Brett Baty Continues Scorching Hot Play Since Return To The Majors

The resurgence of Brett Baty is quickly becoming one of the more intriguing storylines in the major leagues. Ever since his recall on May 5, the Mets’ third baseman has been ripping the cover off the baseball. Saturday night’s 5-2 victory of the Los Angeles Dodgers saw this trend continue, as the 25-year-old third baseman went 3-for-3 at the plate, driving in two runs, to go along with a walk.

Baty broke the ice for the Mets in Saturday’s victory, as he ripped a two-out single to right field, scoring recent call-up Jared Young. Baty walked in the fourth inning, before reaching on an infield single in the sixth. His final at-bat of the night got the Mets some insurance in the eighth, as he lined a double into the gap, off the wall, scoring New York’s fifth and final run of the game.

Two of Baty’s three hits Saturday night were cracked. His second inning run-scoring single came at 105.3 mph off the bat. Meanwhile, his insurance double in the eighth was clocked at 104.2 mph before it clanked off the left-center field wall. Make no mistake about it, nothing about the strong performances Baty has turned in since his most recent call-up have been lucky; he has been killing the ball.

After Saturday’s performance, Baty is now 14-for-43 (.326) at the plate with five home runs and 13 RBIs since he was called back up on May 5. His OPS over that stretch is a sparkling 1.054 and his performances have been so strong he has his season slash line at a extremely respectable .258/.294/.505 (.799 OPS). This is extremely impressive given when Baty was called back up, he was only hitting .204 with a .598 OPS.

Not only is Baty excelling at the plate, but his defense at third base has been extremely valuable. Entering Saturday’s game, Baty owned a plus-2 outs above average (OAA) which ranked in the league’s 85th percentile. He is not only getting it done at the plate, but also playing close to elite defense at the hot corner.

Baty’s emergence does not seem to be a fluke. He has been scorching the ball via an increased bat speed that compares right along with Pete Alonso around the league’s 96th percentile. If he is able to continually make contact, given how hard he swings, the odds are strong he will keep killing the ball. Combine this with extremely strong defense, and Baty is well on his way to securing the everyday third baseman job, especially with Mark Vientos‘ dire struggles both at the plate (.682 OPS, 19th percentile xwOBA) and on defense (negative-7 OAA; 1st percentile).

The post Brett Baty Continues Scorching Hot Play Since Return To The Majors appeared first on Metsmerized Online.