Paul Articulates – Thoughts on Brett Baty

Brett Baty has had a tumultuous introduction to the major leagues.  Throughout his minor league career, he was touted as the Mets’ next third baseman, a powerful bat with a left-handed swing and an adequate fielder that would be part of the youth movement called the “baby Mets” that would usher in the next generation.

Baty made his MLB debut on August 17, 2022 with a bang, hitting a home run in his first at-bat against the Atlanta Braves in Truist Park.  He had a few games that first year that appeared to show his potential, but also struggled a little as he made the adjustment to MLB pitching.  His next season started strong – Baty slashed .333/.394/.467 in April 2023 but things took a turn downward as opposing pitchers began to figure out how to get him out.  

He was unable to make the adjustments, and his plummeting batting stats impacted his confidence and he began to struggle in the field as well.  By August he was optioned back to AAA Syracuse to work on re-building his confidence.  Back up, back down, and his recovery never completed.  He was as lost as the Mets in that terrible 2023 season.

Over the winter and into the spring, Baty worked on his hitting, identified some deficiencies with his swing, and made the necessary adjustments.  He performed adequately in spring training, and the Mets decided to start the 2024 season with Brett as their full-time third baseman.  

Many agreed with this position, and the majority of the opinions at the time were that he should be the full-time third baseman at least through June to fully test his readiness to play at the MLB level.  After a good start, Baty has again regressed.  

An April slash line of .256/.326 /.282 gave way to his current May stats of .180/.255/.320.  His defense has still been good – much better than his mid-2023 swoon, but a power-hitting infielder with a slugging percentage of .320 is not going to stick on any major league team.

With utility man Zack Short being moved for cash and Joey Wendle being released due to his own inadequacy in the field and at the plate, the Mets didn’t seem to have a plan B.  

Mark Vientos was called up as he continued to demonstrate a power bat, but Vientos is not a MLB third baseman.  In his first few opportunities to play third base this year, he demonstrated a lack of position understanding with some costly mental mistakes.  

Baty is still the best fielding option at third, but a defense-only position player is only accepted behind home plate in the current state of major league baseball.  Baty needs to hit and he needs to do it soon.

So why has such a well-regarded bat turned into such a miss at the big league level?  Here are a few theories:

A long swing: Brett Baty has always had a very long swing.  I am sure some of this is just physiological, as he has a tall, lanky build.  However, a long swing makes a player vulnerable to spots where you have to get the barrel there quick, like those inside fastballs that have been tough for him to master.

Pressure to perform: It is always difficult to adjust to the majors, as there is so much more scrutiny on the players – more in the stands, more media coverage, and in a big market like New York that is multiplied.  Brett has heard a great deal of speculation about his problems, and now about his future, and if he cannot tune out the media, it just puts more mental pressure on him to perform – which often makes it more difficult.  If you have read my posts on state of mind, you understand exactly what I am talking about.

The mental state of the team: More on state of mind here – the entire team is suffering right now from an inability to produce.  Prolonged slumps by the key stars like Lindor, Alonso, and to an extent, Nimmo have put the team in a position where they feel the desperation to create runs to stay in games.  The hitting woes have spilled out into the field, where mistakes are more frequent than they should be.  

The entire team seems to be pressing to get out of this slump, and that makes for a very tense mood in the dugout and the clubhouse.  In the midst of all this is Brett Baty, who needs something to pick him up, but there is no one to look to because they are all struggling.  In fact, except for a brief month or two when Baty was called up in 2022 he has been surrounded by failure.  

In the Mets minors, he mostly played on losing squads except four games with the 2019 Cyclones team that won the NYPL championship.  Then in New York during the 2023 and 2024 seasons he has been on a team grinding through one disappointment after another.

I think the last topic is the largest contributor to the problem.  Baty started the season well, and when he went into an initial slump, a loose resilient dugout would have been the kind of calming influence he needed to get back on track.  If players were stringing hits, he would be looking forward to that next at-bat where it was his turn to rake.  Instead, players are shuffling back to the dugout, confused, frustrated, or mad and that kind of mood is like quicksand for a slumping player.

I still believe that Brett Baty has the skills to be a good major league player.  I also believe that this current environment is not going to help him rise to that potential.  If he gets benched for Mark Vientos or someone else, it will erode any confidence he has left.  

I’m not sure what the right answer is, because another option down to Syracuse is another reminder of failure.  If I were the GM of another team watching this unfold, I would be looking to acquire Baty for a minor piece because if he is surrounded by success instead of failure, he could still reach the potential many had predicted years ago.