Brett Baty, Photo by Richard Nelson
With the New York Mets not signing Carlos Correa, there have been calls for Brett Baty to be the Opening Day third baseman. Keith Law of The Athletic said Baty has nothing left to learn in the minors and should be there now. Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline says Baty is already a defensive upgrade over Eduardo Escobar with more offensive potential.
What is interesting about the Callis commentary is that the knock on Baty has been his defense. Certainly, when Baty was drafted, the expectation was due to his size and agility he was going to have to move off of the position. In his very brief time in the majors, there were many unimpressed with his play at the position.
Still, Baty has made significant strides since being drafted. He’s at the point where we can at least discuss Baty being the third baseman of the future. However, everyone, Baty included, knows he has a ways to go defensively.
Knowing that, as reported by Will Sammon of The Athletic, Baty sought out former Gold Glove shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. Tulowitzki has mentored Baty this offseason, and as Sammon puts it, Tulowitzki “gave Baty a no-nonsense master class on how to be a pro.”
It may seem odd for Baty, a Mets prospect, to seek out Tulowitzki, a former Colorado Rockie, Toronto Blue Jay, and New York Yankee. However, this was a relationship which began two years ago when Tulowitzki was a volunteer assistant for the baseball staff at the University of Texas. Baty, who had committed to Texas prior to being drafted, has been permitted to work out at their facilities, and that is when his relationship with Tulowitzki began.
Baty says he approached Tulowitzki for his honesty on where he needed to improve. Even with all of that, Tulowitzki was very impressed with Baty saying:
Athleticism sticks out for how big of a kid he is. That’s the first thing you see and you go, ‘Ok, well, he’s a corner guy, lets see what kind of athleticism he has.’ And that’s off the charts. So I was impressed by that. Then, the hit tool is there.
Of course, while Tulowitzki sees the athleticism and power, he notes Baty still needs work on defense. Tulowitzki is bullish on Baty noting all the tools are there saying, “He’s got all the tools. He just needs some reps.”
To a certain extent, that goes back to Law’s point on Baty. It is not about development. It is now about playing time.
We see Baty is putting in the work. It also benefits him that he is also working out with Bo Bichette and Gold Glover Matt Chapman down in Texas. Baty took advantage of working with Chapman saying how much that has helped him saying, “Just to be able to pick his brain about how he goes about his business over there, and how he fields, his cues and what helps him out was really good.”
Notably, Baty continued this work during the Correa saga. He did that because he wants to improve. He did that because as he puts it, “That’s my biggest goal, for them to trust me over there to play every single day at third base for the New York Mets.”
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