Brett Baty doesn’t know what position he’ll be playing when he makes it to the major leagues. The 22-year-old has been carrying around multiple gloves at prospect camp for this exact reason. Displaying range at third base and the outfield, the Mets want Baty to one day be an integral part of their team. “I’m […]
The post Brett Baty Embracing Competition Between Mets Prospects first appeared on Metsmerized Online.
Brett Baty doesn’t know what position he’ll be playing when he makes it to the major leagues. The 22-year-old has been carrying around multiple gloves at prospect camp for this exact reason. Displaying range at third base and the outfield, the Mets want Baty to one day be an integral part of their team.
“I’m looking forward to playing more games,” Baty said. “I’m just looking forward to the journey, getting to see all the guys. Getting back here in Port St. Lucie has been awesome. I’m just really excited for what’s to come.”
Baty is set to being the minor league season at Double-A Binghamton where he appeared in 40 games for them last summer. Between Binghamton and High-A Brooklyn, Baty slashed .292/.382/.473 with 12 home runs and 56 runs batted in across 91 games.
Baty continued his offensive tear with an impressive showing in the Arizona Fall League where he had splits of .292/.373/.405 in 25 games. He earned Player of the Week honors to start off the Fall League.
“There’s so many talented guys out there and for me to get named like that, it was just a really big honor,” Baty said. “I swung it well early, then kind of got into a little slump, but it was awesome, great exposure out there, great talent.”
The Mets’ first-round pick in the 2019 draft has only accumulated 167 games of professional ball. You’d think he’d be on the fast track to the majors but he has a few players blocking his path. New York has yet to figure out what they’re going to do with the body of J.D. Davis and just signed Eduardo Escobar to assumingly play third base the next two seasons.
But more importantly, than the guys already up in the majors, is the one blocking him in the minors. Mark Vientos and Baty play the same position but Vientos has already been promoted to Triple-A Syracuse.
Vientos bats right-handed, opposite of Baty but boasts a powerful bat that saw 25 baseballs leave the park across two minor league levels last season.
“We are great friends on and off the field,” Baty said. “The competition is there for sure, but we push each other in a real good way and get each other better.”
Vientos doesn’t have the same prospect pedigree as Baty but he more than belongs in the conversation of next Mets prospects with MLB Pipeline Top 100 guys like Francisco Alvarez, Baty, and Ronny Mauricio.
“We have got a great group of young talent here,” Baty said. “We all can swing it. We all can play defense and we really push each other too, and we’re great friends on and off the field. It’s just awesome to have that core unit right there and we’ll just see what happens.”
Due to the MLB lockout, only Baty and Alvarez are allowed to practice with the Mets at their facility. With Vientos and Mauricio on the 40-man roster, they’re subject to waiting around like every other major leaguer.
Baty said he’s excited to get another full season in the minors under his belt, but keep an eye open for a late-season call-up if the Mets make a run similar to Michael Conforto in 2015.
The post Brett Baty Embracing Competition Between Mets Prospects first appeared on Metsmerized Online.
