Go-ahead homer continues Baty's renaissance with Mets

NEW YORK -- Under different circumstances, Brett Baty would still be toiling in the Minor Leagues, his name bandied about in half-baked trade ideas, his future unclear. When the Mets demoted Baty to Triple-A Syracuse late last month, the move was largely based on merit. The team had a roster crunch. Baty had not hit well enough to hold a job. It was that simple.

But fate had other plans for Baty, who returned two weeks later when Jesse Winker strained his right oblique. Back in the Majors, Baty has transformed seemingly overnight into a different type of hitter. Over his last four starts, he has four home runs, including a go-ahead solo shot Tuesday in the Mets’ 2-1 win over the Pirates at Citi Field.

Overall since returning, Baty is 6-for-17 (.353) with four homers and seven RBIs. He has five home runs over his past five games with a plate appearance at Citi Field.

Small sample size or not, this has been Baty’s finest stretch as a big leaguer.

“I’ve always thought I’m capable of doing whatever I want to accomplish in this game,” Baty said. “I just have been having some success right now.”

Ask Baty, and he’ll say he hasn’t really changed much of anything. He’s still the same player he was before his demotion.

Ask those around him, and they’ll tell a slightly different story -- one of a more confident hitter who seems freer at the plate.

Manager Carlos Mendoza traces Baty’s current burst of success to the home run he hit off Zack Wheeler on April 23 in his final game before his demotion. To do that to one of the most accomplished pitchers of this generation, Mendoza noted, had to have given Baty some sort of boost.

Baty has also worked for this. In the cage before games, Baty has subjected himself to “challenge” batting practice sessions using a random pitching machine, which spits out high-velocity fastballs and breaking pitches at arbitrary intervals. The work has helped him grow accustomed to the varied strategies of big league pitchers, many of whom can throw any pitch in any count.

Pirates starter Mitch Keller, whom Baty victimized with his homer on Tuesday, is a former All-Star with seven years of big league experience. Outside of an early rally in which he allowed an RBI double to Brandon Nimmo, Keller was sharp, matching Kodai Senga zero for zero. With two outs and the bases empty in the seventh inning, Keller showed Baty a fastball and a sweeper before delivering a changeup on the lower-outside corner of the strike zone.

Practically speaking, it wasn’t a bad pitch. But Baty stayed back on the ball, timing his swing to drive it just over the orange home run line in left.

“He has the potential and the power to hit it out of the ballpark and at any part of the ballpark,” Senga said through an interpreter. “If he was an opposing hitter, I think any pitcher would not like to face him at this point.”

The question now is how Baty can maintain this. With Winker sidelined for another 5-7 weeks, Baty should continue to see plenty of opportunities at second and third base. But the Mets have multiple other options, with fellow infielders Mark Vientos, Jeff McNeil and Luisangel Acuña all playing well. While this may be the hottest stretch of Baty’s big league career, it hasn’t even lasted a week. Going forward, he is guaranteed nothing.

The truth is, the Mets can’t know if this is simply a hot spurt for Baty or the start of something more spectacular -- the type of thing they’ve waited for since taking him in the first round of the 2019 Draft. All they can do is continue to give him opportunities and see if he continues to win them games.

“Everybody’s journey in this game is different,” Baty said. “And I’m thankful for every single part of mine for sure.”

“Sometimes, it takes a lot longer for guys,” added Mendoza. “This guy performed at the Minor League level, and then for some reason, it took some time for him to get comfortable. … Every player’s different. For Baty, I’m just finally glad that he’s settling in.”