Brett Baty picked up another hit on Monday night in the Mets’ comeback win over the Pirates, raising his season batting average to .316.
The former hyped prospect continues to show his potential staying power after struggling at the start of his big league career, and Sal says the third baseman is almost unrecognizable to the player he was a year ago.
“He looks like a totally different player,” Sal said. “I’m not even talking about just the results. I’m talking about the person. The way he’s showing emotion and the confidence he’s playing with.
“Now I do believe he can be a solid big leaguer and third baseman.”
Baty is showing more capability in the field, in the box against lefties, and at just 24 years old, there can still be growth into another level of major leaguer.
Sal will reach another level of excitement once Baty shows that he can overcome a midseason swoon at the plate that every big-league hitter endures through a long season.
“We’ve seen Baty take the next step,” Sal said. “We’ll learn...when he goes through some adversity and comes out the other side. He’s gone through adversity in his career, but this season, after having some success, he’s gonna hit the skids at some point. It’s inevitable. How is he going to respond? With a guy who has been fragile - we saw him last year, there’s been the ups and downs - if he can go through a two-week stretch or a month stretch and come out the other end of it, that’s when you’ll know you have a player.”