The second half of the 2023 Major League Baseball season is underway, so we’re looking back at each team’s first half. Time is running out for some as they begin this crucial stretch, such as the New York Mets. Coming off a first half to forget, they have a lot of ground to make up if they want to play October baseball for the second year in a row, and for only the sixth time this century. Last time, we analyzed the Mets pitching so far this season, so it’s time to take a look at the offense.
[metabet_core_side_odds_tile query=”bbm/mlb_winner_nl_east” size=”350×300″ site_id=”lastwordonsports
Hitters Who Have Contributed to the Offense
We’re going to split this into two sections. One for guys who have hit, and one for those who haven’t. It’s been that kind of season for the Mets . We’ll start with the hitters who have actually hit. That would be Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, the surprising Tommy Pham, and the rookie slugger, Francisco Álvarez. They’ve combined for 84 of the teams 113 home runs this season. While also driving in a combined 231 RBI. These five have been the main cogs in an offense that has dealt with a lot of inconsistencies.
Pete Alonso is continuing to do Pete Alonso things. He has been hitting a lot of home runs and is among the league leaders in RBI. While Alonso has struggled a lot since coming back from a wrist injury, he’s still well on pace for another strong season. Alonso was voted to his third All-Star game as a reserve for his first-half performance. Francisco Lindor, despite all of the criticisms thrown his way, is having another good season. He is at the top or among the top of all shortstops in many categories and is on pace for over 30 home runs.
Numbers don’t lie – help get our guy to Seattle. 📊
⭐️👉 https://t.co/eDNRuDWNK5 pic.twitter.com/8MuJ94OXkV
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 28, 2023
You could make the case that Lindor should’ve been an All-Star this year, as well as Nimmo and Pham. Nimmo leads the team in hits (91) and OBP (.365). His power numbers are also up, crushing 13 home runs, and he is on pace to pass his career high of 17 in 2018. For Pham, nobody expected the productivity he would be giving the Mets. He’s always been a solid hitter, but he’s been on another level since May. He is leading the team in OPS at .836.
Tommy Pham in the month of June (49 AB):
🔸 .327 AVG
🔸 4 HR
🔸 14 RBI
🔸 1.040 OPS
🔸 10 XBH pic.twitter.com/1DVKTa0nDc— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) June 20, 2023
Rookie Sensation to the Offense
Alvarez is the catcher the Mets have waited a long, long time for. The rookie has made one incredible impact and his 17 home runs put him in a tie with the Atlanta Braves Sean Murphy for most home runs by a catcher this year. He’s third on the team in home runs, only behind Lindor and Alonso, and fourth on the team in RBI. He’s done all of that in a short period of time and his development will be one to watch in the second half.
Grade: B
The Rest of the Offense
Following those five is where things start to go down and the inconsistencies of the offense show. At third base, the Mets began with Eduardo Escobar, but he was miserable at the plate once again after a bad 2022. He started off only 9 hits through April and Brett Baty was called up in the middle of that month. While Escobar did contribute off the bench, he was eventually traded to the Los Angeles Angels. Baty has been okay at best, especially compared to his rookie counterpart. However, Baty has only shown flashes of what the Mets hope he can be, and he’ll need to be better in the second half. Mark Canha was coming off a solid 2022, but he had a slow start and has since been used as a utility guy. Daniel Vogelbach really struggled and heard it from the Citi Field faithful. Vogelbach, however, hit much better to close the first half. Hitting .275 with 3 home runs and 12 RBI in his last 16 games. Aside from Álvarez, the Mets got little from catchers Tomás Nido and Omar Narváez. Luis Guillorme hasn’t done much at the plate either.
Probably the biggest disappointments on the offense are Jeff McNeil and Starling Marte. Their offensive seasons have not been able to get off the ground. The duo has combined for just 54 RBI and 8 home runs, the total opposite of the Lindor and Alonso combination. The Mets are going to need a whole lot more from McNeil and Marte in the last 72 games of the year.
Grade: D-
Photo Credit: © Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Players Mentioned:
Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, Tommy Pham, Francisco Álvarez, Sean Murphy, Eduardo Escobar, Brett Baty, Mark Canha, Daniel Vogelbach, Tomás Nido, Omar Narváez, Luis Guillorme
