That’s pretty heady stuff yet obviously it’s too early to know for sure whether Baty’s early impression will be something that lasts, both this year and in the long run.
Still, this is what the Mets envisioned when they made him the 12th pick in the 2019 draft, despite some criticism from evaluators that Baty was taken too high, considering he was 19 as a senior in high school.
“I had some friends from other clubs who told me they didn’t have him on their first-round board because of the age thing,” Tramuta said. “But we thought he was advanced enough as a hitter that it wasn’t an issue for us.”
Sure enough, Baty progressed quickly, moving up two levels in that 2019 summer to finish the season in low-A ball in Brooklyn, where he was nearly two years younger than the average age of players in that league, according to baseball-reference.com.
Tramuta said the Mets had “eight to 10” different scouts and executives see Baty play as an amateur, either in high school or summer showcase events, and apparently every new report was more glowing than the previous one.
“He just kept getting better and better,” Tramuta said. “He was right up our alley as far as what we hunt _ he had tremendous power but he was also an above-average hitter and he controlled the strike zone very well. Those are the three things we’ve gravitated toward as an organization.
“The thing that stood out was how naturally he hit the ball to the opposite field. He could go the other way as well as any player I ever scouted, and with power. I’ll always remember him taking BP at Citi Field right after we drafted him, hitting balls into the upper deck to the opposite field. It was really something.
“So I always thought that once he started pulling the ball in the air he could be lethal. And I think something clicked for him this year. Last year his ground-ball rate was something like 60 percent but this year he started pulling the ball in the air, and he progressed quickly. He has big power from foul pole to foul pole.”
As such, Baty put up strong numbers in Double-A, as well as for the week he was in Triple-A before injuries to Guillorme and Escobar forced the Mets to call him up.
The front office passed on him when Guillorme went on the IL with a strained groin, even though his lefthanded bat was the ideal replacement, bringing up Devin Marrero instead at least partly because they wanted some protection at shortstop, but perhaps also because of concerns regarding Baty’s defense.
Scouts told me they thought he’d be adequate there, and he has been. He’s made a couple of nice plays and he showed great instinct in not forcing a throw on a ball to his deep backhand on Friday night, a wise choice because with J.T. Realmuto moving from second to third on the play, a poor throw could have allowed a run to score.
Still, it’s also clear that he’s got plenty of work to do with the glove. On Thursday in Atlanta he came up a bit too soon on a ground ball that just did stick to the top of his glove. And on Friday he made a poor throw to second, likely costing the Mets an inning-ending double play.
“He’s not a natural there like he is with the bat,” said the scout who was so impressed with his at-bats against Fried. “You can see him guiding the throws he’s made. I think as he gets more comfortable he’ll be solid there. I don’t think he’ll be a liability.”
That too remains to be seen. Guillorme’s defense is something Buck Showalter values greatly, and the utility man has been important offensively as well, pushing his way into a platoon at third base because the switch-hitting Escobar has hit so poorly lefthanded.
Yet if Baty hits with power as well as for average, as seems possible, he could give the Mets something they could use more of at third base.
At the very least he’s made a great early impression. And one way or another it looks like he could be around for a long time.
