Jeff McNeal: Is He for McReal?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

95 plate appearances, 119 OPS+, sometimes sloppy buy capable of making good plays in the field.

He looks like our best hitter these days.

So, is he your 2Bman to open 2019? Or is he Mike Vail?

[Edgy MD]

He's the incumbent, so he's got to be at the top of next year's depth chart, at least as it's penciled in on August 20. But with Smith, Alonso, Wright, and Bruce all pushing away at the corner infield spots, one of which Wilmer Flores has finally settled into and the other occupied by the highly paid Todd Frazier, something's got to give, perhaps via a trade. Maybe Wilmer becomes McNeil's platoon partner and super sub again.

Maybe the Mets should stop signing former Reds sluggers.

[smg58]

It's still too early to tell, but he seems to know what he's doing at the plate and he's already handled some adjustments that were made against him. As of now, I'm looking at upgrading center and catcher before second base.

[Lefty Specialist]

Roll with him. Fix other things.

[Guest 86-Dreamer]

He is my projected 2019 second baseman and I hope he continues to play well enough over the rest of the season to get that opportunity.

I felt the same way about Rivera at the end of 2016 and hope he regains his health and can chip in as well. A lineup full of McNeils and Riveras probbaly wont get you very far but i think all good lineups have a place for at least 1 high contact hitter who can hit for a relatively high average.

[A Boy Named Seo]

I think I'm pretty solidly in the #TeamJeff camp for 2019. Seems he's always been a really good hitter, rarely K's, high OBP, but now he subscribed to this new-fangled launch angle malarky and he's a legit power threat. The modified swing and increased fly ball rates does make him seem a little like Muffy Lite.

Worry about catcher, all the hurt outfielders, the bullpen, SP depth, what else... But unless he all the sudden starts to look like crap for the next month plus, the Mets may have a cheap, talented solution that fell right in their lap.

[Centerfield]

I'm hopeful about McNeil. I like the approach at the plate. Good contact, good OBP.

I worry that his power may not translate. He's hit a few balls that I though had a chance only to see them die short of the warning track. But I'm hopeful he can start clearing fences.

I am definitely down with giving him every start at 2B (lefty or not) for the remainder of 2018.

Would be a nice silver lining if we can come out of 2018 confident that Nimmo, McNeil and Alonso can be a nice part of the base along with Conforto.

[Ceetar]

I mean, I'm hopeful, but I'm also hopeful the infield isn't going to be Frazier-Rosario-McNeil-Alonso three weeks into April next year.

Need at least one established good player in there imo. (and probably not Wright)

[Centerfield]

Yes. I agree with that.

With three infielders (hopefully) set for next year, that only leaves 3B to get a stud player. And with two OF slots accounted for, that leaves only one OF'er to improve. Now, from what I hear, there is a pretty good 3B available, and a pretty good OF'er in this next year's FA market.

The only problem is that we have Frazier, Bruce and Vargas all on the books for next season. Oh, and shit owners.

[Ceetar]

Well, Todd Frazier is good, and hopefully this year with the injuries was an aberration.

Nimmo, Conforto, Lagares, Bruce so technically that's 4/5 outfield spots taken, with a 5th possibly back in the second half.

The Mets are going to need to trade some contracts, just from logistics. So there are a lot of permutations they could do.

[Frayed Knot]

I'll say this: he's certainly a guy I want on my team in 2019

Where he'll play, how often, etc. is still TBD, but he's gotta be in the mix.

[Edgy MD]

Get Lehrer to play shortstop!

[seawolf17]

Edgy MD wrote: Get Lehrer to play shortstop!

He's only 77. The Wilpons would love him. (And he's a shortstop!)

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=lehrer001alb

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Longer he goes he reminds me more of Young Muffy than Young Vail.

[A Boy Named Seo]

He’s reminding me of Zobrist big time.

[smg58]

I said before he got called up that he might be the lucky break the team desperately needs. I'm sticking with that.

[Centerfield]

A Boy Named Seo wrote: He’s reminding me of Zobrist big time.

Yes! That's exactly right. His stance is even similar.

So, before the season I predicted exactly this. Except that instead of Jeff McNeil (who I had never heard of) I predicted that this would be Gavin Cecchini. That obviously didn't happen since Gavin was apparently abducted by aliens in May. Fortunately, they aliens were kind enough to allow Gavin to transfer his abilities to some 26 year old journeyman before whisking him away to probe him. So, in a way, I was right.

[Frayed Knot]

OK, I've upped my expectations ... sign him to a multi-year deal between innings.

[MFS62]

Frayed Knot wrote: OK, I've upped my expectations ... sign him to a multi-year deal between innings.

If he keeps this up, we'll name the stadium after him.

Later

[Centerfield]

I was legitimately disappointed he finished with only 2 hits last night.

Jeff and Nimmo. Making life bearable.

[Edgy MD]

deGrom and Wheeler and Syndergaard are helping take the edge off a little bit, too.

[smg58]

Getting the start against the lefty -- Bumgarner, no less!

[Benjamin Grimm]

There are definitely some things we can be optimistic about. The month of June destroyed this season and left a lingering stink, but the Mets aren't as bad as they were at their worst. If we could magically take June out of the mix, the Mets would be 51 and 49 and, perhaps, on the fringe of contending for a Wild Card.

If they can have a smart and productive off-season, under the guidance of a wise GM, next year could be quite a bit better.

[Edgy MD]

NATIONAL LEAGUE POSITION-PLAYER ROOKIES RANKED BY fWAR

T1) Harrison Bader, Cardinals: 2.6 (104 G)
T1) Juan Soto, Nationals: 2.6 (82 G)
T1) Ronald Acuna, Braves: 2.6 (75 G)
4) Brian Anderson, Marlins: 2.1 (127 G)
5) Jorge Alfaro, Phillies: 1.4 (92 G)
6) Christian Villanueva, Padres: 1.3 (110 G)
7) David Bote, Cubs: 1.1 (41 G)
T8) Jeff McNeil, Mets: 0.9 (28 G)
T8) Jesse Winker, Reds: 0.9 (89 G)
10) Tyler O'Neill, Cardinals: 0.7 (32 G)

Counting pitchers, he'd be 19th.

He may have come up too late to make a full splash in the JR RoY race, but he has a damn good chance to get that Topps All-Rookie Team trophy on his card next year. And that trophy is forever!

[seawolf17]

Didn't I read that almost all of Bote's value came from his one walk-off grand slam? Something like that.

[Benjamin Grimm]

[MFS62]

Better there than on the cover of SI.
Later

[Centerfield]

Edgy MD wrote: deGrom and Wheeler and Syndergaard are helping take the edge off a little bit, too.

This is true. The complete list:

Super-Amazing Awesome Things in 2018
Jacob deGrom

Really Cool things in 2018
Brandon Nimmo
Jeff McNeil
Noah Syndergaard
Zack Wheeler's Transformation
Peter Alonso

Stuff that's Not Quite Awesome but Still Pretty Good in 2018
Seth Lugo
Robert Gsellman
Michael Conforto's second half
Wilmer Flores

Things that Suck
Everything Else