2023 Mets midseason grades: Position players

Francisco Alvarez has given the Mets a huge lift from the catcher position, where they struggled so much last year offensively.
Francisco Alvarez has given the Mets a huge lift from the catcher position, where they struggled so much last year offensively. / Al Bello/GettyImages
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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-