Three Mets players we could see end 2021 as a league leader

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Which New York Mets players have a chance to lead the league in a particular statistic? (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /

In the last full season of New York Mets baseball, two Mets players took home awards despite the team not making the playoffs. Pete Alonso was the home run leader and won Rookie of the Year, and Jacob deGrom won his second straight Cy Young Award.

Those two players are still on the team now along with many others who can win an award or lead the league in a statistic. The Mets have one of the more potent offenses with a mix of power and average, and a really solid pitching staff lead by the best pitcher in baseball.

There is a lot of potential on this team to be very good and also take home some personal awards. Here are three Mets I think have a really good shot at leading the league in a statistic this year.

Mets reliever Trevor May will “hold” it all together

Holds are not the most enticing or recognized statistic in the book, but it is a very important one. A relief pitcher gets a hold when he enters the game in a save situation and gets at least one out before getting to the next reliever. Even if that next reliever blows the game, the hold still stands as the lead was held.

The Mets signed Trevor May this past offseason to a two-year $15.5 million-dollar deal. This move gave the Mets another above-average to elite right-handed reliever who can be relied upon late in games. While May won’t close, he will be pitching in the seventh or eighth innings in most games that are close and will be relied upon to set up for guys like Edwin Diaz or Seth Lugo.

In 2020, May was primarily used as a set-up man for Taylor Rogers. He’d pitch usually in the seventh or eighth inning of close games and would rack up a lot of holds. May finished tied for fourth in all of baseball with his 10 holds, just four behind Jake Diekman who led baseball with 14.

May only blew one chance out of the 11 he had which he could get a hold, so he was very reliable when it came to protecting leads.

With the roster the Mets have assembled, I think making the playoffs is a very strong possibility. In order to make the playoffs, they will have to hold leads. This has been a problem in years past but May has been one of the best set up men in baseball the last couple of years.

In 2019, his last full season, May appeared in 65 games and went 1-3 with a 2.94 ERA, striking out 79 batters in 64 innings pitched, an 11.1 K/9. If he pitches like this with the offense the Mets have and the pieces they have in the back end of the bullpen May should rack up a ton of holds.

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL – MARCH 08: Jeff McNeil #6 of the New York Mets in action against the Houston Astros during a spring training baseball game at Clover Park on March 8, 2020 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The Mets defeated the Astros 3-1. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

Mets potential batting champ, Jeff McNeil

In his first three MLB seasons, Jeff McNeil has hit .311 or higher. His bat on ball skills are some of the best in all of baseball and I see no reason for him to not hit for an extremely high average this season.

With the way the Mets roster is set up currently, I would expect Jeff McNeil to be hitting second in the batting order consistently. If that happens he will likely have guys like Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, and Michael Conforto among others hitting behind him. With that being said, he will get a ton of pitches to hit with the great protection the big bats behind him provide.

I expect Jeff McNeil to be right in the thick of the race for the batting title and I’d give him a very good shot at winning it.

In 2019, his only full season, McNeil slashed .318/.384/.531 with 23 home runs and 75 RBI. With that superb stat line, McNeil was two different hitters that season. In the first half, he was all about putting bat on ball. He slashed an absurd .349/.409/.509 with seven home runs and 36 RBI.

He was not hitting home runs at an elite rate but he was leading the league in batting with the .349 clip. He was hitting leadoff and was a table-setter for eventual Rookie of the Year Pete Alonso and others.

In the second half, McNeil was an entirely different hitter. He slashed .276/.353/.561 with 16 home runs and 39 RBI. The batting average was much lower, and the home runs skyrocketed.

McNeil was pulling pretty much everything and was also striking out at a higher clip. He struck out 38 times in 317 at-bats in the first half and 37 times in 221 at-bats in the second half.

While he was extremely valuable in the second half, he was still the better player in the first half which led him to his first All-Star Game appearance. McNeil went back to his first half of 2019 form this past season, as he slashed .311/.383/.454 with four home runs and 23 RBI.

When McNeil was fully healthy in September, he hit .356.

McNeil is a career .319 hitter and has never had protection like he will have this season in the batting order. I fully expect him to hit at least .320 which puts him in clear contention for the National League batting title. The 2019 batting title winner, Christian Yelich, hit .329 in 2019 which was the last full season. This is a number I expect McNeil to come close to if not eclipse, and that gives him an excellent shot.

BUFFALO, NY – SEPTEMBER 11: Brandon Nimmo #9 of the New York Mets against the Toronto Blue Jays at Sahlen Field on September 11, 2020 in Buffalo, United States. Mets beat the Blue Jays 18 to 1. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images) /

Brandon Nimmo will be on base for the Mets plenty in 2021

The Mets pursued George Springer heavily to play center field for the team this season. When that failed, the team opted to sign Albert Almora instead. This means Brandon Nimmo will be the primary center fielder in 2021. While this may not be a great thing with his glove, it is certainly a good thing to get his bat into this lineup.

I expect Brandon Nimmo to lead off a majority of games for the Mets this season. In a lineup that should score a ton of runs, I expect Nimmo to be a big reason why. While hitting at the top of the order, I expect him to get on base. A ton. That is what Nimmo is known for after all. And I expect him to contend for the league lead in that statistic.

This past season, Nimmo slashed .280/.404/.484 primarily hitting in the leadoff role for a Mets offense that was very potent. While that .404 on-base percentage just missed the top 10 in the National League, it is still a very high number and one that not many reach in a 162 game season.

Nimmo however, has reached this number before in a full season. In 2018, Nimmo’s only fully healthy 162 game season, he slashed .263/.404/.483. That .404 OBP ranked fourth in all of baseball and second in the National League.

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Whenever Nimmo has been healthy he has shown he has an elite ability to get on base. Whether that’s by getting a hit, drawing a walk, or getting hit by a pitch he always seems to be on at some point during a game. Assuming health, I don’t see why he wouldn’t be among the league leaders in OBP once again in 2021.

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Mets reliever Trevor May will “hold” it all together

Mets potential batting champ, Jeff McNeil

Brandon Nimmo will be on base for the Mets plenty in 2021

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