Khalil Lee, Photo by James Farrance

It is safe to say that Khalil Lee‘s first MLB stint was underwhelming through no fault of his own. He was forced into a difficult situation due to numerous injuries. Those 18 plate appearances should not cloud his future because since going back to Syracuse, he has been on a tear.

Since June 1, Lee is hitting .278/.446/.500 with a .422 wOBA and 159 wRC+ in Syracuse. Over the last three weeks, those numbers have been even better. Since July 22, he is hitting a Bonds-esque .298/.431/.596.

Lee’s numbers trending this way are not a coincidence. Lee has added a double toe-tap to his pre-pitch setup. Some hitters use this to help with their timing. Obviously, this was a major issue for Lee during his first stint in the Majors. I have provided some videos that exhibit the change.

Here is the video of Lee’s RBI double in Miami:

Here is the video of his recent home run in Syracuse:

With Lee, the concern will always be the strikeouts. Even during his hot streak, that issue has still not subsided. Since June 1, Lee has struck out 31% of the time and even during his insane hot streak since July 22, he still struck out 36% of the time. Given the difference between MLB pitchers and AAA pitchers, that number would only be larger in the Majors.

The Mets have a decision on their hands though. Their offense has been struggling and Brandon Nimmo has been their only outfielder who has performed as expected this season. Michael Conforto has not had a good 2021 season, Dominic Smith has been pretty mediocre and has also been playing out of position. Meanwhile, Albert Almora and Kevin Pillar have not been major league hitters this season. Can Khalil Lee offer some spark and potentially help the Mets salvage this season?

If the Mets were still in first place or if this were still May, I would argue that the rest of the offense should be given time to figure out their struggles. However, the Mets are in a pennant race and they only have about 25% of the season left. The idea of calling up Lee and seeing if he can help turn around the Mets fortunes is incredibly tempting.

Ultimately though, I would suggest the Mets keep Lee in Syracuse. Lee’s strikeouts seem too high still and I think if he gets called up right now, he would strikeout about 45% of the time. I still believe in him long term and I love his talent but I still believe Michael Conforto and Dominic Smith would be better options as it stands. If we are also being fair, Michael Conforto has been playing a lot better as of late. This tweet by Anthony DiComo shows what he has been up to as of late:

If he were in the majors, he would not play ahead of Smith, Conforto, and Nimmo. He is a better option than Pillar and Almora. That being said, I also would not want him to be sitting on the bench in the majors. I think playing time and development would be more beneficial for him in the long term.