4 former Mets players making a case to be an All-Star in 2024

2) Marcus Stroman

Much less a fan-favorite than Lugo, Marcus Stroman is still bound for the All-Star Game—unless he bows out which seems like something he’d do. Stroman was a very good Mets pitcher with a complicated relationship with the fans. His return home to New York, now as a member of the Yankees, has gone very well. In the absence of Gerrit Cole, Stroman has stepped up and been one of the team’s best pitchers although they have quite a few to choose from.

Stroman has managed to dodge controversy in the Bronx. Outside of his reluctance to pitch on Opening Day for the Yankees, things have gone swimmingly for the righty in his tenth MLB season.

Through 12 starts, Stroman is 5-2 with a 2.73 ERA. His walks are up to 3.8 per 9 with his strikeouts down to 7.1 per 9. Soft contact and a 19.2% of line drives against him is what has made Stroman so successful in a hitter’s ballpark. 

Of note, Stroman was selected to last year’s All-Star team but chose not to attend. Instead, he favored the extra rest. With quite a few other Yankees players to choose from, could this former Mets pitcher get overlooked because of the expected “hard pass” from him yet again?

3) Trevor Williams

Maybe the most surprising player on this list, Trevor Williams has catapulted his way up from whatever he used to be and into a legitimate All-Star candidate. Playing for the Washington Nationals in his second year since leaving the Mets, the one-time swingman is having the best year of his career. We almost got to see him pitch against the Mets on Tuesday, but a late scratch and a trip to the IL ended that.

As long as Williams is able to come back before the All-Star break, he should have a chance to build on his 2024 numbers. At 5-0 with a 2.22 ERA, Williams is off to a terrific start. He has allowed just 2 home runs which is astonishing after leading the league with 34 of them in 2023.

It’s a delightful turnaround for one of the more popular yet unexpected Mets in recent memory. Although he can’t remove himself from the infamous 2021 trade deadline deal made by the Mets with the Chicago Cubs which cost them Pete Crow-Armstrong, that’s a deal far more associated with Javier Baez anyway.

As it turns out, Williams isn’t the only one in the National League East who once pitched for the Mets who looks bound for the All-Star Game. You can probably guess the other.

4) Zack Wheeler

An annual event it seems, Zack Wheeler is still that grinding ace he has been for the Philadelphia Phillies ever since he left New York. Lugo leads the majors in innings pitched. Wheeler leads the National League with 80.2.

Wheeler’s All-Star bid goes beyond how many innings he has pitched, though. The 7-3 record and 2.23 ERA plus a strikeout rate of 10.2 per 9 put him among the best pitchers in the National League. The most distant of any of these ex-Mets players to actually wear blue and orange, his continued success always hurts the most just because we never got to experience his prime after years of hype.

The only reason Wheeler might not be an All-Star is because the first-place Phillies have so many other choices. If he pitches too close to the game, he might resolve to not show up.

Despite all of the success in Philly, Wheeler has only made one All-Star team. He missed a few starts in 2022 and last year wasn’t nearly as spectacular as he was in 2021 when he first made the midsummer classic.

It’s easy to sometimes forget Wheeler ever did pitch for the Mets simply because of how much of a beast he has become ever since. Just another dozen starts away from matching the number of games played for the Mets as a member of the Phillies, he’s officially going to become one of them by year’s end.