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The change fueling Brett Baty since the NY Mets recalled him from the minors

Brett Baty is having the best stretch of games since he made his Major League debut in 2022. But this one change is the biggest reason for his hot streak.
ByNoah Wright|
Apr 17, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets third baseman Brett Baty (7) celebrates after a double during the seventh inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Apr 17, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets third baseman Brett Baty (7) celebrates after a double during the seventh inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

New York Mets infielder Brett Baty entered 2025 with mostly low expectations. Despite being a former consensus top 50 prospect in all of baseball, Baty had never succeeded in the Major Leagues. His first 602 plate appearances yielded a poor .215/.282/.325 triple-slash, .270 wOBA, and 72 wRC+. He had both an unimpressive 7.8% walk rate and 26.2% strikeout percentage, while only hitting 15 home runs. The start of the 2025 season looked like more of the same, as Baty only had four hits, no walks, and 13 strikeouts through his first 31 plate appearances.

However, since that ice-cold start to the 2025 season, Baty is now having what is by far the most promising stretch of games since he debuted in 2022. Since April 13th, Baty is batting .310/.356/.762 with a .468 wOBA, and 206 wRC+. He’s hitting for an extreme amount of power, with five home runs over his last 46 plate appearances, resulting in an isolated slugging percentage of .456. He still hasn’t drawn many walks with a 6.5% BB%, but he hasn’t struck out at a high rate, with a 19.6% K%.

However, one change is fueling Baty’s recent success. That is his bat speed. Baty always displayed above-average bat speed. Between 2023 and 2024, Baty averaged 74.6 MPH, when the league average was 71.5 MPH. But now, Baty hasn’t just crossed into elite territory; he has one of the fastest swings in the entire league.

Brett Baty's elite bat speed is fueling his recent hot streak.

Baty’s average bat speed since the start of this hot streak sits at an extremely impressive 76.9 MPH. That leads all Mets players with at least 40 plate appearances since April 13th. It is also the seventh best in all of baseball. He just slightly edges out crosstown rival Aaron Judge, who sits at 76.6 MPH. Baty is also ahead of the likes of fellow teammate Pete Alonso and division rival Bryce Harper. The only two National League hitters who have a higher swing speed in this time frame are Pittsburgh Pirates’ slugger Oneil Cruz and St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker.

The higher swing speed has led Baty to putting up some exceptional batted ball numbers. His exit velocity in this time frame is 93.7 MPH, while his barrel rate is 27.6%. Only Judge and Ohtani have had a higher barrel rate since April 13th. Swinging a fast bat is arguably the biggest change Baty has made, but not the only change. His launch angle is way up as well to 17 degrees since the start of this hot stretch. Between 2022 and 2024, his launch angle was only 7.9 degrees.

It’s still less than 50 plate appearances, but you can’t deny that the changes Baty has made have led to some robust results so far. Hopefully, he can continue to swing a hot (and fast) bat. A Baty breakout would be a massive welcoming surprise for the Mets’ lineup and give the team yet another power hitter.

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