Jun 26, 2023; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets manager Buck Showalter (11) on the field before a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
MLB: Milwaukee Brewers at New York Mets
(Queens, NY) – As the Mets play out the string on the 2023 season, fans are focused on how the team’s younger players are performing.
This includes catcher Francisco Alvarez, 3B/DH Mark Vientos, 3B Brett Baty, and 2B/infielder Ronny Mauricio. All four have either played a significant role throughout the season, or they’re being evaluated as potential future contributors.
The general consensus is that Alvarez is here to stay. While his performance at the plate has been a bit up and down, he’s popped 23 HR – impressive for a catcher – and generally has handled his catching duties admirably. Both of those factors arguably make up for his paltry .214 batting average. Plus, he’s only 21-years-old, and batted .273 across four minor league seasons. So, there’s room for improvement. But even just a powerful, decent-field catcher is a find for a MLB squad.
What about the other three baby Mets? Mauricio is the least known commodity, having been called up this month for a brief exposure to the big leagues. He’s cooled off a little bit after starting red-hot, and the switch hitter hasn’t fared as well batting right handed, but generally speaking he’s impressed. The natural short stop has also looked competent at 2B and 3B.
That leaves Baty and Vientos as the prospects with the most “established” track records. All four players are sometimes referred to as part of the “baby Mets” – but Baty and Vientos are perhaps more fairly described as baseball toddlers. Baty has had a difficult 2023 campaign, and was demoted to AAA for a time. Vientos – after failing to impress most of the season – has caught fire with the bat lately, especially showing off some power. He’s still largely without a position, however.
Ahead of Thursday night’s game in Philadelphia, manager Buck Showalter gave his assessment of the young Mets: “[It’s] almost like your children… you hate to see them struggle but it’s part of the process to understand that [and] how you respond to it and working your way through it. And they’ve never given in and not really gotten intimidated by the level, but they’ve been very respectful of it. There’s a fine line there.”
As for Vientos, as his recent power surge, the skipper observed “He’s strong. Everybody talks about the metrics of people hitting baseballs and everything, it’s part of it. And also about the finished product. I know Mark, he wants to do that every time up. It’s a learning process you can see why he has done some of the things behind him in the minor leagues that makes people think that he could do some good things for us.”
Specifically addressing Alvarez, Showalter said: “He’s going through some periods, where it’s the first time he’s played in September and he’s showing some of the signs of catching some extra games later in the season, and he’s handled it well.” He went on with a broader assessment of the team’s young players as a whole, saying: “The curve is these guys usually start out and there’s a real positive feeding frenzy on them and they do well and then things die down a little and they hit a little spell. And I’m hoping guys like Vientos and Brett and Francisco and all these guys and Mo finish strong. Mo hadn’t quite hit that spot yet. … It wouldn’t surprise me to see Brett and these guys really finish strong.”
Finally, not to be left out, Showalter offered his perception of Baty – who has endured the group’s most pointed struggles. “It’s been tough on him sitting over there and watching his friends and teammates play and he wants to play and we tried to be cautious with it,” Showalter said. “I just want him to be making progress and however it may fall. I can sit here and analyze with the best of ‘em – top spin balls to the left side, and back-spinning balls and this, then, that and should you be pull, all that different things – you just want them to seek their level and not make it too complicated for them. He knows. And hopefully, he can finish strong.”
The finish for these Mets is about a week away. But the young Mets are just trying to take it one “baby” step at a time.
