Brett Baty is entering the 2023 season with the New York Mets, following a slow start to his MLB career. Though, it’s important to know Baty only played in 11 games before needing thumb surgery and being finished for the year. Though, after a deal for Carlos Correa fell through this off-season, the Mets turned to Brett Baty to potentially be the teams starting third baseman this upcoming season. Granted, these are huge shoes to fill, but I really think Baty can make it happen. Today, we will be taking a look at what Brett Baty could add to the 2023 New York Mets, and just how he’ll do it.

Baty’s First Year and 2020

Baty, a former Mets first round selection back in 2019, has been the Mets third baseman of the future since he was selected. The Mets have been confident throughout his career, supporting Baty the whole way. After being drafted in 2019, Baty was sent to rookie ball, where he would play a combined 47 games at the rookie ball level, between the Kingsport Mets, and the rookie level Mets. During these 47 games, Baty would hit 7 homers, 30 RBI, walk percentages of 12.9% or higher, wOBAs of .354 or higher, and wRC+ of 115 or higher.

Baty would then earn himself 4 games at the Mets low A affiliate, where his great play would continue. Due to Baty only playing 4 games, I won’t talk much about his stint at low A, but Baty hit well, recording a 181 wRC+, and a .438 wOBA. Overall, Baty’s short first season in the MiLB was really impressive, giving the Mets more confidence they made the right draft choice.

With COVID taking the world by storm, and shutting down Minor League Baseball, Baty was unable to continue his progression through the Minors in 2020. Nobody could’ve expected what was in store for Baty in 2021, but the Mets stayed confident.

2021: A Breakout Season

Baty would enter the 2021 season coming off of a hot start in 2019, and a COVID season taking another year of Baty’s development in 2020. But, Baty would still impress the Mets enough to earn himself a spot with the High A Brooklyn Cyclones. Baty would join a loaded Cyclones roster which included other top prospects such as catcher Francisco Alvarez and shortstop Ronny Mauricio. But, nobody could’ve expected that Baty would arguably be the best of the three.

Baty would play 51 games for the Cyclones in 2021, where he would hit 7 homers, 11.5% BB%, .397 wOBA, and a 144 wRC+. As previously mentioned, Baty was arguably the best on the Cyclones roster, which was a very big achievement for Baty considering just how good the players around him were. Baty would go on to catch the attention of the Mets, and earn himself a promotion to AA Binghamton, where he would debut in early June.

After earning his call-up to the AA affiliate Binghamton Rumble Ponies, and debuting on June 14th, Baty would continue his great season with the Rumble Ponies, as he would hit 5 homers, 22 RBI, 12.5% BB%, .350 wOBA, and a 118 wRC+. As you can see Baty continued to rake in 2021, catching the eyes of even more scouts and originations. The sweet swinging lefty, would just be on the glimpse of his capabilities, and the upcoming 2022 season would be Baty’s biggest year yet.

2022: The Biggest Year Yet

Baty would begin 2022, heading back to the Rumble Ponies where he finished off 2021. Baty would be heading into this season more confident than ever before, and it really showed. In 89 games, Baty would hit a career-high 19 homers, 11.7% BB%, .415 wOBA, and a 160 wRC+. Baty would hear the incredible news that his great season up to this point would be earning him a promotion to AAA Syracuse.

Baty wouldn’t hang around the AAA level long, as he would only play in 6 games for the Syracuse Mets. In this time though, Baty would continue to take. Baty posted an 11.5% BB%, .500 BABIP, .392 wOBA, and a 137 wRC+. Just after this, Baty would receive the life changing news of being told me was being promoted to the New York Mets. The Mets Minor League star was finally on his way to the big leagues, and they couldn’t have been happier.

Big League Baty

After his amazing MiLB season, Brett Baty finally was set to make his MLB debut against the Atlanta Braves on 8/17/22. Baty was feeling confident and ready to take the field as a big leaguer for the first time in his career. In his first at-bat, magic struck. Baty stuck a 1-0 pitch from Jake Odorizzi to deep right field for his first MLB home run.

Baty would finish his MLB debut going 1 for 4, and impressing the Mets even more with his abilities at the plate. The sweet swinging lefty would go on to finish the season early due to a very unfortunate thumb injury, which required season ending surgery. Baty would finish the season in 6 games, playing just okay with 2 homers, and a .332 xwOBA. Unfortunately, due to his limited time and slow adjustment, there isn’t much else to say regarding his stats and performance in 2022. But, nonetheless, reaching the MLB was a huge success for the former first round pick, and he has more in store for the Mets in 2023.

What Should We Expect from Baty in 2023?

You may be wondering why we took a look at Brett’s full MiLB and MLB career, and that’s because due to limited time, we need to rely on his MiLB seasons to find out what to expect from Baty in 2023. Baty has been amazing so far this spring (as of 3/13/23), hitting 1 homer, and slashing .458/.552/.626 (1.177 OPS). With unfortunate lack of advanced stats due to it only being Spring Training, Baty is harder to fully evaluate going into 2023. Baty is likely going to be the Mets starting third baseman this season, and with developments in his tools this spring, what should we be expecting from Baty this upcoming year?

As previously mentioned, Baty is coming into 2023 needing to fill some big shoes. This comes as the Mets contract with Carlos Correa fell through this off-season. But, there is no doubt in my mind that Baty can fully handle the pressure. I predict Baty’s season to look a little along the lines of 26 homers, 11.3% BB%, .390 wOBA, and a 134 wRC+. These numbers should have Baty in the running for the National League Rookie of the Year Award, as I fully expect him to be. These numbers would also be on par with his MiLB career, but just over many more games. As Baty has only ever played a career high of 106 games in a single season, so seeing how he handles a full, 162 game season should be very intriguing.

Conclusion

So, circling back to our original question, what should we expect from Baty in 2023? Well, I fully expect Baty to be a Rookie of the Year candidate, and should fill in perfectly in Queens. Regardless of how he actually finishes, Baty will be a treat to watch all season, and baseball fans all across the globe cannot wait to watch Baty finally play a full 162 game season at the MLB level.