Players of the Month: Alonso, Walker Carry Mets Past June Swoon

What June swoon? The Mets had their fair share of ups and downs during the month but survived. They played well during the big west coast road trip going 5-5 against the Dodgers, Padres, and Angels.

They took care of business against the Marlins both at home and at LoanDepot Park, and despite losing Tylor Megill early on in the series finale took two out of three from Christian Yelich and the Brewers.

They struggled against a really talented Houston Astros team, dropping both games at home and on the road. Overall, the Mets finished the month 13-12 and still sit atop the National League East with a 47-29 record.

They open up play for the month of July with Adolis Garcia and the Texas Rangers coming to town for a three-game series. But before we completely flip the page, here are the Mets players of the month for the month of June.

Hitter of the Month: Pete Alonso

MVPete Alonso continued his spectacular 2022 campaign during the month of June. Just like he did in May, the slugger ripped nine home runs. He also picked up three doubles, 22 RBI, and posted a .351 OBP and .978 OPS in 24 games.

Alonso currently leads the league with 69 RBI and is tied for second with 22 home runs. He had a pair of multi-home run games this month against the Dodgers and Marlins and also cracked a grand slam at home against the Fish.

As pointed out by MMO’s own Alex Horowitz, Alonso remains on pace to blow past the Mets’ single-season RBI mark. He’s also just five away from tying the Mets’ record of most RBIs in the first half of the season.

The 27-year-old slugger has looked like an all-around superstar for the Mets this season. In 73 games he’s hitting .280 and has a .919 OPS, 161 OPS+, .359 OBP, and 2.1 WAR. Alonso also leads the league with seven sacrifice flies.

“I just like to be the same guy every single day. I just want to take a good quality at-bat every single time I’m in the box and be locked in for every single pitch on defense,” Alonso told reporters last week.

Alonso has been in the middle of things all season long for the Mets and is a huge reason this team currently sits atop the NL East. He’ll look to keep the good times rolling as the Mets open their series tonight at Citi Field against Glenn Otto and the Rangers.

Pitcher of the Month: Taijuan Walker

When the Mets needed someone to step up in their starting rotation, Taijuan Walker was their guy. The big right-hander has been tremendous all season long and he continued to shine during the month of June.

Perhaps his best outing — not just of the month but all season — came on Wednesday afternoon at Citi Field against the Astros. The Mets ended up falling 2-0 in the series finale, but Walker certainly was not to blame.

The righty pitched into the eighth inning for the first time all season. He retired Jake Myers leading off the inning before he was pulled in favor of Edwin Diaz to face the top of the Astros order. Overall on the day, Walker threw 7.1 shutout innings while allowing just four hits, walking two and striking out three.

Across six June starts, he recorded four quality starts, 33 strikeouts, and pitched to a 2.63 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. This includes an extremely impressive 10-strikeout performance against Mike Trout and the Angels.

With that success, Walker lowered his season numbers to a 2.72 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 52 strikeouts over 72.2 innings pitched. He’ll likely take the ball again next Tuesday against Joey Votto and the Reds.