{"id":59403,"date":"2023-07-12T11:00:06","date_gmt":"2023-07-12T15:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=59403"},"modified":"2023-07-12T09:33:05","modified_gmt":"2023-07-12T13:33:05","slug":"mets-half-grades-pitching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2023\/07\/12\/mets-half-grades-pitching\/","title":{"rendered":"2023 Mets First Half Grades: Pitching"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first half of the 2023 Major League Baseball season has wrapped up, so it’s time to evaluate each team and hand out grades. For the 2023 New York Mets<\/a>, evaluating their first half is easy to look at, but not in the way we all thought. Simply put there’s been too many inconsistencies with the team everywhere you look. None more so than the Mets pitching, and they have been the strength of this team for a long time. The starting rotation and bullpen have seen their fair share of struggles and success. A roller coaster to say the least with a lot of walks and first-inning runs allowed. We’ll first take a look at the starting rotation. A rotation that did look strong on paper despite losing Jacob deGrom, Chris Bassitt, and Taijuan Walker in the offseason.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

[metabet_core_side_odds_tile query=”bbm\/new_york_mets” size=”350×300″ site_id=”lastwordonsports”]<\/p>\r\n

2023 Mets First Half Grades: Pitching<\/h2>\r\n

Starting Pitching<\/h3>\r\n

With a rotation that consists of Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, new offseason signings Kodai Senga and Jos\u00e9 Quintana, as well as Carlos Carrasco, Tylor Megill, and David Peterson heading into Spring Training, the unit looked strong. However, Quintana would suffer a rib fracture during Spring Training, and he’s been out ever since. Then on Opening Day, the Mets lost Verlander for a month due to a low-grade teres major strain. With two starters down, the Mets called on Megill and Peterson to step up, and Senga to develop faster maybe than they would’ve liked. Megill and Peterson would severely regress as Megill pitched to a 5.17 ERA and would be sent down to the minors in June<\/span>.<\/p>\r\n

Evaluating the Aces, the Veteran, and the New Phenom<\/h3>\r\n

As for Peterson, he would be even worse as he pitched to an ERA of 8.08 through May. He would be optioned to the minors but got the call back up one month later. Since his return, he has pitched relatively well with a 2.35 ERA through 3 starts in 15 1\/3 innings pitched. Carrasco has reverted back to his 2021 form. Like Peterson and Megill, Carrasco has been hit hard giving up 12 home runs and 35 earned runs. Not what the Mets visioned after his solid 2022. Scherzer started off really struggling through his first five starts with an ERA over six. While his ERA sits at 4.31 at the halfway mark, he has picked it up over his last 11 starts with the exception of clunkers against the San Diego Padres<\/a>, New York Yankees<\/a>, and Atlanta Braves<\/a>. His ERA is 3.88 with 81 strikeouts during that stretch. Verlander did return in May and his season has been up and down. Verlander finished the first half pitching to a 2.03 ERA in his last five starts. Senga is the rotation’s biggest standout. Striking out 113 batters and becoming an All-Star.<\/p>\r\n

.@kodaisenga<\/a> has been named to the NL All-Star team! \u2b50\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/6QNipXsmcv<\/a><\/p>— New York Mets (@Mets) July 8, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>