How real is the Brett Baty spring resurgence?

Tylor Megill, Ryne Stanek and Reed Garrett pitch well in the Mets latest game. Plus, is this really the turning point for Brett Baty?

• The Mets lost their latest Spring Training game, falling to the Cardinals by a 6-1 score (box)

• RHP Tylor Megill was solid over 2.1 innings of work, allowing one run on two hits and a walk with a pair of strikeouts

• RHPs Ryne Stanek and Reed Garrett combined to pitch two perfect innings in relief with three strikeouts

• 2B Brett Baty stayed hot at the plate, going 1-for-2 with a walk in the loss

• LF Jeff McNeil went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts at the plate and is now hitting .211 to start off Grapefruit League play

• The Mets reportedly placed RHP Sean Reid-Foley on outright wavers (MLB.com)

• Back when they were teammates, David Wright apparently used to be Jacob deGrom’s barber (MLB.com)

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Roster Moves 🗞️

The following players were re-assigned to Mets minor league camp on Tuesday:

• RHP Ty Adcock

• RHP Adbert Azolay

• RHP Dom Hamel (No. 26 prospect)

• RHP Oliver Ortega

• RHP Brandon Sproat (No. 1 prospect)

• RHP Blade Tidwell (No. 16 prospect)

• INF Ryan Clifford (No. 4 prospect)

• OF Drew Gilbert (No. 11 prospect)

• C Kevin Parada

• OF Alex Ramírez

• INF Luke Ritter

• INF Jett Williams (No. 2 prospect)

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Today’s Game 🗓️

Match-up: Mets (4-6) vs. Astros (5-5)

Where: Clover Park — Port St. Lucie, FL

Starters: TBD vs. TBD

When: 6:10 PM EST

Where to Watch: SNY, MLB Network

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How much stock can we take in Brett Baty’s performance this spring? ✍️

Mets infielder Brett Baty has been a tantalizing prospect for some years now. There was a stretch that spanned multiple seasons where it appeared that Baty was the next top offensive player that would soon graduate from the club’s farm system.

With his sweet left-handed swing and at times gaudy minor league stats, many Mets fans (myself included) had dreams of Baty acting as an heir apparent to David Wright. Since Wright’s retirement, third base has largely been occupied by veteran stopgaps or via committee – Baty offered the glimmering idea of a single player manning that part of the diamond for years to come.

When Baty got the call in the heat of a pennant race vs. the Braves in the summer of 2022, things couldn’t have started better. In the first major league plate appearance of his career, Baty crushed a two-run home run in what would eventually become a nail-biting Mets victory.

Since then, though, things have not gone so smoothly for Baty at the major league level.

Over three partial seasons since his initial call-up, Baty is hitting .215/.282/.325 with 15 home runs, 15 doubles, 55 RBI, 159 strikeouts, a .607 OPS, and a -0.1 fWAR over 169 career games (602 plate appearances).

To this point, it’s been confounding to watch. Baty has consistently hit incredibly well in Triple-A every time he’s been optioned to the minors, but over the course of the last three seasons, that’s never seemed to translate to the big league level. To this point, Baty is a career .283/.382/.507 hitter with 64 home runs, 74 doubles, 225 RBI, and an .889 OPS in the minor leagues (325 games) – a stark contrast to his major league stats.

After starting last year as the club’s Opening Day third baseman, Baty’s struggles at the big league levels quickly reared their ugly head as the youngster had a .633 OPS by the end of May. Not long after, Baty eventually had his job stolen by an unexpected budding star in Mark Vientos and was back in Triple-A for good by early June.

Fast forward to this season, and eyes are on Baty once again, albeit for a much different role this time around. The third base job is firmly in Vientos' grasp now, but the season-ending injury to Nick Madrigal and offensive struggles from Jeff McNeil over the last few seasons have left an opening and opportunities to be had on the infield.

Over his first seven games this spring, Baty is hitting .444/.500/.833 with two home runs, a double, three RBIs, two walks, five runs scored, and a 1.333 OPS in a small sample of 18 at-bats. In what has largely been a quiet spring for the Mets so far, aside from injuries, Baty’s performance has been one of the recurring talking points of late.

Is this finally the turning point for Baty? Could this be the year it all comes together? Baty is still only 25 years old, after all.

And the most honest answer I can give you to all those questions is simply: I don’t know.

That’s because we’ve unfortunately been down this road before with this player. We’ve seen Baty crush minor league pitching for years now, all for those results to dry up the moment he switches into the big league uniform.

In 2023, Baty had a 1.013 OPS over 26 games in Triple-A. In that same year, he had a .598 OPS and 66 OPS+ in the majors. In 2024, Baty had an .853 OPS over 62 games in Triple-A. In that same year, he had a .633 OPS and 82 OPS+ in the majors.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Baty play well in Spring Training, either, as the infielder has an .858 OPS over 66 career games in spring.

So, ultimately, it’s an impossible question to answer. I like everything I’ve seen out of Baty so far this spring – it would be hard not to – but it truly is something that none of us are going to find out until the season starts. When the games actually count and the level of competition gets raised, can Brett Baty step his game up? Can he overcome the woes of his early major league career? Has he made the necessary adjustments to his game and approach at the plate?

Sooner or later, we’ll know for sure. But for now, it remains a question without an answer.

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Around the League 🚩

• Dodgers RHP Roki Sakaki, the No. 1 ranked prospect in baseball, made his anticipated spring debut on Tuesday night, pitching three scoreless innings with five strikeouts

• Yankees OF Jasson Dominguez and 1B Paul Goldschmidt each connected on their first home runs of the spring in the club’s 12-3 win vs the Phillies

• Braves C Sean Murphy is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a cracked left rib after being hit by a pitch last week

• Cubs CF Pete Crow-Armstrong came around to score on a Little League home run in Chicago’s 16-1 win against the Padres