Grading the 2023 NY Mets first half position player performances

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The 2023 New York Mets position players have their midterm report card grades in, following a disappointing first half which saw the team go 42-48. 90 games are in the books and there were some eye-opening results, both good and bad, for this team, with some fun developments among their young studs, with some of their older players not exceeding expectations like they did last year.

So without any further ado, we present their grades. This list is sorted by plate appearances from most to fewest, and all the players with 50 or more plate appearances are included on this list, just like we did with last year's midseason report cards.

OF Brandon Nimmo - 2023 Mets position player first half grade

1st Half Stats: 401 PA, .266/.365/.442, 13 HR, 41 RBI, 123 OPS+, 91 hits, 52 runs scored

Brandon Nimmo has been the most consistent and stable component on this Mets squad all year in the first year of a long-term contract he signed seven months ago. He's played really good defense in center field once again this year, and he has gotten on base more often than anyone else on the team at his .365 on-base clip. Nimmo has been hitting the ball harder than he's ever had, as his average exit velocity and hard hit rates are at career highs.

Grade: B+

SS Francisco Lindor - 2023 Mets position player first half grade

1st Half Stats: 387 PA, .239/.320/.478, 19 HR, 60 RBI, 118 OPS+, 161 total bases

Francisco Lindor should have been an All-Star. He led all major league shortstops in home runs, runs batted in, and runs scored. Overall, he is in the top 10 in the NL in home runs, RBI, extra He has also shown more power this season, as he had 41 extra base hits in the first half. However, what probably left him off the All-Star team was his low batting average, which has substantially improved, however, after the voting process was finished. He'll appear on BBWAA MVP ballots this fall if he can carry the momentum into the 2nd half.

Grade: A-

2B Jeff McNeil - 2023 Mets position player first half grade

1st Half Stats: 362 PA, .253/.331/.328, 3 HR, 26 RBI, 84 OPS+, 81 hits, 10 HBP

Jeff McNeil has followed his batting title season with a campaign similar to that of 2021, where he struggled mightily, especially in June. McNeil has gotten under a lot of pitches during his slump, which has led to a lot of pop outs and unproductive outs in big situations this year. He is batting just .139 in late and close situations this season as a result of his approach, which is second worst on the team to Brett Baty (.120).

McNeil and hitting coach Jeremy Barnes will need to work on mechanical adjustments in his swing during the break if McNeil can salvage something out of what is a lost season so far.

Grade: C-

1B Pete Alonso - 2023 Mets position player first half grade

1st Half Stats: 348 PA, .211/.310/.497, 26 HR, 61 RBI, 119 OPS+, 11.7 AB/HR

Pete Alonso's first half was an interesting one to say the least, as his 26 homers rank 2nd in the NL and earned him a spot in the All-Star Game this week despite his batting average checking in 60 points below his mark last year. He remains one of the most feared power hitters in the game, and if he can do a better job at handling fastballs, he can revert back to being more than just a home run hitter like he was last year. Alonso's strikeout rate is up and walk rate is down slightly, and we need to see both improve if the Mets make a miraculous run into the playoffs.

Grade: B

OF Starling Marte - 2023 Mets position player first half grade

1st Half Stats: 326 PA, .256/.309/.336, 5 HR, 28 RBI, 79 OPS+, 23 SB

Starling Marte has not been the money player he was last year. He's had two small stretches of success, one in early April, and one in early-to-mid June, but he's been a liability everywhere else in the first half. His plate discipline has been poor, the hustle and heart are not as prevalent, and his defense has not been where it was at times last year. However, he does have 23 stolen bases, which ranks third in the National League.

Grade: C-

OF Mark Canha - 2023 Mets position player first half grade

1st Half Stats: 255 PA, .245/.345/.403, 6 HR, 28 RBI, 107 OPS+, .400 AVG w/2 out & RISP

Like some of the other hitters in this lineup, Mark Canha's bat didn't start heating up until the calendar changed, and he's delivered some great moments for this team. His good stretch started with his continued torture of Phillies' pitching in late May and early June, and it was capped by that game-winning triple in Arizona in the ninth inning of a game last week. He's shown again in the first half why he's a professional with a high IQ who play the game the right way. He is liked by the fans a lot, and his play on the field is a reflection of that.

Grade: B

3B Brett Baty - 2023 Mets position player first half grade

1st Half Stats: 234 PA, .244/.315/.354, 5 HR, 21 RBI, 86 OPS+, .322 BABIP

There have been many top prospects that made the majors that have wowed fans relentlessly this season. Brett Baty, however, was not one of them in the first half. He also seems to get a little anxious in big situations, as he's batting just .120 in late and close situations. However, one thing that does impress fans about him is that when he makes contact, it's hard contact. The problem is that he strikes out in 26.5 percent of his plate appearances.

Grade: C+

OF Tommy Pham - 2023 Mets position player first half grade

1st Half Stats: 234 PA, .277/.350/.485, 9 HR, 34 RBI, 129 OPS+, 10 SB, 1.2 WAR

Entering this season, there were questions about whether Tommy Pham had anything left after he was a below average hitter over the last three seasons. He answered those questions in a big way, as his OPS is the highest on the team. This is the best Pham has looked with the bat since his days with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2018. He's been hitting the ball hard all year, and he finally got the results that reflect his bat speed over the last five weeks.

Grade: A-

C Francisco Alvarez - 2023 Mets position player first half grade

1st Half Stats: 227 PA, .238/.295/.514, 17 HR, 35 RBI, 119 OPS+, 12.4 AB/HR

Consider these three nuggets for Francisco Alvarez's impressive first half: First, he has five game-tying or go-ahead home runs in the sixth inning or later this season, as he is becoming a fan favorite as a 21-year old stud catcher. Secondly, only Johnny Bench has had more home runs by a catcher as young in a season as him. And finally, the Mets only had eight home runs from their catchers last year, and Alvarez has more than doubled that total all by himself!

Watching Alvarez grow and flourish against major league pitching has been fun this season, and he is only going to get better as a catcher behind the plate from here.

Grade: A-

DH Daniel Vogelbach - 2023 Mets position player first half grade

1st Half Stats: 197 PA, .225/.335/.355, 5 HR, 26 RBI, 92 OPS+ 14.2% BB Rate

Vogelbach has gotten his fair share of criticisms for the things he can't do, such as running, not being aggressive enough at the plate, and playing on the field. But he has as many RBI's as Jeff McNeil in half as many at-bats, and his walk rate is the highest among the 13 players mentioned in this article. If the Mets are going to succeed in the second half, Daniel Vogelbach need to be more aggressive at the plate, or his days as a Met are possibly numbered.

Grade: C-

IF Eduardo Escobar - 2023 Mets position player first half grade

1st Half Stats: 120 PA, .236/.286/.409, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 90 OPS+, 2 pinch-hit HR

Eduardo Escobar is no longer a Met as he was traded to the Angels on June 23, but he handled his role as a bench player after the callup of Brett Baty with the utmost class and professionalism. That, and a turnaround in production in May and June, led the Mets to get some prospect value back in return. A fun fact about Escobar's time with the Mets this season is that in four pinch-hitting assignments, he had three hits and two home runs. Pretty good for someone who lost his starting job early on.

Grade: C+

IF Luis Guillorme - 2023 Mets position player first half grade

1st Half Stats: 103 PA, .250/.324/.359, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 90 OPS+, -4 outs above average

Luis Guillorme has not been nearly as productive as he was last year, where he seemingly couldn't be retired at the plate and played great defense. This year, we are not getting either one of those things from him. His outs above average went from +6 in 2022 to -4 in 2023. That's not good for a defense-first player like Guillorme.

Grade: D+

C Tomas Nido - 2023 Mets position player first half grade

1st Half Stats: 61 PA, .125/.153/.125, 0 HR, 1 RBI, -21 OPS+, 5 runs scored

After his commendable offensive output last year, Tomas Nido was anything but that offensively this year, and is no longer on the 40 man roster because of it. Eventually, he was odd guy out when Omar Narvaez came back from injury.

Grade: F

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