In the 2019 MLB Draft, Brett Baty was considered to be the top high school power bat in the class and was in the conversation to be the most complete offensive player in the high school class.
The issues with him at draft time were that he was a 19-year-old high school senior, which is generally a turn-off for teams, and there were questions regarding if he was going to stick at third base as a professional.
It was known that Baty had enough arm for the position — he was the quarterback for Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson as a kid and into high school and he had touched 93 mph off the mound as a pitcher. The lateral quickness was in question.
When you are an older high school prospect, teams expect you to be a more advanced player, and Baty proved to be just that.
After the canceled 2020 minor league season due to COVID-19, Baty kicked off the 2021 season as a 21-year-old in High-A Brooklyn. At this point he was on the same trajectory as a college junior, but with less playing experience.
In 51 games for the Brooklyn Cyclones, who play in a ballpark that is notoriously hard on left-handed hitters with the breeze coming in from the Atlantic, Baty hit .309 with a .911 OPS with 22 extra base hits, including seven home runs . This warranted a call-up to Double-A Binghamton, where he posted a .787 OPS with five home runs in 40 games.
Baty concluded his first full pro season with an appearance in the Arizona Fall League, where he posted a .777 OPS, and that’s where he first started his swing adjustments that would carry over into his 2022 season. While he put up good numbers in 2021, he was at times susceptible to velocity inside and had to work on some changes to combat that.
In 2022, Baty really emerged on the public scene, ranking inside of the Top 30 prospects in the sport by MLB Pipeline. He showed why when he started where he left off in 2021 at Double-A Binghamton and was one of the very best hitters in the Double-A Eastern League, especially in June and July, when he posted OPS’s of .946 and 1.123 respectively with 13 home runs and 39 RBI in 47 games.
After 89 games in Binghamton, Baty got the call-up to Triple-A Syracuse, and I was looking forward to seeing how he would adjust to the top level of the minor leagues. Turns out, he only spent six games there because of the injuries to Eduardo Escobar and Luis Guillorme at the big league level, and he was called up to the Mets.
We all saw the great moment when Baty homered in his first at-bat with his family in attendance against the Braves in Atlanta. However, after an 11-game stretch, he had to undergo season-ending thumb surgery.
Baty is fully expected to be ready for spring training.
When I first started writing this article, I was going to point out how I think Baty could fit as the third baseman in the near-term, if not Opening Day for the Mets in 2023.
However, the Mets have changed that up by agreeing to a 12-year $315 million deal with Carlos Correa, who is expected to man the hot corner for the rest of this decade and more in Queens.
A lot of fans are now speculating about when Baty will get traded. In talking to people with the Mets, that doesn’t seem to be the plan.
Baty has 29 games of experience as a professional in left field, and he did not look out of place there — and he does have plenty of arm for the spot. In 2023, I would expect Baty to start the year in Triple-A, where he can get more at-bats at that level, with the Mets committed to developing him in the corner outfield spots.
I cannot find an evaluator who doesn’t think Baty will hit at the big league level. Will he be a future All-Star? That is not out of the range of possible outcomes, but the expectation is that he will hit for some average, show a very advanced eye at the plate, and continue to grow into his power. And there is potential for 20-to-25 home runs.
If there are a couple of injuries on the major league roster, we could see Baty back in the bigs in 2023, but I think the eye is on him being an everyday player for the Mets in 2024.