New York Mets outfielder/designated hitter Jesse Winker going down with a right oblique strain gave infield prospect Brett Baty yet another opportunity to show he can consistently hit MLB pitching.
Baty has thus far impressed during his latest stint with the big league club, and his solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning of Tuesday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates propelled the Mets to a 2-1 victory.
Following that win, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza revealed that Baty has been using a high-velo machine in the batting cage and taking “random” batting practice that involves having no prior knowledge of what pitch is coming.
“Basically, when he gets out there [in the game], it’s like he had a few at-bats already,” Mendoza said about Baty, as shared by Ben Krimmel of SNY. “I’m glad that Baty’s open to these new ideas and challenges himself, and he’s seeing these new results.”
Baty heard boos from Mets fans earlier this spring as he continued to perform like a “Quadruple-A” player — one capable of flashing plenty of promise in Triple-A but then can’t match those performances at the highest level. Over his past five games (13 at-bats) with the big league Mets, however, Baty posted a 1.846 OPS with a .462 batting average, four homers and seven RBI.
“Confidence,” Mendoza directly said when asked what’s different about Baty during this particular run. “A guy that knows he belongs in the big leagues and just having fun. He‘s preparing, he’s going out there, keeping it simple, getting pitches to hit and not overthinking it. And he’s using the whole field. We saw it getting a single to the pull side and that homer.”
Mark Vientos is seemingly locked in as the Mets’ long-term third baseman as long as Pete Alonso is at first, so it remains to be seen if Baty has a future with the organization or will be viewed as a movable asset before this year’s July 31 trade deadline arrives. Such conversations can be punted down the road, as the 28-15 Mets are currently happy to benefit from having Baty as both a contributor and a depth piece.
“Every young player, when they first come up to the big leagues, they are looking to impress or trying to do a little too much,” Mendoza added during his comments about Baty. “Trying to have success or results out of the gate. Sometimes it takes a lot longer for guys.”
