MIAMI — Jeff McNeil has stopped trying to, as he put it, aim the ball.
That’s big. That’s progress. Because for so long McNeil has tried to guide the ball when he hits, direct it to an unoccupied space somewhere on the field.
It proved successful in 2022 when he won the batting title in the National League and was granted a four-year extension by the New York Mets to play second base and as a corner outfielder.
Since then, though, it has not really worked at all, with fielders filling the gaps and drastic movements being prohibited. McNeil had just a.216/.276/.314 slash line going into the All-Star break.
Once it seems like they are everywhere, it sounds nice to hit ’em where they ain’t. Right now, strong contact is the only thing McNeil is striving for.
“I feel your swing gets a little bit messed up once you’re trying to guide the ball,” he said. “If you’re trying to guide the ball out there, it’s tough. Lately, I’ve been trying to hit the ball wherever it’s pitched and hit it hard.”
The change has led to better results. In an otherwise lackluster 6-4 loss to the Miami Marlins on Friday night to open the second half, McNeil went 3-for-4 with two home runs. It was his first two-homer game since Sept. 11, 2019.
Crushed. @JeffMcNeil805 | #LGM pic.twitter.com/0vISqcOeCW
— New York Mets (@Mets) July 20, 2024
McNeil and the Mets will now see if the revised approach continues to yield production.
What if it does?
What if McNeil rebounds?
Manager Carlos Mendoza stated that would be big for the Mets, and he is not wrong. Though the Marlins shut down the Mets’ bats on Friday, since June, New York’s offense has led MLB in OPS (.826). The lineup of the Mets is strong. The Mets seem a little thin on that side of the bat, so if McNeil is hitting right, his presence at the bottom of the order as a left-handed hitter makes the order from one through nine really strong.
On Friday, the only regular who had an OPS+ below 100 (average) was McNeil. His OPS+ prior to the game was 74, much below the second-worst mark of center fielder Harrison Bader (who normally bats ninth), who had an OPS+ of 110.
It would be ideal if McNeil could turn things around. With less than two weeks until the July 30 trade deadline, the Mets are at 49-47. If you keep playing well, you might convince the front staff to add players and increase their belief in the team’s prospects. Additionally, unless McNeil can continue his brilliance from Friday into a significant stretch, the outfield or bench may need at least a little boost, even though the bullpen is the Mets’ primary issue.
The everyday right fielder for the Mets, Starling Marte, has been on the injured list since June 25 due to a bone injury in his right knee. Since then, the right fielders for the Mets, primarily Tyrone Taylor, D.J. Stewart, and McNeil, have generated an OPS of.624 throughout that time, which is better than just three teams at the position. Only three other teams have scored a lower -0.1 fWAR than this position. Mendoza stated that Marte has not been back for a set amount of time and has only recently begun playing catch and hitting from a tee.
The Mets’ best lineup while they wait on Marte is most likely veteran Jose Iglesias at second base and McNeil in right field. McNeil also nicked a home run on Friday night.
That is, of course, assuming McNeil keeps hitting. That is a big “if” for someone like McNeil, who has struggled through 323 plate appearances in the first three plus months of the season.
However, McNeil has been working with Mets coaches for some time to help him stop “aiming” balls and concentrate on making hard contact. That was part of the plan, according to club officials, when they started benching McNeil in favor of Iglesias last month. Maybe it takes time for someone who is used to a particular hitting style to adjust. It is also important to remember that McNeil did better after the All-Star break in 2017—he had a first-half OPS of.659 compared to a second-half OPS of.775. At the very least, McNeil’s performance on Friday night was promising for the Mets and possibly significant after such a miserable and peculiar individual season in 2024.
Mendoza has stated that, despite the lack of outcomes, he believed McNeil was improving offensively during the last several weeks. Mendoza has mentioned improved at-bats overall, hard contact more often, and bad luck. Mendoza’s figures support them. FanGraphs indicates that since Marte’s previous game on June 22, the only player on the Mets with a greater hard-hit percentage than McNeil (43.1 percent) is third baseman Mark Vientos (44.9 percent).
When asked about McNeil after the game, Mendoza grinned despite the loss but did not appear surprised either.
“He’s a professional hitter,” Mendoza said before the game. “We like what we’re seeing lately.”
They’d just like to see it continue.
(Photo of Jeff McNeil, right, with Jose Iglesias: Megan Briggs / Getty Images)
