Is Brett Baty this year’s Mark Vientos – a young(ish) Mets player finally seizing a big-league chance and changing the trajectory of his career?
Maybe. Obviously, there’s much more for Baty to show. But on nights like Saturday, it’s tempting to believe that Baty can be a bigger deal than a guy who’s had MLB at-bats every season since 2022 but can’t seem to stick around.
At Citi Field, Baty clubbed two home runs and was basically the entire Mets offense – the successful part of it, anyway. He drove in all five runs in a 6-5 loss to the Cubs, setting his career high for RBI in his second career multi-homer game. The Mets were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, failing to cash in on whatever traffic they created, but Baty kept homering to keep them close.
“He’s been killing it since he came back up,” said teammate Tylor Megill, who knows a thing or two about re-emerging from the minors. “I mean, the biggest thing you can do is not pout about it. Stuff like that (getting sent down) happens. Take it like a man, go down there, work, keep working. Don’t lose your confidence, because at some point, you’re gonna be back up. You’re gonna help this team.
“He’s been a completely different player since he came back up… He’s hitting the ball really well.”
“He’s not missing fastballs,” added manager Carlos Mendoza. “I feel like when he gets in trouble, he’s fouling them off… Even, I think, breaking balls in the strike zone, he’s hammering them too. So anything on the strike zone he’s putting barrels on.”
Baty was recalled from the minors on May 5. Over the past two games, he’s 4-for-8 with three home runs. One of his homers Saturday night was to right-center and the other to left field, his opposite field.
Mendoza noted that Baty lost his spot initially this season because of a roster crunch. But Baty was batting .204 with a .597 OPS when he was sent down. Those are the numbers of a vulnerable player, even if Baty has worked to add versatility to his skill set. Mendoza regularly expresses confidence in Baty’s defensive ability at third base and at second, which the Mets wanted him to learn so he could be more versatile.
“He’s getting opportunities and he knows he belongs in the big leagues,” Mendoza said. “He’s a really good big-league player. He’s got skills. He’s got tools and we see it… So I think it’s just the confidence now that he knows he belongs here.”
Baty talked after Saturday’s game about how he’s been challenging himself in the batting cages, looking at different pitch types, trying to get his heart rate up while there to help simulate game conditions. He’d rather dip into the technical aspects of hitting than attach heavy meaning to one game.
Still, it must be hard not to think about the ways he fits into this roster after a big night like Saturday, right?
“No, not until y’all (reporters) bring it up,” Baty replied.
Maybe he doesn’t look at one game as a referendum on the state of his career. And maybe that outlook will help him find his way in the majors. But one night like Saturday shows a pretty high bar for a former first-round pick still looking to cement himself as a Met.
The Mets could’ve moved on from Baty numerous times. But they have not. There was a time when observers wondered if Vientos would make a huge impact on the Mets and he finally did – Vientos’ emergence was one of the biggest stories of their 2024 season.
Can Baty duplicate that this season? He’s got another chance now. His numbers aren’t overwhelming. But nights like Saturday will make the Mets – and the rest of the baseball world – pay plenty of attention.
His career arc is not set yet.
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