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Jeff McNeil is currently putting together a season for the ages and the second baseman is proving every single day just how crucial he is to this New York Mets team. To put it simply, McNeil is thriving and excelling in every single aspect of his game right now and his importance cannot be understated.

McNeil is one of those players that tends to slip under the radar, particularly this year given that there wasn’t a lot of buzz surrounding the 30-year-old heading into spring training. After absolutely raking in 2019, McNeil slumped last year and was even thought to be a potential trade candidate during the offseason.

However, form is temporary, class is permanent as the old saying goes and McNeil has silenced his doubters and then some this season. He has been pretty consistent all year long, and he’s also delivered in all situations. Be it at the plate or in the field, the infielder has come up clutch time and time again for the Mets.

After hitting .300/.363/.418 with a .780 OPS during the first half of the season, McNeil earned a trip to his second All-Star Game where he was a starter in LA. But, as good as he was before July, McNeil has been even better since the All-Star break, and he’s found a way to elevate his game to a new level.

Since the All-Star break, he has slashed .356/.402/.510 with a .911 OPS. McNeil has 21 doubles, a triple, three home runs and 18 RBI in that span to go along with 12 walks. He has found a way to get on base consistently and a lot of that has come down to his ability to hit for contact and put the ball into play.

Under manager Buck Showalter, the Mets have really honed in on making hard contact with the ball and batting for average in order to manufacture runs and greatly improve the run differential game. McNeil has been the biggest beneficiary of that newfound approach, and you only have to look at his August to see why.

While McNeil has always been known for his contact hitting, he has really perfected that craft, and he was red hot at the plate during the month of August. He led the National League with a .385 average and 42 hits last month, while he ranked second with 13 doubles. The veteran also put together 11 multi-hit games in August, including four three-hit games and a four-hit performance against the Braves on August 15.

McNeil hit safely in 25 of the 29 games he played in August, and his slash line of .385/.414/.560/.973 was a big factor in why the Mets went 19-11 last month despite facing a tough schedule. After a stellar August and a solid start to September, McNeil leads all NL second basemen with a 4.7 fWAR and he’s also tied for the fifth-most OAA among all second basemen (+8). He is in the 97th percentile of OAA this season.

Furthermore, McNeil ranks third in batting average in the majors (.319) behind Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers (.322), and Paul Goldschmidt (.330) who is no doubt on his way to earning a richly-deserved MVP after a historic season for the Cardinals. However, for McNeil, if he can continue to hit for contact and put the ball into play as he did in August, then he could be on the cusp of earning a first career batting title.

To add just a little bit more emphasis on McNeil’s hitting ability, after Friday night where he went 3-for-4, he now has 40 career 3+ hit games, which makes him tied with Hubie Brooks for the 21st-most 3+ hits games in Mets history. Also, McNeil now has 148 career multi-hit games which ties him with Lucas Duda for the 28th-most multi-hit games in Mets history. Impressive.

As good as McNeil has been at the plate, though – and he’s been red hot – it would be stupid to downplay the impact he has made in the field too. The five-year veteran has always boasted a solid glove but, like his ability to hit, he has taken that to a new level this season too. McNeil has made a habit of pulling off highlight-reel and, at times, jaw-dropping plays with his glove from leaping grabs to eye-catching throws on the move. His glove has morphed into a lethal weapon in the field for the Mets’ defense.

Wherever McNeil is in the field, he has proved this season that he can provide Gold Glove caliber defense and that side of his game has improved dramatically throughout the year. In really perfecting the art of playing defense and working on his glove, McNeil has become the complete package and, therefore, way more valuable for the Mets.

Overall, McNeil has established himself as the focal point in a well-constructed machine that keeps on rolling for the Mets this year and, be it with his bat, glove or defense, the second baseman is finding ways to come up in the clutch on a nightly basis and he deserves more attention for his elite level of play this year across the board.