No.17 Jesus Baez, SS

B/T: R/R      Age: 2/26/2005 (19)
Ht: 5’9″        Wt: 180 lb.
Acquired: Signed by Mets as International Free Agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2022
ETA: 2027  Previous Rank: 11
2023 Stats (Mets FCL): 40 Games, .210/.306/.333, 2 HR (12 XBH), 17 RBI, 5 SB, .640 OPS

Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Jesus Baez, the fairly highly-touted Mets prospect with excellent raw power and consistently high exit velocities, especially for a teenager of his size, entered the 2023 season hoping to build off what was a promising start to his career.

Baez’s 2022 campaign saw him play for two of the Mets’ Dominican Summer League teams, hitting a combined .242/.341/.403 with 7 HR (16 XBH), 34 RBI and eight stolen bases, all while primarily playing shortstop. On the defensive side, Baez had 10 errors at shortstop and one playing second base, showing his inexperience in the field in his first season of professional baseball. This was a solid base for Baez to work off of, showing some power and defensive chops while playing out the year at 17 years old.

After the 2022 season, FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen had this to say about Baez:

“Baez is a stocky and strong 18-year-old who scouts think will eventually move to second or third base, where he’s already played a bit. He has a chance to hit enough to not only be an everyday infielder, but potentially a power-hitting impact player. Baez’s bat speed is incredible.”

The 2023 season saw Baez come stateside for the first time, and his rawness was apparent throughout the course of the season. He continued to flash his plate discipline, walking 19 times as compared to striking out 28 times, but despite that, his lack of quality contact led to a .210 average on the season. Much of this can be attributed to a very high 43.3 ground ball percentage, which is the highest of his career to date. This exclusively came at the expense of putting the ball in the air, with both numbers going down as he has progressed through the Mets’ system.

Baez did not receive a further write-up in Longenhagen’s February 2024 “Prospect Report: New York Mets 2024 Imminent Big Leaguers,” possibly because his underlying numbers, inability to show his game power and hitting ability held back much of his value and have placed Baez in a more difficult position as a prospect.

It remains to be seen if Baez can adjust his swing path or learn what pitches he can do damage against and what pitches he needs to lay off of. Pitchers who primarily utilize their velocity have given him issues, causing Baez to pop-up at an increased rate. He also exhibits a very long swing, which will cause problems despite his great bat speed.

Defensively, Baez is a good shortstop without ideal range or speed but with a very strong arm that projects to, in a worst-case scenario, allow him to play third base as he gets older or until he becomes too slow to play shortstop. At shortstop in 2023, Baez saw 20 games and had three errors, showing he will make the plays he needs to and is confident, especially for a young player. He also played 13 games at second base where he had seven errors, possibly due to his lack of experience, and five games at third base.

2024 Role

Baez has started the 2024 season in Low-A St. Lucie, where he’s continued to produce above-average exit velocities and has posted an impressive .271/.327/.479 line in 11 games.

While he will continue to play shortstop until either he grows out of it or proves otherwise, it really is time for his potential to translate into in-game performance. With only 324 professional at-bats to his name, the 19-year-old Baez still has time to grow into his approach and refine his hit tool, which should unlock his ability to reach some of that power.

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