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Brett Baty had to stop himself on a 2-2 count in the second inning as he felt sudden discomfort in his right hand. He briefly paused, with a trainer coming out to see him. Baty felt comfortable enough to finish the at bat with a walk and play in the field for the third inning. 

Syracuse Mets manager Dick Scott said Baty, the New York Mets’ No. 2 prospect who’s known for hitting a home run in his first at bat with the major league club last season, had hurt his right thumb. Baty was insistent on finishing the at bat, Scott said, but after an inning in the field, the manager knew his third baseman’s thumb was bothering him too much.

“He came in the dugout and I said, ‘Look, where are we at?’” Scott said. “And he said, ‘I probably need to come out.’ And it was a mutual decision.”

Baty’s early exit denied the Mets of having one of their best prospects out on the field. Heading into their 2023 home opener against the Rochester Red Wings (0-3), the Mets (2-2) featured a lineup that was full of top prospects who are bound for the majors — shortstop Ronny Mauricio (No. 6) and first baseman Mark Vientos (No. 8). 

The Mets’ No. 1 prospect, catcher Francisco Álvarez, made some good defensive plays (catching a runner stealing in the eighth), but he struck four times. The duo of Vientos and Mauricio mostly impressed in the Mets’ 5-0 win. The two infielders both recorded hits that resulted in runs and made some key plays in the diamond.

Baty initiated the offense for the Mets on Tuesday afternoon, recording the team’s first hit on a low line drive to right field. On the second pitch of the next hitter Álvarez’s at bat, Baty easily stole second base. After Álvarez struck out swinging, Vientos stepped into the batter’s box. On the first pitch he saw, Vientos hit a hard liner into the gap, bringing Baty home. Vientos easily recorded a double, taking his batting helmet halfway between the run to first and second base.

Vientos also had to make some acrobatic plays from first base. In the top of the seventh, Red Wing catcher Kevin Plawecki hit a hard liner to Baty’s replacement, José Peraza, who got a glove on the ball and made a hard throw to Vientos. Vientos barely kept his toes on the bag to record the out, drawing some initial protests from Plawecki and Rochester manager Matthew LeCroy.

Scott said the lack of actual playing in Syracuse hasn’t affected Vientos or any of the infielders. While the triple-A Mets have only been on the field twice in Syracuse, Vientos and the rest of the team are still looking to get ground balls on the diamond. But Scott noted Vientos’ improvement from the first base side.

“He’s worked hard since spring training has gotten a lot better over there,” Scott said. “He probably had a ball he wished he could pick again… But he’s been good.” 

Vientos, who has come up through the Mets farm system with players like Mauricio and Álvarez, has created relationships with his teammates and in the process learned from one another. 

“I’m trying to learn every day and I ask questions to all of them when I’m going good or when I’m going bad,” Vientos said. “They ask questions to me so we just try to pick each other’s brain and try to help each other.”

Vientos started to cement the win for the Mets in the eighth inning. Against reliever Jesus Lirzano, Vientos got on board on a four-pitch walk, which set the stage for Mauricio to knock in a line drive to center field that went over the head of Red Wing Franklin Barreto. 

Mauricio hustled to third as Vientos came in to score the second run of the game, making the score 3-0. Khalil Lee brought in Mauricio on a sacrifice fly, while designated hitter Carlos Cortes scored another run on an RBI double.

While Mauricio’s important offensive contribution came late in the game, his defense managed the Mets’ lead early on in the top of the third. With two outs, Mets starting pitcher Alex Valverde was in a jam with bases loaded against Rochester’s first baseman Matt Adams, who won a World Series with the Nationals and sports a career .769 OPS. 

But on the first pitch, Adams hit a ground ball to Mauricio who made the key throw to first base to keep the Red Wings scoreless. While Mauricio is on the New York Mets’ 40-man roster, he has yet to make a major league at bat, but Scott thinks that will no longer be the case soon.

“Mauricio will get his chance at some point,” Scott said.

Scott acknowledged the late-inning offensive output from Mauricio and others made the team much more relaxed after the Mets were trying to score a run for six straight innings. He said the players needed a little to manage expectations. Vientos has seen time in the big leagues with 16 games played. Scott noted that they had to learn the routine and preparation that went into playing in Major League Baseball, giving the players “a wake-up call.”

“We try to keep it in perspective,” Scott said of the players’ offense. “They know that they’re good players, and that they want to show people that they’re good players.”

Published on April 4, 2023 at 7:49 pm

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