Feb 19, 2024; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; Detail photo of Mets helmet during workouts at spring training. Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Mets' Superstar Projected to Have MVP Caliber Season

Originally posted on New York Mets on SI
By Nick Ziegler | Last updated Mar 5, 2026 9:00 AM ET

As Opening Day gets closer for the New York Mets, the team is getting through spring training and getting a look at some of the talent on the team. With the regular season right around the corner, they will be hoping that a star can help lead them back to the playoffs.

Coming into the 2025 campaign, there was a ton of hype surrounding the Mets. Over the winter, the team was able to land the biggest prize in free agency when they signed Juan Soto away from the New York Yankees.

This signing was a monumental shift for the team, and coming off making the National League Championship Series, the addition of Soto only increased expectations. Unfortunately, to no fault of their new slugger, the team missed the playoffs and had a terrible collapse in the second half of the year.

That collapse led the front office to make a lot of changes to the roster this winter, and the hope will be that they can bounce back from a disappointing year. If they are going to achieve success, they will need the new faces to perform well, but they will also be relying on their superstar. In recent FanGraphs projections for the upcoming season, Soto appears to be in the early NL MVP conversation.

Fantastic Year Projected for Juan Soto

While some of the projections so far for the Mets have been good, others have not. However, Soto is being predicted to have a monster campaign in his second season with New York.

The projections have him slashing .272/.411/.528 with 38 home runs, 102 RBI, and 23 stolen bases. With an OPS well over the .900 mark, it is no surprise to see his projected WAR at 6.1.

Juan Soto homers AGAIN in front of his home crowd! pic.twitter.com/DPLdPsitlO
— New York Mets (@Mets) March 4, 2026

If Soto is able to have this type of year once again for the team and the new faces that they have added perform well, the Mets should be in good shape coming into 2026. The front office did a solid job on paper of addressing some of their issues, most notably by getting them an ace.

While Soto is projected to have a great season, he would undoubtedly like to get off to a better start. Despite finishing the 2025 campaign with fantastic numbers, it did take him a little while to get going. Perhaps meaningful games in the World Baseball Classic will have him sharp for the upcoming season, and he should also feel more comfortable in year two with the organization.

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This article first appeared on New York Mets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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