Mets 2023 First Half Report Card: Infielders

We’ve covered the starting pitches and catchers so far, now let’s grade the infielders at the All-Star break.

Francisco Lindor: B+

Francisco Lindor should’ve been voted to the All-Star team. His last couple of weeks solidified that.

Over first half, Lindor slashed .239/.320/.478/.798 and accumulated 3.3 fWAR—the most among National League shortstop. He also leads all MLB shortstops in home runs (19) and RBIs (60). His defense has been stellar with 2 Outs Above Average and 7 Defensive Runs Saved. Even as he struggled through May and early June, he was still lacing home runs.

His lower batting average—which reached as low as .211 on June 17—can’t be ignored, but neither can his output. His average and on-base percentage have crept back to career averages thanks in part to his performance since June 18—the day after his second daughter was born. Since then, he’s slashed .338/.420/.716/1.136 with a 202 wRC+ over 88 plate appearances. He doesn’t get an A due to a prolonged stretch of low productivity, but Lindor has once again been one of the best shortstops in all of MLB.

Jeff McNeil: D-

Jeff McNeil was straight up bad in the first half. He’s shown almost no power, he’s popped the ball up a lot more, and, no matter where he’s hit in the order, he’s struggled to even hit for contact with any consistency.

Here is his first half in 2022 compared with his first half this year:

• Plate appearances: 291 (2022) vs. 362 (2023)
• Batting average: .311 vs. .253
• On-base percentage: .371 vs. .331
• Slugging: .436 vs. .328
• OPS: .807 vs. .659
• Hits: 82 vs. 81
• Extra-base hits: 24 vs. 17
• BABIP: .351 vs. .282
• wRC+: 136 vs. 91

Dropoffs across the board in 70 or so more plate appearances. At least he’s stayed off the injured list.

The one saving grace is he’s been a solid defender at his position. Perhaps a couple of days off will be good for McNeil, who’s always needed to stay fresh. But he’ll have to really turn it on in the second half of the year to give the Mets any chance of reaching the playoffs.

Pete Alonso: B-

Before getting hit in the wrist by Charlie Morton fastball on June 8, Pete Alonso was his usual power-hitting self. He slugged 22 home runs over his first 261 plate appearances, and despite some pretty tough luck in terms of his batting average on balls in play (.199 vs. a .263 career average), he was producing well at the plate. This stretch of play is what earned Alonso his All-Star nomination. He was one of the top three first basemen and top three sluggers in the National League.

Since then, though, it’s been rough. Alonso returned 10 days later—missing just eight games—but he has been way off. His walk rate has nearly cut in half since before the injury, and he’s striking out at a higher clip. He’s produced just 11 hits in 87 plate appearances, and he’s hitting the ball a full two miles per hour less than he did the first 60 or so games of the year. His BABIP hasn’t helped (that’s sitting at just .146 since coming back), and his All-Star Game performance (0-for-2 with two strikeouts) didn’t look great either.

Perhaps Pete could have used these couple of days off, but there was no way he was backing out of the Home Run Derby or a chance to play in the All-Star Game. Either way, we’ll see if he bounces back to start the second half, but if he doesn’t, his grade at the end of the year will be a lot worse.

Brett Baty: C-

Brett Baty got the call to the majors on April 17, and he’s been with the team since then. His performance in Triple-A—and Eduardo Escobar‘s start to the year—earned him the promotion, and it’s been a bit streaky since then.

His slashline in the first half was .244/.315/.354/.669, but he’s had stretches of solid play, including June 13 to July 5, when he produced a .729 OPS and a 106 wRC+ across 17 games.

But man, does this guy hit a lot of ground balls. Over 50 percent of Baty’s batted balls are grounders. His 51.4 percent ground ball rate would place him in the Top 10 or 12 in the league (right around Starling Marte). He’d made strides in lifting the ball in spring training and the start of the Triple-A season this year, but his batted ball profile has trended back toward being ground ball heavy as he’s faced stiffer competition. You hope he adjusts, as he did from last year into this year. But the Mets are banking on Baty playing third base every day from now into the future.

Luis Guillorme: D

Luis Guillorme is the only other infielder on the active roster who has gotten significant playing time this year. But even Guillorme spent a month down in the minors due in part to performance, but also as a roster casualty when the team needed a shake up.

Guillorme has existed on the Mets’ roster as a great glove who, in a good year, could be an average hitter. That’s what he was in 2022. He was a solid compliment to the highly productive starting lineup. But this year, he’s been a below-average hitter (he’s striking out at nearly double the rate he was in 2022) who hasn’t played the field all that well. He’s been one of too many players on this roster who have regressed from their optimal output from a season ago.