Have you ever heard people say that nobody hits a home run in T-ball because the ball sits on the tee and the batter has to supply all of the power? Well, in Brett Baty’s first at-bat in his entire baseball life he jacked a homer over the fence. The home runs just keep coming for Baty; culminating Wednesday with a blast in his first major league at-bat at Truist Park in the Mets' win over Atlanta.

With key injuries to Mets infielders is Baty now an everyday player? These questions come at a perfect time since it’s “Third Base Day” in the Fantasy Baseball Player Spotlight Series. Every Thursday, I break down a different MLB third baseman for your fantasy baseball lineups. Some weeks, it is a prospect and others it may be a “sell high”, “buy low” or even totally “avoid-at-all-costs”-type player. Today I am going to dig into Baty, one of the top-two prospects in the Mets organization and see if he worth a pickup right now in your fantasy baseball leagues or is he more of a wait and see player.

 

 

 

 

MLB Player Spotlight: Brett Baty

They say that Baty might be the best high school baseball player to come out of Central Texas since Huston Street and the best position player since Lance Berkman. In high school, scouts went crazy over his power and ability to stay back and drive the ball with strong hips. He was compared to former Texas Longhorn Adam Dunn and former Giants third baseman Matt Williams and even Joey Votto and Max Muncy. Baty could have played Division 1 quarterback and played at the same high school as Baker Mayfield, but stopped football to concentrate on baseball year-round.

The Mets selected Baty with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft. Per Justin Tuscano of northjersey.com, his ability to hit for power to all fields separated Baty from other elite hitters in the draft class. The Mets got a big-time power bat in the draft as Baseball America ranked Baty as having the second-best power among high school players and as having the third-best strike zone judgement in the country. 

But there were skeptics. 

Some scouts expressed concern but the criticism had less to do with him as a player and more to do with his age, as he was almost 20 years old despite being a high-schooler

It didn’t take long for Baty to arrive. He was promoted from the GCL Mets to Rookie level Kingsport after playing just five games at his first professional stop. The then 19-year-old hit .350/.480/.650 with one homer and three doubles in five games (20 at-bats) for the GCL Mets.


Brett Baty’s first full pro season (Baseball-Reference.com)

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After a 2020 season that was lost to Covid-19, Baty spent 2021 in Single-A and Double-A becoming one of the top prospects in baseball (Baseball-Reference.com):

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Baty started this season in Double-A and was raking by the start of summer. Between June 1 and August 7, he led all Double-A hitters with 16 home runs and 131 total bases while ranking fourth in average (.351), third in slugging (.630) and third in OPS (1.072) over 53 games with Binghamton. He only joined Triple-A Syracuse on August 8th but with two infielders landing on the IL on consecutive days — first Luis Guillorme on Monday and then then Eduardo Escobar on Wednesday — it opened a vacancy at third base in the majors. Baty had only played six games for Triple-A Syracuse but obviously third base is his primary position, and the kid was the Mets' best option. 

Welcome to The Show. Baty was called up on Monday and it took one at bat and the first major leaguer strike he would see on Wednesday for Baty to showcase his bat. With the count 1-0, Braves starter Jake Odorizzi hung a breaking ball right over the plate and Baty unleashed a 377-foot bomb beyond the wall in right-center field.

Technically, Baty is making a direct jump from Double-A to the major leagues. Michael Harris II and Vaughn Grissom of the Braves have made it look easy, but they are rare instances. More and more prospects are struggling with the adjustment to the majors, and this is an aggressive promotion for the Mets.

Baty should be rostered if you lack a top-five third baseman on your fantasy baseball team. With Escobar and Guillorme both on the IL there is an open path to regular playing time here and Baty has the raw power that you should be looking for as the fantasy playoffs creep closer and closer. 

 

 

 


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