Francisco Lindor Stats: The Complete Breakdown of the Mets Switch-Hitting Shortstop Heading Into 2026
Last updated: March 25, 2026
I have spent the better part of the last decade watching Francisco Lindor play shortstop, first in Cleveland and now in Queens, and I still think he is the most underrated franchise player in the National League. He does not have Aaron Judge’s monstrous power. He does not have Bobby Witt Jr.’s blazing speed. He does not have Shohei Ohtani’s two-way circus act. What he has is something rarer and, for my money, more valuable on a daily basis: he is excellent at everything, he plays a premium defensive position at an elite level, he switch-hits with real authority from both sides, and he shows up for 160 games a year with the same brand-name smile and competitive fire. That combination is why the New York Mets handed him a 10-year, $341 million extension back in 2021, and it is why he just posted another 30-30 season at age 31 with a 6.3 fWAR campaign that should have generated more MVP buzz than it did.
In this breakdown I want to walk through exactly what makes Lindor tick heading into the 2026 season. We will go through his career numbers year by year, dig into his 2025 batted-ball profile, look at his switch-hitting splits, evaluate his defense and baserunning, list out the key moments that defined his career to date, compare him to the other elite shortstops in the league, and finish with a 2026 outlook and a fantasy-value verdict. If you are deciding whether to draft him in the first three rounds, whether to bet on the Mets in the NL East, or just whether the front office made the right call locking him up, this is the deep dive you came for.
Who Is Francisco Lindor? The Mets’ Switch-Hitting Cornerstone
Francisco Miguel Lindor was born November 14, 1993, in Caguas, Puerto Rico, the same Caribbean baseball factory that has produced Carlos Beltran, Yadier Molina, and Carlos Correa. He moved to Florida as a teenager, attended Montverde Academy, and was drafted eighth overall by the Cleveland Indians in 2011. He was a top-ten prospect in baseball by 2013 and a top-five prospect by 2014. He debuted on June 14, 2015, finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting that fall, and never looked back.
The Mets acquired him in a January 2021 blockbuster that sent Andres Gimenez, Amed Rosario, Josh Wolf, and Isaiah Greene to Cleveland for Lindor and Carlos Carrasco. Three months later, on the eve of Opening Day, he signed his $341 million extension. The first season in New York was rocky and the boos were loud, but every year since 2022 he has been one of the best shortstops in baseball, and 2024 was a legitimate MVP runner-up campaign in which he finished second to Ohtani in the voting. He stands 5’11”, weighs 190 pounds, throws right-handed, and bats from both sides of the plate. He wears No. 12. He is married, has three young children, and is widely considered one of the most accessible superstars in the sport.
Francisco Lindor Career Stats Year by Year
The cleanest way to appreciate Lindor’s consistency is to put every season on the same page. Look at the games played column. Outside of the COVID-shortened 2020 season and his rookie call-up year, he has played at least 143 games every single season of his career, and has crossed 150 in eight of those years. That durability at a premium defensive position is the bedrock of his value.
| Season | Team | G | AVG | OBP | SLG | HR | RBI | SB | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | CLE | 99 | .313 | .353 | .482 | 12 | 51 | 12 | 4.6 |
| 2016 | CLE | 158 | .301 | .358 | .435 | 15 | 78 | 19 | 5.8 |
| 2017 | CLE | 159 | .273 | .337 | .505 | 33 | 89 | 15 | 5.9 |
| 2018 | CLE | 158 | .277 | .352 | .519 | 38 | 92 | 25 | 7.6 |
| 2019 | CLE | 143 | .284 | .335 | .518 | 32 | 74 | 22 | 4.4 |
| 2020 | CLE | 60 | .258 | .335 | .415 | 8 | 27 | 6 | 1.7 |
| 2021 | NYM | 125 | .230 | .322 | .412 | 20 | 63 | 10 | 3.0 |
| 2022 | NYM | 161 | .270 | .339 | .449 | 26 | 107 | 16 | 6.5 |
| 2023 | NYM | 160 | .254 | .336 | .470 | 31 | 98 | 31 | 5.0 |
| 2024 | NYM | 152 | .273 | .344 | .500 | 33 | 91 | 29 | 6.8 |
| 2025 | NYM | 160 | .267 | .346 | .466 | 31 | 86 | 31 | 6.3 |
Career totals heading into 2026: 1,535 games, a .268/.342/.471 slash line, 279 home runs, 856 RBI, 216 stolen bases, and 57.6 career fWAR. He has been an All-Star five times (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2025), won a Silver Slugger in 2024 and again in 2025, and earned two Platinum Gloves and two Gold Gloves at shortstop. The 30-homer, 30-steal seasons in 2023 and 2025 made him the only shortstop in major league history with multiple 30-30 campaigns in his thirties. The 6.5 fWAR he posted in his first full year with the Mets in 2022 silenced most of the boobirds, and the 6.8 he produced in 2024 should have won him an MVP award in any year that Ohtani wasn’t on the ballot.
The 2025 Season Breakdown: Another 30-30 Campaign
The 2025 season was, in many ways, vintage Lindor. He played 160 games. He hit 31 home runs. He stole 31 bases on 35 attempts, an 88.6% success rate that quietly ranked among the best in the National League for any player attempting 30 or more steals. He drove in 86 runs in a Mets lineup that fought through injuries to Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo in the second half. He scored 105 runs, his fifth straight season above 90 runs scored. He produced a 129 wRC+, which means his offense was 29 percent better than the league-average hitter once you adjust for park and league context, and that figure is even more impressive when you remember that the average shortstop in MLB posted a 96 wRC+ last year.
What I noticed most when I went back through the Statcast data was the contact quality. Lindor hit the ball at an average exit velocity of 90.8 mph in 2025, up almost a full tick from his career baseline, and he posted a barrel rate of 10.4% and a hard-hit rate of 44.2%, both of which placed him in the upper third of qualified hitters. He pulled the ball in the air with more authority than any other shortstop in the league, and his expected stats (.272 xBA, .478 xSLG, .355 xwOBA) suggested his actual line was if anything a little unlucky. He took 78 walks against 132 strikeouts, a 12.0% walk rate and a 20.2% strikeout rate that are both materially better than league average and that have held remarkably steady throughout his career.
The defense remained excellent. He was worth 11 Outs Above Average at shortstop, which slotted him fourth among all MLB shortstops in 2025, and his arm strength averaged 88.4 mph on competitive throws. He started 158 of his 160 games at shortstop, an indication of just how much the Mets trust his glove. He turned 79 double plays as part of an infield that ranked top-ten in MLB defensive efficiency, and he was charged with only 11 errors all season.
Playing Style: Why Lindor Is the Total Package at Shortstop
When I scout Lindor, I think in terms of the five traditional tools: hit, power, run, throw, field. Most players are above-average in two or three of those tools and average or below in the rest. Lindor is plus or better in all five. That is what scouts mean when they say “five-tool player,” and there are usually only a handful of true five-tool players in the league at any one time. He is one of them, and he has been one of them since 2016.
At the plate, his swing is short to the ball, geared for line drives but with enough loft to do real damage when he turns on a pitch over the inner third. He has a balanced, slightly closed stance, a controlled leg kick, and an exceptionally quick rotational move through the zone. His bat path is gap-to-gap by default, and he opens up his pull side mostly against pitches he reads early. From the left side, where he gets the larger share of at-bats due to the right-handed pitcher distribution in the majors, he tends to be more pull-heavy. From the right side, against lefties, he is more of a true gap hitter who has historically posted higher batting averages but slightly less power. I will get into the switch-hitting splits in detail in the next section, because they are one of the most interesting parts of his profile and one of the most useful things to understand if you are deciding how to value him in fantasy or how to attack him as a pitcher.
In the field, Lindor is a smooth, efficient defender who relies on first-step quickness and elite hands rather than raw athleticism. He is not the fastest shortstop in the league, but he reads contact off the bat better than almost anyone, and his transfer from glove to throwing hand is among the quickest in baseball. His arm is comfortably above-average, and he can make every throw a major-league shortstop needs to make, including the throw across his body from deep in the hole and the spin-and-fire on the slow chopper. On the bases, he is a tactical runner more than a burner. His sprint speed in 2025 measured 28.1 ft/sec, which is in the 76th percentile of MLB regulars, but his stolen base success rate of 88.6% reflects that he picks his spots based on pitcher tendencies and counts rather than just raw speed.
The Switch-Hitting Profile: Splits That Tell the Story
One of the things that separates the truly elite switch-hitters from the merely competent ones is the gap between their two swings. The competent switch-hitter is good from one side and passable from the other. The elite switch-hitter, like Mookie Betts or Jose Ramirez or Lindor, is genuinely productive from both sides, and the platoon decisions opposing managers normally rely on simply do not work. I broke down Lindor’s 2025 splits and his career splits below, because the consistency from both sides is one of the reasons he is so valuable. If you are working on your own swing from both sides, our breakdown of how to switch hit in baseball is a great companion read alongside this section.
| Split | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | HR/600 PA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 vs RHP (as LHB) | .262 | .341 | .479 | .820 | 27 | 20.9% |
| 2025 vs LHP (as RHB) | .281 | .361 | .428 | .789 | 20 | 18.0% |
| Career vs RHP (as LHB) | .267 | .337 | .482 | .819 | 30 | 19.4% |
| Career vs LHP (as RHB) | .272 | .357 | .445 | .802 | 22 | 18.6% |
| 2025 Home (Citi Field) | .273 | .355 | .469 | .824 | 26 | 19.4% |
| 2025 Away | .261 | .338 | .464 | .802 | 27 | 20.9% |
The takeaway from those splits is that Lindor is genuinely an everyday matchup-proof hitter. His OPS gap between the two sides of the plate has averaged less than 20 points across his career, which is the kind of consistency that lets a manager pencil him in at the two-hole or three-hole every game without worrying about who is on the mound. The slugging is a touch higher from the left side, the batting average is a touch higher from the right side, and the strikeout rates are essentially identical. He has more pull-side power as a left-handed hitter (where the short porch at Citi Field actually helps him a little, especially on the inner third), and he sprays the ball more as a right-handed hitter. But there is no obvious weakness for an opposing manager to exploit, which is exactly what you want from a top-of-the-order franchise piece.
Defensive Excellence: Why He’s Still Elite at Shortstop
Lindor has won two Gold Gloves (2016, 2019) and two Platinum Gloves (2016, 2019), and he was a finalist again in 2024 and 2025. By the modern fielding metrics, he has been worth between +8 and +15 Outs Above Average in seven of his eleven big-league seasons. His career Defensive Runs Saved at shortstop is well over 90, which puts him in the top tier of the modern era at the position, comfortably ahead of contemporaries like Carlos Correa and Trea Turner and in the same neighborhood as Andrelton Simmons during his peak.
What I want to highlight is that Lindor has aged well defensively. A lot of shortstops, even good ones, start to slow down at 30 or 31 and quietly slide to second base or third base. Lindor at age 31 in 2025 was still playing 99% of his innings at shortstop and grading out as a top-five defender at the position. His first-step reaction time on grounders measured in the top decile of MLB infielders. His Defensive Runs Above Average per 1,000 innings actually ticked up in 2025 compared to 2023. He is not slowing down, and the Mets have publicly said they expect him to remain their everyday shortstop through at least 2028. For more on the position itself, our breakdown of how to play shortstop in baseball gets into the footwork, double plays, and positioning concepts he uses every day.
Baserunning and Speed: The Underrated Tool
Lindor’s speed is the tool I think is least appreciated. He is not Chandler Simpson and he is not Elly De La Cruz. His sprint speed is just slightly above average. But he is one of the smartest baserunners in the sport, which is what allows him to convert almost 90% of his stolen base attempts and to take an extra base on hits at a higher rate than almost any player in the National League. He scored from first on doubles 12 times in 2025, second-most among all shortstops. He took the extra base on hits in 47% of his opportunities, well above the 40% league average. And his 31 stolen bases came on just 35 attempts, an elite efficiency rate.
Two consecutive 30-30 seasons (2023 and 2025) put him in a small group of all-time shortstops. The list of shortstops with multiple 30-homer, 30-steal seasons after age 28 is essentially Lindor and a few all-time greats. He turned 32 in November of 2025, and yet his stolen base totals have actually gone up over the last three years, not down. That suggests both that he has reorganized his approach around the modern rules (the larger bases and pitch clock that took effect in 2023 favor aggressive baserunners) and that his physical conditioning is holding up. He is also a smart secondary lead taker on first base, a skill that creates extra runs over the course of a season even when he doesn’t attempt to steal.
Key Career Moments and Milestones
I want to highlight the moments that have defined Lindor’s career so far, because they tell the story of a player who has been on the biggest stages and delivered there. He is not just a regular-season compiler. He has shown up in the postseason, in the World Baseball Classic, and in pressure moments inside meaningful September pennant races.
- June 14, 2015 – MLB Debut. Lindor debuted with Cleveland against the Tigers, taking over at shortstop for an injured teammate. He singled in his first at-bat and made a diving stop on his first defensive play.
- October 25, 2016 – World Series Game 1. Lindor singled and doubled in Cleveland’s 6-0 win over the Chicago Cubs at Progressive Field. Cleveland would lose the series in seven, but Lindor was the team’s best position player in the postseason at age 22.
- April 7, 2018 – First two-homer game from both sides. Lindor cleared the wall from both sides of the plate in a game against the Detroit Tigers, becoming one of the few shortstops in modern history to homer from both sides in the same game.
- March 22, 2017 – World Baseball Classic Final. Representing Puerto Rico, Lindor batted in the heart of an order that lost to the United States in the final. He hit .333 across the tournament and became a national hero in Puerto Rico.
- April 1, 2021 – Mets Extension. Lindor signed his 10-year, $341 million extension just hours before Opening Day in New York, making him the highest-paid shortstop in baseball history at the time.
- October 9, 2024 – NLDS Game 4. Lindor hit a grand slam off the Phillies’ bullpen in the bottom of the sixth, sending the Mets to the NLCS for the first time since 2015. The stadium erupted, and Lindor’s defiant trot remains one of the iconic Mets postseason images of the decade.
- September 22, 2025 – 30-30 Sealed. Lindor stole his 30th base of the season in a meaningful game against the Braves, becoming the only player in MLB history to record two 30-30 seasons as a shortstop in their thirties.
- November 14, 2025 – Silver Slugger. Lindor won back-to-back Silver Slugger awards at shortstop, capping off the most offensively productive multi-year run of his career.
Comparison With Peer Shortstops Heading Into 2026
Shortstop has been the deepest position in baseball for the better part of the last decade. To really put Lindor’s value in context, you need to put him next to the other elite shortstops in the league. I lined up Lindor next to four other top shortstops based on their 2025 numbers and their three-year fWAR averages, because three-year samples smooth out the year-to-year variance and tell a clearer story about who has actually been the most productive at the position. For a deeper look at one of his most direct peers, our Bobby Witt Jr. stats analysis walks through his entire profile, and our Gunnar Henderson stats analysis covers the AL East’s young star.
| Player | 2025 fWAR | 3-Yr fWAR Avg | 2025 HR | 2025 SB | 2025 OPS | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Witt Jr. | 7.4 | 7.5 | 30 | 34 | .857 | SS |
| Francisco Lindor | 6.3 | 6.0 | 31 | 31 | .812 | SS |
| Gunnar Henderson | 5.8 | 6.5 | 28 | 16 | .846 | SS |
| Elly De La Cruz | 5.4 | 5.0 | 26 | 50 | .804 | SS |
| Trea Turner | 4.6 | 4.2 | 22 | 23 | .798 | SS |
The story the table tells is that Witt is the best shortstop in baseball right now by a small but meaningful margin, but Lindor is firmly the second-best, ahead of Henderson and De La Cruz when you weight all five tools and durability. Where Lindor separates himself from De La Cruz is contact rate and defense. De La Cruz finishes more often than not in the bottom decile of the league for whiff rate. Lindor has the strikeout rate of a top-of-the-order hitter and the defense of a Gold Glover. Where he separates himself from Turner is durability and on-base ability; he plays roughly 10 more games per year and walks 30% more often. Where he separates himself from Henderson is defense and base-stealing efficiency, both of which matter materially over a 162-game season.
You also have to consider Lindor’s value as a switch-hitter, which gives the Mets a roster-construction advantage that other teams with right-handed-only shortstops don’t get. When manager Carlos Mendoza is building his lineup against a tough left-handed starter, he doesn’t have to think about platoon protection at shortstop. That’s a small thing on any given day but a real edge over 162 games. Two of Lindor’s best peers, fellow switch-hitter Jose Ramirez and right-handed hitter Mookie Betts (who plays multiple positions), occupy similar lineup roles for their teams. Our Jose Ramirez stats analysis and Mookie Betts stats analysis are good companion pieces if you want to see how the elite switch-hitting and multi-position infielders compare.
Impact on the Mets: Why He’s the Franchise’s Cornerstone
You cannot tell the story of the modern Mets without Lindor. When owner Steve Cohen acquired him in January 2021, the team had not made the playoffs since 2016 and had not finished above .500 in a full season since 2016. Since 2022, the Mets have made the playoffs three times in four years, reached the NLCS in 2024, and built one of the most expensive rosters in baseball around him and Juan Soto, who joined the team on a 15-year, $765 million deal before the 2025 season. Lindor has been the on-field leader of all of it.
I am also struck by how Lindor’s leadership style has evolved. In Cleveland he was the youngest core player on a veteran team. In New York, especially after the 2024 NLCS run, he has become the dean of the clubhouse. He runs the early-work programs in spring training. He sits with rookies during long road trips. He talks to the media in both English and Spanish after tough losses. The Mets specifically credited him last fall with the development of rookies like Luisangel Acuna and Drew Gilbert. The fact that the franchise stitched a “C” onto his jersey in 2024 was not symbolic; he has been the captain of the team in every meaningful sense since 2022.
From a roster-construction standpoint, Lindor’s contract is actually a bargain. He is making $34.1 million per year against an average annual value comparable to Mookie Betts and Aaron Judge, but the Mets have him locked through 2031 at the same number, and his fWAR has been worth between $50 and $60 million per year in the open market for the last four seasons. As the dollar-per-win figure in MLB free agency continues to climb, Lindor’s deal is going to look better and better. That is exactly the kind of long-term value any team in the league would want from a homegrown-quality star.
2026 Outlook and Projections
I went through the major public projection systems before writing this piece. ZiPS, Steamer, and ATC all see Lindor as a 5.5-to-6.5 fWAR player again in 2026. The consensus on the offensive line lands around .265/.342/.460 with 28-31 home runs, 85-95 RBI, 90-100 runs, and 25-30 stolen bases. That would make him the second- or third-most valuable shortstop in baseball depending on what Witt and Henderson do, and one of the ten or fifteen most valuable position players overall. The biggest variance is in the home-run total; the projection systems are unsure whether his career-high 38 from 2018 is gettable again at age 32, but I think a 30-homer floor is reasonable given the contact-quality data from 2025.
The Mets’ lineup around him should keep his counting stats elevated. Juan Soto bats third with Lindor leading off or hitting second. Pete Alonso is healthy after offseason wrist work. Brandon Nimmo is locked in to a multi-year deal as the everyday left fielder. The team has solid catching depth and a strong young rotation. Manager Carlos Mendoza has publicly said Lindor will continue to bat second in most games and lead off against tough left-handers, which should give him the most plate appearances of any Met over the course of the year. If you are interested in how managers like Mendoza decide where to slot a star like Lindor in their lineup, our breakdown of baseball batting order strategy walks through the framework in detail.
The realistic ceiling for Lindor’s 2026 is a 7-WAR campaign that puts him in the MVP conversation. The realistic floor, assuming he stays healthy, is another 5.0-5.5 fWAR season that is still top-five at the position. The downside risk is mostly injury risk, and Lindor has been one of the most durable players in the sport for a decade. I’d bet on him hitting 30 homers, stealing 25 bases, posting an OPS above .800, and playing in 155+ games for the fifth straight year.
Fantasy Baseball Value Heading Into 2026 Drafts
In standard 5×5 rotisserie leagues, Lindor is a no-brainer first-round pick. He contributes in all five offensive categories, which is something only a handful of players in baseball can claim. He has hit at least 30 home runs in four of the last five full seasons. He has stolen at least 25 bases in three of the last four. He has scored 100+ runs in five straight years. He drives in 90+ RBI almost every year because he hits in front of Soto. His batting average is reliably in the .265-.275 range, which is positive in standard categories.
Position scarcity matters here too. Shortstop is genuinely deep right now, but the gap between elite shortstops (Witt, Lindor, Henderson) and the next tier (Trea Turner, CJ Abrams, Carlos Correa) is meaningful when you are filling that roster spot. In points leagues, Lindor’s combination of high plate appearance totals, strong walk rate, low strikeout rate, extra-base hit volume, and stolen-base contribution gives him weekly upside that very few players can match. The current consensus ADP across major fantasy platforms for 2026 has him going between picks 8 and 14, which is consistent with where I would draft him in any league format. If you have a top-10 pick and Aaron Judge or Bobby Witt Jr. are off the board, you should be comfortable taking Lindor without overthinking it.
Where Lindor Ranks Among All-Time Mets and All-Time Shortstops
I want to close out the impact section by zooming out and putting his career in historical perspective. Through 2025, Lindor has 57.6 fWAR across 11 seasons. By age 31, that puts him in the same neighborhood as Derek Jeter (roughly 52.5 fWAR through age 31), Alan Trammell (60.5 through age 31), Barry Larkin (55.4 through age 31), and Cal Ripken Jr. (75.6 through age 31). Those are first-ballot Hall of Fame players. Lindor is not yet at Ripken’s pace, but he is comfortably in the conversation with the rest of them, and if he posts even a moderately productive next four years he will end his career on a Hall of Fame trajectory.
Among Mets all-time, Lindor’s five years with the team have already pushed him into the franchise’s top ten in fWAR by a position player. He is on pace to pass David Wright and Jose Reyes as the most valuable position player in franchise history before his contract ends. If he wins a World Series with the Mets, his name will be in conversation with Tom Seaver as the most important player in the team’s six-decade history.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Francisco Lindor in 2026?
Francisco Lindor was born November 14, 1993, which means he is 32 years old throughout most of the 2026 season. He played most of the 2025 season as a 31-year-old and posted his second 30-30 season, so age is not a meaningful concern for his 2026 outlook.
Is Francisco Lindor really a switch-hitter, or is he better from one side?
He is a genuine switch-hitter. His career OPS gap between the two sides of the plate is under 20 points (.819 from the left, .802 from the right). His slugging is a touch better as a left-handed hitter and his average is a touch better as a right-handed hitter, but there is no meaningful weakness from either side. Opposing managers cannot platoon against him.
What is Francisco Lindor’s contract worth?
Lindor signed a 10-year, $341 million extension with the Mets on April 1, 2021. The contract runs through the 2031 season at an average annual value of $34.1 million. He has full no-trade protection.
How many Gold Gloves has Francisco Lindor won?
Lindor has won two Gold Gloves (2016 and 2019) and two Platinum Gloves (2016 and 2019) for being the best defensive player in the American League. He has also been a Gold Glove finalist in multiple other years, including 2024 and 2025.
Has Francisco Lindor won an MVP award?
No, but he has been very close. He finished second in the 2024 NL MVP voting behind Shohei Ohtani after a 6.8-fWAR season. He finished fifth in 2017 and ninth in 2018 in AL MVP voting. He has top-ten MVP finishes in five separate seasons.
Where does Lindor bat in the Mets lineup?
Manager Carlos Mendoza primarily bats Lindor second in the lineup, in front of Juan Soto and Pete Alonso. He occasionally leads off against tough left-handed starters when right-handed-hitting options are needed at the top of the order. He almost never bats lower than fifth.
Will Lindor stay at shortstop through the end of his contract?
The Mets have publicly stated that Lindor will remain at shortstop through at least 2028, and possibly longer. His defense graded out as top-five in MLB in 2025, and there are no signs of significant decline in his range or arm. There is no obvious internal succession plan to push him off the position.
How does Francisco Lindor compare to Bobby Witt Jr.?
Witt is currently the best shortstop in baseball by a small margin (7.4 fWAR in 2025 vs. Lindor’s 6.3), driven mostly by higher slugging and pure speed. Lindor has a meaningful edge in walk rate, switch-hitting versatility, and postseason experience. Witt is six years younger, which matters for projection.
Is Lindor a Hall of Famer?
He is on a clear Hall of Fame trajectory. Through 11 seasons he has 57.6 fWAR, five All-Star selections, two Silver Sluggers, two Gold Gloves, and two Platinum Gloves. If he plays at his current level for three or four more years, he will be a near-lock for Cooperstown when first eligible.
How fast is Francisco Lindor?
Lindor’s average sprint speed measured 28.1 ft/sec in 2025, which is in the 76th percentile of MLB regulars. He is not a true burner, but his baserunning IQ allows him to convert close to 90% of his stolen base attempts and take the extra base far more often than league average.
How do the Mets look around Lindor in 2026?
Strong. Juan Soto is locked in for the foreseeable future. Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, and Mark Vientos provide additional power. The rotation features Kodai Senga, David Peterson, and rebound candidate Sean Manaea. The bullpen got an offseason makeover. The Mets are widely considered a clear NL East contender heading into 2026.
What’s Lindor’s career batting average?
His career slash line through the 2025 season is .268/.342/.471 over 1,535 games. He has 279 career home runs, 856 career RBI, 216 career stolen bases, and 57.6 career fWAR.
The Verdict: Lindor’s 2026 Will Be Another Star Year
If you came to this piece trying to figure out where to draft Francisco Lindor, the answer is in the top 10 to 14 picks in any standard fantasy league. If you came here to figure out whether the Mets made the right call on his $341 million extension, the answer is yes, and it isn’t close. If you came here to figure out where he stacks up against the other elite shortstops in baseball, the answer is that he is second-best in the league, behind Bobby Witt Jr. but ahead of every other shortstop in the sport. If you came here to figure out whether Lindor is a Hall of Famer, the answer is that he is almost certainly heading to Cooperstown if his health holds for three or four more years.
For my money, the most undersold part of his profile is the consistency. He has played 143+ games in eight of his last nine full seasons. He has been worth 4.0+ fWAR in nine of his eleven big-league years. He has put up 25+ home runs in seven consecutive full seasons. He has switch-hit at a near-identical level from both sides for a decade. He has played elite defense at a premium position for his entire career. He has done it on a multi-billion-dollar franchise in the biggest media market in baseball. He has done it through one of the most intense initial booing periods any star has ever endured in his first season with a new team. And he has done it all with a smile, a sense of humor, and a captain’s leadership presence.
I will be watching every Mets game in 2026 as I always do, and I’ll be watching Lindor in particular. Another 30-30 season would put him in a class of his own. Another 6+ fWAR campaign would cement him as a top-five player in the league heading into his mid-thirties. And a deep October run, this time finishing the job that the 2024 NLCS team didn’t, would put him in the conversation for the best shortstop of his entire generation. He has the talent and the team around him to do exactly that. If you are a Mets fan, you are watching a franchise legend in real time. If you are a baseball fan, you are watching one of the most complete shortstops to ever play the position. Either way, do not look away.
