Jeff McNeil was born to hit.
Listen. It’s not a huge sample size we have to work with here. McNeil was called up last season on July 24th. That’s roughly half a season to judge him on.
Do we want to jump out the window here after only 76 games? No.
Do we want to talk about how damn impressive he’s been in those 76 games? Absolutely, we do.
Let’s try and put what Jeff McNeil has done since his debut into perspective.
- Most hits by a #Mets player in his first 76 big league games:
Jeff McNeil: 90
Jose Reyes: 89
Hubie Brooks / David Wright: 84
Steve Henderson: 83
Alex Ochoa: 79
- Highest Batting Average Since July 24, 2018 – (Min. 250 PA)
Christian Yelich .356
Anthony Rendon .348
Justin Turner .340
J.D. Martinez .340
Jeff McNeil .335
- Since his debut on July 24 of last year, Jeff McNeil’s .391 OBP ranks 15th in the majors and his .333 average is 6th.
- McNeil has 25 multi-hit games in his 76 games played.
- McNeil notched four 4-hit games in his first 65 games played, a feat only 13 players have accomplished since 1908.
What has Jeff McNeil done In 2019?
- is batting .359 (14-39) with 7 runs, 3 doubles, a triple, 8 RBIs & a .932 OPS
- has reached base safely in all 10 of his starts this season
- ranks 8th in the NL in batting average & tied for 9th with a .444 OBP
Todd Frazier is on the verge of rejoining the big club. You don’t hear too much about Jed Lowrie or Yoenis Céspedes, but you’d think that they will return at some point this season.
I just can’t think of anything else Jeff McNeil can do to solidify his spot in the starting lineup.
Please follow Michelle Ioannou, Michael Mayer, and Matthew Brownstein. They are terrific and very entertaining. Plus you can get some more fantastic Jeff McNeil stats like the ones above as the season progresses.