL Cy Young with a 16-8 record, a 3.40 era and 108 rbis. In Brett Baty’s rookie year he hit .250, with 15 home runs and 69 rbis, finishing second for NL Rookie of the Year honors. Alonso, now reaching 31 years of age, wins the NL Silver Slugger award for first baseman with a .268 batting average, 42 home runs and 104 rbis.

Are you still with me??? Now onto the 2026 season and the 2026 trades and free agency.

Nobody was inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. The Mets make some important offseason moves, bringing in catcher Will Smith from the Dodgers, now in the prime of his career, on a six year, 20 million dollar a year contract, replacing the capable but underwhelming Victor Caratini. Also, the Mets sign Chris Sale to a one year 24 million dollar deal, now a veteran in the twilight of his career. Increasing the depth of the pitching rotation, the Mets also sign Yonny Chirinos to a 4 year, 15 million dollar a year deal. Trey Cabbage is brought in on a minor league contract. The big news here is OF Michael Conforto finally packs things up and goes to the division rival Atlanta Braves on a 12 million dollar a year, 3 year deal.

Here’s what the 2026 rotation and bullpen look like:

Starters

Rotation

Bieber, 95

Peterson, 94

deGrom, 92

Sale, 87

Eduardo Rodriguez 85

Bullpen

Lrp Yamamoto 84

Lrp Yonny Chirinos 84

Mrp Miguel Castro 75

Mrp Daniel Zamora 62

mrp Lugo 77

Su Oliver Fernandez 81 (CPU generated prospect)

Su Trevor May 77

Cp Michael Fulmer 86

See you later Taijuan. The veteran pitcher is demoted to AAA considering the depth of this pitching staff. Also notice deGrom finally starting to decline slightly, in the same period of his career as former college rival Chris Sale, now teammates.

And now finally for the 2026 lineup plus prospect check-in:

Lineup

DH Khalil lee 80

2B Mcneil 87

CF Kyle Lewis 89

1B Alonso 94

C Will smith 91

SS Lindor 97

LF David Dahl 84

3B Bretty Baty 81

RF Trey Cabbage 75

The only original names left from the 2022 starting lineup are Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil and Francisco Lindor.

2026 All-Stars

Now to check in on some old faces. Francisco Alvarez, still with the Reds as the starting catcher, is an 84 overall. He is coming off a 2025 season of a full time role, .267 avg, 9 hr, 50 rbi. Ronny Mauricio still with the Reds as well struggled in 2025 and will begin the 2026 season in AAA. At the All-Star break the Mets are an impressive 56-37 (.602) at the all-star break, but still 2.5 games behind the Phillies for first in the division. Only C Will Smith, 282 ab, 13 hr, 55 rbi, 4 sb, .351 avg and SS Francisco Lindor, 341 ab, 18 hr, 55 rbi, 6 sb, .252 avg are named all-stars.

2026 team finish

Skipping ahead, the Mets finish the season an amazing 101-61 (.623), make the postseason out of the ultra-competitive NL East as a wild card team, and will play the Giants again in the first round. The Mets defeat the Giants in the wild card game this time, and will look forward to facing the Cubs in the divisional round. In 5 games the Mets defeat the Cubs 3-2. The Mets then steamroll the Padres in the NLCS 4 game to 1 and secure their spot in the October classic. METS WIN WORLD SERIES BEAT YANKEES IN 7 games. Historic. The first time since 1986, and against who else but the nasty, no good Yankees. Storybook.

In game 7 of the series the Mets win thanks to a 3 run 5th inning. Peterson throws 6 innings of 3 run ball, the bullpen locks it down, with Chris Sale coming out of the pen for a scoreless inning, and Oliver Fernandez (cpu generated) locking it down with the save. Pete Alonso wins the WS MVP with a .360 avg, 2 hr, and 5 rbi in the Series. Will Smith wins the playoffs MVP with a .367 avg, 1 hr, and 7 rbi.

Now for the glory.. The 2026 award season.

Gold Gloves go to McNeil 2B, 3B Baty, and SS Lindor. Shane Bieber, 18-7, 3.83, 239 SO, and David Peterson, 16-6, 3.08, 196 SO, finish 2nd and 3rd for Cy Young behind Aaron Nola. Trey Cabbage finishes 3rd for ROY, with .244 avg., 13 hr, and 47 rbi. Silver sluggers go to P Bieber, .123, 2 hr, 6 rbi; and C Will Smith, .315, 23 hr, 98 rbi. Also noteworthy is Kyle Lewis who had a fantastic year with .299 34 hr and 98 rbi.

deGrom also has his first above 4.00 era year in his career in the last year of his contract.

Still with me here…?