Jesus Baez, Photo by Ed Delany of Mets Minors
The New York Mets inked then 16-year-old Jesus Baez to a $275,000 deal on January 15th, 2022. At that time, Baez was not considered one of the Mets’ prized bonuses, as he fell much lower than teammates Simon Juan and Willy Fanas — who received $1.9 and $1.5 million bonuses, respectively. However, fast forward over two years, and Baez has exceeded expectations by becoming the first player from the Mets’ 2022 International Signing Class to reach the club’s High-A Brooklyn Cyclones affiliate.
On June 24th, 2024, the Mets announced that the 19-year-old Baez was being promoted from Low-A St. Lucie to High-A Brooklyn. So far in 2024, Jesus Baez has played 64 games and logged 252 at-bats for the Mets’ Low-A Affiliate. During his time with Low-A St. Lucie, Baez slashed .262/.338/.782 with 10 home runs, 39 runs batted in, and 8 stolen bases. Prior to his call up, Baez’s 10 HR and 39 RBI both ranked second in the Florida Complex League, trailing Cincinnati’s Ariel Almonte in HR (13) and Detroit’s Max Clark in RBI (43). From a baseline perspective, Baez’s numbers may not jump off the page, however, some of the shortstop’s advanced data and metrics have both scouts and baseball nerds drooling.
Baez’s eye-catching advanced metrics so far in the 2024 season can be attributed to his improved approach and discipline at the plate. The right-handed batter’s main improvement has been his ability to take pitches to the opposite field. In his first two professional seasons, Baez pulled the ball 53.9% of the time and went to the opposite field just 23.6%. Now, in 2024, Baez has decreased his pull percentage to 48.8%, while increasing his opposite field usage to 29.2%. Baez’s increased usage of the opposite field is significant of his development as a hitter, specifically a better understanding of how to barrel breaking balls and offspeed pitches.
So far in 2024, Jesus Baez had faced breaking balls 37.7% of the time for a total of 346 pitches. Against breaking balls, Baez has a batting average of .295 while only whiffing 23.4% of the time. More impressively, against offspeed pitches, Baez had a batting average of .476 while only whiffing 23.8% of the time. Baez had only seen 93 offspeed pitches in 2024 — 10.1% of the total pitches that he has seen — however, the 19-year-old’s metrics are promising and speak to his improved recognition of breaking balls and offspeed pitches.
Baez struggled against fastballs in the Florida State Leauge, with pitchers throwing the shortstop the pitch 52.1% of the time. Baez has posted a .204 batting average against fastballs, and only connected with them for 4 of his 10 home runs. The other 6 of Baez’s 10 home runs came against breaking balls and offspeed pitches — both of which the 19-year-old tends to crush.
In addition to his newfound approach and use of the opposite field in 2024, Jesus Baez also posted some of the best exit velocities in the Low-A Florida State League. This season, Baez ranked in the 90th percentile in exit velocity at 105.2 MPH, placing him at the top of Florida State League leaderboards. However, it will remain to be seen if Baez’s improved approach, batspeed, and raw power carry over to the High-A South Atlantic League Level. Baez will face higher spin rates and velocity on fastballs, offspeed, and breaking pitches at his new High-A level, so it will be interesting to see how the 19-year-old deals with the challenge.
Jesus Baez has truly put all of his tools on display so far in the 2024 season, emerging as a player to watch within the organization. Mets personnel must be thrilled with the shortstop’s progress so far in 2024. A strong finish to the campaign will likely land him a spot within the Mets Top 10 organizational prospects.
