Brett Baty finally looks like the top prospect three years ago that was supposed to hold down the hot corner at Citi Field for years to come after a two-home-run Saturday night in the New York Mets’ 6-5 loss to the Chicago Cubs continued his hot streak.
The problem for him is that his leash is as short as it gets, relegated to a day-to-day basis after being called up to replace the injured Jesse Winker.
“I don’t make those decisions,” Baty said on his name being in the lineup card. “I don’t want to make those decisions. When my name is in the lineup, I want to be the best player I can be.”
On Friday and Saturday, his name was in the starting nine, and he took full advantage.
He went 2-for-4 with a home run in the Mets’ 7-2 win on Friday night. He followed it up with another 2-for-4 showing with a pair of dingers and all five of his team’s RBI.
“He knows he belongs in the big leagues,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He’s a really good big league player. He’s got the skills, the tools. We’ve seen it… He has the confidence that he knows he belongs in the big leagues.”
The 25-year-old infielder started the year in the majors, but was sent down as a part of the roster crunch that saw manager Carlos Mendoza opt to keep Luisangel Acuna when Jeff McNeil returned from his oblique issue.
It’s nothing new for Baty, who has been a first-class passenger on the shuttle between the majors and Triple-A Syracuse after numerous failed attempts to stick in the show. But things feel different now.
Baty has four home runs in his last four MLB games played, dating back to April 23. After batting .095 in his first eight games of the season, the lefty bat is slashing .289/.333/.644 (.978 OPS) in his last 14 appearances.
“The last 10 games before he was sent down, he was attacking his pitches, putting the barrel on the ball and using the [entire field],” Mendoza said. “He went to Triple-A for a little bit, and since he has been back, it’s the same thing: Conviction with his swing decisions and driving the ball to all fields.
“…There is a lot to like right now. He is getting ready on time. That’s where it starts.”
Baty attributes his hot spell to increasing the intensity of his sessions in the batting cages.
“I make it harder in the cage so I can go out and have the best approach,” he said.
There is the undeniable sense, though, that he will have to keep this up for more than just a week or two to stay on the big-league roster. Acuna, McNeil, and Mark Vientos all appear to be ahead of him on the depth chart at second and third base, and once Winker returns, left-handed DH at-bats could be at a premium, too.
