Brett Baty is the outlier among his NY Mets peers and not in a good way

When he hits ninth, Francisco Alvarez is batting .271 with an .875 OPS. This is no small sample size. 242 plate appearances, receiving more only while hitting seventh or eighth, shows us a little bit about how the New York Mets have deployed him in their lineups. He has been unsatisfactory in the middle spots of the order. A .221 batting average when hitting fifth is his best of any from two through seven. Leadoff has only 3 plate appearances and it didn’t come in a start.

Mark Vientos is kind of the same. A .306 batting average and .896 OPS out of the number eight spot, his struggles when batting fourth this year, now below the Mendoza Line, have tanked what had previously been some strong enough stats.

Then there’s Brett Baty. He’s the outlier in this situation. He has hit under .230 in the sixth, seventh, and eight places. When he hits fifth, he’s hitting .235. Not superb or anything all that better than what Vientos or Alvarez are posting in the middle of the order, the difference with Baty is that’s the best we’ve gotten from him on any consistent level.

It’s still not clear when to hit Brett Baty, the kind of hitter he is, or even what to do with him

With Alvarez and Vientos, the case to bat them near the bottom of the order in an ideal situation continues to manifest. Alvarez shrinks whenever the Mets move him up. Vientos just isn’t that guy they need in the clean-up spot. What about Baty?

Thinking maybe there was something in their stats with runners in scoring position, we find something a little unexpected. Baty’s .244 batting average is the best of the three by a little bit. Alvarez has hit .232 with Vientos at .235 in those spots. None of these numbers are really good. Baty is the best of them in those spots, or is he?

A .681 OPS with RISP from Baty is below what his teammates have done. Alvarez is at .768 with 14 home runs. Vientos is at .693 with 11. Baty has gone yard only 8 times. This seems to be the biggest difference of all between these three hitters. Baty’s failure to hit with any consistent power has been what has regularly held him back in the major leagues. It’s ironic for a player who went yard in his first ever MLB plate appearance. Well, so did Benny Ayala.

We kind of know what Alvarez is even if the work remains in progress. With Vientos, he continues to show us his limitations. Put him sixth or seventh in your lineup and you have a nice bit of power in the latter part of your lineup. As for Baty, he’s a guy who strikes out too much, doesn’t homer, and only ever takes baby steps forward.

The clock is ticking loudly on all three of these Mets players. The team needs Alvarez to improve defensively before he can be considered a solution. Vientos is acceptable if he’s batting in the latter third of the lineup. Meanwhile, Baty seems to be a utility player and not the slugger we were promised. Ironically, that usefulness of the role the Mets have given him might be what keeps him around the longest.

Hitting Alvarez and Vientos low in the order doesn't guarantee success, but the numbers have shown they can handle it. Not with Baty. Kind of just the same underwhelming offensive force no matter where you place him, he's an outlier with his felow Baby Mets and not for the best of reasons.

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