Jeff McNeil quietly has a strong NL Player of the Month case for August

Jeff McNeil played a huge role in the New York Mets successful August. He contributed in many different facets of his game and proved to the doubters that his All-Star appearance (and start at second base) was not a fluke. Instead, McNeil was the version of himself we saw in the first half of the 2019 season where he hit around .350.

The Mets went 19-11 in August and McNeil's bat had a lot to do with it. There's a strong case to be made that he was the best National League player in the month of August.

Mets: Jeff McNeil has a compelling case to be the National League Player of the Month honors for August.

McNeil led the National League with a .385 average and 42 hits in August, and was second with 13 doubles. We knew that McNeil was such a valuable asset because of his contact hitting, and he put it into practice this month, .

McNeil also put together 11 multi-hit games last month, including four three-hit games and a four-hit performance (August 15 at Atlanta). Eight of them were in wins. He also hit safely in 25 of the 29 games he played in August.

McNeil having the month he had was so instrumental to regaining his confidence. He hit just .208 with a .299 slugging percentage in July. Then he had the great August with a .560 slugging percentage, and saw his season batting average improve by 24 points from the end of July. His season-to-date OPS improved by 59 points from .771 on July 31 to .830 after play in August.

It is time for baseball to recognize the value McNeil has for the Mets for his simple ability to make contact, which is a premium concept in today's Major League Baseball and how the Mets have been great all year long.