Pete Alonso hit a home run against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday. That in itself isn’t all that surprising since the rookie first baseman has already done that a bunch of times this season. However, it was significant because that was his 27th dinger, which passes Darryl Strawberry‘s franchise record for rookies. Oh yeah, and it’s still June.
He’s not the only homegrown ballplayer that’s looking to etch their name in the New York Mets’ single-season record books. The other would be Jeff McNeil. He’s entering Monday’s action with a .339 batting average, which is currently the third-best mark in baseball.
Batting average doesn’t carry nearly as much weight as it used to. However, it’s not as if McNeil isn’t bringing the noise when it comes to overall offensive value — his 141 wRC+ is rather healthy, which has helped him accumulate 1.9 fWAR through 268 plate appearances. The 27-year-old is putting himself in a good position to be the first Mets player to win a batting title since Jose Reyes did so in 2011 prior to leaving the organization via free agency.
In addition to being in the batting title race, McNeil’s propensity for getting base hits on what seems like a nightly basis also has him within earshot of the Mets’ franchise batting average record.
Franchise Batting Average Leaders
For reference, here are the top-10 single-season batting averages in Mets history:
| Player | Year | Avg. |
|---|---|---|
| John Olerud | 1998 | .354 |
| Mike Piazza | 1998 | .348 |
| Moises Alou | 2007 | .341 |
| Cleon Jones | 1969 | .340 |
| Jose Reyes | 2011 | .337 |
| Lance Johnson | 1996 | .333 |
| Dave Magadan | 1990 | .328 |
| Carlos Beltran | 2009 | .325 |
| Bobby Bonilla | 1995 | .325 |
| David Wright | 2007 | .325 |
It’s weird seeing Bonilla get mentioned for something positive that’s Mets-related, but I suppose crazier things have happened.
Ranking behind only John Olerud and Mike Piazza, McNeil clearly has the inside track toward the upper half of this current group, and he’s done it by bouncing back in a big way this month following an abbreviated May due to an injured list stint. Here’s a quick peek at how McNeil’s performance has progressed each month since Opening Day:
| Month | PA | Avg. | wRC+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| March/April | 116 | .370 | 160 |
| May | 73 | .277 | 108 |
| June | 79 | .351 | 153 |
He’s accomplished this by putting the ball in play a ton (80.1% contact rate, 10.8% strikeout rate) and consistently improving his hard contact. McNeil’s hard-hit rate has gone up each month so far this season (36.0% in March/April, 37.5% in May, 41.2% so far in June). His cumulative hard-hit rate is 38.0%, which is a huge improvement over what he did in about the same number of plate appearances as a rookie (30.2%).
The Unexpected Leadoff Man
Heading into this season, it wasn’t shocking to have Brandon Nimmo leading off on a nightly basis. His high walk rate, high on-base percentage, and impeccable plate discipline just made it a simple decision that manager Mickey Callaway didn’t have to think very hard about. Until Nimmo struggled through the first month of play, of course.
McNeil has been the Mets’ leadoff man nearly every time he’s taken the field since April 24th. Clearly, he’s been producing at a high level in that situation. This is interesting because it was literally the only lineup spot he didn’t occupy at all in 2018. He did spend the majority of his rookie campaign in the two-hole, which makes sense because of his incredible bat-to-ball skills.
The left-handed hitter hasn’t let a below-average walk rate (6.3%) get in the way of his success at the top of New York’s lineup, though. Of his 268 plate appearances, 185 have come as a leadoff hitter, and he’s slashed .335/.391/.481 in that sample size, which has led to a 136 wRC+. A lack of walks is OK when you rack up base hits at the rate McNeil has been doing it.
An Impressive First Calendar Year
While the one-year anniversary of McNeil’s big-league debut doesn’t happen for another month, he’s put together an incredible year of production. New York’s utility player has suited up for 128 games, accruing 516 plate appearances in that span. All he’s done with this opportunity is slash .334/.393/.480. He’s done this with just a 10.3% strikeout rate, and it’s also led to a 136 wRC+ and 4.6 fWAR.
When looking at players with at least 500 plate appearances since July 24th, 2018 (his debut), McNeil’s wRC+ and fWAR are both among the 20 best. This performance has him rubbing shoulders with guys like Javier Baez, Nolan Arenado, Juan Soto, and Ronald Acuna Jr. That’s some pretty good company.
Even if he doesn’t get hot and set a new single-season batting-average franchise record, we’ve seen enough of McNeil to be confident in the fact that this could be something we watch him try to accomplish over a number of years.
