3 potential impact Mets players fans aren't quite as excited about

The New York Mets head into the 2023 offseason with some semblance of hope. What looked like a lost year on the surface saw the Mets get long looks at several top prospects and acquire many others at the trade deadline. This Mets team that looked like it didn't have much of a future now has one that can be seen as very bright led by David Stearns.

At different points of this season, it felt like these three players would be key to the 2024 bounceback. Now that the campaign has come to an end, Mets fans aren't quite as excited about their futures with the organization.

1) Brett Baty

Brett Baty was a player Mets fans were clammoring for from day one. He was red-hot in the spring and that carried over to AAA Syracuse. The Mets finally called him up in mid-April but he never quite got it going.

Baty took the everyday role at third base from a struggling Eduardo Escobar but that had more to do with the latter than the former. He got 86 games of mostly consistent playing time from April to the beginning of August but he'd post a .620 OPS with shoddy defense. The struggles got so bad to the point where he was sent back to Syracuse to finish the month of August.

Baty would return in September but again he'd just look overmatched at the plate. He had a .514 OPS in the month and he struck out 23 times in 75 at-bats. We saw a couple of flashes like the home run he hit against Craig Kimbrel in Philadelphia, but there was a lot more bad than good. His .212/.275/.323 slash line with nine home runs and a 65 OPS+ tells the story.

There's still hope for Baty who's only one year removed from being considered one of the best prospects in baseball, but it's a lot harder to believe after 108 games of him being well below average at the plate and in the field.

3) DJ Stewart

I didn't expect DJ Stewart to be on any list, let alone one that had fans excited about him. He was added this offseason as a depth bat in case of emergency. With the Mets having the season they had, Stewart was one of many journeymen who received an opportunity to play just about every day down the stretch. He was the one who took advantage.

In the month of August there weren't many better hitters on the planet. He slashed .303/.378/.727 with eight home runs and 16 RBI. He hit all eight of those home runs in a 45 at-bat stretch that saw him put up a 1.406 OPS from August 15-30. He capped off the month with a multi-home run game against the Rangers that also saw him make a game-saving catch in right field and win it with a bases loaded hit by pitch.

Stewart was the talk of the town for a couple of weeks in August and even hit two home runs in his first 16 September at-bats, but his slow finish gave Mets fans cause to pause after practically proclaiming him the Daniel Vogelbach replacement.

Stewart had just 14 hits in 74 September at-bats. He'd finish his season with no hits in his last 16 at-bats with six strikeouts. Considering the fact that he hadn't proven much of anything when given an opportunity in prior seasons, watching Stewart finish the season as a non-factor while playing just about every day is concerning.

I still would like the Mets to keep him around as a potential bench bat or minor league depth option, but discussions of him being a starter should be finished.