Home Cooking: Jeff McHits

Mets (45-25) news and notes two weeks into June

Taking away game one from the Rays series, in which the Mets lost 7-5 — they’ve found themselves in a whirlwind of winning.

The Mets are 45-25 overall and 27-8 at Citi Field. It’s the best start in their franchise history at home. As these games continue to move along, so do the Mets — as they’re currently projected to win 97 games with a 96.5% chance to make the playoffs.

If baseball continues to teach us anything, it’s that each season brings on surprises of it’s own — good and bad. We have both case scenarios (more good, obviously) after the Mets swept away the Nationals on a warm Thursday afternoon.

The Mets have been playing some of their best baseball in a while.

Very quietly in 2025 — baseball runs through the National League. Between the Mets, Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers, Padres, Giants, and even the Brewers — each team is good enough to win the World Series. You can only say that about the Yankees and Tigers for the American League — but a baseball column in June is usually subject to change.

At the end of the day, the Mets are fresh off of a sweep of the Nationals with a packed house at Citi Field for every single game. They entered Thursday afternoon’s game averaging 37,801 fans per game — good for fifth-best in MLB. At this point last year, through the same number of games — the Mets were averaging 24,960 fans per game.

So far in 2025, the Mets are averaging 37,966 fans per game — their most since Shea Stadium’s final season in 2008. That year, the Mets averaged an attendance of 49,902.

As a collective for an 89-win season in 2024 — the Mets averaged 29,484 fans per game; good for 17th in MLB attendance. After their series with the Rays, New York travels down to Atlanta for three, followed with three in Philadelphia on their way back home. Once the Mets are back at home next Monday — they’ll host Atlanta for four more.

Tuesday, June 17 will be the Mets’ first time playing Atlanta all year.

Jeff McNeil

How often have we seen a player like Jeff McNeil in Mets history?

The idea of a “utility player” in baseball is not uncommon.

In fact, when you have one, it can make for one of the most underrated positions in the game — filled with some of the sport’s greatest players.

Whether it be Stan Musial, who posted an 8.6+ WAR in three seasons (1943, 1948, 1951) while playing 10+ games at three separate outfield positions, and first base. Over his career, he played 920 games in left, 783 in right, 302 at first, and 252 in center. Musial posted a .331/.417/.559 career slash line and an absolutely insane 128.6 WAR.

When thinking of other great utility players — one can consider the late great Pete Rose; who played 939 games at second, 673 in left, 634 at first, 590 in right, and 515 at third between 1963-1986. Rose started 10+ games at five different positions in two separate seasons, as well. Some consider Rose to not be a utility player because of his impact not being evenly distributed across his positions — to each his own.

More recently — modern utility players such as Brock Holt and Ben Zobrist come to mind. Holt played 200+ games at second and third, 115 in left, 83 in right, 59 at shortstop, and 40 at first. He was a 2015 All-Star and 2018 world champion with the Red Sox — becoming the first player in 2015 to make the All-Star Game after starting at seven positions before the break.

As for Ben Zobrist — he essentially redefined the modern utility role with the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, and Kansas City Royals.

In 2009, he led AL position players with 8.6 WAR, playing 91 games at second base, 59 in right field, 13 at shortstop, and others across the diamond. Zobrist played every position except pitcher and catcher over his career, with 911 games at second, 466 in right field, and 230+ at shortstop. A three-time All-Star, two-time World Series champion (2015 Royals, 2016 Cubs, where he was World Series MVP), and switch-hitter with a .266/.357/.426 slash line.

A true utility.

Some names for honorable utility mentions are Tony Phillips — who played 778 games at second base, 565 in left field, 428 at third, 294 at shortstop, and 169 in right field across 18 seasons. Phillips’ .266/.374/.389 slash line, 50.9 WAR, and 1989 World Series title with Oakland showcase his use for utility. He started 10 games at five positions in 1991.

Another honorable mention at utility would be Mark Loretta, who was the only player to play 200+ games at all four infield positions — 684 at second, 294 at shortstop, 263 at third, and 200 at first with five teams between 1995-2009.

The last honorable utility player mention is for Marwin Gonzalez; who played 300+ games at shortstop, 250 at first, and 200 in left field. He appeared at every position except pitcher and catcher.

Gonzalez’s .260/.316/.415 slash line, 101 OPS+, and 2017 World Series title with Houston make for a steady supplier of utility. He made 10+ appearances at four or more positions in five straight seasons — some rare air.

Pertaining to the Mets — Jeff McNeil gave us all a reason to believe again. Belief in a player that was written off faster than a tax return.

Belief — the mantra of the Amazin’s themselves. Time and time again, baseball shows that it forever favors the patient. Jeff McNeil provides a sense of veteran assurance for a Mets team that desperately needed it. He solved a question that was glaring for a while — who would be starting at second baseman, and for how long?

The Mets have found their answer.

If they find themselves in a Game 7 World Series situation again, like 1973 and 1986 — you can feel confident in Jeff McNeil running out to second for pregame warmups.

But that’s a far way away.

For starters, there was always a lot of players who were supposed to produce in the utility role for the Mets. Players who have played multiple positions on the Mets. Whether it be as early as Joe Christopher and Choo-Choo Coleman in the 1960’s, Bob Bailor in the 1980’s, Fernando Tatis and Ty Wigginton in the 1990’s and 2000’s, to Jeff McNeil today — playing a plethora of positions isn’t meant to be easy.

Other utility attempts have been made from Mets; such as Joe McEwing, Josh Satin, Daniel Murphy, Wilmer Flores, J.D. Davis, Matthew den Dekker, amongst others, who have crept their way into the mix over time. This case study truly gives you an appreciation for a true utility player — with the ability to play both infield and outfield. McNeil’s level of versatility and production has not been seen often before.

Luisangel Acuña was an option, but March + April’s Rookie of the Month cooled down immensely — sporting a measly .572 OPS so far through his 2025 campaign.

When it comes to the arrival of Mark Vientos back from his hamstring injury — Luisangel Acuña becomes an option to be optioned. Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio seem to be at the point where they need to play — for the Mets’ sake, and their own. With Acuña, a further need for development should not be considered a net negative.

We often take players like Jeff McNeil for granted. Often wanting the fresher, younger, more explosive talent to take the older players place. If there’s one thing sports have taught us about talent — it’s that it doesn’t always tell the full story.

Pete Alonso

Pete Alonso has been on a tear — a scary sight when you’re the polar bear.

When all is said and done, who knows how Pete Alonso will stack up amongst baseball’s best.

We do know one thing, though — he’ll be atop all of the Mets’ record books.

In his past 15 games, Pete Alonso is batting .322 with 19 hits, 7 home runs, 23 RBIs and 11 runs scored. He has always been a streaky player by nature. Alonso’s struggles have been more rooted in reality the past two years when contractural debates corrode the mind of projection. When a player of Pete Alonso’s caliber gets going — there’s seemingly no ceiling he isn’t willing to scrape.

In about three weeks time, Pete Alonso will hit his 27th home run of the season, passing Darryl Strawberry for the most home runs in Mets history. If it happens at home — that’s the ideal for a fanbase that’s waited 28 years to see the record shattered.

When Darryl Strawberry hit his 252nd career home run on September 11, 1987 off Greg Mathews — it surpassed the previous Met franchise record held by Dave Kingman. Strawberry did that in his fifth MLB season, whereas Alonso is 30 years old and in his 7th season. In Alonso’s defense — he entered the league in 2019 at 24 years old — Strawberry entered the league at 21 in 1983. He was 25 years old when he set the franchise record.

When Babe Ruth hit 714 home runs to set the Yankees’ all time home run record, nobody knew that it would likely stand that way for the rest of time. When Hank Aaron passed Babe Ruth in 1974, there was certainly a moment to be appreciative. If one thing’s for sure — there will be many Mets fans flocking to wherever Pete Alonso goes. Anytime a big home run is hit in baseball history — it sends shockwaves which radiate throughout those baseball fans’ memories.

A new generation of Mets fans are about to experience that swing for themselves.

Mets’ Arms

Another column, another positive report about the Mets’ rotational and bullpen arms.

With the recent positive news about Kodai Senga’s hamstring strain, it certainly could have been more of a negative approach in talking about the Mets’ ace. Kodai Senga leads all of baseball with a 1.47 ERA — which made him a serious candidate for the Cy Young.

While that idea is out the window now — a reevaluation timetable of 14 days is a step in the right direction to continue Senga’s stellar season. It’s just unfortunate that he’ll miss the mark on the Cy Young — along with a 162-inning qualification to win the ERA title.

David Peterson did something for the Mets this week that doesn’t happen very often in baseball — a complete-game shutout.

To put it into perspective, there were 240 complete games between 2016-2019 — and only 75 between 2021-2013. The number of complete games has decreased immensely over time — as the prioritization of reliever usage, data, and health have deterred teams from over-extending their arms.

Luis Severino was the last Met to throw a complete game, which came against the Miami Marlins last year on August 17, 2024. Peterson also became the last Mets lefty to toss a complete-game shutout since Steven Matz did it on July 27, 2019.

David Peterson continues to be exceptional since he returned from hip surgery last year — pitching to a sub-3.00 era in 34 starts.

Griffin Canning has fallen back down to earth since his stellar start. He’s pitched to a 2.47 ERA over nine outings, but has recently allowed 10 earned runs in his past 17 innings. Canning has pitched to the tune of a 5.29 ERA over those innings — as he surrendered four runs in 5.1 IP on Tuesday.

With Sean Manaea set to make his third rehab start, along with Frankie Montas’ potential sixth, reinforcements are on the horizon. This raises an interesting question about the future of Griffin Canning in the Mets’ rotation, where it looks like the league may be slowly figuring him out. He can be slotted into the bullpen, which focuses attention on Tylor Megill and Paul Blackburn as other options to work around.

Like the Mets infield, these rotational issues usually find a way to figure themselves out. At the end of the day — a good problem to have.

Brandon Nimmo

Another problem that is a good one to have is an increase in production — specifically power.

Brandon Nimmo has been hitting the best by his standards in a very long time. He continues to rake, fresh off a two-homer game this past Wednesday night. Entering Wednesday, Nimmos expected batting average was .261 — 30 points above his actual average.

Nimmo’s chase rate was at just 24.5 % — with the MLB average being 28.4 %. David Stearns spoke last month about Brandon Nimmo and was asked about his different approaches at the plate. What version of Brandon Nimmo are you comfortable with — the 25 HR middle-of-the-order power hitter, or the .380 on-base, top-of-the-lineup guy?

David Stearns was fine with either, as he knows the value Brandon Nimmo brings.

Once Brandon Nimmo tied the Mets’ franchise record with 9 RBI back on April 28, you had a sense that he may have unlocked something. That has remained — as his presence in the box and controlled nature have all contributed to a major bounce back.

His splits as the two-hole hitter for the Mets have been in stark contrast to the others. While many will agree with David Stearns that no matter where you bat Brandon Nimmo — he’ll likely produce. By the same token, if you want the most production possible — batting second is where Brandon Nimmo belongs.

Starling Marte

Since May 1st, Starling Marte is batting. .288 AVG, .391 OBP, with 19 hits, 2 homers, 5 RBIs and 12 runs scored in 26 games since May 1st.

His veteran presence, like Jeff McNeil, is extremely valuable. Starling Marte has been showing Juan Soto the secrets to life with the Mets, something worth noting when thinking about decisions front office's make in deciding to keep a player around.

“He’s one of the guys I have talked to the most, probably the most. He’s been teaching me the Mets way and how to settle in. And it has meant a lot to me.” -Juan Soto on Starling Marte

Marte’s presence has worked — as Soto has a .366 average with a 1.267 OPS in 41 plate appearances so far in June. It’s a major turnaround for Soto after posting a .231 average and a .776 OPS during his first two months as a Met.

Whether it be Starling Marte or Jeff McNeil, both players have been written off — but continue to provide profit in the short-term.