Paul Articulates – The rise of Mark Vientos

Mark Vientos was one of the “Baby Mets” that were touted prospects having strong seasons in the minor leagues in 2022.  Baty, then Alvarez, then Vientos got their call-ups that season to show what they could do.  None of them fared particularly well, although Baty’s first at-bat was a home run.  But it was important to get them an introduction to the major leagues.  

In 2023, the expectation was that they would see a lot more action, and mature as players.  Baty and Alvarez got their time, but strangely and to the dismay of the many people who follow the Mets, Vientos rode the bench much more than he played.  The 2023 season was a disaster for the team, so there was very little reason to hold the rookie back from a chance to prove himself but it didn’t happen.  Vientos played in half the games that Baty did and many less than Alvarez who spent time on the IL.

After a good spring training in 2024 where he posted a .795 OPS, everyone thought he would go north with the Mets.  Instead, after the Mets made a surprising last minute acquisition of JD Martinez to become the full-time DH, Vientos was sent back to AAA Syracuse.  He played very well there, posting a .878 OPS and was called up on April 27th, only to be sent back down again on April 30th.  

On the 15th of May Mark Vientos was called back to the big league club again to replace a struggling Brett Baty.  Vientos seized the chance, slashing .310/.370/.548 for the rest of May to make a statement that he belongs on the big league club.  In June, as an integral part of the Mets’ resurgence, Vientos has continued to show his value including a massive 451 foot homer to center field in Wrigley Park last night.

Mark has shown great determination and composure through the entire process.  He continued to work hard in the face of adversity because he knew that was the only way to prove his worth.  When he was sent to Syracuse right after the Martinez acquisition you could see the disappointment on his face during the interviews, but he did not bemoan the organization’s choice – he accepted the assignment and dug in.  There is no denying that he belongs on this team – his .870 OPS is tied with Martinez for the best on the Mets for players with over 100 at-bats this season.  With a team full of guys who have not shown much mental toughness during the adverse periods of the 2023 season and the first two months of this year, Vientos is proving to be the toughest.

It is not clear to me where Mark fits in the Mets’ future yet.  He certainly belongs in the lineup, but his fielding at 3B is adequate at best.  With Pete still at first and a talented outfield on the current team there are not a lot of places to go.  To Mark’s credit, his fielding is much improved over past efforts at third.  With all the uncertainty about what the roster will look like after the trade deadline, there are certainly going to be some opportunities that will arise but it is too early to speculate.

So for now, it is time to celebrate a fellow who has powered through much adversity as he chased his dream to be a valued member of a MLB roster.  It looks like he caught it.