NY Mets: Mid-term grades for the Mets pitching staff

The New York Mets have endured countless injuries, and a ton of postponements, and yet somehow find themselves sitting pretty comfortably 3.5 games up in first place in the National League East at the all-star break. Going into this season, I thought that the team would be led by the offense. When right, the lineup from top to bottom looks elite but just hasn’t performed that way.

The Mets are second to last in all of baseball scoring just 3.76 runs per game yet sit with a record of 47-40. The main reason for this has been the pitching.

While the Mets are second to last in runs per game, they are second in runs allowed per game at 3.66.

The Mets have done this without two starters in Carlos Carrasco and Noah Syndergaard, and with their best reliever in my opinion Seth Lugo for the first two months of the season. Let’s check in and see how each pitcher is doing so far.

Jacob deGrom

MVP! deGrom is on track to win his third Cy Young Award and his first MVP award after posting a 1.08 ERA in the first half. At this point, it’s shocking when he allows a run.

Grade: A+

Taijuan Walker

National League All-Star Taijuan Walker has been the steal of the offseason, posting a 2.50 ERA in 90 innings pitched. He’s been far better than anyone could’ve ever expected and has been healthy for the most part which is something this Mets team has desperately needed.

Grade: A

Aaron Loup

I was very critical of the Aaron Loup signing as the only left-handed reliever in the Mets bullpen, but he has been outstanding. Loup has posted a 1.61 ERA in 31 appearances and has held left-handers to a .158/.190/.158 slash line. Yes, he has not allowed a single extra-base hit to a left-handed hitter.

Grade: A

Edwin Diaz

The numbers in non-save situations are awful. However, he has been lockdown in save situations, converting 19 of his 21 opportunities. There’re still things to improve upon, but this is a lot closer to the Edwin Diaz I envisioned. Prior to his blown save the game before the all-star break, an argument could’ve been made for Diaz to be an all-star.

Grade: A-

Marcus Stroman

After missing all of last season, Stroman has been a very reliable arm in this depleted Mets rotation. He has posted a 2.75 ERA in his 98.1 innings through 18 starts so far, producing a lot of ground balls. He’s making the Mets think long and hard about potentially bringing him back after the season.

Grade: A-

Trevor May

After signing a two-year $15.5 million dollar contract this offseason, May has been very inconsistent in his first season in New York. A 3.58 ERA isn’t bad but isn’t stellar by any means. His strikeout numbers are right around where they usually are, but he has allowed a couple of huge home runs.

Grade: C+

Miguel Castro

In the beginning of the season, Castro was dominant. Lately, not so much. His walk rate is still way too high with his 5.5 BB/9. Whether he was overworked or has a connection to the “sticky stuff” hopefully Castro can turn things around in the second half.

Grade: C

Joey Lucchesi

He was finally getting in a groove before tearing his UCL in June. The Mets finally let him pitch to the opposing lineup three times through and he was coming off of five straight starts allowing one run or less, lowering his ERA from 9.19 to 4.46 in the process. Hopefully, he’ll recover well and will be back next season.

Grade: C-

David Peterson

Following a very solid rookie year, Peterson has taken a step back in 2021. Last season Peterson seemed to get out of jams and avoid the huge inning. This season he has gone fewer than five innings in eight of his 15 starts, largely due to the big inning. It feels like we either get good Peterson or awful Peterson with no in-between. He is currently on the IL with an oblique injury so hopefully when he returns he will pitch with more consistency.

Grade: D

Want your voice heard? Join the Rising Apple team!

Write for us!

What grades would you hand out to Mets pitchers?