New York Mets final report card grades for the 2020 season

Amed Rosario

Very disappointing year for Rosario. He lost his starting job, and was awful for most of the year. Rosario slashed .252/.272/.371 this season with four home runs and 15 RBI. It was not the breakout year many expected after his outstanding second half last year. Rosario drew his first of four walks this season on August 31st. In order for Rosario to claim his starting job back he must show better plate discipline because he went half of this season without a single walk. Another shocking stat is that Rosario did not steal a single base. Yes, he was not on base a ton but someone with that much speed has to have at least one stolen base in two months. Pete Alonso had more stolen bases for crying out loud.

Grade: F

Dellin Betances

Betances was one of the more exciting signings this offseason. He was expected to be that dominant set up guy to get to Diaz or Lugo to close a game out. That never happened. In my first set of report cards, I wrote that I was worried about his stuff. His fastball was topping out at 94-95 mph and he wasn’t getting the strikeouts he had gotten his entire career. That trend continued. He struck out 8.5 batters per nine innings this year. Not bad, but when you compare that number to the 14.5 K/9 in his career, you can see that his stuff just isn’t the same. Betances had a 7.71 ERA this year and walked a whopping 9.3 batters per nine. Anytime a pitcher walks more batters than he strikes out, that’s bad news. While he’s always had a walk problem, he’s always had the stuff to just strike out every batter. It appears that he doesn’t have that anymore. Betances missed a lot of time with a lat injury, and he said he was hiding that injury for much of the season. Hopefully next year he will be fully healthy and can regain that 98-99 mph fastball we were so used to seeing when he was a Yankee. The Mets need him to be that dominant set up man he used to be. He has a $6 Million Dollar player option which he will likely take. So, expect him to be a Met and expect to see him on the mound in close games. Hopefully he can step it up.

Grade: F

Michael Wacha

The 2013 NLCS MVP got through five innings just three times in his eight appearances. Wacha was expected to fight for a rotation spot with Steven Matz but after the injuries, he was deemed the number four starter. It was a disaster. Wacha went 1-4 with a 6.62 ERA this season. Wacha along with Porcello, were reclamation projects. They were guys who have had success in the past but haven’t been affective lately. The Mets took a chance on both of them and failed miserably. Wacha did not have a single quality start as a Met and his only solid start was his first start of the year against the 24-36 Red Sox. The home run ball really cost him as he allowed nine home runs in 34 innings pitched. He allowed a home run in every appearance but one. It just did not go well at all for Wacha this season.

Grade: F

Wilson Ramos

2020 was a big struggle for the Buffalo. He slashed .239/.297/.387 with five home runs and 15 RBI. Last season, Ramos was huge for the Mets with his clutch hitting. That took a huge step back this season as he went just 5-36 with runners in scoring position, a .139 average. Last season, Ramos hit over .300 in those situations. He was just one of many Mets who seemingly shrunk with runners in scoring position. Furthermore, Ramos struggled mightily behind the plate. Last season, he was hitting so it was less noticeable just how bad he is defensively. The way the Mets had him set up was on one knee to try and get more low strikes called. This didn’t work, and this made Ramos even more immobile than he was before, and it was pretty much impossible for him to block a ball. Ramos also cost the Mets a game not getting a tag down. The Mets must look elsewhere to find a catcher who can actually play the position and hit. It’s been way too long since the Mets have had that.

Grade: F

Steven Matz

Boy, what a disappointing season. With the injuries to the rotation, Matz was bumped up to be the number two starter in this rotation behind Jacob deGrom. His first start went well, he allowed one run in six innings. After that, it all went downhill. Matz finished the season with an 0-5 record and an ERA of 9.68. He allowed 14 home runs in 30.2 innings pitched. 4.1 home runs per nine innings. Matz has always had a home run problem, but never this bad. Matz showed a ton of promise at the second half of last season, and this season was just such a disappointment. He never got on track. The Mets cannot pencil him in as a member of their rotation for next year and need to seriously consider non-tendering him.

Grade: F