Midseason grades for the Mets starting pitchers

The New York Mets have made it to the All-Star Break without Jacob deGrom. Hopefully, he’ll be back and won’t get an absentee grade in the second half at any point.

The first half was a bit strange for the Mets starting pitchers. They looked brilliant at times. On other days, it wasn’t so much the case. Overall, it’s hard to be anything but satisfied with the performance especially in the face of so many injuries.

At the unofficial halfway mark of the season, it’s time to hand out some midseason grades. Red pens are necessary even with some very good grades awarded to the starting pitchers the Mets have used regularly this season.

NY Mets midseason grade for Max Scherzer: A+

The season couldn’t have gone much better for Max Scherzer. The only thing stopping him from being in the Cy Young race is the time he missed. Fortunately, when on the field, he has been real and spectacular!

Scherzer made 11 starts for the Mets in the first half on his way to going 6-1 with a 2.22 ERA. He was clearly a smart buy for the Mets. It’s still a little hard to believe he is a member of this team, maybe because he did miss some significant time.

Now back on the field, his A+ season should only continue. His presence is a culture shock in the best way possible for this ball club. There is no nonsense with the 2022 Mets. Scherzer just being there is one of the reasons for it.

NY Mets midseason grade for Chris Bassitt: B

Chris Bassitt finished the first half of his season with the Mets with a 7-6 record in 17 starts. The staff’s bulldog led the team in innings with 102 of them. He gets a nice solid B for his first half performance.

It’s Bassitt’s 3.79 ERA that might have a few fans concerned. He hasn’t been quite as good as the Mets have needed him to be. A quality starter for sure, he has felt more like a number four starter than the three many of us expected him to be.

Staying on the field has been the greatest gift he has given the Mets. Only a recent trip to the COVID-IL stopped him from racking up even more frames. He’ll be someone we can look to improve in the second half.

NY Mets midseason grade for Trevor Williams: B

Although not quite a full-time starter, Trevor Williams did make 8 starts for the Mets in the first half to go along with a couple of relief appearances, too. The swingman on the staff capable of giving them a couple innings at the start one week and a few more as a reliever the next has been an incredibly valuable asset to the Mets.

We can’t give him anything more than a B, though. It’s still a fine grade for a role-player. If we graded him any higher, his spot in the rotation would be secured.

Nonetheless, Williams' success this year has been essential to keeping the Mets in first place. They can turn to him in most situations. Now 2-5 with a 3.56 ERA at the break, we can only hope he has a complete repeat in the second half but maybe with more appearances in relief with the return of Jacob deGrom.

NY Mets midseason grade for Carlos Carrasco: C

Carlos Carrasco has been one of the shakier Mets starters this year. The ironic thing is that he leads the team with 10 wins. His 4.27 ERA through 99 innings of work is far too mediocre for what we had hoped for when the Mets first acquired him. However, after last year’s struggles, it’s a very acceptable run he has had.

Carrasco’s weakness still seems to be the capacity to throw up the occasional stinker. Able to dominate for about six innings one start and get shellacked early in the next, consistency is what we’d like most from Cookie going forward.

He could just as easily end up with a B grade by season’s end as he could a D. Fortunately, the Mets do have starting pitching depth. If things ever do get too bad, they have others that can replace him.

NY Mets midseason grade for Tylor Megill: C-

Tylor Megill was only able to make 9 starts before landing on the IL. He did start the team’s second no-hitter in club history. That has to count for something.

At 4-2 with a 5.01 ERA, Megill gets a C- for his first half. It’s a rather incomplete stretch for the Mets. His 41.1 innings of work is much less than we expected after Megill made the Opening Day start for this ball club.

Perhaps giving him this slightly below-average grade is a little biased. His 3.59 FIP does suggest he was the recipient of some rotten luck. If he can get back on the field for the Mets this year, hopefully he is able to get a little redemption for what is quickly turning into a lost season.