Jacob deGrom had a 5-year streak snapped by Jeff McNeil in 2022

Roger Craig led the 1962 New York Mets with a 2.5 WAR. It was the second-lowest to ever lead the team in a given season. Only Johnny Lewis, with a 2.4 WAR in 1965, was a smaller total to be the best the team had to offer.

For the last five seasons, it was Jacob deGrom who amassed the best number in this statistic. Even while missing half of 2021, deGrom had a 5.1 WAR according to Baseball-Reference.

From 2017-2021, nobody on the Mets roster performed better at this number. It changed in 2022 when Jeff McNeil’s 5.7 WAR led the team and snapped a five-year streak for the Mets ace.

Mets have a new WAR leader for the first time in 5 years

Those five consecutive seasons aren’t the only times deGrom led in this category. In 2015, his 5.5 WAR led the Mets. There was no streak, however. Noah Syndergaard, with a 5.7 WAR in 2016, bested him. deGrom was about to take off and for five straight years he ended up as the number one guy in this category.

deGrom missed another half season in 2022 and saw his WAR plummet to 1.4. It was between the 1.5 posted by Trevor Williams and the 1.3 the Mets got from Carlos Carrasco. It placed him 14th among everyone to suit up for the ball club.

A somewhat subjective statistic that often weighs certain aspects of a player’s game more heavily than others, WAR is still a measure of production. WAR isn’t perfect. A lot can be missed.

McNeil’s 5.7 WAR was helped mightily by his league-leading batting average. Back in 2011 when Jose Reyes won the National League batting title, he also had a team-best 4.7 WAR. A lack of power from each did play a factor in the number not being higher. WAR accounts for everything. Without home run power, it’s going to sink a little bit.

If deGrom does return to the Mets and can remain healthy, we’d have to believe he could be a strong favorite to reclaim this title. However, runner-up in this category Francisco Lindor with his strong mix of every tool should give everyone a nice run.