This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo’s Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

For all the imperfections of his season, Francisco Lindor is once again an All-Star finalist. But his ticket to Seattle isn’t quite punched yet.

Lindor finished the initial phase of All-Star Game voting ranked second among National League shortstops behind Atlanta’s Orlando Arcia, who has been invaluable -- as the Braves well know -- as departed free agent Dansby Swanson’s replacement. For Lindor, earning his first career All-Star start, his fifth total appearance and his first since 2019 won’t be easy.

Entering Friday’s play, Lindor trailed Arcia by significant margins in many major statistical categories, including both widely accepted versions of WAR. Here are Lindor’s ranks among NL shortstops with at least 150 plate appearances:

HR:14 (1st)
R: 44 (1st)
RBI: 51 (1st)
AVG: .217 (14th)
OBP: .303 (8th)
SLG: .437 (5th)
bWAR: 2.0 (4th)
fWAR: 2.4 (8th)

And here are Arcia’s:

HR: 6 (8th)
R: 32 (5th)
RBI: 25 (7th)
AVG: .333 (1st)
OBP: .392 (2nd)
SLG: .478 (3rd)
bWAR: 2.4 (3rd)
fWAR: 2.2 (4th)

Lindor’s are borderline All-Star numbers, but one good omen for him is that he may be warming at the right time. In his last four games (coincidentally -- or perhaps not -- since the birth of his second daughter), Lindor is batting .333 with two home runs and seven RBIs. Those numbers include a homer and two doubles against right-handed pitchers, who had been the switch-hitting Lindor’s kryptonite throughout the early part of the season.

The other thing working in Lindor’s advantage is the fact that Phase 1 balloting totals do not carry over into Phase 2. That means the more than 1 million-vote advantage that Arcia built in Phase 1 gives him no edge during the next round of balloting.

Phase 2 voting will run from noon ET on Monday (June 26) until noon on Thursday (June 29) at MLB.com/vote. Fans may vote once per day during Phase 2, with the daily voting limit resetting daily at midnight. Winners will be announced on Thursday live on ESPN, at 7 p.m.

Outside of Lindor, the Mets’ next-best chance at an All-Star is Pete Alonso, who did not qualify for Phase 2 of voting after dropping behind Atlanta’s Matt Olson in the final week of balloting.

Olson will campaign against Los Angeles’ Freddie Freeman for the All-Star start. Alonso -- the NL home run leader -- can at best be a reserve. In past years, he has said that he would only participate in the Home Run Derby if he qualified for the All-Star Game as a player.

Other All-Star possibilities for the Mets include outfielder Brandon Nimmo and rookie catcher Francisco Alvarez, both of whom can also only qualify as reserves.