NEW YORK -- Juan Soto’s first season with the Mets may have begun inauspiciously, but it wound up being one of the best campaigns by any player in the National League.
As evidence, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Monday named Soto a finalist for NL MVP. His competition is Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers, who’s heavily favored to win the award, and Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies.
The winner will be announced on Nov. 13 on MLB Network.
Soto, who joined the Mets on a 15-year, $765 million contract last December, slashed .263/.396/.525 with 43 homers, 38 stolen bases, 105 RBIs and 127 walks in his first year in Flushing. He led the National League in on-base percentage and walks, and tied for the lead in steals. Soto also became the first player in Mets history to produce a 40-30 season, with at least 40 home runs and 30 stolen bases.
How Soto did it was almost as impressive as the fact that he did. As late in the year as May 28, Soto held a .745 OPS. From that point forward, he slashed .285/.418/.596, reestablishing himself as one of the game’s top hitters. Over that 105-game stretch, he also swiped 31 of his 38 bases.
If not for the existence of Ohtani, Soto might have been the MVP favorite. But Ohtani, the defending NL MVP, led the league in fWAR after resuming his work as a two-way player. In addition to producing a .282/.392/.622 slash line with 55 homers, 102 RBIs and 20 stolen bases as a designated hitter, Ohtani posted a 2.87 ERA over 14 starts on the mound.
While all ballots were cast before the start of postseason play, Ohtani likely did enough during the regular season to win his third straight award and fourth in the last five years.
Less certain is whether Soto will finish above or behind Schwarber, who led the NL with 56 homers and 132 RBIs, slashing .240/.365/.563.
Soto is the Mets’ only BBWAA Awards finalist this year. The team did not have a finalist for Cy Young, Rookie of the Year or Manager of the Year.