Time to move on with our MetsJunkies Predictions. We are moving over to the (expected) 2020 second baseman: Jeff “Squirrel” McNeil.

Corne Hogeveen:

Jeff McNeil has been a hitting machine since his debut in 2018. Hitting a career high 23 homers in 2019 and hitting over .300 in every year so far. I recently wrote an article about McNeil and his hitting ability and for that reason, I believe his power numbers will be slightly down to 2019:

.315/.386/.443 with 12 homeruns and 70 RBI’s

Gem Tablak:

Where do I start? McNeil plays everywhere defensively but it seems as if second base will be his home for the 2021 campaign. Let’s get into some offensive projections:

.318/.388/.492 to go alongside 23 home runs and 84 RBI’s.

Del Alba

I project 23 HR, .310/.380/.490 with 90 RBI

Jeff McHits!!! I absolutely love McNeil, and I am sure many other teams do as well. His name has came up multiple times on trade rumors in the past, all of which do not gain much traction. The Mets were wise enough to know just how talented McNeil. Back to the subject at hand, I expect McNeil to regress a bit back into his 2019 form. He should mostly focus on driving in runs and not sell out for power. Of course, if he wants to chase a first pitch strike ball, so be it! The reality is that McNeil will be in a lineup that has a high homerun upside, so he needs to get back to his craft at his old school baseball methods. I expect him to be a major fixture on the Mets lineup so my projection is based on him playing a healthy 150-155 games (about 600-650 AB).

Photo by: Tony Quinn via Sportswire/Getty Images