Tom Brennan: A) BATY BOOMER? B) Mitch Voit a Met in 2027? C) Rudick is BACK

Mitch Voit (as a Collegian) was the Mets’ Top Pick in 2025 

BATY THE BOOMER?

Brett Baty had a good day on Sunday, with two hits and two walks, sneaking his season on base percentage slightly over .300.

But…Brett is baffling…

He’s averaging a HR only once in every 79 times to the plate this year.

Which is indeed puzzling, because this is what they said about him in early 2022 on SNY, when he was still a prospect:

SNY.TV also had Brett as their #2 Mets Prospect saying: "Baty is a pure hitter with plus raw power that has not been applied in-game at the level that is expected as of yet. He barrels the ball consistently gap to gap with high exit velocities. He has plus pitch recognition skills and the ability to sit back on off-speed pitches and hit them with authority. He has made some swing adjustments that should allow some more loft in his swing, and some of those 22 doubles he hit will turn into home runs."

Back to me: if you have plus raw power, what are you doing hitting a home run every 79 times up? I think there may be too many voices in Baty’s ears. Voices that telling him you have to make contact. Keep that OBP up. Hit line drives. 

But, power wise, this year, he’s turned into Bud Harrelson in a good power year for Buddy, who was NOT known for his power. Nine doubles, one triple on a misplayed ball, and three Homers in 237 Baty plate appearances.  That is the definition of a slap hitter.

My suggestion to Brett: 

There is a guy in Philadelphia named Kyle Schwarber who has Plus Raw power. He isn’t at all afraid to use it, he in fact loves to use it, and he isn’t afraid to strike out to be able to use it. 

I am not saying that you, Brett, should go out and try to hit 80 home runs over 225 games like Schwarber. But why not swing for the fences? 

So you strike out more… So What? Who cares? 

If your “raw power” could put up 35 homers a year, while striking out a higher 1.3 times per game, I don’t think anyone in fandom would be complaining. Well I have to correct that: there are always complainers.

But I, for one…

Would love to see you, Brett, turn it totally loose and swing for the fences. Get away from being a slap hitter and become the next Kyle Schwarber.

Well…at least Brett got the strikeout part down on Monday night, fanning 3 times in 4 hitless at bats. Now, work on the HR part.

OK, next topic:

So far, Mets’ minor leaguers have been bad at hitting this year.

So why would I think that legitimate help could come, by early next year, from a hitter, at - yes - a major league starting infield position?

This may sound crazy, but hear me out, please. I’m being serious.

Why not Mitch Voit, arriving in Queens around mid-May next year, as your starting 3rd baseman?

  - or at 2B or SS, or even starting games at all 3 positions.

My Reasons to Think This Would Work:

1) He was a top pick. Well, that is sometimes not a key indicator, but…

2) He hits solidly in High A away from the hellhole Cyclones Brooklyn park. 

    - Mitch is  a solid .255/.357/.408 on the road.

    - Brooklyn hitting stats should ALWAYS be ignored.

3) He is “AJ Ewing fast”. 39 steals in his first 67 pro games. BLUR!

4) He fans only once every 4.4 times up in 2026, in High A in his 1st full season.

5) Seven homers in his first 45 games of 2026 impresses me. 6’0”, 200.

6) Incredible defender. 

   - One error in 45 games at SS and 2B so far this year. WOW!

   - NO Mets prospect infielder I’ve ever followed has been that good.

7) June so far: A fine .300/.429/.450. AND: just 3 Ks in 44 June PAs.

MY PROPOSED GLIDE PATH: 

Promote to AA right after the ASB.

Promote to AAA in September.

Arizona Fall Ball after the regular season.

If he can stay healthy and do that, he will play 100 more games this year.

Fast forward to 2027, and give him 40 AAA games.

That would be 140 more games of valuable and necessary development time beyond this mid-June timeframe.

That might really be enough. 

Consider Benge and Ewing’s last 140 minor league games.

…they each grew a ton. It was enough for both of them.

Voit will then, IMO, be as ready as Benge and Ewing were when called up.

Consider the delays that we’ve seen in some other prospects that finally got promoted. Those slower ascents were due to player flaws.  

I’ll just refer to just two examples here.

Mark Vientos hit well in the minors, with power, but kind of struck out a lot. He also had zero speed, and lousy fielding.

Wilmer Flores hit awesomely in AAA, but he was a slug in terms of speed, and a sub par fielder. 

Mitch has two undeniable superior skills that those two did not:

1) Blazing speed.

2) Incredible fielder.

Those 2 superior skills mean that his bat can be less ready than theirs HAD TO BE, in order for them to be considered decent enough to be promoted.

What does that suggest to me?

Mitch as a Met in May 2026. 

You may think that is a little crazy.

But I bet that, in the middle of June last year, you would have thought it was crazy that Benge and Ewing would have a combined total of roughly 100 games of MLB time between them already in 2026 through mid-June.

But that turned out not to be crazy at all. It happened.

Raise your sights. Mitch is coming fast.

Matt Rudick

NEVER GIVE UP

Matt Rudick is now 27, short (5’6”), and had lots of injuries. 

His bat was brutally cold early this year.

Suddenly, though, he is HOT.

In AAA, he is 13 for his last 35, with 8 walks and just 5 Ks.

His season start was so bad that he is still hitting just .182, but I blame that on rust: 12 at bats all of last year (2025). 

He is cooking now. The good Rudick is back.

A few years ago, in 2023, he was arguably the best hitter in the entire Eastern league over the first 9 weeks of the season, before he got hurt.

His slash line on June 10 that season was a rip-roaring .311/.455/.539.

He wasn’t the same after his injury, which killed most of his season that year after mid-June, but still ended that season with a .407 OBP. 

So, there is hidden talent there. I wonder if he’ll ever get a call up? 

If so, he will need to continue his scorching last 2 weeks for quite a while.

FCL METS MAULED

Lost 15-1. 

Mets Starter Lanthier got mugged for 8 runs, but I am happy to report that he did record an out.

Best pitcher? An FCL Mets position player tossed a scoreless final inning.

OH ME, OH MY

Tobias “Oh Me, Oh Myers” got clocked by the Reds. 

The Mets hitters went heavy on the LOBs, but light on the RBIs.

12-0 loss. Fans got free pizza when Base Hit Machine Brujan (.091) was the 11th Mets K.

You analyze it further if you want. 

I have 2 observations:

1) Can’t win ‘em all. 

2) Can’t win enough.