3 Mets who should already be in the Rookie of the Year conversation

Colorado Rockies v New York Mets
Colorado Rockies v New York Mets / Jim McIsaac/GettyImages
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Mets Rookie of the Year Candidate #2: Brett Baty

Baty got a slightly bigger shot of espresso with Mets before suffering a season-ending thumb injury. In 11 games and 42 plate appearances, he slashed .184/.244/.342/.586 with two homers, five RBI’s, and four runs scored. 

Similar to Alvarez, Baty split the minor league season between AA Binghamton and AAA Syracuse. In total, he slashed .315/.410/.533/.943 with 19 homers, 22 doubles, 60 RBI’s, and 76 runs scored.

Baty played third base every day until his thumb injury because Eduardo Escobar was hurt. I would love to see Baty break camp as the everyday third baseman, but I don’t know if the Mets are willing to do that just yet. I think it’s more likely we’ll see a platoon situation with Baty getting most starts against righties and Escobar playing against lefties while also playing other positions including DH.

This is a big year for Baty, with Manny Machado and Matt Chapman looming in free agency next winter. If he has a big year, he could be a huge part of the future of this franchise. If he struggles, the situation becomes murkier. Do they sign one of the aforementioned free agents and move Baty to left field and hope he figures it out? Does he become trade bait? I hope not, but it’s in the realm of possibility. Let’s hope he makes a big contribution and we don’t have to find out.