Four-Way Race For NL Rookie Of The Year Features Two Mets

While the New York Mets haven’t recovered from their epic 2025 season collapse, they’ve had impressive contributions from two rookies that have inserted themselves firmly into the National League Rookie of the Year race.

What once was a two-man race between St. Louis Cardinals middle infielder JJ Wetherholt and Cincinnati Reds corner infielder Sal Stewart has become a four-man race with Mets right fielder Carson Benge and right-handed starter Nolan McLean.

Wetherholt had the upper hand for most of the season, but it’s going to be extremely close during the final month. MLB.com’s Mike Petriello did a deep dive into the four-way race and broke down each player’s case to win the award.

Wetherholt

Wetherholt had an impressive April (.856 OPS) that pretty much carried his stock for much of the season, but his hitting has taken a massive step back. Since June 1, Wetherholt’s .689 OPS is drastically lower than Benge’s (.836) and Stewart’s (.785), yet his phenomenal defensive metrics have kept his head above water.

Wetherholt provides enough defensively and on the base paths to lead all NL rookies in WAR (4.8 bWAR, 4.5 fWAR), however, that stat isn’t everything and what he’s done in the box lately will dock him if he doesn’t pick it up in September. He has a .643 OPS in August.

Stewart

Stewart hasn’t gotten nearly enough attention for leading all of Major League Baseball with 102 RBI. He’s carried a Reds team that was hanging around in the NL Central for a while, but the team has since fallen out of contention. One thing that goes against Stewart is the fact that he plays at Great American Ball Park, which heavily favors right-handed hitters, but he also is solid on the road.

He also has the advantage of hitting more often with runners on base, as he has had at least one runner on during 359 plate appearances going into play Friday, nearly 100 more than the next best guy. Defensively, he doesn’t provide too much value, but he isn’t necessarily a liability at first base.

Benge

Benge has surged since making some swing changes and he’s been the best all-around player in this race. He’s been the second-most valuable player in terms of WAR behind Wetherholt, but much of his value has come during the last few months of the season.

Benge has especially turned it on over his last 30 games, slashing .330/.384/.513 with five home runs and 13 RBI at the top of New York’s lineup. He seems to be the runner-up for the award as of now, but another month of strong play could elevate him enough to win and outlast his counterparts.

McLean

If it weren’t for a brutal May (6.10 ERA), McLean probably would be the front-runner to win. Instead, he will probably finish fourth in the race.

“But he’s also been excellent for three months now, to the point that he’s got the sixth-best ERA (2.37) since May 31, on a list where the top five are Jasob Misiorowski, Troy Melton, Dylan Cease, Robbie Ray, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto,” Petriello wrote Thursday.

So who is Petriello’s winner? His answer depends on a bunch of “ifs.”

If Wetherholt doesn’t hit well down the stretch, he removes himself from the race. If Stewart hits 125 RBI, it’ll be hard to not give it to him. If Benge goes 20/20, he’s a solid choice. And if McLean puts up 170 innings of sub-3.00 ERA, that’s a great case.