My Fair Baty
Brett Baty (NYM): 2-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
He did it! Who did what? Mets manager Carlos Mendoza! With the season on the line and facing left-hander Shota Imanaga, Mendoza started Brett Baty, and he awarded the decision beautifully, depositing a high heater over the ivy in left; the three-run jack (370 feet, 101.2 EV) proved the difference in last night’s 8-5 win over the Cubs. He also made a nifty barehanded play at third base. On that note, you can’t underscore his defensive value relative to Vientos.
Regardless, Baty has very quietly made noise with his bat. I say quietly because of the big names in the Met lineup. Last night, Francisco Lindor joined Bobby Witt as the second shortstop in history with two 30-30 seasons. Shoot, Baty entered 2025 as almost an afterthought, with Vientos having blasted 27 home runs a year earlier. Still, Baty has made us recall his days as a prominent prospect by hitting .287 with a 130 wRC+ across 185 PAs in the second half.
Baty’s season slash of .255/.314/.436 might not tickle your fancy. But His PLV metrics, including a 111 Power+ and 113 Process+, paint a rosy picture. His swing decisions have skyrocketed lately. You can get the sense that, if this were May or June, we’d be able to appreciate an impending breakthrough. But in the final days of the season, we are forced to file Baty away for next year, recognizing that the Mets may have finally found their third baseman, a position that has been a revolving door for the orange and blue since Captain America made his final appearance at Citi Field seven years ago.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Thursday:
Nick Kurtz (ATH): 3-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
The second shot came in garbage time against righty reliever Enyel de Los Santos. However, the first was an eye-opener, an opposite-field shot on a down-and-in hook from Framber Valdez (393 feet, 102.2 EV). The Astros are probably glad to leave Sacramento with The Big Amish having knocked nine taters against them in ten games. That’s 35 home runs with a .293/.383/.623 slash, and his 168 wRC+ would be third among qualified batters. And he was at Wake Forest a year ago. The kid’s pretty good.
Dylan Beavers (BAL): 1-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB.
Beavers ended the year at Camden Yards in style, catapulting a cutter from Kevin Kelly near Eutaw Street (417 feet, 107.7 EV) for a walk-off home run in the ninth. The 24-year-old rookie is slashing .245/.389/.431 with four home runs through 127 PAs. And he totaled a 153 wRC+ with Triple-A Norfolk. I don’t think you have to squint too hard to see a pretty solid sleeper here for next year, especially in OBP formats.
Byron Buxton (MIN): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.
Buxton called game in the ninth, sending a cutter from Chris Martin into the visitor’s bullpen for a three-run shot (436 feet, 110.6 EV). Buxton feels a bit like the hitter counterpart to deGrom. Nearly no one expected either to stay healthy. Lo and behold, Buxton has cleared 500 plate appearances for the second time in his career, and first since 2017 (!!!). He has 24 steals, the most since 2017 (29), and a career-high 34, edging the 28 he hit three years ago. His 123 Power+ and 119 Process+ are great, too. What. A. Season.
Daulton Varsho (TOR): 2-4, HR, R, 4 RBI.
With the Blue Jays and Yankees tied neck-and-neck atop the AL East, Varsho came through, swatting a grand slam in the sixth against lefty reliever Justin Wilson. That’s 20 for the former D’Back in only 259 plate appearances. And PLV says there’s nothing fluky about it (123 Power+). He’s pulling the ball in the air a ton, so the average is going to stink, but there’s no reason this version of Varsho can’t hit 30+ home runs.
George Springer (TOR): 1-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB.
Two batters later, Springer hit his 31st, a two-run shot to right off righty reliever Zack Kelly. Remember how bad things were last year? No, remind me. Oh, you know, a career-low .220 batting average and 94 wRC+. And this year, he is hitting a career-high .303. And, yeah, he leads baseball with a 200 wRC+ in the second half. What a comeback. Look, I sort of want to fade him next year, but then I stare in disbelief at his 141 Process+ and think otherwise.
Seiya Suzuki (CHC): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.
Suzuki has cratered hard in the second half, hitting .201 with a 79 wRC+. However, he rewarded you if you stuck with him, swatting two over the fence, both against Met ace Nolan McLean; the second was a three-run shot that pulled the Cubs to within 8-5 (396 feet, 101.6 EV). That’s a career-high 29 home runs for Seiya, but the slump has him hitting .244 with a .323 OBP, both career lows. He and his teammate, PCA, are going to be two of the more polarizing characters in drafts next season.
Shea Langeliers (ATH): 4-5, 2B, R.
Langeliers entered yesterday’s game against the Stros with a 127 wRC+, third among qualified catchers, behind Raleigh (164) and Rice (131). And he’s been particularly great in the second half, his 167 wRC+ ranking seventh among qualifiers. I mentioned it in the PLV Power Report yesterday, but it very much feels like, for the first time in a while, there are quite a few catchers you can get excited about, and Langeliers is certainly one of them. He checks more boxes with a 107 Contact Ability+, 108 Power+, and a 114 Process+. What’s not to like?
Vinnie Pasquantino (KCR): 1-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB.
Vinnie P started the scoring in last night’s win over the Halos by taking the Farris wheel for a ride in the first (390 feet, 101.6 EV). That’s 32 home runs, miles ahead of his previous best of 19 from last year. On the surface, it appears to be a power breakthrough. Maybe it is. I just wish I were more convinced, you know? That 103 Power+ has me thinking I wouldn’t want to bank on him for more than 22 home runs or so.
Mike Trout (LAA): 1-4, HR, R, 2 RBI.
Trout’s 401st came in the eighth, briefly making it a one-run game. Like Buxton, we saw Trout reach 500 for the first time in ages (2019). Sadly, the results weren’t nearly as good: a career-low 114 wRC+ with a career-high 32.2% strikeout rate. As someone who took Trout 1.1 in a dynasty many moons ago, it feels like sacrilege to say, but he is probably the fourth Angel off the board next year, behind Neto, Ward, and Jo Adell, who, by the way, socked his 37th last night, tying him with Alonso at eight on the leaderboard.
Freddie Freeman (LAD): 2-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB.
Freeman helped the Dodgers take care of business, going back-to-back with Andy Pages in the second. He tagged Nabil Crismatt two innings later; the first came against lefty opener Jalen Beeks. That’s 23 for Freeman with a .293 batting average and an .860 OPS, close to his career tallies of .300 and .896. However, you might’ve noticed his strikeout rate has jumped up five ticks to 20.7%. Sure enough, his Contact Ability+ has dropped from 108 to 96. Maybe it’s nothing. Still, his having a strikeout rate over 20% is something we haven’t seen since 2016.
Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire | Featured image by Aaron Polcare (@abeardoesart on Bluesky and X) and adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X; @justinparadis.bsky.social on BlueSky)
