The New York Mets have made a significant investment in young players in their farm system of late. The June draft saw the Mets add a trio of talented high school players to their system, headlined by first round pick Brett Baty. The 19 year old third baseman, who is already rated as the organization’s second best prospect according to MLB.com, is the focus of this week’s edition of Minor League Mondays.
As a high school senior, Baty batted .615 with 19 home runs and 50 RBI’s, but he was knocked by some teams due to his age. The Mets weren’t concerned with the fact that he is “old” for high school, instead looking at Baty’s massive power potential as a serious asset. After picking Baty 13th overall, the Mets assigned him to rookie league ball, where he hit .350 with a homer and six RBI’s in just five games. Baty quickly showed he was up for the competition, earning a quick promotion to Low-A Kingsport.
The move to a higher level of competition hasn’t been easy for Baty, who is hitting just .197 in 39 games for the K-Mets, including a whopping 54 strikeouts in 147 at bats. Baty has maintained some impressive power, however, recording 18 extra base hits (including six home runs) and driving in 21 runs. Scouts remain very impressed with Baty’s offensive potential, which indicates he could be a very advanced hitter who develops plus power, some of which is already manifesting.
The Mets do have a lot of time to let Baty develop, so it will be curious to see how they push him next season. Baty’s struggles with the strikeouts could lead them to have him repeat Kingsport next summer, but they could be a bit aggressive and bump him up a level to Low-A Brooklyn. Either way, while Mets’ fans will be waiting a while to see Baty in Queens, he is a very exciting prospect to track going forward.
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