Good Morning, Mets' fans.
I am sure that the title of this article does not exactly say "baseball" to the casual observer. Heck, unless you are a Mets' fan, you don't even know that is a nickname of a player on the Mets. However, the savvy readers here on Mack's Mets know exactly who "The Squirrel" is and it is none other then Jeff McNeil.
Before we take a closer look at Jeff the baseball player, does anyone know exactly how he picked up this moniker in the first place? After all, squirrels aren't exactly the type of creature that strikes fear into a potential adversary (unless you happen to be a fully loaded bird feeder, that is). No, squirrels are most often thought of as either "cute" or "rats with nice tails" depending on your personal view.
Perhaps it is because Jeff looks a bit scruffy and has slightly pronounced front teeth? I am really reaching here so hopefully one of you can help out in the comments' section below.
Anyway, getting back to the topic of this article, I wanted to take a look at Jeff's fledgling career and how he measures up to players that have come before him in the league.
Most of you are familiar with his back story, in that he was not highly regarded when he was drafted in the 12th round of the 2013 MLB Draft. He subsequently had some injury issues and didn't make his major league debut until his age 26 season in 2018. In other words, he was the proverbial "dark horse" that literally no one saw coming. Maybe not as wild as Mike Piazza's story, but it isn't that far away, either.
Jeff has compiled a total of 735 at bats in his career to date, which is roughly the equivalent of 1.25 seasons worth of baseball if we use 600 at bats as a "normal season". During that time period, Jeff has compiled the following statistics;
.321/.383/.513 (.896 OPS)
26 HR/94 RBI/12 SB and 118 RS
7.4 WAR and +0.1 dWAR (impressive since he has played 2B, 3B, LF and RF so far)
Talk about a diamond in the rough!
His 2019 season, which admittedly comprises 70% of his career at bats, was slightly better if you can believe that. Jeff had 510 at bats last year, which is roughly 85% of a regular season's worth of appearances. During that time, he produced the following statistics;
.318/.384/.531 (.916 OPS)
23 HR/75 RBI/5 SB and 83 RS
5.0 WAR and +0.1 dWAR
Folks, those statistics are nothing to sneeze at. Sure his BA and SB dropped a tad, but he maintained his OBP and had a spike in his power output which led to a healthy increase in his OPS and his WAR figures. He ranked 42nd in all of baseball last year in WAR, directly behind the overhyped "superstar" Bryce Harper and at a much more affordable salary.
Jeff will play the 2020 season as a 28 year old so he is probably close to hitting his ceiling, but it is a pretty nice ceiling, no?
The only quibble or two that you could have is that he tends to get injured a bit more then you would like and he doesn't have a set position. One has been a consistent issue throughout his career while the other is not his fault, right Brodie? I hope that Jeff can get over the injury bug and that he is given a set position to call his own in 2020 and beyond (third base, hopefully).
Is it any surprise that his name comes up in literally every trade rumor that the Mets are linked to? I mean, who would want a guy that can play all over the diamond, who hits like crazy and will not even be arbitration eligible until 2022 or a free agent until 2025?
"The Squirrel" is worth his weight in gold and he should be a fixture on future Mets' rosters until he decides to hang up his spikes in another decade or so.
Let's hope that Brodie feels the same way.
5 comments:
I see him exiting a'la Jeff Kent, Greg Jefferies and others. Let's hope THIS GM is a tad smarter.
Love Jeff, a terrific player who brings great energy and enthusiasm every single day. Moreover, love his approach to hitting (though a little concerned about his becoming "pull happy" in the 2nd half last season, selling out for power; I like him best when he hits to all fields.)
I do think the injury bug is a real worry with Jeff. A long history of time on the DL. I'd love to see him stay healthy for a few seasons and really establish himself as an everyday guy.
There's talk in some corners of the internet about him being "untouchable," which is absurd, of course. If it would bring back a true superstar, you'd have to consider it. Jeff's salary is very appealing -- to the Mets and, yes, to potential trade partners.
That said, I'm in no hurry to trade him and neither is Brodie. It would be painful. But for the right exchange, if absolutely necessary, yes, I think you'd have to consider it.
One other thing, in defense of Brodie (since he's taking random pot-shots here). Right now, today, Jeff is penciled in at 3B. Maybe he slides over to 2B at some point down the line. But going into last season, sure, he looked good in 2018 across 225 ABs. And one of his great attributes is his flexibility, at a time when teams are really beginning to value that quality. No, Brodie didn't anoint this guy as the everyday 2B last winter. Things went differently, because in order to acquire the best young reliever in baseball, Brodie took on the salary of Robinson Cano -- who is a very good player, folks. But nonetheless, Jeff played a lot, and proved a lot, and now has a clear opportunity to nail down 3B for the NY Mets. It seems like a reasonable trajectory to me.
Jimmy
I think the Squirrel moniker was from Thor kidding around. It stuck. Good to horse around in BB.
Unlike Blackmon and Arenado, he hits well AWAY from home as well as at home. And his huge year after his 2018 super but short debut makes him an extremely valuable asset. If McNeil played at home in Colorado, he'd hit .350 every year.
I hope he learned one thing last year - pitched fastballs can break bones. And cause you to miss a lot of time. He can't use his body as a pitch pinata.
Good point, Jimmy.
I might take a shot or two at Brodie, but I think he is doing a solid job overall and he probably viewed Jeff as a Ben Zobrist type who derives a lot of his value from being versatile. That came in quite handy in 2019, to say the least.
Moving forward, Jeff has a real shot at making 3B his permanent home and I think it would make him more consistent with the bat and glove since he would be "set" so to speak (or at least until someone like Vientos or Baty show up, that is).
I spent a little time with him at spring training in 2014 before he went to Savannah. The nicest guy you could ever meet. It was here that he told me that he could play all three infield positions.
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