After initially struggling in the beginning of July, Brett Baty has emerged at a crucial point in the Mets’ season.

The rookie third baseman homered in back-to-back games against the White Sox, breaking out of his 4-for-23 slump with zero extra-base hits in the month of July.

The first home run was a majestic shot to center field, which followed Francisco Álvarez‘s first long ball on Tuesday, and his second was a solo home run in the third inning that gave Justin Verlander a lead he never surrendered.

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Baty’s turnaround against the White Sox has been quite impressive. The Texas native had a forgettable series against the Dodgers, going 1-for-9 at the plate while dropping a pop-up in the ninth inning of game two, which led to the Dodgers scoring three runs and defeating the Mets 5-1.

“I know I’m going to say it again. I’m going to be the same guy every single day,” Baty said after Wednesday’s 5-1 win. “No matter if I go 0-for-4 with 4 strikeouts, make 3 errors in the field. I’m going to come in the next day, work my ass off and I’m gonna try to be the best player I can be out there”

Baty sure embraced this mentality on both sides of the ball on Wednesday against the White Sox. Before homering in the bottom of the third, Baty made a stellar defensive play in the top half, making a throw from foul territory to retire Oscar Colás.

This series against the White Sox has shown Mets fans the type of player Baty is capable of being. Baty has a career .293/.394/.508 slash line in the minors, and also hit five home runs in nine games before being called up to the Mets in 2023.

However, if Baty is going to blossom into the player many project him to be, he’ll have to escape his ground ball woes. Through 70 games, Baty has recorded a 51.3% ground ball rate, resulting in only seven home runs and eight doubles in 226 at-bats. To make matters worse, his fly-ball percentage has dropped from 26.7 in 2022 to 20.5 in 2023.

There is still time for Baty to start lifting the ball in the air. He is only 23 years old and is hitting the ball hard in his sophomore season. In 2023, Baty is in the 89th percentile for max exit velocity, 78th percentile for hard hit percentage, and 71st percentile for average exit velocity. With one tweak to his swing, Baty could become another offensive weapon for the Mets, and a perennial 20-25 home run bat at third base for years to come.