The New York Mets are looking to put their recent history of collapses to bed. After throwing away a playoff spot last season, the Mets have dominated the National League East for most of the season, and continue to hold a solid lead over the Atlanta Braves, who have been breathing down their back for most of the season.

The Mets have quietly established themselves as a solid World Series contender, and have the second best record in the majors behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers. New York will almost certainly earn themselves a playoff spot this season; the question is whether or not they will win their division or if they will fall into a wild card spot.

New York is in a great spot currently, but they have their work cut out for them when it comes to holding off the Braves behind them. The Mets are among the favorites to win the 2022 World Series, but should that be the case? Let's take a closer look at New York's World Series hopes and see whether they are a legit contender or a pretender that will get knocked out of the playoffs quickly.

New York Mets: World Series contenders or World Series pretenders

It feels like all the pieces have finally come together to allow the Mets to rocket up the MLB standings this season. They have a deep lineup that has been hitting well all season long, and a dominant pitching staff that has only gotten better throughout the month of August. It's clear the Mets have the makings of a team that could go all the way.

In the lineup, the Mets are led by their star slugger Pete Alonso. Alonso has put together a strong season as New York's top run producer, and the rest of the lineup has followed suit. Francisco Lindor has put together a nice bounce back season after struggling during his first campaign with the Mets last year, and has been a solid protector of Alonso all season long.

Alonso and Lindor have gotten help from all over the lineup too. Jeff McNeil has been his usual steady-hitting self, while the outfield of Mark Canha, Brandon Nimmo, and Starling Marte have all been extremely consistent throughout the season. They haven't gotten much production out of their catcher position, which is held by Tomas Nido, and Eduardo Escober has been a disappointment so far this season, but otherwise there aren't many holes in the Mets lineup.

New York's pitching staff has also been lights out all season long, which has certainly helped as well. They have arguably the best one-two punch atop their rotation in Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer, and the depth behind them is good as well. Chris Bassitt has been the anchor of the rotation all season long, and Carlos Carrasco has been solid too, although he's currently on the injured list. Taijuan Walker has been good for most of the season, but his struggles as of late are a bit concerning.

The good news is the bullpen is just as good, which gives the rotation a bit of protection. Edwin Diaz has been electric as the Mets closer this season, and has gotten support from setup guys Seth Lugo and Adam Ottavino all season long. Ottavino in particular has been a revelation, as he has a 2.25 ERA just one season after he had a 4.21 ERA with the Boston Red Sox. There are some guys, such as Trevor May or Mychal Givens, that have struggled, but all in all, the Mets bullpen has been stellar for most of the season.

Final decision: Contender

On paper, the Mets aren't the most impressive team ever, but they are clearly one of the deeper teams in the league, and they will only continue to get better. They overcame a couple of significant injuries early on in the season, and have managed to keep pace with the top teams in the league. If that isn't an encouraging sign, I'm not sure what is.

As the Mets continue to get healthy, they figure to only get better, and that bodes well for their postseason prospects. Getting Carrasco back would be a huge help, and even Escobar, who has been wildly inconsistent, would be a welcome sight.

The Mets have gotten by with a next man up mentality all season long, but it would obviously be ideal if they could get healthy before the playoffs. If they can, the Mets will clearly cement their status as a contender, and look to make some noise in a packed National League playoff race.