4 Mets players who have made this season appalling

The Mets' second basemen and current reigning National League Batting Champion has not been able to execute this 2023

Jeff McNeil was a great offensive producer for the Mets in 2022 and one of the main player responsible for the team finishing ranked number two in the MLB team in batting average. However, this 2023, his batting has not been an good, and his average is more than 80 points away from the incredible AVG of .326 that gave him the National League Batting Champion award in 2022.

Analyzing McNeil's batting profile is complicated. His propensity to strike out remains low and elite in MLB, currently ranked in the top 2% of the league, and his contact to pitches inside the strike zone has increased while the ones out of the zone has decreased.

The data analyzed from this point of view does not seem to explain the poor performance shown by McNeil this season. Incredibly, a hitter with the profile of the second baseman of the Mets who was able to hit against the defensive shift shows such a regression against a more limited defensive alignment, which he could take more advantage of, as in the case of Luis Arraez this season.

Regardless of whether Jeff McNeil's problem is mental or hitting mechanics, his unexpected drop in production has significantly affected a team that was counting on him to produce more. The Mets organization did not expect this result after offering an extension to McNeil's contract this past offseason.