Jeff McNeil's Unreal Path to MLB All-Star

This dude was on no one's radar; now he just keeps hitting

I’ll be the first to admit it. Before Jeff McNeil’s respective rampages through the Eastern League and Pacific Coast League in 2018, I didn’t know much about the guy.

Not many fans did — and with just cause. As a 12th-round draft pick of the Mets in 2013, the CSU-Long Beach product mostly flew under the radar, as one does.

McNeil hit the ground running as a professional, slashing .329/.413/.409 over 199 plate appearances with Rookie Level Kingsport in 2013 and raked at Single-A Savannah (.332/.401/.461, 265 PA) in 2014 before stalling out a bit in Advanced-A St. Lucie (.246/.329/.319, 241 PA) later that season.

He picked himself up the following season, absolutely crushing High-A hurlers to the tune of a .312/.373/.382 line with 18 doubles and six triples in 529 plate appearances and earning a four-game promotion to Double-A Binghamton to finish the year.

Earlier in the 2016 season, while performing an MRI confirming McNeil’s double sports hernia in May, team doctors discovered a tear in his labrum (hip). McNeil had hoped to play through it and address it in the offseason.

Following offseason surgery and rehab, McNeil returned in 2017 but a nagging groin injury held him to just 48 games between High-A St. Lucie and Triple-A Las Vegas (.295/.351/.432; whole pelvic area out of commission and the guy still strokes…).

McNeil began the 2018 season with Double-A Bingo and, finally healthy, immediately got back on his grind.

Over 247 plate appearances with Binghamton, McNeil hit .327/.402/.626 with 14 homers, 16 doubles, 23 strikeouts, and 22 walks, turning heads around the organization and practically printing out his boarding pass to Las Vegas.

Shortly after being promoted to Triple-A, McNeil spoke with Betsy Helfand, then of the Las Vegas Journal-Review, about his unheralded but epically worthy ascent.

“People kind of finally know who I am. I know I haven’t really been a top prospect ever,” he said. “I know I’ve been a good player. I’ve produced every single year, so it’s kind of cool to see fans and everything talk about it. But at the end of the day, you’ve just got to keep playing baseball.”

And play, he did. In 31 games with the 51’s (great name, btw), McNeil freaking clobbered.

His .368/.427/.600 line over 143 plate appearances drew skepticism from some — the PCL’s dry, elevated desert air is notorious for inflating offensive stats — but it’s tough to argue with just 19 strikeouts over that span.

In the wake of the Mets sending second baseman and bat-flip extraordinaire Asdrubal Cabrera to the Phillies in July 2018, McNeil finally got that call.

Always a magnet for doubters, McNeil practically egged them on with his seemingly untenable .329/.381/.471, 136 wRC+ debut. As if 248 plate appearances against the best pitchers on the planet wasn’t enough of a litmus test. Pfft.

The following season, McNeil met — and even exceeded, in some manners — the lofty bar he set for himself his rookie year.

Over the first 60-odd games of the 2019 season, McNeil doubled-down on his breakout, hitting .342/.407/.494 with five homers, 19 doubles, and 28 strikeouts over his first 263 plate appearances.

In late June, following a midday 5-4 win over the Cubs, McNeil was asked about his feelings on his potential addition to the National League All-Star team. He didn’t necessarily mince words.

“You know, it’s a dream of mine to play in the All-Star Game. I think I’ve done enough,” he said. “I think I’ve been the best possible player I could be up until this point, playing multiple positions and doing it pretty well. I don’t think there’s much more I can do to make my case.”

McNeil was indeed added to the NL’s squad as a reserve (went 0-for-1), and when he returned, got right back to raking. Quite frankly, he hasn’t really stopped since he got here.

Since July 12, 2019 (first game back from that aforementioned All-Star break), McNeil’s been one of the more potent hitters in baseball, carrying a .296/.367/.512 batting line over that span with 21 homers, 3.2 wins above replacement (FanGraphs), and 135 wRC+ — good for 14th in the NL among qualified hitters.

It’s blatantly clear that Jeff McNeil sets goals for himself and achieves them. When he was dealing with hamstring issues late in 2019, instead of resting and getting back to work, he appeared to revamp his swing and ended up finding his power stroke.

Simply put, dude is a ballplayer. Here’s to continuing this awesome trajectory in 2021.