Juan Soto was voted a National League starter for the July 14 All-Star Game in Philadelphia – his fifth Midsummer Classic selection and his first as a Met, one year after getting passed over in what remains one of the more baffling roster decisions of the 2025 season.
The redemption arc writes itself, and Soto is not letting anyone forget the motivation it provided.
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What Last Year’s Snub Made This Selection Mean
Soto said it plainly: ‘I just fell short last year, and it kind of motivated me that I have got to be better to be with the best of the best in the league.’
That is not bulletin-board talk – that is a player who took a genuine slight and converted it into a .971 OPS, MLB’s second-highest mark entering the break.
He has 18 home runs and 41 RBIs across just 69 games, a pace that absorbs nearly three weeks lost to a calf strain in April without losing its shape.
A player posting those numbers on a healthy body would be a slam-dunk All-Star. Soto did it banged up, carrying a Mets lineup that has struggled to generate consistent production around him all season.
As this site’s MLB power rankings coverage documents, the Mets fell outside the top 12 heading into the break – a damning reflection of how little help Soto has gotten. This All-Star nod belongs to him alone. Full stop.
Soto Leaves the Home Run Derby Door Open – What That Means for the Mets
Soto won the 2022 Home Run Derby as a 23-year-old National, beating Julio Rodríguez in the finals at Dodger Stadium. He knows exactly what the event demands physically, which is why his answer here carries real weight. ‘I have got to check where my body’s at – how much I need to recover and be ready for the second half,’ he said.
That calculus matters more for the Mets than it does for the All-Star brand. As this site’s coverage of the Citi Field ‘Stearns Out’ ejection and the broader organizational unrest lays out, the fanbase is already on edge – the last thing this team needs is their franchise centerpiece grinding his calf down chasing Derby glory in mid-July.
The next hard checkpoint is the Derby participant announcement in the days leading up to July 14, when MLB finalizes its field. Soto’s decision will be the dominant storyline out of Philadelphia before the game even tips.
Betting on Juan Soto: All-Star MVP and Derby Odds
With a .971 OPS and elite barrel rates backed by Statcast, Soto profiles as one of the short-list All-Star Game MVP candidates regardless of which book sets the market.
His signature combination of plate discipline and raw power gives him a realistic path to extra-base damage in a short sample – exactly the format where his skillset shows cleanest.
If Soto enters the Derby, the 2022 champion immediately becomes a top-three option in any futures market – his track record of sustaining high-volume power swings on the national stage is not speculative.
Fantasy managers who are streaming second-half options should also note that Soto’s second-half availability and health coming out of the break is the variable that shapes his rest-of-season ceiling.
What to Watch for Juan Soto and the Mets Heading Into the All-Star Break
Luke Weaver and Huascar Brazobán remain in play as potential NL roster additions as replacements, but neither is a lock given the traditional bias toward starters and closers in All-Star selection.
The Mets sent four players to last year’s game – Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Edwin Díaz, and David Peterson – making this year’s lone selection a measure of how far the roster has slipped around Soto.
As this site’s coverage of Aaron Judge’s ‘lack of focus’ callout and the Yankees’ own struggles lays out, the AL East is not exactly a picture of health right now – which only sharpens how much Soto’s individual excellence stands out in the current New York sports landscape.
His performance in Philadelphia, both in the game and potentially in the Derby, will feed directly into second-half MVP conversations.
Keep an eye out on NYSD for further updates on Juan Soto and the Mets as this situation develops.
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