Jeff McNeil’s debut in 2018 was fairly brief—he only appeared in 63 games for the major league team, as the front office resisted calls to promote him earlier in the season—but it was incredibly memorable. The then-26-year-old infielder did nothing but hit as soon as he was called up, and he ended his rookie campaign with a .329/.381/.471 batting line—good for a 137 wRC+—and put up an impressive 2.7 fWAR in less than half a season of play. While many experts had disregarded him as a prospect due to his age and lack of standout tools, he nevertheless made the most of this trial period by demonstrating an advanced hitting approach while playing a thoroughly competent second base.
Jeff McNeil established himself as a star in 2019
