There was just one hitter in baseball higher than Jeff McNeil final season: Luis Arraez.
When Arraez was traded from the Minnesota Twins to the Miami Marlins forward of this season, a battle for the NL batting title was anticipated. But Arraez is working away with the title and it isn’t even very shut. Freddie Freeman, who practically beat McNeil on the ultimate day of the common season final yr, has been about 20-25 factors behind the Marlins second baseman this season.
McNeil by no means actually bought out of the gate.
Coming right into a weekend sequence in opposition to the Atlanta Braves, McNeil was hitting simply .253, effectively under his 2022 common of .326 and even additional under Arraez’s .369 clip. McNeil thinks he has hit into dangerous luck this season and his BABIP would assist that. McNeil’s common on balls put in play is just .276 this season, which might point out that he has been hitting the ball proper at individuals.
“Some of the balls he’s hitting 95-plus, but they seem to get caught,” mentioned hitting coach Jeremy Barnes. “It’s like this in-between world we’ve all been living in this year.”
Barnes isn’t mistaken — the Mets’ BABPIB is down from final season. However, the workforce hasn’t precisely discovered why. This has led to questions on how the brand new shift limitations have affected their hitters, particularly McNeil.
“That would be a very convenient answer if he ends up hitting .250,” supervisor Buck Showalter mentioned Friday at Citi Field. “But is it for sure? Is that exactly what happened? I think there is a lot more to it than just one thing.”
McNeil was adept at hitting in opposition to the shift earlier than the league positioned limitations on the place and the way infielders can place themselves. The 31-year-old has at all times been in a position to make use of all fields and was so good at hitting the ball the place he wished that it was virtually comical to shift on him earlier than this season.
Which is why the Mets are hesitant to level to that as the issue.
“I have no idea. It’s like the weirdest thing ever,” Barnes mentioned. “You’d think that with the shift going away that a lot of us would have gotten more hits. But we’ve had a much lower batting average on balls in play on ground balls, which is wacky. I don’t really know what to make of that right now. But it sucks.”
The Mets labored with McNeil to maintain his fingers larger in his stance this season however they didn’t need him to overtake his swing or make any drastic modifications. The solely factor they wished was for him to look extra like himself once more.
In current weeks, he has. Over his final 21 video games, he’s hit .275 with 12 RBI, two residence runs, two doubles and a triple.
McNeil performed faculty ball at Long Beach State, a program that prides itself on its underdog prowess and all-out model of play. He was by no means thought-about an elite prospect and got here to skilled baseball with a chip on his shoulder.
Showalter thinks that “Dirtbag” mindset will assist him transfer previous this down yr.
“Jeff is chasing five hits every night. If he gets one, he wants two. If he gets two, he wants three,” Showalter mentioned. “Jeff is playing with house money. He wants two or three or four. And the team benefits from that. I think he would like to [finish the season] reminding everybody that he was the best hitter for batting average last year.”
LINDOR SCRATCHED LATE
Shortstop Francisco Lindor was faraway from the lineup shortly earlier than Friday’s recreation in opposition to the Braves started with tightness in his proper facet. He’ll bear imaging Saturday.
The harm occurred whereas he was stretching earlier than the sport. Lindor, who strained his indirect in 2021, felt one thing pulling whereas going by means of his pregame routine and determined to go to the trainers.
The trainers prompt he sit out.
“I wanted to play, but I’ve been through a situation where I tried to play through it and it didn’t work out in my favor,” Lindor mentioned. “The trainers said that was the decision, so we talked to Buck and that was it.”
Lindor prides himself on being an on a regular basis participant and didn’t even take his paternity go away when his daughter, Amapola, was born earlier this season. He missed just one recreation final season and has beforehand mentioned he wish to play 162 video games every season, however the quantity isn’t as necessary to him as displaying up and being able to play. He would reasonably train warning than danger aggravation.
“I take a lot of pride in playing every single day and being there for my team and posting up,” Lindor mentioned. “But 162 has never been a goal or a dream, but posting up every single day is my goal.”
PITCHING PLANS
Right-hander Denyi Reyes is anticipated to be referred to as up because the twenty seventh man to start out the primary recreation of a Saturday doubleheader, which is a make-up recreation from April 29. He’ll face former right-hander Allan Winans, a former Mets farmhand.
Left-hander Jose Quintana is anticipated to face right-hander Spencer Strider within the nightcap. Right-hander Kodai Senga will oppose right-hander Yonny Chirinos on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com