Mets prospect Brett Baty producing runs sans a home run in 2021

New York Mets prospect Brett Baty has started his year with the Brooklyn Cyclones in High-A with a performance I’m not so sure many saw coming. Through 18 games played and 63 at-bats, Baty is hitting .317/.429/.397 with a team-best 17 RBI.

One might think with all of these ribbies that Baty was also smacking home runs. Amazingly, Baty has yet to go yard this season.

Is this good? Is this bad? Should we start to think that maybe he isn’t the future at third base for the Mets? I don’t think any of these are the right way to respond to this peculiar start to Baty’s season.

Mets prospect Brett Baty’s ability to produce runs without relying on home runs could be a good thing, but we do need to see him round the bases

A complaint you will often hear about baseball today is how reliant players are on hitting home runs. Old-timers love calling into sports radio stations to scream and yell about it. In a way, I agree. Too much emphasis is on hitting the ball as far as possible without any regard to situational hitting.

Baty has managed to drive in his 17 runs with 20 hits and 5 doubles. The two-base hits are coming at a good rate, meaning that he’s still driving the ball and not on track to become the next Pete Rose.

Home runs will come for the young third base prospect. For many minor leaguers, it’s a talent that develops later on. I’m not worried in the least bit. If anything, a .300+ batting average is a much better thing to see from him as opposed to a breakout year with home runs.

Some other notable performers on the Brooklyn Cyclones

Ronny Mauricio has had a different year from Baty, essentially swapping what I would have expected from both. Mauricio is hitting .263/.300/.487 with 4 early home runs on the season. Catcher Hayden Senger, now in Double-A with Binghamton, had one of the club’s better starts. His .302 batting average and pair of home runs in 11 games awarded him a promotion. Perhaps not on his way to blocking the path for Francisco Alvarez, it never hurts to have a catcher that can hit on the farm.

On the pitching side of things, Josh Walker made 4 starts and gone 3-0 with a 2.57 ERA. The 37th round draft pick is off to an unexpectedly awesome start to his year. Just like Senger, he has received an early-season promotion to join the Rumble Ponies in Double-A.

Lots of injuries on the big league squad and even down in the minors have opened up opportunities for high-performing farmhands to climb a level. In a case like Baty, the Mets may be a little more cautious because of the incredible hopes they have for his future.

Viewed as one of their best prospects, there’s no need to push him too quickly to the next level. Building his confidence, which he should have plenty of this year if things continue to trend this way, is what’s most important.

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Baty’s home runs will come. When they do, maybe the batting average continues to amaze.