Checking in on Luisangel Acuna and Brett Baty
Without the injuries to Jeff McNeil and Nick Madrigal, both Luisangel Acuna and Brett Baty would be in the minors. And based on what they’ve done here in the very early going – it’s where these two belong. At 23, Acuna would fall on the age-appropriate track for Triple-A this year. At 25, Baty would be on the outer edge of age-appropriate at the same level. But Baty lost his rookie status during the 2023 season, making him a different beast from Acuna.
It seems fair to wonder if there’s any hope for these two players for being productive starters in the majors. If forced to guess, it seems to me that more fans hold out hope for Acuna at this point than Baty. And at two years younger, that’s a very reasonable position. My opinion is that Baty has proven he can hit at Triple-A, while Acuna has not – making Baty the better choice. But it’s certainly an issue upon which reasonable people can disagree.
The Mets acquired Acuna from the Rangers in the Max Scherzer deal. He was having a good, not great, season for the Double-A affiliate of the Rangers at the time of the trade. But when he came to the Mets, playing in a different league but at the same Double-A level, Acuna was an offensive liability. In 167 PA, Acuna posted a .243/.317/.304 line. That worked out to a .293 wOBA and a 76 wRC+.
Those numbers are so bad, they’re the kind that can get a player released. Of course, having what some people described as five-tool potential, to go along with great bloodlines and being young for his level – well there was zero thoughts to releasing Acuna. The hope was that not having to deal with a mid-season trade would clear the way for Acuna to reach his potential. But that didn’t happen.
In 587 PA in Triple-A Syracuse – a pretty good place to hit – Acuna posted a .258/.299/.355 line. That was a .295 wOBA and a 69 wRC+. You just can’t put lipstick on this pig – those are awful numbers. People tried to explain away the season, claiming with a straight face that he turned it on in the second half. The best stretch of consecutive PA in triple digits you can come up with was a 122-PA span where he posted a .304/.355/.411 line – a .766 OPS. Meanwhile, the entire Syracuse team posted a .768 OPS in 2024.
And then an injury to Francisco Lindor opened up a spot in the majors in September. With Baty out with an injury, Acuna got the call. And he performed out of his mind in a 40-PA sample, posting a .966 OPS. He was terrific in a span of PA less than what would be considered a full Spring Training. And then he followed it up with a .914 OPS in 119 PA this winter in Venezuela. Those two brief stretches had people convinced that Acuna was ready to be a star.
In 56 PA in Grapefuit League play this year, Acuna posted a .250/.304/.269 line for a .573 OPS. And so far this season, Acuna has a .523 OPS in 12 PA.
The overwhelming number of prospects hit worse in the majors than they did in the minors. Acuna’s .654 OPS at Syracuse in 2024 should have resulted in numbers like he had in Spring Training and here in the very early going in 2025. An OPS in the .500s seems so much more in line than the .966 OPS he had last September.
Anything can happen in 40 PA. It’s why it’s important to use larger PA to make determinations on how good a player really is.
Meanwhile, Baty was rushed to the majors after very brief stays in Triple-A. In both 2023 and 2024, Baty hit well at first, only to flounder after his initial two-week hot streaks. Last season, Baty got sent to the minors and finally got a decent stretch of consecutive PA at the highest level. In 269 PA at Syracuse, Baty posted an .853 OPS, good for a .372 wOBA and a 119 wRC+.
Those are good, but not great, numbers. But they’re miles ahead of what Acuna did at the same level.
So, where do we stand with these two players now? Acuna is a better fit on an MLB roster, with his better defense and ability to steal bases as a pinch runner. But if you think he still has a chance to be an MLB regular, he desperately needs consistent ABs in the minors, proving he can hit at that level before trying again in the majors.
As for Baty – it’s possible the ship has already sailed for him to be a regular in the majors. The other day in the chatter, Name said Baty was ready for a trip to Japan. He might be right. Maybe it doesn’t have to be that drastic. Perhaps all he needs is a trade to another organization and get out of New York.
Or maybe, Baty is going to do the opposite of what he did in 2023 and 2024. Those two seasons, Baty hit right away and then fell of a cliff. Perhaps this year, he’ll follow up a bad start with an extended stretch of good hitting. You never know…
My opinion is that Acuna has a higher floor but Baty has a higher ceiling. Acuna seems capable of being the new Luis Guillorme, a guy who amassed 1,010 PA over parts of six seasons with the Mets, posting a .677 OPS. That’s not nothing – it’s just not what many hoped for when they heard “five-tool talent” when he was first acquired
Maybe Baty can develop into the Mets’ version of Alec Bohm, who’s gone from a 76 OPS+ to a 98 to a 106 to a 115 OPS+ last year in his age-27 season. Still, many hoped for more than that when Baty was a first-round draft pick back in 2019.
Baty has worked hard to become passable at second base. Maybe a few games at his familiar spot at third base is what he needs to relax. With Mark Vientos not hitting and committing both mental and physical errors, perhaps a few days on the pine would be good for him.
Regardless, we should be rooting for McNeil’s return to the lineup ASAP but that does not seem imminent.
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I’m not ready to give up on Baty at this point. He has too good of a pedigree in the minors and still can figure it out. I’ve defended him and in the predictions article on him said that I expected a strong year. 14 plate appearances is not enough to change my mind. If we want to send him down, or to Japan based on those 14 plate appearances, then I’d point out that in those 14 PAs he has a 50% hard hit rate, a 93.7 average exit velo (compared to a league average of 88.3) and a BABIP of .100. All of these point towards perhaps some bad luck.
He has to step it up and has a (possibly short) window here to do it. I think he can and expect he will, but it is time to get it done.
Both Acuna and Baty are a disappointment thus far and Acuna should be sent down to play everyday. As for Baty, whose OPS matches my weight from a number of years ago until I realized that it was not healthy, they should plant him at second base until McNeil returns and let him play. Either he hits or gets sent down. If he can scorch the ball at AAA someone will take him in a trade. This is not remotely the same thing, but Willie Mays reportedly started his career going 0 for 21 but the manager said he was not going to lose his CF job. Now stop laughing because I said it’s not remotely the same thing, but let’s try putting him out there with no pressure to be pulled the next game and see if that works. And then there is Mauricio-when the hell will he be available? And finally this continues to be a Iglesias miscalculation not resigning him because they did nit want to block two players who can’t hit at the MLB level. Oops.