The New York Mets may have the brightest future of any team in Major League Baseball.
Last season, the Mets finished with 101 wins, which was the second-best regular season in franchise history — but lost in the Wild Card Round.
In the offseason, they lost some key contributors including superstar starting pitcher Jacob deGrom but reloaded with future Hall of Famer SP Justin Verlander. When looking at the Mets, you might think that they will continue their large off-season splashes to maintain success. However, they probably don’t need to.
Infielders Ronny Mauricio and Brett Baty are here and they are here to stay. Mauricio, from the Dominican Republic, was signed as an international free agent in 2017. In 2018 and 2019, Mauricio was in Class A and didn’t really hit for much power, only hitting 7 home runs. Over the last two seasons, he hit his stride at the plate. He hit 46 home runs, 41 doubles, and 7 triples, while also improving his slugging percentage and OPS. Last season, he was called up to Double-A. So, he improved in almost everything after moving up the ranks.
Now, in Spring Training, he is hitting the cover off the ball. In only 13 ABs, he has 5 hits and 3 of those are home runs.
He is making a serious case to be in the big leagues this season.
Another youngster who is making a case to have a big role this season is 3B Brett Baty. Baty had a completely different path than Mauricio. Baty went to Lake Travis High School in Austin, TX. After playing very well in high school, Baty committed to Texas. He never got a chance to play at Texas because the Mets drafted him with the 13th overall pick in the 2019 draft, and he decided to go pro.
Like Mauricio, Baty has improved a lot through the years. From the start of his minor league career to the end, he took his average from .234 to .315 and his OPS from .820 to .943. The only concern with Baty is his glove, as he has had 32 errors over the past two seasons, including two in 11 games in the MLB. In those 11 games at the plate, Baty hit under .200. In Spring Training, he has 8 hits in 17 ABs, which comes out to a .471 average. He has 1 home run and has 4 RBI.
Both of the youngsters are showing out for the Mets so far and as the season approaches, it seems more likely that they will both have a big impact this season.
