Why isn't Juan Soto in the All-Star Game? Looking at the impact he's made on Mets so far

After Juan Soto had stepped onto the dais at Citi Field and donned the blue and orange Mets baseball cap and white pinstriped jersey for the first time last December, the outfielder's mission with his new team came into focus.

Soto's goal in signing with the Mets was never about individual accolades but overall team success.

 "I think that’s why you play baseball, to be a championship player and try to win and try to win as many as you can," Soto said during his introductory press conference. "At the end of the day, you can have all the stuff and everything but if you don’t win, it's kind of hard."

As the Mets reached the All-Star break on Sunday night, Soto has his fingerprints all over a strong first half for the club. They enter the four-day hiatus with a 55-41 record, firmly in a National League playoff spot and a half game behind the Phillies for the top spot in the NL East.

Juan Soto's production for Mets

Soto's lift has been noticeable, particularly since the calendar turned to June.

At the break, the 26-year-old superstar is slashing .262/.396/.509 with 23 home runs, 56 RBI, 15 doubles and 11 stolen bases. The outfielder leads Major League Baseball with 77 walks, helping him to the fourth-best on-base percentage in baseball, along with 70 runs — fourth-most in MLB.

"I feel like my power showed up in the first half, so I feel like I'm happy that way," Soto told reporters last weekend. "Definitely gotta improve on a couple of things in my swing and everything. I had to battle from the beginning all the way to where we are now, but definitely feel good because the power is there."

Soto noted that he wants to keep improving on his baserunning and his outfield defense in the second half.

Despite a .908 OPS, which is eighth-best in the National League, Soto found himself on the outside of the league's All-Star team when it was announced a week ago.

“Obviously, it’s hard to understand and believe that he’s going home for now for the next four days as opposed to going to Atlanta, but that’s something that’s out of his hands and out of our hands," Carlos Mendoza told reporters. “The good thing is he continues to play the way he’s capable and as expected.

"(He’s) a guy who is going to just go out there and he’s going to continue to do everything he can to help us win baseball games. He’s an All-Star.”

It is the first time Soto missed the All-Star Game since his rookie season in 2019. The Mets have four other NL All-Stars in Francisco Lindor, who will start at shortstop, Edwin Diaz, Pete Alonso and David Peterson, who was named as a replacement during the week.

How did Juan Soto miss the All-Star Game?

When fan voting began for the All-Star game on June 4, Soto had yet to find the form that had earned him his record $765 million contract in the offseason.

At that point, through 60 games, Soto was slashing .233/.361/.438 with 11 home runs, 30 RBI, 39 runs and 12 doubles, while striking out 43 times. He had only three home runs and 12 RBI through April.

Despite earning NL Player of the Month in June, with a 1.196 OPS including 11 home runs and 20 RBI in 27 games, Soto could not recover in the voting despite earning a spot in Phase 2.

The NL outfielders include the Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr, Cubs' Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong, Diamondbacks' Corbin Carroll, Marlins' Kyle Stowers, Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. and Nationals' James Wood.

“Just forget about that,” Soto told reporters last weekend. “It’s baseball, it’s part of it. Like I said before, it’s just a roster of 25 players and there are like 300 players in the league, so it’s really tough to get in, and whatever, next time I’m just going to try harder and see what I can do.”

Now that the All-Star Game is on the horizon, there is nothing that Soto can do but lock in on the ultimate reason that he came to the Mets in the first place. With Soto providing a substantial lift, the Mets have a real shot to end a decade-long drought without a division title.

And if that happens, Soto's snub will be long forgotten.

"He's a special player with a special talent, and he's doing his job," Mendoza said.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Why isn't Juan Soto an All-Star? Looking at impact with NY Mets