The Mets came into June only two games behind the Nationaks. After finishing having a 12-15 record in June and having been swept by the Nationals last week, the Mets now find themselves six games back, and the offensive problems of old has returned. 

Bear in mind, these grades are on a curve. If a bench player gets an A and a position player gets a B, it doesn’t mean the bench player is having a better year. Rather, it means the bench player is performing better in his role.

Position Players

Travis d’Arnaud (C-).  He hasn’t hit since he’s come off the disabled list, and while he has been throwing better, he did allow the Nationals to go a perfect six for six in stolen base attempts.  He did get extra credit for being anyone other than what the Mets have been trotting out there behind the plate this year.

Kevin Plawecki (F).  June was probably his worst month as a professional and that is saying something.  With d’Arnaud finally healthy, sending him down to the minors was a no-brainer.

Rene Rivera (C-).  Like he’s done this year, he’s hit poorly while being a stabilizing force behind the plate  However, as he’s been relied upon more and more, his poor offense became more of a problem hence the reduction from his grade last year.

Lucas Duda (Inc).  He missed the entire month with his back injuries, and he has not yet begun baseball activities.

James Loney (A).  Loney has not put up offensive stats this good since 2008.  Even with his sometimes poor range, he has been a tremendous stop gap at first base while Duda has been injured.

Neil Walker (F).  He hit .213/.293/.275 with one homer and six RBI.  That is a far cry from his nine home run April.

David Wright (Inc.)  He didn’t play as he had neck surgery.

Asdrubal Cabrera (D).  He’s hitting .237/.308/.423 in June, and the defensive metrics suggest he’s played a poor defensive shortstop.

Wilmer Flores (A-).  He came off the disabled list, and he had the best offensive month of his career hitting .306/.370/.444.  This would have been a higher grade if not for his struggles defensively.

Eric Campbell (Inc.)  At least the Mets didn’t play him in June.

Matt Reynolds (A).  Reynolds might’ve struggled in his first call-up, but he is making the most out of his most recent opportunity hitting .296/.321/.556.  He has shown some versatility by playing his first ever game in ht eoutfield.  In that game, he hit a game winning home run.

Ty Kelly (F).  He hit .133/.188/.333.  He simply hasn’t been good.

Michael Conforto (F). Whether it was the wrist or another issue, Conforto just hasn’t been getting it done.  He all but forced the Mets to demote him.

Yoenis Cespedes (B+). With his home run numbers are down (3) and while the defensive metrics don’t love his defense in center field, he still put up terrific numbers while playing through some minor injuries here and there.

Curtis Granderson (B).  Granderson had a good month after a horrendous May hitting .255/.358/.447 with four homers.

Juan Lagares (A).  In limited action, he continued to play Gold Glove caliber defense while hitting .364/.462/.545.  However, he was only limited to seven games as he’s dealing with a torn ligament in his left thumb.  He’s currently on a rehab assignment.

Alejandro De Aza (F-).  He’s terrible.

Brandon Nimmo (Inc.)  He has only played in four games.  He has had some issues with his routes, but he has not looked over-matched at the plate.

Pitchers

Matt Harvey (B).  Harvey had his best month of the season by far.  His 2.83 ERA over the course of the month was his best of the season, but it is still high for him.  Even with him pitching better, he was still 0-3 over the course of the month.

Jacob deGrom (B+).  Like Harvey, deGrom had a much better month.  He had a 2.45 ERA over the course of the month while getting his fastball velocity to return.  Again, like Harvey, even with him pitching better, he was 0-3 over the course of the month.

Noah Syndergaard (B).  Syndergaard had some trouble with location in his last two starts, and he had his worst start of the season in what was a big June game against the Nationals.  In that game, when he was paired with d’Arnaud instead of Rivera, base runners were a perfect five for five in stolen base attempts.  Overall, he was 3-1 with a 3.86 ERA over the course of the month.

Steven Matz (F). He was terrible all month going 0-2 with an ERA of 5.91 heading into last night’s gritty start. Much of the trouble was the result of bone spurs, but you’re ultimsteky judged on your results. 

Bartolo Colon (A+).  Colon had his best ever month as a Met going 2-1 with a 1.67 ERA.

Logan Verrett (C-). He had a tough month with a 5.93 ERA, but he did make a good spot start that gave the Mets a chance go win and helped save the bullpen. 

Jeurys Familia (A+) The Houdini Act against the Cubs shows why he just might be the best closer in the game. 

Addison Reed (B).  Reed came back down to earth a bit, but he has still been a terrific eighth inning reliever for the Mets. 

Jim Henderson (D). He had a rough month with a 5.63 ERA in eight appearances. He was just overworked, and now, he’s on the DL with an injury to his twice surgically repaired shoulder. 

Hansel Robles (A+). Robles saved the Mets time and time again this month. He bailed out starters and the bullpen when starters went short in the game. He got big outs all month long. 

Jerry Blevins (B).  He continues to go out there and get lefties out. With the bullpen getting extra work, he’s been stretched out a little too much here and there, but he still gets the big lefties out. 

Antonio Bastardo (F). 6.35 ERA for the month, and he might not have even been that good. 

Rafael Montero (Inc.) Didn’t pitch in the majors in June as he’s been terrible in AAA. 

Sean Gilmartin (F). He was jerked back and forth between being a starter in AAA and a reliever in the majors. Something had to break and it was Gilmartin with his 15.75 ERA. 

Erik Goeddel (A). He got a chance with Henderson’s injury, and he took full advantage with a win last night and a 1.08 ERA. 

Terry Collins (F). He was hamstrung by a team with injuries. The players that were here under-performed. Collins met that challenge by overplaying De Aza and with other curious lineup decisions. He pitched Henderson onto the DL, dangerously overused Robles, and he was part of team brass that talked Matz out of getting surgery.