Jeff McNeil (2B/3B, NYM) - Week 23 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 19% of leagues

ANALYSIS: New York Mets infielder Jeff McNeil is a 2013 12th round pick that has used his elite batting average to work his way from Double-A to start the season to fantasy relevance as we move to September. McNeil, who can play both second and third, had a .327 batting average with Double-A Binghamton and .368 average with Triple-A Las Vegas before getting the call to the bigs. Since entering the Mets lineup, McNeil has a .319/.386/.471 slash line in 134 plate appearances, hitting two homers and stealing three bases.

The numbers for McNeil are even better in a smaller sample size, as, since August 13, he has slashed .368/.411/.515 and has been routinely hitting second in the Mets lineup. While he has cooled off a bit of late, this time span did include an 11-game hitting streak and he has a hit in 13 of his last 14 starts, six of which have been multi-hit affairs. He has not hit a home run since the 13th, but does have all three of his stolen bases this season (in four attempts) and has seven other extra-base hits (three triples and four doubles).

The Mets do not have much to play for this season, but that should not keep McNeil off of your fantasy rosters. Batting at the top of a lineup that has shown some punch of late and showing a profile of a .300+ hitter, McNeil should be held onto in all deeper leagues.