5th- Pete Alonso, NYM, 1B
There were high expectations for the 24-year-old first baseman, but his white-hot start has surpassed them. This rookie is off to one of the most impressive starts in Mets history. Pete Alonso is an absolute menace in the NL East. Through their first 18 games, Alonso has registered 17 RBI, six home runs, and is batting .328. Mainly batting second, Alonso serves as a sparkplug for the New York Mets’ lineup.
Alonso’s 454-foot home run that exited at 118.3 mph was the hardest hit by the Mets in Stat cast Era, since 2015. The only other players in MLB to hit a home run this hard were Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge. The young first baseman is already putting himself in very impressive company.
He has already started many rallies for the club and is a big part of their early success. He is exceptional at getting on base. His OPS is 1.160, which is currently seventh in the NL. He has been producing so much for the Mets’ offense. His slugging is currently fifth in the NL at .738, which is through the roof.
Even though he is in his first MLB season, Alonso will be an MVP candidate and finish in the top five if the Mets are still playing meaningful baseball in September, and he continues to play like this. If he continues on this rate, he will have a strong chance to hit over 30 home runs and 100 RBI in his rookie season, which would be elite.
This could just be a hot start for the Mets’ first baseman of the future, or it could be the start to a strong career, filled with many placements in the MVP voting, and possibly a 2019 NL Rookie of the Year Award.