Since sending Brett Baty to Triple-A Syracuse on Aug. 7 after the Mets made several moves at the trade deadline, manager Buck Showalter has been keeping an eye on the young third baseman.
“I watch, you know, I look at that most nights. He’s doing well,” Showalter said in regard to reading the minor league reports before Tuesday night’s 7-4 loss to the Pirates.
Baty has found some rhythm with his bat since he arrived in Syracuse after going 0-for-18 with eight strikeouts during the Mets’ disastrous 0-6 road trip through Kansas City and Baltimore.
In the first four games Baty played since returning to Triple-A, he hit .250 (4-for-16) with two home runs, five RBIs and three walks.
His last home run before this past Thursday against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had been on July 19 versus the White Sox.
On Tuesday Baty hit his second minor league grand slam of the year, leading the Syracuse Mets to a 6-4 win over the Columbus Clippers.
The first came against the Worcester Red Sox on April 1.
He finished the game 2-for-4 with five RBIs, and is now hitting .364 with a 1.317 OPS.
“He’s doing well,” Showalter said. “Reports back are good and obviously, they didn’t play [Monday]. So, we’ll see if it continues down that path.”
Before the 23-year-old was called up in April, his hot bat was enticing to the Mets.
He hit .433 with a 1.508 OPS, five home runs and 15 RBIs over his first nine games for Syracuse.
After 86 games in the majors this season, Baty was hitting .216 with seven homers, 27 RBIs, 86 strikeouts and a .620 OPS.
“You’re under a microscope up here, so you have got to be engaged from pitch one to the end of the game,” Baty said before leaving for the minors. “That is something I have got to work on and something I have got to learn, so I am going to do my best at it.”
Baty’s return to Syracuse isn’t something Showalter expects to be permanent.
Rather, he views it as an opportunity for Baty to regroup and adjust before returning to the majors.
Robert Sabo for NY Post“I look at it not as failure, I look at it as a delay, just taking a little timeout and kind of restart and rebooting, so to speak,” Showalter said. “I think he’s handling it real well, emotionally, mentally. And I think that break has meant as much to him as even the different level of play.”
