Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard and closer Jeurys Familia were selected to play in the All-Star Game Tuesday in San Diego.
Cespedes was elected by the fans, and will be the first Met to start an All-Star Game since Carlos Beltran in 2009. Syndergaard and Familia were elected on the players’ ballot.
This is the 16th time the Mets have had three or more players named to the NL All-Star team and the first time since 2009 when David Wright, Francisco Rodriguez, Johan Santana and Carlos Beltran were named to the squad.
“Well, I think when players vote you in, obviously (Cespedes) was voted in by the fans, but players voted in both Noah and Jeurys, I think that means a lot,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “Ces is a great player, and we’re lucky to have him, and I think he’s shown why he made the team, as the other two guys have. It’s a great honor for them.”
It is Cespedes’ second selection – he was an American League All-star in 2014 with the Oakland Atheletics.
In his first full season with the Mets, Cespedes has a .305 average, 21 home runs, 51 RBI, 15 doubles, 45 runs scored, and a .578 slugging percentage.
Cespedes is tied for fourth in the National League in home runs and tied for ninth in the majors.
With his home run on July 1, Cespedes became the fastest Met to hit 20 home runs in a season since Beltran and Carlos Delgado in 2006.
Last season, when Cespedes joined the Mets at the trade deadline, he put up huge numbers and was a big reason they reached the World Series. He had 17 home runs and 44 RBI in 57 regular season games, and two homers and eight RBI in the playoffs.
Noah Syndergaard, known as Thor with his long blonde hair and commanding presence on the mound, has become the Mets ace this season.
Syndergaard was named to his first All-Star team, and he has earned it with a 9-3 record this season. He has a 2.41 earned-run average, and allowed just 27 earned runs in 101 innings pitched, along with 92 hits and 15 walks.
The flamethrowing right-hander known as Thor has struck out 123 so far this season.
In major-league rankings, Syndergaard is fifth with a 2.41 ERA, fifth in the majors with 10.96 strikeouts per nine innings and second in the majors with an 8.20 strikeout-to-walk rate.
Syndergaard is a candidate to start the game, along with Chicago’s Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester, and San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner.
In his rookie season, 2015, Syndergaard went 9-7 with a 3.24 ERA (54 ER/150 innings), and had 166 strikeouts, while allowing 126 hits and 31 walks.
Syndergaard is the 12th Mets righthanded starting pitcher to make an All-Star team, a group that includes his teammates Jacob deGrom, who made it last season, and Matt Harvey, who started the game in 2013 at Citi Field
Familia has established himself as the best closer in the National League this season, as he leads the majors with 29 saves.
His 29 straight saves to open a season is the longest streak in Mets history.
Dating back to August 1, 2015, Familia has converted 45 consecutive regular season saves, the longest streak in Mets history and the sixth-longest in major league history.
Familia has the second-most saves in the majors since 2015 with 72. Mark Melancon of the Pittsburgh Pirates is first with 75.
With 78 career saves, Familia is eighth on the Mets all-time list in saves, just behind Francisco Rodriguez, who had 83 in his time in New York.
For Familia, it is his first All-star selection. He is the seventh Mets reliever to be named to an All-Star squad, with the last one being Rodriguez in 2009.