To the delight of fans, the Mets are playing the kids.

Rookies Brett Baty and Francisco Alvarez have been locked in as key players and for the most part find themselves on the lineup card on a nightly basis for the Mets. However, handing MLB responsibilities to rookies requires plenty of patience.

Although Alvarez has made the adjustment from Triple-A to the big leagues seem smooth — .810 OPS in 46 games — Baty is experiencing his first extended stretch of struggles. The 23-year-old is slashing .188/.264/.234 since May 23 and has not hit a homer since May 19.

“Nobody knows [if he’ll be OK in the big leagues] for sure,” said Buck Showalter prior to Saturday’s game against the Cardinals. “I could sit up here and smugly say I got it all figured it out and you know exactly what somebody’s going to do…

“It’s part of it, [rookies] are all going to have some failure up here… Even veteran guys. We can’t just wave around in the wind and every time there’s not a good couple of days just throw him to the side. It’s hard.”

Showalter has plenty of experience dealing with young players during his 22-year career as a manager in the big leagues. Watching a rookie struggle is not foreign to him, neither is watching a player figure it out in their late 20s.

However, from what the skipper has seen from Baty, he believes it won’t take all that long for him to get the ball rolling.

“We’ve had enough experience — especially with younger players and guys with a track record — with what ends up happening. They seek their level,” Showalter said. “I’m confident in the fact that Brett’s going to seek his level competitively and prepare and be ready.

“Some guys, you wonder, are they going to be 28 or 29 before the light goes off? I don’t think Brett’s going to be one of those guys. I think he’s going to be as good as he’s capable of being.

“The level of pitching up here is so different.”

Baty entered the season as the Mets’ No. 2 prospect behind Alvarez. The third baseman got a first taste of the major leagues in 2022 playing 11 games — .184/.244/.342 — before his season came to an end due to a thumb injury.

Now, the Texas native has a stronghold at the hot corner for the Mets and they seem to be prepared to ride out the struggles of his rookie season.

Francisco Lindor was not in the lineup on Saturday due to the birth of his second child — a baby girl. The shortstop has played in every single game this season and even fought to play Saturday, however, Showalter shut him down.

“He wants to play,” said Showalter. “[I didn’t think] it was a good idea. He was up most of the night. Everybody seems to be doing well. He wanted to play. This guy, he is a postup guy. He wants to play, set an example every day, he wants to be there for his teammates.

“He was not particularly happy about not playing today.”

Showalter added that he expects Lindor to be available off the bench Saturday and may not need to go on the paternity list.

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