New York Mets: Three Jeff McNeil predictions for the 2020 season

Jeff McNeil has done nothing but hit since joining the New York Mets. This is what I’m predicting for the team’s Swiss Army knife in 2020.

New York Mets super-utility man Jeff McNeil would probably like a word with Alex Bregman.

Back in 2019, Bregman was quoted in a Wall Street Journal article saying “All the hitters don’t care about OPS…We don’t care about batting average”. In an era where offense is defined by slugging metrics and launch angle, McNeil turned that narrative on its head, at least for himself and rode a contact-based approach to a .319 batting average and an All-Star selection.

Playing without a true position for most of the year, McNeil bounced around the diamond with stints at second base, third base, and the outfield. His production without a true position was rewarded when new manager Carlos Beltran penciled him in as the team’s starting third baseman for the 2020 season.

With McNeil pegged for an everyday role this upcoming season, now seems like an appropriate time to make some educated guesses as to what his upcoming season will entail. Will he replicate his 2019 season? Will it be a fluke? Let’s find out. Here are three predictions for Jeff McNeil in 2020.

National League Batting Champion

McNeil’s first full season as a pro was defined by his position in the NL batting title race. Ultimately, his .319 batting average was good for fourth in the league, behind Anthony Rendon, Ketel Marte, and Christian Yelich.

It’s not implausible to believe that McNeil can be consistent enough to be the Mets second-ever batting champion and first since Jose Reyes in 2011. Part of the success of his contact first approach can be attributed to his knobless bat, a tool he has used since the minors which has carried him to his current role on the big league club.

With Rendon switching leagues and Yelich recovering from a season-ending injury, Marte could be McNeil’s biggest competition for the batting crown this year.

That being said, Baseball-Reference projects McNeil to have a better season batting average wise than Marte, so theoretically it is possible that McNeil could face very little competition in the batting crown race in 2020.

A contract extension, or at least a discussion of one

Free agency is not kind to players of McNeil’s profile, that is older players with a contact-oriented approach. In fact, it’s generally not kind to older players in general. McNeil will not hit free agency until his age 32 season, and by that point, the Mets will have Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, and Ronny Mauricio all ready to contribute or already contributing, likely pushing McNeil out the door.

If McNeil wants to make money, his camp should start talking extension and buy out his arbitration years. As of now, the range for extensions for players of McNeil’s utility is anywhere between Whit Merrifield‘s incredibly team-friendly four year $16.25 million deal with the Royals before the 2019 season, or Scott Kingery‘s six-year, $24 million deal he signed before his 2018 major league debut.

An extension of at least five years and $20 million is right in that ballpark. It’s incredibly team-friendly, keeps McNeil as part of the team’s core, and allows the Mets to allocate money towards more costly extensions due to players like Michael Conforto, Noah Syndergaard, and Marcus Stroman, all of whom are set to become free agents between now and 2021.

Plus, considering how much financial breathing room the team has now with less money owed to Yoenis Cespedes, $4 million keeps the team under the luxury tax threshold for the time being.

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The 2019 campaign was only the beginning for Jeff McNeil, it’s not hard to imagine 2020 will be just as good, if not better.