By Mike Phillips | November 17, 2020 12:30 pm
Player Review: Jeff McNeil
2020 Stats: 52 Games, 183 At Bats, .311 Batting Average, 57 Hits, 14 Doubles, 4 Home Runs, 23 RBI’s, 19 Runs Scored, .836 OPS, 1.3 WAR
Story: After bouncing around the diamond for most of the 2019 season the Mets tried to find an everyday home for Jeff McNeil in 2020. The initial plan was for McNeil to be the third baseman, but the interrupted spring training and quick turnaround in summer camp left him uncomfortable at the position, leading to some key errors. The Met flipped McNeil and J.D. Davis early on to bolster the defense and the move worked, allowing McNeil to focus more on his hitting. McNeil did hit into quite a bit of odd luck early in the year but got hot down the stretch, hitting .356 in September with all four of his home runs and 14 of his 23 RBI’s. The torrid finish allowed McNeil to put up numbers reminiscent of his first half 2019 performance, which was enough to earn him a trip to the All Star Game.
>> the interrupted spring training and quick turnaround in summer camp left him uncomfortable at the position, leading to some key errors <<
ReplyDeleteWell, that's a suppositional cause & effect that might not be at all accurate.
The arm did not impress me as a third-baseman's.
Jimmy
He also seemed to not handle the glove at 3rd either this past year. Overall a tough year for him.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this post!!
ReplyDeleteI like this review!!
The Persuasion Master