No. 2 prospect Baty is raking in Arizona Fall League

NEW YORK — Down in the desert, a Mets stud prospect is raking in the Arizona Fall League.

Third baseman Brett Baty was named hitter of the week after the first week of AFL festivities in Scottsdale. He entered Thursday slashing .381/.536/.619 with three RBIS and six walks over his first six games of the Fall League.

Baty went 3-for-3 on opening day and carried a four-game hitting streak to cap Week 1. His .500 batting average and 1.417 OPS through Week 1 led the AFL out of all qualified hitters.

“I’m just coming out here trying to have fun,” Baty told reporters in Scottsdale after being named hitter of the week. “Trying to work on some things before the offseason. The success I’ve had is a tribute to all the hard work and all the guys around me pushing me.”

Baty, 21, was selected by the Mets in the first round (12th overall) of the 2019 draft as a 19-year-old high school senior from Texas and currently ranks as baseball’s No. 45 overall prospect. He was the first third baseman taken by the Mets in the first round since Chris Donnels in 1987.

The Mets love Baty’s ability to hit for power, and though he still lacks minorleague plate appearances, he’s quickly climbing up in the club’s farm system.

After 51 games in his debut 2019 season, when he hit seven homers and collected 33 RBIS, Baty developed at the Mets alternate site in 2020 due to the pandemic-related cancellation of the minor-league season. He began 2021 with High-a Brooklyn, posting a .911 OPS and 93 total bases across 51 games, before getting promoted to Double-a Binghamton in July.

He continued to hit in Double A while showing patience at the plate with 46 walks combined across Brooklyn and Binghamton. Baty, ranked the Mets’ No. 2 prospect, was also selected to play in MLB’S All-star Futures Game this year alongside No. 1 Mets prospect, catcher Francisco Alvarez.