I’m hopeful Brett Baty is the long-term answer at third base for the New York Mets. Drafted 12th overall in 2019, it’s great to see the system work as intended. But for every successful Mets prospect like David Wright, there have been multiple prospects like Lastings Milledge and Terrence Long; Jay Payton and Gregg Jefferies.
For every “Can’t Miss, No Doubt” minor leaguer burning through Single-A Brooklyn and Double-AA Binghamton like Jose Reyes; there are multiple stories like Fernando Martinez and Alex Escobar - prospects that shined until reaching the big stage and opponents see a little more than the highlight reel.
High school highlights or grainy outfield cameras from college have clouded the perception of many prospects for a hungry fan base that only sees what they want. The fans seemingly forget that the best Mets from the minors aren’t usually hyped that way.
Dominic Smith has started his Nationals’ career with a couple hits last week. A first-round pick by the Mets in 2013; he had four straight minor league seasons with over 100 hits and the left-hander was always considered a plus-defensive option at first base.
He was all set to take over for Lucas Duda at 1st base in 2019…until Pete Alonso showed up and the rest is history.
The history of the Mets is full of overhyped prospects failing loudly while quiet “out of nowhere” guys like Alonso and Jeff McNeil, a 12th round pick in 2013, just show up and shine. However, this franchise is founded on pitching success funneling out from their farm system and that’s where the loudest and quietest have come from.
The Franchise is one of the nicknames for Tom Seaver, who has a statue at Citi Field. Tom Terrific, Jerry Kooseman and Nolan Ryan were homegrown success stories from the 1969 title. Ron Darling, one third of the best broadcast team in baseball, is also one third of the amazing pitching prospects that powered the 1986 staff.
Old heads remember Roger McDowell, but everyone remembers Dwight Gooden. Unfortunately, some remember Dr. K not for his pitching Triple Crown season as a Met in 1985, but for arriving a year after Buck Showalter in the Bronx and helping the Yankees win the World Series in 1996.
Pitching prospects coming to save the day is an ongoing theme for Mets fans. First it was Generation K in the mid 1990s with Bill Pulsipher, Jason Isringhausen, and 1994 top overall draft pick Paul Wilson. But, “all three players succumbed to pitching-related injuries within a year," and eventually only Isringhausen would have a productive major-league career, primarily as a closer for the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals.
There’s likely no better remembrance of the infamous picture of five Mets pitchers than in the New York Post. It was on the heels of a USA Today article heralding the staff as “ridiculous”. Obviously, the expectations for the team were through the roof, but most reading this know the results or could guess they didn’t turn out positive.
Matt Harvey was the 7th overall pick in the 2010 draft. By July 2012, he struck out 11 in his MLB debut and the hype was on. He was the headliner, but Noah Syndergaard threw 100 MPH and already had a cool nickname - Thor.
Steven Matz was a lefty starter from East Setauket in Long Island who had a historic debut back in 2015; his family prominently featured on camera as Matz threw 7-plus innings, while also picking up three hits and four RBIs.
Hey, remember when National League pitchers all had to hit? Good times.
The good times in a Met uniform for Carlos Beltran are not as vividly remembered as his infamous strikeout against the Cardinals. But his trade in 2011 at the deadline brought the fifth arm in the image - Zach Wheeler.
Wheeler was just a prospect at the time; not the 2021 All-Star starter spearheading the Phillies’ pitching staff. Ten years earlier, it was unknown whether he was worth the cost of an established veteran who will be a free agent at the end of the year.
Maybe Baty will be similar, shining on the big stage once he gets a shot. But it’s as if the 23-year old’s parents used money saved for college to pay off countless pundits about how their boy should be in the majors and starting not now, but right now.
I’ve read multiple articles and columns saying how he proved his bat was ready by bashing spring training pitching. How his .325 average against rosters without their World Baseball Classic participants means more than the .184 he hit last September in his MLB debut.
I hope his .315 average last year, mostly at Binghamton, translates to Major League stardom and the steps made to improve his defense this spring stick. I hope his stick is enough to offset whatever early issues he may have because the other side of the coin is - Is this market able to coddle a poor-performing prospect until they’re ready? The living case in point is Jarred Kelenic.
The outfielder was the 6th selection of the 2018 draft and hit .286 as an 18-year old in the Rookie League. Before the start of the 2019 season, he was the centerpiece of the biggest trade in recent Mets history.
No, not the one that produced All Stars for each team last year with Andrés Giménez for the Guardians and Francisco Lindor in Orange and Blue. It’s one of the other All Stars that joined Lindor last year in Los Angeles; a transaction that could repeat itself in a few months.
Kelenic to Seattle for Edwin Diaz was the face of the trade, but the backside included the Mariners taking Jay Bruce and the Mets taking another bulk of waste, being the rest of Robinson Cano’s contract. That specific $24 million car boot comes off at the end of this year; ample time for Steve Cohen to accept another crappy contract in exchange for quality personnel.
Meanwhile, Kelenic came up in 2021 and hit .181 in 93 games; not the .184 in 11 games Baty hit last September. Kelenic only lasted 54 games with a .141 batting average last year; sent down to Triple-AAA, injured and replaced in center field by the new top prospect/talk of the town Julio Rodríguez.
Would the NYC media and the ravenous Mets fan base accepted two subpar seasons, yet alone allow for a third like Seattle has? Or would they have torn both Kelenic and the current management team apart for not swiftly finding someone better?
For all the cries for Baty; how will this market react if he doesn’t immediately reach their unrealistic expectations? More importantly; if he fails and gets moved in July; will he be viewed longingly like Kelenic or have his past wiped away like Jeff Kent and Kevin Mitchell?
Yes, I know I’m going deep down the Mets’ history wormhole; but it seems necessary to calm down fans upset after 101 wins for not bringing an unproven rookie into the mix. Sadly, I know my calls for reason will fall on deaf ears, and that’s the truth.
Upcoming Series: Mets at Milwaukee Brewers
Monday, April 3
Carlos Carrasco (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Freddy Peralta (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Tuesday, April 4
Max Scherzer (0-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. Wade Miley (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Wednesday, April 5
David Peterson (0-1, 1.80 ERA) vs. Corbin Burnes (0-1, 7.20 ERA)
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