Jeff McNeil thrives by continuing new batting approach

One of the things that makes Brandon Nimmo my favorite player is his broad set of skills, one that gives him the chance to put up the elusive .300/.400/.500 line. By changing his approach at the plate – not drawing as many walks, although there’s been an uptick here recently – Nimmo is not likely to get the .400 OBP. But he’s been replaced by two other players who can flirt with that sweet slash line. Juan Soto accomplished that feat in 2021 and missed by 12 points in AVG in 2024. And now we have to add Jeff McNeil to the mix.

McNeil became focused in July of last year on hitting the ball hard and he had great results before enduring a season-ending injury. His start to the 2025 season was delayed by a different injury. Yet since his return, McNeil has kept the approach to hit the ball hard. On top of that, he’s added walks to his game. For the season, McNeil has a .248/.387/.462 line. You may think that’s not particularly close to being a .300 hitter. But a slow start, along with an unlikely BABIP have contributed to the relatively weak AVG.

After nine games, McNeil had a .653 OPS. Since then, he’s posted a .280/.387/.550 line in 119 PA. That’s a .937 OPS despite a .262 BABIP. With his new approach at the plate, it’s not realistic to expect McNeil to have the elevated BABIP marks of the first five seasons of his career. At the same time, we probably shouldn’t expect him to have a mark over 25 points lower than the league average in the category, either.

We saw a hit fall in for McNeil in the opening game against the Braves, as a somewhat-compromised Ronald Acuna Jr. was unable to get to a ball that two years ago he would have fielded easily. And McNeil is owed several more of those hits going forward. Yet while we just want to see McNeil get his fair share of bloops and bleeders, what we really want to see is a continuation of strong XBH, combined with a low level of strikeouts.

In his last 119 PA, McNeil has 13 XBH and only 11 Ks. That’s outstanding production, the type that everyone should be thrilled to see.

However, it’s still common to hear fans run down McNeil, wanting to trade him to open up 2B for youngsters. It’s like people made their minds up on what type of player McNeil was when he struggled in 2023 and early 2024 and have yet to recognize either the changes he’s made or the results he’s had.

Since July 14 of last season, McNeil has a .278/.370/.529 line. That’s an .899 OPS and a 150 wRC+, accomplished with just a .280 BABIP. Last year, only 10 players in the major leagues had a 150 wRC+ among those with enough PA to qualify for the leaderboards. So far this season, there are only 11 players who’ve reached that threshold. Nine of the 11 hitters to make the cut this year have a BABIP of .300 or more, including ones with marks of .391, .417 and .448 to date.

Bottom line is that McNeil has been an elite hitter since mid-July of last year. Everyone is talking about how the Giants just added a big bat with Rafael Devers. So far this season, Devers has a 147 wRC+. And unlike Devers, McNeil offers defensive value, being able to provide league-average defense at multiple positions, including center field.

The Mets are batting McNeil fifth in the order against RHP, which at first glance might seem a bit odd. Yet his production absolutely merits that slot in the order. With torpedo bat in tow, it’s nice to see McNeil more interested in hitting the ball hard than flicking the ball the other way. He teased us with this type of production in the second half of 2019. He could have been this hitter from 2020-2024. It’s not that we should get hung up with what did or didn’t happen with McNeil in the past. It’s just that we need to celebrate what’s happened since last July. It’s been really good and hopefully everyone who reads this can both recognize and appreciate that.