Mets Minors Recap: Baty Blasts Long Home Run

03.07.2022 16:00

Photo by Dan Fritz

Although news of Francisco Álvarez‘s promotion to Triple-A may have grabbed the minor league headlines, it was Brett Baty who stood out on the field on Saturday night. Baty’s monstrous home run in the fourth inning on Saturday was his second in as many days, as he finally begins to unlock his impressive raw power.

AAA: Lehigh Valley IronPigs (42-35) 9, Syracuse Mets (31-45) 5 Box Score

Patrick Mazeika C: 1-for-4, R, HR, RBI, K, .284/.383/.370
Johneshwy Fargas CF: 1-for-3, R, HR, 2 RBI, K, .186/.263/.363
Mark Vientos DH: 0-for-4, RBI, 2 K, .248/.345/.500

Despite putting together a solid offensive day with five runs, the Mets wasted plenty of opportunities by going just 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. Mazeika is 7-for-16 with two home runs since his demotion to Triple-A. Vientos snapped a three-game home run streak with his hitless performance on Saturday.

RHP David Griffin (L, 0-1, 9.00 ERA) 4.0 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 5 K
RHP Trey Cobb (3-1, 6.10 ERA) 2.0 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 2 BB
LHP Alex Claudio (2-1, 3.65 ERA) 1.0 IP, 2 H, K

Griffin, who made his Triple-A debut after having mixed results in eight starts with Binghamton, similar turned in a mixed bag performance once again. On the one hand, he had good control, striking out five without walking anyone and throwing 47 of his 65 pitches for strikes. On the other hand, his nine hits allowed were a season high, and four runs are the second-most runs that he has allowed in a start this year. Claudio built on his strong June (1.17 ERA for the month) with a scoreless inning in his first July appearance.

AA: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (30-44) 11, Hartford Yard Goats (46-28) 3 Box Score

Brett Baty 3B: 1-for-4, R, HR, 3 RBI, 2 K, HBP, .279/.380/.472
Zach Ashford RF: 2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, .225/.304/.355
Hayden Senger DH: 1-for-5, R, HR, 2 RBI, K, .228/.311/.372

The Rumble Ponies’ offense exploded for 10 runs from between the game’s third and fifth innings of Saturday’s game. Home runs courtesy of Baty, Ashford, and Senger during those innings were responsible for seven of those runs. Baty has been on fire offensively since the start of June and, most importantly, he has finally been translating his enormous raw power into games. After hitting just three home runs in April and May, Baty has hit six since June 8th.

Ashford tied his career high for home runs in a season by blasting his third home run of the year in the third inning. Francisco Álvarez singled in four at bats during what may be his final Double-A game. This because, as the above mentioned, he is being called up to Triple-A Syracuse.

Brett Baty clears EVERYTHING.

Back-to-back nights with a homer for the No. 2 @Mets prospect with @RumblePoniesBB. pic.twitter.com/IjU8dkjVIL

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 2, 2022

RHP Mitch Ragan (1-2, 4.01 ERA) 3.0 IP, H, ER, BB, K
RHP Jose Butto (W, 5-5, 4.23 ERA) 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, BB, 6 K

This was Ragan’s first start since May 11th – he’s been primarily used as a reliever after struggling as a starter to begin the season – and he tossed three solid innings. After posting a 12.96 ERA through his first four appearances of the season, Ragan has a 1.57 ERA in 34 1/3rd innings since then. Butto piggybacked the starting pitcher for only the second time this season (and the first occasion was following a Max Scherzer rehab start) and was successful in that situation following poor performances in his last two appearances.

A+: Hudson Valley Renegades (37-37) 2, Brooklyn Cyclones (35-39) 1 Box Score

Branden Fryman 2B: 1-for-3, K, .194/.257/.313
JT Schwartz 1B: 1-for-3, 2B, BB, .269/.356/.371

The Cyclones’ offense was completely lifeless in Saturday’s game. The lineup recorded just two hits in the game, and the lone run scored on an errant pickoff throw in the fifth inning. However, Schwartz did extend his hitting streak to seven games.

RHP Luis Moreno (L, 0-3, 4.22 ERA) 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, ER, 9 K
RHP Justin Courtney (4-2, 3.45 ERA) 2.0 IP, H

Moreno had one of the best starts of his career as he set a new career high with nine strikeouts and was just two outs away from making this the longest start of his career. Courtney has not allowed a run in his last eight appearances, five of which have been longer than an inning.

A: Jupiter Hammerheads (38-34) 8, St. Lucie Mets (43-30) 6 Box Score

Alex Ramirez CF: 1-for-4, R, BB, 2 K, .287/.359/.448
William Lugo 3B: 3-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI, .260/.352/.385
Raul Beracierta DH: 1-for-4, 2 R, HR, RBI, K, .274/.333/.404

The Mets fell behind 6-0 early in Saturday’s game and, despite a ninth inning comeback attempt, were never able to overcome that deficit. Ramirez extended his hitting streak to five games and continues to walk at a prolific and uncharacteristic rate. After drawing just four walks in each of the first two months of the 2022 season, he has walked 18 times in his last 23 games. Beracierta tied his previous career high with his fifth home run of the season.

RHP Robert Colina (L, 0-3, 7.07 ERA) 4.1 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
RHP Miguel Alfonseca (2-0, 5.32 ERA) 4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 6 K

The Mets only used two pitchers in Saturday night’s game, with Alfonseca being the far more successful of the two pitchers. Colina has allowed five or more runs in three of his last five appearances. Alfonseca’s six strikeouts were his most of any outing in his career. He averaged 92.7 MPH on his fastball and topped out at 95.2 MPH.

FCL: FCL Mets (12-7) 6, FCL Marlins (11-8) 1 Box Score

Wilmer Reyes SS: 2-for-4, R, HR, RBI, .258/.324/.548

Reyes homered for the second time in the nine games he’s played during his rehab stint in the Florida Complex League.

RHP Richard Brito (0-1, 2.45 ERA) 1.0 IP

The hard-throwing Brito has struck out five batters while only walking one through his first four appearances of the season.

DSL: DSL Mets 1 (11-8) 6, DSL Pirates Gold (14-7) 5 Box Score

Simon Juan CF: 1-for-5, R, RBI, K, E, .246/.329/.362

The Mets only had seven hits and two RBIs in Saturday’s game, but with the help of five errors by the Pirates, they were able to push across six runs. Juan extended his hitting streak to eight games.