Jeff McNeil has obviously become a household name among Mets fans this season, but one year ago today (July 24, 2018) was the day the infielder/outfielder first made his MLB debut for the team.
The 26-year-old, at the time, finally got his callup after raking in the minor leagues between the Binghamton Rumble Ponies and Las Vegas 51’s. He hit a combined .342/.411/.617 with 19 home runs and 71 RBI across the two levels.
McNeil, strangely enough, actually made his MLB debut against the Padres who he will face later today once again. He entered his first game in the bottom of the eighth inning as a pinch-hitter in place of Phillip Evans with the Mets leading 6-2.
With two outs and Brandon Nimmo standing on first base, McNeil laced the first pitch from Phil Hughes into center field for a single. In the top of the ninth inning, McNeil would record his first MLB put out as well as he would catch a pop up from Hunter Renfroe to end the game.
The left-handed hitter played in another 62 games (248 plate appearances) that season hitting .329/.381/.471 with three home runs, six triples, and 19 RBI to give himself a 137 wRC+ and 2.7 fWAR while playing second (-2 DRS, 0.4 UZR) and third base (2 DRS, 0.7 UZR). He also had a phenomenal 9.7% strikeout rate.
In the offseason, the Mets made a massive deal to acquire Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz, but in the initial permutation of that trade McNeil was set to be sent to the Seattle Mariners along with Jared Kelenic, Justin Dunn, Jay Bruce, and Anthony Swarzak.
However, at the last minute, the Mets refused to part with McNeil and the teams eventually agreed to swap out McNeil with Gerson Bautista.
Now, exactly one year after his MLB debut, McNeil is in the second half of a season in which he started playing the outfield corners on a semi-regular basis, his first All-Star Game appearance (as a reserve), and currently has the highest average in all of baseball at .342.
In regards to the first point, he has recorded 4 DRS in right field in only 184 innings, but with a -1.3 UZR he’s likely closer to league average. Meanwhile, in left field, McNeil has a 2 DRS and a 0.6 UZR on the season.
Offensively, as evidenced by his league-leading average, he has been phenomenal with a .342/.402/.508 slash line to go along with nine home runs, 41 RBI, and a 13.1% strikeout rate hitting mostly out of the leadoff spot. Those stats give him a 145 wRC+ and 2.7 fWAR through 86 games in 2019.
In total, McNeil has hit .337/.393/.493 with 12 home runs and 60 RBI to give himself a 142 wRC+ and 5.4 fWAR in his career thus far.
Over his two seasons in the league, McNeil has established a reputation as someone who gets hit by pitches at a higher rate than most, having been plunked 19 times in 614 plate appearances. His 14 times hit this season trail only Nimmo’s single-season record of 22 (2018) in Mets history.
McNeil also has a knack for getting multiple hits in a game regularly, having done so 58 times in his career so far and 38 times this season.
Once an afterthought in the organization due to his inability to stay on the field from 2016-2017, playing in a combined 51 games over the two seasons, McNeil has now established himself as a cornerstone of this team going forward.
