One Mets Star Has Delivered, Another Has Fallen Short Greatly In 2026 Season

The New York Mets have likely had the most devastating season in all of Major League Baseball in 2026 despite the lofty expectations the team had placed on them after their multiple blockbuster moves in the offseason.

Sitting in last place in the National League East with a 29-36 record as of Tuesday morning, a postseason berth after their horrific start to the year is going to take some magic.

With that said, the Mets have been playing better as of late, winning seven of their last 10. Despite all of the lows they’ve already been through this year, they only sit five games out of a Wild Card spot in the NL. It’s not where fans would have expected them to be at this point in the year, but a late-season comeback is still in the cards.

Let’s not jump too far ahead, however, as I want to take a look at the Mets on an individual level and determine who has been instilling some hope in the club and who has brought the team down the most so far.

New York’s best player shouldn’t be all too hard to guess, and with star shortstop Francisco Lindor out since April, the decision is only made easier. The honor of the best Mets player this season goes to slugging outfielder Juan Soto, who is once again one of the best hitters in all of baseball.

That’s been a common thread for Soto in his major league career, and that’s exactly why the Mets spent $765 million on him a couple of winters ago. 2026 has been no exception for Soto’s dominance at the plate, leading qualified Mets in OPS.

Soto has a batting run value of 15 already this season, enough to put him in the 93rd percentile of MLB batters. His barrel, hard-hit, and squared-up percentages all place him near the top of the league’s position players, even if 2026 is technically a step back for the 27-year-old according to some metrics.

While Soto’s effort has been unwavering despite the team’s lack of success, the same can’t be said for others. There have been several underperforming Mets, too many to name at once, but the biggest of which are Devin Williams, Mark Vientos, and Luis Robert Jr., to name some. Still, no other Met has been having as bad a year as the Mets $126 million signing, infielder Bo Bichette.

Bichette’s signing was a shock and instantly gave New York possibly the most talented infield, on paper, in baseball. It hasn’t played out as expected, as we are a few months into the season, however.

The 28-year-old has gone from being one of the most valuable hitters in the majors last season to being a negative at the plate since his move to Queens. From an .840 OPS season in 2025 to .615 this year, something has gone haywire for the two-time All-Star.

The numbers indicate Bichette may be getting a bit unlucky at the plate, with an expected batting average of .282, but his real average is sitting at .239. Still, his expected slugging and launch angle sweet-spot have seen significant drops from last season, which have been seen in his .330 slugging percentage this year.

Bichette’s bat has always been the appeal of his game, and with his bat being a negative, his game as a whole gets pretty bleak. A poor defender and baserunner, Bichette hasn't been providing the Mets with much value on the diamond in 2026. With options for the next two years on his contract, how he performs for the rest of the season will be huge in how that situation plays out.