This is the third installment of the first-half report cards for the New York Mets where we will focus on the outfield corps.

Monday, I posted grades for Mets catchers and infielders which can be found here.

Tuesday, Rob Piersall posted grades for the Mets outfielders which can be found here.

These are consensus grades among MMO’s editors – Myself, Michael Mayer, Piersall, and Joe D. We will be talking about the Mets original seven starters, with Rafael Montero, Adam Wilk, Tommy Milone, and others included in tomorrow’s report card.

Noah Syndergaard – The 2017 Opening Day starter has been less than exemplary this season – or should I say this April. After injuring his lat muscle at Nationals Park early this season, he has been riding the pine ever since. When he did pitch he was effective, going 1-2 with a 3.29 ERA, striking out 32 and walking two in 27.1 innings. If the Mets had a better defense, though, he would have far better numbers as evidenced by his 1.13 FIP – more of the same since last season when his 2.29 mark led the MLB. Points off for refusing an MRI before getting injured.
Grade – B+

Jacob deGrom – The Mets current ace, deGrom has been exemplary – especially if you take out two horrendous consecutive starts. Overall he is 9-3 with a 3.65 ERA, 3.97 FIP, 1.216 WHIP, and 2.4 WAR. In 111.0 innings he has struck out 130 and walked 38. His 10.5 K/9 is his best single-season ratio to date. He is also hitting .263/.282/.368 with a home run, double, and three RBIs actually accounting for a 0.6 oWAR.
Grade – A-

Matt Harvey – The Dark Knight has been the bad side of Harvey Two-Face this season coming back from thoracic surgery. In 13 starts he has gone 4-3 with a 5.25 ERA, 6.19 FIP, 1.450 WHIP and 0.2 WAR. In 70.1 innings he struck out 54 and walked 35, allowing 16 home runs. While there is no telling how much the effects of his offseason surgery will wear off when he comes back, he has missed time recently due to a stress injury in his shoulder. Nobody knows which Harvey we will see when he returns, but the Harvey we’ve seen so far in 2017 has been less than effective.
Grade – D+

Zack Wheeler – Wheeler has been either very good or very bad this season – which averages out to his being, well, average. In 15 starts he has gone 3-6 with a 4.86 ERA, 4.74 FIP, 1.513 WHIP and 0.1 WAR. In 76.0 innings he has struck out 70 and walked 32. His velocity is good and his command is improving, and he should be a solid weapon in the second half of 2017.
Grade – C

Steven Matz – Except for his most recent start, Matz has been exemplary since his return from the disabled list. In six starts he is 2-2 with a 3.05 ERA, 5.10 FIP, 1.122 WHIP, and 1.3 WAR. The Mets lone lefty in the rotation, he has been dealing with injuries his whole career but hopefully those days are behind him. He has been throwing hard with good command of all his pitches, and should continue to be an effective pitcher for the Mets for the remainder of 2017 and beyond.
Grade – B+

Seth Lugo – After being injured for the first chunk of the season, Lugo returned to the rotation with a bang. Since then, however, he has been less than spectacular. In six games (five starts) he has gone 3-2 with a 4.59 ERA, 4.41 FIP, 1.470 WHIP and 0.2 WAR. In 33.1 innings he has struck out 23 batters and walked 11. Batters are hitting his curveball, which was his money-maker last season, at a .300 clip (18-for-60). He pitched three innings in relief his last time out and was effective, so hopefully he can transfer that to his next start.
Grade – C+

Robert Gsellman – If Matt Harvey wasn’t on the Mets, Gsellman might be considered the biggest let-down of 2017. After posting a 1.5 WAR in just nine games (seven starts) last season, he had regressed before hitting the disabled list with a hamstring injury. In 17 games (14 starts) in 2017, Gsellman has gone 5-5 with a 6.16 ERA, 5.09 FIP, 1.618 WHIP, and -1.2 WAR. In 76.0 innings he has struck out 57 and walked 26, allowing 13 home runs. Hopefully he can work out the kinks upon his return from the disabled list – if he can’t, his stand-out 2016 will be considered an outlier.
Grade – D