Why Mets, Fans Shouldn't Hit Panic Button with Brett Baty, Francisco Álvarez

The Mets have their top two prospects at the MLB level, though neither have fully come into their own yet.

While neither player broke camp with the team out of Spring Training, third baseman Brett Baty and catcher Francisco Álvarez are on the Mets' roster before the beginning of May.

Baty and Álvarez both got cups of coffee with the Mets at the end of 2022, and going into this year, figured to be contributors at some point in the season.

The team's top two prospects are both here now after strong starts to the Triple-A season, though the results haven't quite been there yet.

Is it time for the Mets to be concerned? The short answer is no.

Let's start with Baty, who is realistically a bit closer to succeeding at the MLB level.

In Spring Training this year, the 23-year-old had a .325/.460/.425 triple slash with one home run and two stolen bases.

After starting the year at Syracuse, Baty lit up minor league pitching to the tune of a 1.386 OPS and had five homers in just nine games.

With Eduardo Escobar struggling at the hot corner for the big club, Baty was promoted to the show, but has logged a .511 OPS since making the leap.

Of course, some will see that and reach for the panic button, but it's been just six games.

For Álvarez, it's easy to forget that he's just 21-years-old and will be for the entirety of the season.

The former No. 1 prospect in all of baseball got the monkey off his back on Sunday in San Francisco when he hit his first home run of the year, but the results overall have been meager, as he has just a .407 OPS in eight games.

Of course, Álvarez likely wouldn't be up this soon if fellow catcher Omar Narváez hadn't endured an injury that is slated to keep him out for another several weeks.

Álvarez doesn't look ready yet, and maybe he isn't, but it's not time to worry about either player.

Some rookies come up and destroy the baseball and never look back. Some need time to get into a groove on baseball's biggest stage.

An example in recent history to look at is former Mets farmhand, Jarred Kelenic.

Only now, in his third year in the MLB, is the outfielder finally coming into his own after enduring growing pains in his first couple go arounds in the majors.

It's easy to want instant gratification, especially in the age of the internet, but in the grand scheme of things, these are 20-something-year-old kids and they still have growing to do -- and that's OK!

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