Brett Baty's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings
Player profile
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HT/WT6' 3'' , 210 lbs
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Birthdate11/13/1999 (25)
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Draft InfoUndrafted
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StatusInactive
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.
New York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said that the team will have "some level of competition" at third base during spring training, but also that they are confident in Brett Baty. Stearns also mentioned Mark Vientos, Joey Wendle and Zack Short. Baty, 24, won't have to contend with infield prospect Ronny Mauricio (knee), who tore the ACL in his right knee playing winter ball, but he still will have to earn his playing time at the hot corner in New York in his second full season in the big leagues. The left-handed slugger hit the ball hard at Triple-A last year but struggled to a .212/.275/.323 slash line with nine homers, 34 RBI and 109 strikeouts in 389 plate appearances with the Mets. Wendle probably poses the biggest threat to everyday playing time for Baty, who is going to need to improve against offspeed pitches to take the next step offensively in the majors.