After Friday’s afternoon 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs at historic Wrigley Field, New York Mets utility-man extraordinaire, Jeff McNeil, made no qualms about proclaiming his desire to make the National League All-Star team.
“You know, it’s a dream of mine to play in the All-Star Game. I think I’ve done enough,” McNeil told the team’s press corps (video via SNY). “I think I’ve been the best possible player I could be up until this point, playing multiple positions and doing it pretty well. I don’t think there’s much more I can do to kind of make my case.”
Even Mets skipper Mickey Callaway chimed in on his star hitter’s All-Star candidacy (video via SNY). When asked if McNeil has a “pretty strong case” for an ASG nod, Callaway did not mince words.
“He’d better be [an All-Star]. He has to be. It just doesn’t make any sense if he’s not, in my opinion. I get to see him every day and there’s no doubt in my mind, he’s been an All-Star this year.”
Without a true position this season, it’s clearly affected the 27-year-old’s ability to garner ASG votes. After Friday’s announcement of MLB’s All-Star finalists — a new wrinkle to voting this season — McNeil was left on the outside looking in. In short, that’s a travesty.
Going into Saturday’s games, Jeff McNeil ranks among the top of the NL in a number of extremely high-profile statistical categories.
McNeil’s .341 batting average is good for third in the league behind Los Angeles’ Cody Bellinger (.356) and Milwaukee outfielder, Christian Yelich (.349). Squirrel’s .407 on-base percentage trails only Bellinger (.451) and Yelich (.441) in the NL, as well.
On the advanced side of things, McNeil’s .383 weighted on-base average ranks 17th in the league, his 143 weighted runs created plus rating is good for ninth, his 1.9 wins above replacement (FanGraphs) ranks 24th, and his 10.9% strikeout rate is fourth-least in the NL.
Since making his MLB debut on July 24 last season, McNeil’s .335 average (second in NL behind Yelich; .353), .394 on-base percentage (sixth), .376 wOBA (15th), and 140 wRC+ (ninth) place him among the game’s upper crust of offensive players, without question.
He’s never gone more than two consecutive games without a base hit going back to his debut last summer, and over a ten-game stretch earlier this year (April 7 to April 17), McNeil went 18-for-40 (.450) with a 1.025 OPS — without hitting a home run or a triple. That’s absolutely mind-melting stuff, friends.
The fact the Mets, as an organization, had such reservations calling up McNeil is bewildering, but he’s here now and making quite the impact. He’s earned his place among the game’s best and should be rewarded for his meteoric rise to prominence.
Here’s hoping his name, as well as the names of Pete Alonso and Michael Conforto, are among those called when All-Star Game reserves are announced on Sunday, June 30 (5:30 PM ET, ESPN).
