Mike's Met Of The Month, March/April 2026: Clay Holmes

The first month and change of the season hasn't seen a lot to write home about for the New York Mets. Going 10-21 with one of the highest payrolls in the sport wasn't exactly on Steve Cohen's bingo card. Injuries and underperformance have helped contribute to why the Mets are where they are in the standings, but the task of finding a Met of the Month for April was surprisingly simple.

Juan Soto played well when healthy but missed too much time to factor into the award mix. The same can be said for Jared Young, while MJ Melendez's recall came a bit too late for him to merit serious consideration. Francisco Alvarez was the Mets' most consistent hitter in April, but a .226 batting average negates his team-high four home runs.

Nolan McLean pitched well, but earning the Met of the Month honors with one win in six starts is quite difficult. The end result is that the clear choice for the first Met of the Month for the 2026 season is another starting pitcher, Clay Holmes.

Clay Holmes was the Mets' best player in April.

In six starts for the Mets so far, Holmes is 3-2 with a 1.75 ERA and 0.97 WHIP. Holmes has struck out 25 batters in 36 innings pitched while opponents are batting just .186 against him. Perhaps most importantly, the Mets are 4-2 in games started by Holmes while they are 6-19 when anyone else takes the mound.

Holmes has generated 1.5 Wins Above Replacement in the early going to lead the team, an impressive feat when you consider some of the bigger names on the roster. Fans have been critical of some of David Stearns' decision making over the past two years but the choice to convert Holmes to a starting pitcher has been one of his biggest wins in his three years on the job.

The fact that Holmes is the team's best player and most likely All Star at this juncture speaks a lot to the issues the Mets have. Holmes' contract is also worth mentioning since it includes an opt-out after this season. That opt-out will certainly be exercised if Holmes maintains this level since he would easily beat one year at $12 million on the open market.

Thus, the Mets will soon have a decision to make with Holmes if they do not turn their season around: work on a contract extension or sell high in a trade while hoping to bring him back over the winter. Time will tell how that plays out but Holmes was the clear choice for Met of the Month for April.