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As the Mets head back home for a 4-game series against the Marlins, they look to build on their impressive comeback against the Reds on Wednesday. Their win improved their record to 51-31 for the year. Seeing that they have played half the season, let’s see how each position group has fared thus far.
Catcher: The Mets have fielded James McCann, Tomas Nido, and Patrick Mazeika at Catcher this season. On the defensive side, all 3 catchers have fared well at calling games, framing, and throwing opposing runners out. While things look good there, the group has been a liability on offense. All 3 catchers have OPSs that sit around .500, which is among the worst in the league. The group has netted just -0.1 fWAR to this point and could use great help in this department moving forward. — [D]
First Base: While the Mets haven’t gotten the best fielding out of Pete Alonso at First Base, mixing in Dom Smith, J.D. Davis, and Mark Canha, they have gotten great production out of the group offensively, mainly Pete. Alonso is putting together a great season that should earn him an All-Star nod. Between Pete and Dom, the group has notched 2.6 fWAR. On pace for 5.2 as a unit, that would be darn impressive. — [A]
Second Base: The Mets started the season with Robinson Cano in the rotation, but after that went south, Jeff McNeil has returned to his natural position, with utility man, Luis Guill0rme filling in when needed. The group has been stellar offensively and defensively, as they have been a major reason for New York’s success. McNeil and Guill0rme have put together 3.4 fWAR so far at 2B. —[A]
Third Base: Third Base has been a missing part of the equation for the Mets ever since franchise legend, David Wright, hit the shelf in 2016. That missing part has shown greatly this year as a veteran, Eduardo Escobar has struggled. While he’s played much better since the start of July, it has certainly been a position of weakness for the Mets. He’s put up just 0.9 fWAR, on pace for 1.8, which doesn’t cut it in a league full of superstars at 3B. — [C-]
Shortstop: Francisco Lindor is the shortstop now and for the future. He is a proven MVP-caliber player but hasn’t played that way since coming to New York. He’s great defensively but is far too streaky on offense. He hasn’t lived up to his contract, but he’s been a very solid player, nonetheless. With a 2.6 fWAR, shortstop has been one of the strongest positions on the Mets. — [B+]
Left Field: Left Field has been manned by Mark Canha mainly, with Jeff McNeil mixing in here and there. Canha has been solid in the field and solid on offense, producing with RISP, while hitting lower in the lineup. Canha has put up 1.3 fWAR and with Mcneil getting some time out there, the group has faired well and has helped New York more than it has hurt them. — [B]
Center Field: Brandon Nimmo won’t be an All-Star this year, but he should be. He’s having a great year offensively, as well as playing a very reliable center field. He’s one of the best leadoff hitters in the MLB and one of the best CF. His 2.7 fWAR puts him on pace for 5.4 fWAR, which would be a phenomenal year for him. — [A]
Right Field: Starling Marte has been everything the Mets needed from their Right Fielder this year. He has impressive range, a strong arm, and a knack for clutch hitting. Marte has earned 1.7 fWAR this year, on pace for a respectable 3.4. With the hope that Marte stays hot, he could be perhaps the most valuable Met come October. — [B+]
Designated Hitter: The Mets have slotted in both Dom Smith and J.D. Davis at DH, and while both have shown potential due to their ability to hit the ball hard, they both have come up short when it comes to real production. DH has been a major hole in the lineup all year long, but it may be just because the guys are just plain getting unlucky. Dom and J.D. both have OPSs in the low .600s and this has certainly hurt them. I think this group could improve drastically down the stretch, but the results just haven’t been there. — [D+]
Starting Pitching: The Mets pitching staff has been through it all. They’ve dealt with injuries, short starts, long starts, spot starts, and then some. This group has been very inconsistent, but there is an asterisk there. The Mets have spent most of the season without their 2 best guys, and it has hurt them. While guys like David Peterson and Taijaun Walker have stepped up to the challenge, others have had some really poor outings. Overall, the group has been just about average, with the potential to be great. The rotations average ERA is 3.8 (min. 7 GS). This is a solid number, however, it is skewed due to impressive long relief appearances from guys like Trevor Williams and David Peterson. The pitching staff has a lot of room to improve, but to this point, they have been about league average. — [B]
Relief Pitching: New York has a strong bullpen led by Edwin Diaz, and while they’ve had a few unreliable outings here and there, they have been a very strong unit. As the season progresses, adding 1 more reliever that you can count on would be a smart play, but the group has fared well to this point. The Mets bullpen ranks just outside the Top-10 in ERA with a 3.53 average and they rank inside the Top-5 Strikeouts with 331 SO. While there is room for improvement, this has been one of the best units for the Mets all year long. — [B+]
Overall: The Mets have performed well all season, as they have a 51-31 record, on pace for 102 wins, which would be the 2nd best in franchise history. They have slowed down as of late, but they look to keep pushing that lead the NL East. The team has found ways to win, often relying on small ball. The position groups for the Mets have generally been solid and even great, but the Mets have some blaring holes that need to be handled if they want to win the NL pennant and compete for a World Series for the first time since 2015. Their overall grade for the season thus far is an [A-].
