Who is the Mets playoff MVP through two rounds?

They don’t give out MVPs for the Wild Card series or even the NLDS. If they did hand out hardware to a member of the New York Mets in regard to the cumulative performance from both rounds, who would it be?

Mark Vientos has been the best hitter and it’s not really all that close. He leads with 7 RBI. His .429/.467/.714 slash line stands above the rest of his teammates. Only because his two-home run game against the Philadelphia Phillies was a loss has he not garnered more attention nationally. Pete Alonso’s home run in Game 3 against the Milwaukee Brewers and Francisco Lindor’s salami versus the Phillies came in wins and crucial moments.

Vientos is definitely a great candidate. So is Jose Quintana who has tossed 11 innings and only allowed a single unearned run. Absent an actual victory despite starting in both clinching games, he’s a good candidate but not the guy who most encompasses what the Most Valuable Player of this playoff run is.

Give the early Mets playoff MVP to David Peterson

David Peterson was the most consistent Mets starting pitcher all year and it didn’t stop when he helped the Mets win against the Brewers in game 160 to force a doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves where the Mets would only need a victory the next day. The start made him unavailable to face Milwaukee again in the NLWC but he was available to come onto the mound to close things off in Game 3.

Two days later, Peterson was back on the mound again. This time, in relief of Kodai Senga. The surprise entrant to the Mets playoff run only lasted two innings. Peterson went three and helped bridge the game to the rest of the bullpen staff more familiar with the role of relieving.

As if this wasn’t enough, Peterson gave the Mets 2.1 more innings in their Game 4 clincher against the Phillies. Many Mets fans were even willing to let him begin the ninth inning. A shaky performance by Edwin Diaz had fans doubling down until the final strike he threw to Kyle Schwarber.

Peterson’s postseason has gone exactly the way his regular season did. Appearing in Mets wins, he’s doing it with run prevention but with some traffic on the bases. A 1.11 WHIP in the playoffs and as many walks as he has strikeouts (3 each) don’t excite stat junkies. It’s the way Peterson has come into three different situations and gotten the job done after a year where he did nothing but start which should have fans handing him the MVP of the first two rounds.

The Mets have some decisions to make in the NLCS. Is Peterson going to remain in the bullpen? I wouldn’t mess with what has worked so well. Peterson is their lefty specialist, long-man, and backup closer. As much as he deserves a start in the playoffs, it’s not really about labels any longer. It’s about winning by any means necessary. Keeping with the trend from the regular season, the Mets usually raise the victory flag whenever Peterson appears.