MMO’s 2022 Mets Report Cards

Given today is the first day in 2023, we can officially close the books on 2022. It was an eventful season that saw several different individuals contribute to the 2022 New York Mets. Here at MMO, we took a look at each of these contributors, assigned them a grade, and predicted what may be next for them.

Below are all those report cards. You can click on the player’s name for the full report card.

Starting Lineup

Brandon Nimmo

Grade: A

“Playing nearly every day, Nimmo was able to produce a 5.4 fWAR. Only Mike Trout had a higher fWAR in 2022 amongst full-time center fielders. It was an incredible year for Nimmo, earning him an A for his all-around game.”

Starling Marte

Grade: B-plus

“Focusing on when Starling was on the field, the Mets have to be pleased with the production Marte brought to the lineup in his first year in Queens. For the second time in his 11-year career, he was named an All-Star and was very solid as a right fielder for the first time in his career.”

Francisco Lindor

Grade: A-plus

“Lindor’s all-around excellence made him one of the best players in the National League (NL) in 2022. His 6.8 fWAR was fifth in the NL, trailing just Manny Machado, Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, and Freddie Freeman. Lindor won’t be taking home the NL MVP Award this season, but his stellar year should earn him some down-ballot votes.”

Pete Alonso

Grade: A

“Alonso had another dominant offensive season in 2022 and provided the Mets with much-needed power. His 40 home runs accounted for 23 percent of the Mets’ long balls and his 131 MLB-leading RBI accounted for 17 percent of the team’s runs. In 2022, Alonso led MLB with 16 intentional walks and the Mets in home runs, RBI, OPS, OPS+, and total bases.”

Jeff McNeil

Grade: A-plus

“This final surge to end the regular season pushed McNeil’s batting average up to .326, just enough to beat Freddie Freeman for the National League and major league batting titles. McNeil became the first Met since Jose Reyes in 2011 to win the National League batting title, and the first Met ever to win the major-league batting title.”

Mark Canha

Grade: B

“The .367 OBP was among the highest of his career, and his 17.9 K% was the lowest of his career. There is no question that Canha was a difficult out, and that helped the entire lineup’s mentality of getting starting pitchers out of the game early.”

Daniel Vogelbach

Grade: B

“He went through some cold stretches, but his ability to consistently get on base, hit for power, and provide protection for Alonso in the lineup was evident the entire time. His 139 OPS+ and 144 wRC+ with the team suggest that he was the massive upgrade they thought he would be.”

Eduardo Escobar

Grade: C-plus

“Escobar was so good at the end of the regular season that he earned the National League’s Player of the Month honor in September, the first of his career. Escobar then went 3-for-9 with a double and home run in the Mets’ Wild Card loss to the Padres.

While there were certainly high points, and his most recent play was stellar, it’s no secret that Escobar’s first season as the third baseman in Queens was a roller coaster ride.”

Bench Players

Luis Guillorme

Grade: B

“Even with an uneven showing at the plate, in what ended up being a career year for Guillorme, he had another fantastic season defensively. Guillorme had his best shot at winning a Gold Glove in 2022, as Rawlings announced that it would be recognizing the defensive performances of utility players. Guillorme was ultimately snubbed for the award.”

Starting Pitchers

Jacob deGrom

Grade: B-plus

“DeGrom got the chance to redeem his terrible September when he made his Citi Field postseason debut against the Padres. With the season on the line, he struck out eight Padres and surrendered two runs over six innings. DeGrom’s performance propelled the Mets to a Game 2 victory and forced an eventual Game 3 loss.”

Max Scherzer

Grade: B-plus

“In the first two months of the season, Scherzer met the expectations many Mets fans had for him. In his first eight starts, Scherzer held batters to a slash line of .203/.264./.299/.564 and recorded a 2.54 ERA.”

Chris Bassitt

Grade: B

“Bassitt was a phenomenal addition to the clubhouse. He quickly built a strong relationship with deGrom and Scherzer, who would discuss the outcome of their starts immediately after it was finished. ”

Taijuan Walker

Grade: B-minus

“The 2022 season was an overall improvement for Walker. He had a better first and second half from the year prior and started 29 games. The Mets also got great value from Walker due to his low salary and performance compared to higher paid starting pitchers.”

Carlos Carrasco

Grade: C-plus

“Carrasco was able to make it through the season with just one short injured list stint, making 29 starts on the year. That’s a vast improvement from his 2021 health streak, and he provided a level of consistency at the back-end of the rotation with deGrom and Scherzer out for large portions of the year.”

David Peterson

Grade: B

“Overall, a nice season for the left-handed pitcher who served a plethora of different roles for the Mets. He was not perfect, though, he was very much serviceable and played a huge role in ensuring that New York’s pitching staff did not completely breakdown when they were suffering injuries left and right.”

Bullpen

Edwin Díaz

Grade: A-plus

“Díaz’s production was unmatched by any other reliever this year [2022]. You could certainly make the case it was the best season by a relief pitcher in Mets’ history, possibly, going as far as to say he had a top-three season by any Mets’ pitcher in team history.”

Adam Ottavino

Grade: A-minus

“Ottavino turned in the best season of his 12-year career in 2022. He threw 65 2/3 innings while striking out 79. He also posted an ERA and FIP of 2.06 and 2.85, respectively. Each extremely impressive figures. In doing so, he served as the all-important setup man to Díaz. Each time, doing so almost flawlessly.”

Seth Lugo

Grade: B-minus

“Lugo’s underlying and expected figures also shed some light on what was a relatively decent year for the veteran reliever. His xERA of 3.46 and xFIP of 3.51 are pretty solid numbers.”

Drew Smith

Grade: B-minus

“Smith didn’t allow a run in 2022 until his 13th appearance on May 13 against the Mariners. The Mets used him predominantly in the 7th and 8th innings, high-leverage situations. He had a 1.99 ERA as of June 24, but then hit a rough patch and the worst his ERA would be the rest of the season was 2.48.”

Trevor May

Grade: C-minus

“While May did not have the season that he or the organization envisioned, he locked in and pitched great down the stretch. May struck out 13.9 batters per nine innings after coming off the injured list and was able to lower his ERA from 8.64 to 5.04 at the end of the season.”

Mychal Givens

“Givens did not allow a run over his final eight appearances as a Met, totaling 11.1 innings pitched.”

Grade: D-plus

Tylor Megill

Grade: C-minus

“It was a mostly lost season for Megill, as he spent the majority of the 2022 season either on the injured list or appearing in minor-league rehab assignments. His season numbers don’t paint the whole picture, as he pitched rather effectively in a starting role, up until he got injured.”