Ignore the standings. Look away from the bullpen. Pay no attention to the embarrassing manager/GM/ownership trio. Close your eyes when Robinson Cano comes up to bat. Look beyond the thick dark clouds, and you’ll see two rays of golden light – Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil.
In an otherwise frustrating and miserable season that’s only halfway over, the Mets feature two players marching toward award-winning seasons. As of this writing, Jeff McNeil is batting a whopping .351, just barely behind Cody Bellinger‘s Major League leading .354. And he’s been on fire of late, posting multi-hit games seemingly every night. He’s also been finding his power stroke, delivering more home runs and doubles over the past three weeks.
McNeil seems to be able to hit anyone – lefties, righties, hard throwers, junk ballers, aces, relievers, you name it. If he can maintain this, he’ll be in the running for the National League batting title, won only once by a Met – Jose Reyes in his last season in New York.
Pete Alonso meanwhile is the runaway favorite for the National League Rookie of the Year. This is an award the Mets are no strangers to, with a list of winners that includes Tom Seaver, Jon Matlack, Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden and Jacob deGrom. Alonso’s 27 home runs are good for second in the Majors behind reigning MVP Christian Yelich. This is doubly impressive for a player who broke the Mets rookie home run record (Strawberry) by the season’s halfway point.
Many of Alonso’s home runs have been of the highlight reel variety – either because they reach the upper decks or gave the Mets the lead. He’s also done a nice job of getting on base, kept his strikeouts down and been a better first baseman than expected. He brings a fun boyish enthusiasm to the clubhouse and an equally cute nickname – polar bear.
The crazy part is, neither of these players really figured to play a big part in Brodie Van Wagenen’s blueprint for “winning now and in the future.” To his credit, Van Wagenen pushed for Alonso to start the season on the Mets rather than delay his service time clock. But he held on to Dominic Smith and spoke of Todd Frazier playing some first base after signing Jed Lowrie. Lowrie, along with Cano were both older veterans brought in to solidify the infield. McNeil was terrific last year as a rookie, but Van Wagenen was so thoroughly unconvinced, he nearly included him in the lop-sided trade with Seattle. The GM also brought in four infielders (also Adeiny Hechaverria and J.D. Davis, plus veteran depth pieces like Dilson Herrera and Danny Espinosa) to all but block McNeil’s path to playing time. Outfield injuries have thankfully opened up spots for McNeil out on the grass. Presumably, McNeil will be our third baseman once Frazier is traded at mid-season or at least not resigned next year. But with this front office, presumptions are fruitless.
What’s not fruitless is rooting for McNeil and Alonso, two exciting players around whom we can build the next good Mets team. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be this year.
nice article, but I wouldn’t totally count out Fernando Tatis Jr. for ROY. line of .327/.398/.583 with 11 SB and he plays a premium position, SS.
Sad that the terrific and inspired play of alonso, mcneil and also dom smith
Is lost in the miasma of dysfunction from the top down throughout the organization.
I love McNeil and Alonso. I love their excitement and enthusiasm for the game. They both grind. Also love deGrom, Conforto and even Dom Smith a bit to build a team around in the future.
Trade deadline should be very interesting this year. Lets hope that we can get out of our funk.