ATLANTA — The day has finally come.
It didn’t happen earlier in the season as Dom Smith and J.D. Davis failed to make much of an impact at the designated hitter spot, and it didn’t happen at the trade deadline, when the Mets’ front office pilfered Daniel Vogelbach and Darin Ruf instead of promoting someone in-house.
That long-awaited promotion is upon us now, as the Mets are calling up 2019 first-round pick Brett Baty, per reports. Both general manager Billy Eppler and manager Buck Showalter had insisted that Baty would not be part of the picture anytime soon — Showalter as recently as Monday — but injuries forced their hand. Infielders Luis Guillorme (groin strain) and Eduardo Escobar (oblique strain) both suffered injuries within the last seven days, and Guillorme’s was severe enough to put him on the injured list. A groin malady of that caliber, per the Mets, could cause Guillorme to miss up to six weeks. Baty has dabbled in left field during his minor league career but is primarily a third baseman.
Baty was the 12th overall pick in his draft year and is the Mets’ second-ranked prospect according to MLB.com, behind only catcher prodigy Francisco Alvarez. He is the 18th-best prospect in the world according to the same rankings. While his call up isn’t official yet, Baty’s social media would seem to indicate that someone has broken the news to him already. His official Twitter account has liked several posts congratulating him on ascending to the big leagues. He is expected to be activated for Wednesday’s game in Atlanta, with a trip to the IL perhaps coming for Escobar.
Now being asked to contribute to a first-place team, and one that’s weathering its first troubling storm of the season, Baty is still just 22 years old. He has, though, been one of the best hitters at any level of the minor leagues this season. He started his year with the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies and lived up to the team’s fearsome name. Baty played 89 games at Double-A and made 394 plate appearances. Over 11% of those resulted in a walk and over 40% of them ended with Baty getting on-base. His .312/.406/.544 slash line for the Ponies makes it clear why he was shuttled along to Triple-A Syracuse.
In a microscopic, six-game sample at Syracuse, Baty went 8-for-22 (.364) and drew three walks while striking out six times. He did not play in Syracuse’s Tuesday night game in Charlotte, which is a quick and easy commute to Atlanta. All eight of his Triple-A hits were singles. It’s Baty’s raw power, though, that the Mets hope will carry him to a prolific MLB career. His 19 home runs in 89 games at Double-A showed that the left-handed hitter was perhaps more ready for the big time than his organization initially expected.
On a Zoom call discussing the trade deadline, during which he did not ship out any of the Mets’ top prospects, Eppler said, “Once you have success at Double-A, you kind of physically know you’re able to play in the major leagues.” Triple-A, then, is often used as a final polishing stage, one where young hitters can be exposed to several pitchers who have already pitched in the major leagues. If Double-A is the physical test, Triple-A is the mental one. Baty had an extremely limited look at Triple-A pitchers, but there’s no time for the Mets to gripe about that now.
Somebody has to play third base, and with all due respect to Deven Marrero, the 31-year-old who is fairly fresh out of an independent league, he is not the man for the job. Baty might not be either, at least right now, but the club has the luxury of knowing his performance won’t be the difference between making and missing the playoffs. The Mets have put themselves in an enviable position of power. They still lead the National League East by 3.5 games entering Wednesday night’s contest, own the second-best record in the majors and have a 100% chance of making the postseason according to FanGraphs’ playoff odds.
The games where they have to start Baty at third base could be the difference between winning and losing the division, though. With MLB’s new playoff format, winning the division and securing a top-two seed in the NL could prove very important, as the two division winners with the best record get a bye and avoid a wonky three-game Wild Card series. Taking the NL East will secure one of those top two seeds — the NL Central winner, barring a miracle, won’t have enough wins for it — but Atlanta is not just going to roll over and die.
Essentially, this is as real deal as it gets for Baty. He won’t have the agonizing bus rides, cramped clubhouses or cheap hotel rooms of the minor leagues anymore, but he also won’t have the comfort of being one of the best players on the field each time he goes out. The Mets have also called up a 22-year-old in the heat of a pennant race before, and you best believe Baty will be compared to him incessantly in the coming days.
Michael Conforto played a Double-A game on July 23, 2015. The very next day, he was at Citi Field, starting in left field for a team that would eventually play in the World Series. Most Mets fans can tell you exactly what Conforto did once he got there. Strapped with a left-handed swing of his own, fresh off demolishing Double-A just like Conforto did, a similar boost from Baty would immediately make him an unforgettable figure in Mets lore.
The Mets now find themselves in an interesting spot. They didn’t want to have to use Baty at the MLB level this early, but with the hard-charging Braves not relenting, the team’s brain trust wasn’t left with much of a choice. At worst, Baty struggles but has a useful trial by fire that can teach him some things about The Show.
At best, the Mets just accidentally unlocked the best third baseman they’ve had all year.
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