Paul Articulates – My clear choice for the Mets’ third base position

Over the last couple of years, there have been several prospects with great promise vying for a spot on the Mets’ MLB roster.  Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio, and then later LuisAngel Acuna have all been discussed in numerous posts and thousands of comments as possible future Mets stars.  It is never easy to break into a MLB lineup, and even harder to stay there as a top performer.  All of these prospects have had their shots and each have had some successes and some failures in the process.

I have watched this competition unfold over the course of the 2023, 2024, and 2025 seasons.  Each of these prospects has spent enough time in the spotlight for us to see what they do well, what they can improve, and in some cases what they just don’t seem capable of.  The sample size is still small but not statistically insignificant.  The prospects are still young, but no longer baby faced just-out-of-high-school unknowns.  Now is their time because there is a pipeline of other talent that has not yet reached the MLB level that will be pushing them.  Think Jett Williams, Ryan Clifford, and Nick Morabito.

In my opinion, Mauricio has risen to the top and should be ordained as the starting third baseman on a regular basis.  The others are bench replacements, trade chips, or minor league re-builds.  I know that is a pretty strong statement and too dismissive of other talented rivals, but hear me out.

First, the real target here is third base.  Alonso and Lindor are untouchable stars at their positions right now and into the near future.  Jeff McNeil has shown great versatility playing many positions, but if there were a playoff game tomorrow he would be the starting second baseman.  So today’s argument solidifies those three in their positions and looks to see who fills the void at third.

Ronny Mauricio is 24 years old with 82 at-bats in MLB this year, slashing .244/.311/.427.  He had an eye-opening debut in 2023 where he showed speed, fielding ability, and a quick bat as a first-timer.  People had great expectations for what he would do in 2024 but unfortunately he was hurt in winter ball and lost the entire season plus the start of 2025 with a difficult recovery.  But since he has been back he picked up right where he left off.  That is a rare feat considering the ups and downs that other prospects have experienced.  Mauricio looks like he belongs at this level.  His natural shortstop instincts lead to great range and a strong arm, so he gets to more balls and makes the difficult throw better than the others at this position.  His bat speed and exit velocity are his most impressive skill.  Baseball Savant has his exit velocity in the “great” category, better than 91.7% of other major leaguers.  His K rate is improving as he learns the pitchers in this league and when you couple more contact with that exit velo you get exceptional power.  This is a guy you need to keep.  Mauricio has some improvement to do on defense as he has shown a higher than average error rate, but that may settle with time in position and experience on the field.  His range sometimes gets him to balls that do not provide a makeable throw.

Brett Baty – 25 years old with 210 at-bats in MLB this year, slashing .233/.285/.419.  Baty has earned quite a bit of playing time this season, showing very solid defense at third, adequate defense at second, and a streaky power bat.  With time on an MLB field in each of four seasons, Baty has had ample time to demonstrate what he can do.  His career slash line of .220/.283/.351 says it all.  He can play in the major leagues but he can’t star in the major leagues.  On a team that is trying to contend for championships on an annual basis, more is expected from the third base position.

Mark Vientos – 25 years old with 214 at-bats in MLB this year, slashing .210/.272/.341.  Mark had a fantastic year in 2024, hitting 27 home runs and logging an .8382 OPS.  He had several clutch hits during the Mets’ playoff run and made a name for himself as a player who can do some damage to opposing pitchers.  His defense has never been better than average, and even in his best days he is a candidate for late-inning defensive replacement.  Unfortunately that clutch power hitter has never returned this year.  In over 200 at-bats he has a meager 6 home runs.  He seems to be gravitating to his career averages of .235/.291/.427 which like Baty have been compiled over parts of four MLB seasons now.  At best he could be a Mets DH in the future, but his splits don’t support that as a full-time role.

LuisAngel Acuna – 23 years old with 145 at-bats in MLB this year, slashing .241/.293/.283.  I think that Acuna with his speed and defensive ability can be a game changer in the future, but that future is not now.  He is in Syracuse for a very specific reason right now – he needs to hit consistently.  Last year when he replaced an injured Francisco Lindor he showed tremendous promise as a hitter, base runner, and defender.  But that bat has not been there this season and he didn’t even hit well in AAA last year.  I think Acuna is a keeper, but think of him more as a replacement for McNeil when Jeff ages out.

As the Mets come to the end of the first half of this season and approach the trade deadline, the team needs to take a position on the team that has the best chance at getting them deep into the playoffs.  They cannot continue to rotate several players through two infield positions trying to figure out what works.  The player that gives them the best chance as an impact player at third is Ronny Mauricio.  Make the call, establish stability in the lineup, and gear up for the pennant race.