This young New York Mets hitter is having an outstanding season and is playing a major role in the team’s resurgence.
Third baseman Mark Vientos is a rising star and has taken full advantage of his regular batting opportunities in the starting lineup since being recalled on May 15. Vientos has started 36 games at third base and three games at first base during that span.
The 24-year-old right-hander hit another home run against the Houston Astros on Saturday in the Mets’ 9-6 loss at Citi Field. Vientos hit a two-run bomb off a sinker by Astros starter Framber Valdez in the third inning, smashing the ball 429 feet into center field at 109 mph.
Vientos has 10 home runs, 23 RBI, a .297 batting average and a .933 OPS in 128 at-bats this season. Vientos has hit four home runs in his last seven games, including a streak of three consecutive home runs in three consecutive at-bats against the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees. His two home runs on Tuesday came against the Yankees’ reigning AL CY Young winner, Gerrit Cole.
Vientos has had to fight through a lot of adversity to get to this point. He has been demoted five times since his MLB debut on September 11, 2022. There were concerns about his defense and the Mets had trouble finding a position for him with third baseman Brett Baty also on the roster. The signing of designated hitter JD Martinez this offseason also displaced Vientos.
Vientos was drafted by the Mets in the second round of the 2017 MLB Draft out of American Heritage High School in Plantation, Florida. Vientos was the Mets’ fourth-best prospect on the MLB Pipeline in 2022.
The young man has a good chance of becoming a permanent third baseman for the Mets in the coming years and of being one of the team’s promising young players.
