Young Mets Infielder Has Most To Prove At Spring Training

If this player can win the starting job and produce like a third baseman, he could solidify his job in the Majors for years to come.

The New York Mets have a bit of a third base problem. The Mets aren’t entirely sure who will be their regular starter.

Brett Baty is one of the candidates for the position. In the opinion of MLB.com, Baty is the one Mets player in spring training with the most to prove.

Baty has played just 119 Major League games, not even one full season. Just 431 official plate appearances. But the batting average has not caught up yet. He’s slashed .210/.272/.325/.597 with just 11 home runs and 39 RBI.

Those aren’t the kind of power numbers that the Mets expect from a third baseman. In four years in the minor leagues he hasn’t been a big run producer — he’s hit just 48 home runs. But his .290 batting average could compensate for the lack of power.

But that’s not where Baty’s bat is at the moment. In fact, it’s part of the reason the Mets sent Baty back to Triple-A Syracuse at one point last season.

With Syracuse, in 26 games, he batted .298 with 10 home runs and 31 RBI.

Baty has a quality bat. But the Majors hasn’t brought that out yet.

There are also defensive questions. Baty has played nearly all of his Major League games at the hot corner. At the position he has a .953 fielding percentage. It went up from .933 in his handful of games in 2022 to .956 last season. But that is not close to what the Mets need at that position.

Combine that together and that’s why Baty has something to prove. The Mets have a need for a player to not only lock down the position but give them at least average defense.

If Baty can do both, he can lock down the job. If he can’t, then it could be another year of bouncing in and out of the lineup.