This upcoming season is one that will largely be defined by the progression of the younger, more inexperienced players in the New York Mets’ camp. The early signs in spring training suggest that some of their top prospects are ready to make an impact at the big-league level. Brett Baty, José Butto and Mike Vasil each had strong performances in the Mets’ 4-1 loss against the Miami Marlins Saturday.
Baty opened the scoring for New York with a home run to right field in the top of the seventh inning. Roddery Muñoz tried to crowd him with an 89 mph slider, but the third baseman was able to get a hold of it. The 2024 campaign is going to be very important for the 24-year-old Baty. He struggled to maintain any kind of consistency last season, slashing .212/.275/.323/.598 with a 65 OPS+ in 389 plate appearances. A good run of at-bats in Port St. Lucie will be deciding factor is what Baty’s role looks like to begin the year.
“Felt really good. Whenever you get one on the barrel like that, honestly it’s hard to explain, but it just feels like nothing,” Baty said. He hit a total of nine home runs last season in 108 games. Baty has yet to show consistent power at the big-league level. He will look to change that as he stakes a claim to be the team’s starting third baseman to begin the season.
Vasil and Butto threw scoreless innings in relief, with that being that former’s first outing of the spring. He [Vasil] was one of nine players to be reassigned to minor league camp Sunday. While he won’t be a part of the big-league roster to begin the season, many do believe that he will pitch at that level in 2024. Butto is in a bit of different situation, especially with Kodai Senga currently dealing with a shoulder injury. A spot in the rotation may be up for grabs, and given the way he pitched at the end of 2023, that could go to Butto.
