4 Mets convincing us they should be trade deadline buyers

3) Kodai Senga is looking like one of the best pitchers in baseball

Most Mets fans have been pleased with what they've gotten from Kodai Senga in his debut major league season. One can quibble with the number of walks he's allowed, but beyond that he's been a solid starter, and riding the ghost fork hype train has been fun for everyone.

Then July hit, and Senga morphed into one of the most outstanding pitchers in the game. In two starts this month he's locked down the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers, both playoff teams if the season ended today. He was especially masterful in Arizona, bamboozling the D-backs for eight dynamite innings. His 12 strikeouts were tied for his season high, and he even got a well-deserved win after Francisco Alvarez saved the day with two outs in the ninth.

Senga has clearly gotten more comfortable as the season has progressed, which has allowed his outstanding stuff to shine. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is nearly 5:1 in his last five starts, and he may lead the league in the unofficial stat of making batters look absolutely foolish.

The fear of Senga's ghost fork has resulted in so many hitters taking fastballs right over the plate for a called third strike, and just when they think they have it figured out, he drops the ghost on them next time and steals their soul.

Senga has been so good that he has ascended into that rare echelon of pitchers whose every start is a must-see. The thought of seeing him pitching meaningful baseball in October is irresistible.