Mets Opening Day third base candidates for the 2023 season

3) NY Mets starting third baseman candidate: Brett Baty

A lot of talk this offseason has been about how fans are so excited for Francisco Alvarez to become a real contributor to the offense for a full season. While I also am just as excited, there's another Mets prospect who has the potential to do the same.

One thing the Mets offense lacked in 2022 was power. New York hit just 171 home runs, which ranked 15th best in Major League Baseball. If you are looking for someone who can provide a little more pop at the plate, Brett Baty could be that guy.

In just 11 games in 2022, Baty hit 2 home runs at the big league level. If you calculate that to a 162 game pace, that's nearly 30 bombs. The young 23 year old certainly had his struggles, only hitting .184 in his short stint before going down with a season ending injury, but the phenom showed signs of greatness and has a chance to build on that in 2023.

Baty seems like the least likely of these three options to get the start on Opening Day, but don't be surprised if manager Buck Showalter pulls a rabbit out of his hat by telling his fanbase that the future is now.