Brett Baty's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

The New York Mets are "very optimistic" that third baseman Brett Baty (hamstring) will avoid the injured list after being pulled from Tuesday's game with a tight left hamstring. Baty came in on Wednesday feeling better than Tuesday night. "I think it just scared me," Baty said. He should be back in the lineup within a few days but is out on Wednesday versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. The team has an off day on Thursday before starting a series on Friday in Los Angeles against the Dodgers, so fantasy managers will want to check back then to see if Baty is feeling good enough to play. With Baty resting on Wednesday, Zack Short is starting at third base and is hitting in the nine-hole for the Mets against Pirates left-hander Bailey Falter.

The New York Mets announced that third baseman Brett Baty (hamstring) left Tuesday's game versus the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates due to tightness in his left hamstring. He went 0-for-2 before veteran infielder Joey Wendle replaced him at third base. It's a tough break for the 24-year-old former top prospect, who is batting a strong .305 (18-for-59) with one home run, nine RBI, and seven runs scored over 17 games this season. With very little infield depth in Queens, Wendle and Zack Short would figure to form a platoon for at-bats at the hot corner if Baty needs to miss additional time following Tuesday's departure. Neither of the two have done enough this season to be worth speculative fantasy adds at the moment. Consider Baty day-to-day ahead of Wednesday's series finale against Pittsburgh.

New York Mets third baseman Brett Baty is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against the Kansas City Royals. Baty has impressed in the early going with a .302 average and nine RBI, but he will get a day off with left-hander Cole Ragans on the mound for the Royals. Zack Short will get the start at third base and bat eighth in Baty's absence. Short owns a career slash line of .175/.267/.308 and is not a recommended fantasy option in any format.

New York Mets third baseman Brett Baty and infielder Zack Short have made the Opening Day roster, with designated hitter Mark Vientos and Ji Man Choi to start the year in the minor leagues. Especially with Vientos out of the picture in Queens to start the year, it's likely that Baty will receive everyday playing time for the Mets at the hot corner. The 24-year-old former first-round pick in 2019 has struggled so far in his first two major-league seasons, slashing .210/.272/.325 with 11 home runs and 39 RBI in 119 games and 431 trips to the plate. Much like Vientos, he has raked in the minors but hasn't been able to translate that success offensively to the majors. It means that Baty is going to need to perform in 2024 to avoid being put in a platoon situation at third base.

New York Mets third baseman Brett Baty took to video scouting of himself after his rookie season to get a better sense of what went wrong in 2023 and how he can fix it. "My top hand was a huge thing. I just needed to get that stronger and really just try to be more direct with the top hand," Baty said. He hit just .212 with a .275 on-base percentage and .323 slugging percentage in a rookie season that saw him get demoted to the minors at one point. Despite his struggles, the 24-year-old will be given every chance to win the majority of playing time at third base this spring, especially with Ronny Mauricio (knee) out for the year. Baty will be hoping to keep his bat in the strike zone longer and produce fewer groundballs. He'll need to improve against offspeed pitches and against left-handers in order to improve in his sophomore season.