Here’s the latest on some of the Mets‘ top prospects…
Brett Baty, Triple-A Syracuse
Since his demotion from the big leagues in early August, Baty has used the time in Syracuse to do nothing but hit. In nine games, dating back to Aug. 10, the third baseman is 11-for-36 with three home runs, two doubles, 11 RBI and a .977 OPS.
On Sunday, Baty had two hits (including a double) and an RBI and a run scored. He’s now slashing .352/.434/.746 with eight home runs in just 71 at-bats with Triple-A after starting the season there before his big-league call-up in late April.
Prior to his promotion, Baty was lighting it up in the International League and the rookie hasn’t missed a step since his return to the minors. It’s encouraging to see the 23-year-old look like his old self after struggling mightily in the majors, especially right before getting sent down, but only time will tell when he makes it back with the big club.
Ronny Mauricio, Triple-A Syracuse
Baty’s teammate but only in Syracuse, Mauricio has had an interesting month. In 16 games in August, the 22-year-old has had at least one hit in 14 of them, yet he’s only batting .239. He does have four home runs this month, including one on Saturday, to give him 20 long balls on the season and join the 20/20 club, but he’s seen his average fall to .284, the lowest it’s been since the first few games of the season.
By all accounts, Mauricio is still enjoying the best season of his career, but since his other-worldy start, he’s tapered off just a bit. Of course, it’s difficult to keep up the pace he was setting in April and May, but since the beginning of June, he hasn’t had a month where he’s hit above .300 – or even .260 for that matter.
The switch-hitting infielder has very similar numbers from both sides of the plate, although he does have 17 home runs off righties in 350 at-bats compared to three home runs in 107 at-bats against lefties. The Mets’ front office has cited Mauricio still has benchmarks he needs to clear before he gets promoted to the big leagues, but with September call-ups coming up, it’ll be interesting to see if and when he gets the call.
Luisangel Acuna, Double-A Binghamton
Moving further down the farm system, Acuna – the player New York received from the Texas Rangers after trading Max Scherzer – has started to come around after a mini slump to start his Mets career.
In his last three games, the infielder has had two multi-hit nights (his first as a Met) and has five hits in his last 13 at-bats. Overall, Acuna is 14-for-67 since being traded, but he has scored 11 runs and has added eight stolen bases in 10 attempts.
His season average has dipped below .300 for the first time since June, but it appears the 21-year-old is becoming more comfortable in a Mets uniform lately. It’s unlikely he’ll get the call-up to the big league club this season, no matter how he’s playing, but he figures to be somewhere in the plans of next year’s team.
Jett Williams, High-A Brooklyn
The youngest of the bunch, the 19-year-old Williams has excelled since making the jump from Single-A to High-A at the beginning of the month, currently riding an eight-game hitting streak.
In 18 games, the speedster is 19-for-61 and has even begun to show off some more power, especially lately, with three home runs and seven doubles. In fact, after going yard on Saturday, Williams delivered an encore on Sunday with another home run, going deep in back-to-back games.
He had six homers in 261 at-bats with Single-A and now has three dingers in 61 at-bats with High-A to go along with a ridiculous 1.036 OPS. Williams hasn’t sacrificed speed for power, though, as he has seven steals in eight attempts with the Cyclones.
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