Mets Moves: Baty Signs; Pounders Brought In From Cleveland

Citi Field and the famous Apple. Photo by Jason Schott.

On Saturday, the Mets signed their 2019 first-round draft pick, third baseman Brett Baty, and acquired right-handed pitcher Brooks Pounders from the Cleveland Indians for cash considerations in the hopes he can help their bullpen.


The 12th overall pick in the first round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft, Baty, hit .608 (59-97) with 19 homers, 50 RBI and 63 runs scored in 38 games for Lake Travis High School (Texas) this year.
The infielder was just one of two high school players to be named to the 2019 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List. Baty was also named a 2019 Perfect Game Preseason All-American, to the 2019 Perfect Game Preseason Texas All-Region First Team, was a 2017 and 2018 Perfect Game Preseason Underclassmen All-American as well as a two-time Texas District 25-6A Most Valuable Player.
Baty, 19, was ranked as the 15th-best prospect on the Baseball America 500 list. Among high school players, Baseball America ranked him as the second-best player in terms of power, third-best hitter and as having the third-best strike-zone judgment. He ranked as the 17th-best overall prospect according to MLBPipeline.com.
The third baseman was named the 2017-2018 Gatorade Texas Baseball Player of the Year. This came after batting.435 (37-85) with 12 home runs, 27 RBI and 43 runs scored, a .953 slugging percentage and a .622 on-base percentage. In addition, he went 4-0 with a 1.35 ERA on the mound, fanning 38 batters against just 13 walks and 16 hits over 33.1 innings pitched.

Pounders will be added to the major league roster Saturday night. In a corresponding move, right-handed pitcher Tim Peterson has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. Pounders will wear #46.
Pounders, 28, has appeared in 24 games with Triple-A Columbus this year, going 2-1 with one save and a 2.31 ERA (nine earned runs/35.0 innings) with 11 walks and 46 strikeouts. Opponents were hitting .161 against him. He has appeared in 38 career major league games with the Royals, Angels and Rockies going 3-2 with an 8.92 ERA (38 earned runs/38.1 innings) with 10 walks and 42 strikeouts.
The 6-5, 265-pounder signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians before the season. He was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft out of Temecula Valley High School in California.