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Brett Baty had a game for the ages for the Syracuse Mets on Saturday.

In the second of a three-game series against the Worcester Red Sox, Baty absolutely exploded at the plate with an outing that will live long in the memory and also make it hard for the Mets front office to keep him in Triple-A for much longer.

The Syracuse Mets piled on the runs as they beat Worcester for their first win of the year, but all of the headlines will revolve around Baty. And rightly so.

He began his dominant day with his first home run of the 2023 season, dispatching an absolute bomb of a blast out to center field to get Syracuse on the board in the top of the inning. It was Baty’s first at-bat of the game and it was just a tantalizing sign of things to come.

It came after Baty had hit a 106 mph double the other way in his first at-bat against Worcester in the 2023 season opener on Friday. The third baseman wasted little time in showing off the power that should eventually see him make the transition to a productive everyday player in the bigs.

Baty continued to rake on Saturday, hitting a single on a ground ball in the top of the third inning, before dispatching another single on a line-drive to left field in the fifth. Baty also drew a walk and scored on a Jonathan Arauz single in the third. If that wasn’t enough, with two men out in the fifth, Baty was also able to steal second base as he continued to impact the game in every way possible.

However, his best work of the game came in the sixth inning as Baty hit a monster of a grand slam that left the bat at 112 MPH to left field. It was yet another example of Baty’s pure power and it was also a blast that blew the game wide open. It seemed that everything Baty touched at the plate just turned to absolute gold.

Baty finished his epic day an impressive 4-for-5 at the plate with an opposite field grand-slam, a solo home run, a walk and a stolen base, four runs and five RBIs. He’s now hitting .500 with a 1.745 OPS through two games for Syracuse. Plus, three of Baty’s four hits boasted exit velocities of 100 mph or more.

The 23-year-old’s sizeable impact wasn’t just felt offensively, either. He made a stunning play in the bottom of the first with two outs, executing an inch-perfect diving catch to end the inning. Defense had been the biggest knock on Baty’s game but, after showing considerable improvement at the hot corner throughout spring training, coupled with his stellar play on Saturday, it is clear the highly-regarded prospect is making rapid progress on that front.

Having hit .325/.460/.425/.885 with one double, one homer and six RBIs during spring training, there was real disappointment when it was announced Baty would begin the year in Triple-A. After all, he had done everything within his power to earn a spot on the Opening Day roster. He mashed to a very high-level at the plate and also improved every single day in the field, ticking every single box along the way.

But, if Baty can continue this red-hot pace and can continue to absolutely slug while showing sustained improvement at third base, it is fair to suggest that the Mets may have no choice but to call Baty back up to the big leagues sooner rather than later. He’s allowing his play to do the talking for him and, before long, the front office won’t have a choice but to promote the third baseman and give him a real chance in the Majors.