Brett Baty ‘growing up’ and becoming dependable Mets lineup piece

ATLANTA — Brett Baty has the simplest of explanations for his success at the plate over the last several weeks.

“I just feel like I am putting together really good at-bats and hitting the ball hard right now,” Baty said before going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and a walk in a rare off night in Saturday’s 9-2 win over the Braves.

But Mets officials have seen growth from the 25-year-old infielder, with his emergence as a confident and capable player for a team firmly in the postseason hunt.

It serves as another reminder that success isn’t always linear.

Baty entered Saturday with a .310/.372/.548 slash line with six homers since the All-Star break.

One of his best major league performances occurred a night earlier, when he finished 4-for-6 in the team’s victory over the Braves.

“To me, it’s just a matter of him growing up,” said Jeremy Barnes, one of the team’s two hitting coaches.

Barnes noted the focus Baty put on his swing during the offseason, with an emphasis on reducing his ground-ball rate and initiating contact in front of the plate.

Baty’s metrics suggest there is still room for improvement in reducing strikeouts and increasing walks, but his bat speed, hard-hit ball percentage and exit velocity are all well above the MLB average.

Barnes sees a player most comfortable hitting to both gaps, but also capable of pulling a pitch over the fence.

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“We want him to hit the ball hard, and he’s learned that catching the ball out in front doesn’t necessarily mean catching the ball way out in front of the plate,” Barnes said. “It means just catching the ball more out in front of his body. That gives him a little bit more time, and it’s just a matter of, ‘I have been here, done this, I have hundreds of at-bats under my belt,’ and through that experience you kind of have that trial and error type thing and figure out what is working for you mentally.”

Baty, according to Barnes, has begun to display a “quiet confidence” that suggests he knows he belongs in a major league uniform.

Baty has bounced between Triple-A Syracuse and the Mets for the last three seasons.

“You can just see it in his eyes,” Barnes said. “When you are talking to a young kid who is a little bit overwhelmed, you can just see it and feel it when you are interacting with him. There is just this quiet confidence of, ‘I know who I am and I know I belong here.’ That is hard to get. It’s hard to get as a coach. I can only imagine how hard it is to get as a player.

“You are in New York, there is this spotlight on you and you are surrounded by these superstars that we have had, and if it’s not going your way it’s easy for doubt to creep in and these stories you spin in your head, that is normal. But he’s gotten over that and I think he knows he belongs.”

The Mets have needed the jolt, especially after a prolonged stretch in which the bottom of the lineup failed to produce.

Baty was part of that problem earlier in the season, but lately has helped to carry the lineup.

“For us to get to where we want to go, it just can’t be on [Francisco] Lindor, [Juan] Soto and [Pete] Alonso, on their shoulders,” Barnes said. “Add [Brandon] Nimmo into that category, also. But we need to have [Francisco] Alvarez healthy and hitting, we need [Mark] Vientos to contribute, Baty to contribute, [Jeff] McNeil continuing to be who McNeil is. To get where we want to go we, need a one-through-nine lineup that is able to make a difference.”