Mets 2023 midseason report card
Written by John Fox
It’s the All-Star break, which seems like as good a time as any to determine mid term grades for the Mets players and management. This is a subjective process, which will factor in not only performance but also how the individual is doing compared to expectations.
We’ll list batter, pitcher, and management sections, each done alphabetically. Batters must have accrued at least 50 PA and pitchers 30 IP, and players must still be on the active roster to be graded.
Pete Alonso-His job is to provide power, and he has done that to the tune of 26 homers and 61 RBI. His BA is poor, at .211, but with RISP He is batting .260 showing he is looking to drive in the runs, not just hit monster homers. His defensive numbers are pretty good with a DRS of +3. Grade: B+
Francisco Alvarez-For a 20 year old rookie at the demanding position of catcher, he is having quite a year, having smashed 17 homers already. Most years he would be a contender for Rookie of the Year, but maybe not this season with Reds’ sensation Elly De La Cruz being eligible. Grade: A-
Brett Baty-The rookie started off well but has tailed off to a .244/.315/.354 slash line. He has a potentially bright future, but he has a ways to go. Grade C-
Mark Canha-The veteran has an OPS of .748, kind of mediocre. He has proved to be versatile, with games at the corner outfield spots, 1st and 3rd bases, and DH. Grade: C+
Luis Guillorme-His niche is as a glove-first utility infielder. He gets on base with an OBP of .324, but he is devoid of power. He has made some spectacular defensive plays, but his DRS figure is a -2. Grade: C-
Francisco Lindor-He’s a slick fielding shortstop who provides very good power with 19 homers and 60 RBI. Grade: A-
Starling Marte-His OPS is only .644, lowest of the players being graded here. He’s grounded into more than his share of rally-killing GIDPs. His corner outfield defense is subpar. I would have given him an F except for his 23 SB. Grade:D-
Jeff McNeil-The 2022 batting champ is struggling with a .253/.331/.328 slash line. He is a good defender at 2nd base and corner outfield. One stat that is surprisingly good and has saved him from a D grade is his BA with RISP, an excellent .319. Grade:C-
Brandon Nimmo-The center fielder has tailed off lately, he still has a good .807 OPS. He provides on-base skills and some power from the leadoff spot in the order. Grade:B
Tommy Pham-He started the season as a backup ooutfielder, but he won a starting spot during the season. He leads the team in OPS with .836, he has been a good defender and he has swiped 10 bases. Grade:A
Daniel Vogelbach-He is extremely slow, he can’t play the field, and his SA is only .355, with an OPS of .690. As low as his stats are, they are inflated a bit by the lefty swinger exclusively facing right-handed pitchers, a luxury few players get. Grade: F+
Carlos Carrasco-The veteran starter has benn erratic, with a few good starts peppered with some putrid ones. His ERA is sky-high at 5.16. Grade:D+
Adam Ottavino-As a setup reliever he has mostly done his job with a 3.72 ERA and a WHIP of 1.18 in 36IP. Grade:B-
David Peterson– The lefty has a record of 2-7 and his ERA is just as ugly at 6.46. He shows flashes of promise mixed in with too many duds. Grade: D-
Brooks Raley-He has been an effective high-leverage reliever this year, with 31 IP, 17 holds and a fine 2.30 ERA. Grade:A-
David Robertson-He was slotted to be the setup man out of the bullpen, that is, until the Edwin Diaz injury. He has been excellent in the closer role with 13 saves, a 2.06 ERA and a WHIP figure of 1.02. Grade:A
Max Scherzer-In some ways he is the opposite of Jacob deGrom, who normally had great stats pitching for the Mets but pedestrian won-loss records. In contrast Scherzer has an 8-3 record but a 4.31 ERA. Grade:C-
Kodai Senga-No one knew what to expect from him in his first MLB season after a career in Japanese ball. As it turned out, he has been the best starter on the staff and he made the All-Star team. He has a 7-5 record, a 3.31 ERA in 89.2 IP. Grade:A
Justin Verlander-The future Hall-of-Famer had a monster year last year, but his performance has dropped off. Still pretty good at an ERA of 3.60 with a WHIP of 1.20. Grade:C+
Steve Cohen-Obviously the season has not gone as he wanted, but not much of that is his fault. As owner he provided his GM with a record-setting player payroll budget, and he didn’t panic and start firing people when the team floundered. Grade:B
Billy Eppler-The GM had that big budget to work with but the results have been poor. Grade:D
Buck Showalter-His managing style is much the same as last year when the team won 101 games, go figure. His lineup construction was sub-optimal with Alvarez near the bottum of the batting order for too long and Marte in the two-hole for way too long. Grade:C-
Overall team grade: D
It’s clearly been a disappointing season, although a wild card post season place is at least a possibility. Taking the longer view, in 2024, with Edwin Diaz presumably returning and a maturing Franciso Alvarez, it should be a brighter scenario for the Mets.