Brett Baty

Baty has long been an exit velocity darling and registered a 113 mph max EV (89th percentile) in just 31 MLB events during a brief cup of coffee after posting an elite 36.1 Hard% in the minors. His 24.8 K% at Double-A and Triple-A was fine for a 22-year-old slugger who also walked at an 11.7% clip. Hitting the ball hard and controlling the strike zone are major parts of the success equation for a 6-foot-3, 210-pound lefty slugger. The big question is whether he can get the ball in the air enough to maximize his power. When factoring in context, easily his best run as a pro was the 89 games he played last year at Double-A (160 wRC+), but that was also the only time he has logged a groundball rate below 51% (42.6%) above rookie ball. That run at Double-A accounted for 84% of his season, so we shouldn't read too much into his groundball rate spiking again at Triple-A and the majors, but it's undoubtedly the biggest stat to track with Baty in 2023. He tore a ligament in his right thumb at the end of August but should be ready for spring training. Eduardo Escobar is the incumbent at the hot corner, but between designated hitter (for Baty and Daniel Vogelbach) and second base (for Escobar and Luis Guillorme), there should be regular playing time available if he performs.