3 biggest Mets winners and 3 biggest losers from the first half of the season

The first half of the New York Mets season is over. There has been more losing than winning but not by nearly as much as it looked even a week ago.

The All-Star Break is a time of reflection, relaxation, and looking ahead. Everything goes on pause and some bold declarations can be made. The declarations here are about who the biggest winners and losers are of the first half of the season.

Biggest NY Mets winner: The rookies

Kodai Senga is an All-Star. Francisco Alvarez is hitting home runs with authority. Brett Baty has won the third base job with very little competition to take it away from him now. Those three rookies are all big winners of the first half of the season to varying degrees.

Who among them is the biggest winner? It would have to be Senga. An All-Star nod, even as a replacement, is no small achievement. For a guy who has had control issues this season but has tamed the wildness of late, he has been one of the club’s most improved players as the season has gone along. Add in the adjustment to Major League Baseball and even the American culture, he’s a huge winner.

This doesn’t take away anything from Alvarez who is well on his way to beating Johnny Bench’s 26 home runs by a 21-year-old catcher. Will he make a full 30 trips around the bases this season?

Baty is behind the other two but with Eduardo Escobar traded, the Mets are giving him every start possible at the hot corner. He has some development left to do. Fortunately, the franchise has shown faith in him.