Time is Right For Mets to Promote Brett Baty

It is time for the Mets to promote third baseman Brett Baty. Baty, 23, is off to a scorching hot start in Triple-A Syracuse, where he is batting .387/.486/.839 with an impressive four home runs and 10 RBIs in only 31 at-bats. Baty is also third in the International League with his 197 wRC+, the two players ahead of him recently received promotions to their perspective major league teams.

While this is a small sample size, Baty also demonstrated offensive success in this past spring training, where he batted .325/.460/.425 with one home run and six RBIs in 40 at-bats.

The most notable aspect of Baty’s recent success is his ability to reach base at a high clip. This is not merely a recent development as Baty has an on-base percentage of .393 in his larger sample of 913 career minor league at-bats. Consequently, this separates him from the other candidates to receive a promotion as infielders Ronny Mauricio and Mark Vientos have minor league career on-base percentages of .303 and .343 respectively.

This recent push for Baty to receive a promotion comes in the wake of the immense struggles of third baseman Eduardo Escobar to begin the regular season. In 43 plate appearances, Escobar has batted a dreadful .103/.145/.205 with one home run and four RBIs with 11 strikeouts and a -6 wRC+. In addition, Escobar has a measly average exit velocity of 84.2 mph along with a 48.2 GB%, which serves as further indication that he is not hitting the ball well.

Like Baty, Escobar’s spring training performance has directly correlated to his regular season output. However, Escobar’s case is not as inspiring as Baty’s as he batted .118/.205/.147 in his 34 spring training at-bats. While Escobar had a strong month of September last season, the rest of his Mets tenure has been mediocre at best. Moreover, he is in the final year of his two-year $20 million contract, which shows that he is likely not a part of the future plans of the club at the position.

Last season, Baty appeared in 11 games for the major league club, in which he batted .184/.244/.342 with two home runs and five RBIs. Although these numbers are not great, Baty deserves an extended period of playing time to prove his worth at this level. Based on his continued demonstration of excellence at the minor league level, it is outlandish that Baty has not earned the right to gain major league reps at the third base position. This is especially confusing as Escobar has continued to express remarkable ineptitude at the position this season.

The final components to take into account are the defensive duties associated with the position. While Baty’s defense has been a topic of uncertainty, Escobar’s defense has not been strong enough to justify his volume of starts at third base. According to FanGraphs, Escobar had a disappointing -11 DRS and -7 OAA at third base last season, which shows that he has exhibited below average ability on the defensive end in his Mets tenure. This is yet another reason why it is puzzling that the Mets will not give Baty the chance that he deserves.

It would also be perfect timing with the Mets beginning a road trip, which would allow Baty to settle into his new position before playing in the high expectations at Citi Field.

Overall, Baty is certainly going to make it difficult for the Mets to justify his placement in Triple-A if he continues to perform at this level. If Escobar continues to produce unsatisfactory statistics, Baty’s promotion could become more expedited. That being said, this is the time for the Mets to evaluate their internal talent by giving Baty a chance to succeed.