Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Jeff McNeil is raking right now. He is arguably one of the hottest hitters in the league right now. And the second baseman was at the very peak of his powers yet again on Saturday. As he was once again was dominant at the plate against the Phillies.

All that trade speculation back in the winter regarding the possibility of McNeil being moved feels a long, long time ago now. Having struggled somewhat in 2021, the 30-year-old has carved out quite the bounce-back year and he’s been almost unstoppable for over a month now. He is doing it both offensively, and defensively.

Entering Saturday with one of the hottest bats in MLB, McNeil went to work to absolutely torment Phillies’ ace and former teammate Zack Wheeler in the first game of the doubleheader at Citizens Bank Park. After lining out in his first at-bat, McNeil hit a leadoff single in the top of the fifth to serve notice of what would follow. That hit in itself was vital in the overall context of the game in that McNeil and Tyler Naquin would go on to score on a Michael Perez single to give the Mets a 2-0 lead.

Once again, the Mets were doing a nice job of making contact and putting the ball in play, and that was true in the sixth inning as McNeil again singled to score Francisco Lindor and advance Daniel Vogelbach to second. That hit increased the lead to 4-0 and it also chased Wheeler from the game. McNeil wasn’t done there, either. Despite the Phillies having a position player on the mound in the ninth, the veteran again did a good job of making hard contact again to hit another single into center field to drive in another run.

McNeil finished the first game of the doubleheader 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run, and he was also the only offensive player to come out of a frustrating second game with any credit. He had the only extra-base hit of the game for the Mets – a double in the ninth inning – and he also flashed that elite glove of his with a stunning diving catch to get out J.T. Realmuto and save two runs. It was just the latest in a long line of highlight-reel plays made by McNeil in the field this season.

McNeil’s electric performance at the plate on Saturday only tells a fraction of the story. The infielder hasn’t only been red hot in August but he’s been hitting at an elite level since July. Coming out of the All-Star break, McNeil has a slash line of .365/.396/.567 with a .964 OPS, three home runs, 12 doubles, 14 RBI and four walks.

Just looking at August, McNeil is slashing .413/.444/.627 with a 1.071 OPS, to go along with 10 doubles, two home runs, three walks and 11 RBI. That’s the definition of getting it done at the plate at a high level. He’s now slashing .318/.371/.458/.830 on the year with seven home runs, 31 doubles, 27 doubles, 49 RBI and a 3.7 WAR. McNeil also recently put together an impressive 13-game hitting streak.

With 122 hits in 384 at-bats heading into Sunday and with a .318 batting average, McNeil currently ranks third in the National League batting title race behind Cardinals’ slugger Paul Goldschmidt (.341) and Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers (.321). McNeil ranks fourth overall in batting average in the majors.

Now, when it comes to a quest for a batting title, McNeil has some ground to make up the rest of the way. However, with the way he has been hitting both out of the All-Star break and in the month of August, don’t be surprised if McNeil does indeed catch up with the leaders in the clubhouse and claim a first career batting title. He looks unstoppable at the plate right now so you wouldn’t bet against it.