Mark Vientos — Simplified Power, Compact Efficiency
Here is a continuation of Hitter Swing Analysis based on the framework used to diagnose Francisco Alvarez.
Summary Swing Diagnosis
Mark Vientos swing is short, direct, and rotationally efficient, producing real bat speed from efficient sequencing. His primary developmental challenge is plate coverage and spin recognition, not swing efficiency.
Biomechanical Traits
Component | Assessment | Notes | Implication |
Kinetic Chain | Connected | Lower-half drives rotation; efficient energy transfer. | Stable sequencing foundation; allows consistent power generation without major swing reconstruction. |
Lower-Body Usage | Strong | Generates torque through anchored back leg; good coil-release. | Power will translate reliably as he faces higher velocity; efficiency supports long-term durability. |
Sequencing | Solid | Hands fire in sync with hips; efficient “whip” from barrel slot. | Maintains bat speed under timing pressure; enables compact power and repeatable contact. |
Contact Plane | Steep-to- neutral | Generates lift naturally; HR trajectory without overswinging. | Natural power profile suited for middle-of-order role; must manage launch angle consistency to avoid pop-ups. |
Pitch Recognition | Below-average | Struggles with secondary pitch recognition (spin deception). | Limits on-base value and contact rate; improved pitch ID could unlock 25–30 HR consistency. |
Zone Coverage | Limited | Can be pitched to up-and-away; discipline inconsistent. | Needs expanded plate awareness and zone adjustability to sustain power against elite pitching. |
Development Path
Focus less on swing change, more on approach refinement:
Swing itself requires minor tuning, not overhaul — e.g., controlled launch, directional barrel control.
Model comps: Rhys Hoskins / Teoscar Hernández type — rotational strength, power-first, adequate hit tool.
His biggest issue is between his ears. Be more ferocious.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't mind Hernandez, but if his trajectory is Rhys Hopkins forget about it and trade him now.
ReplyDeleteI am so sick of 30 HR, 180 strikeout guys. Hopkins is also a well below average fielder.
Vientos has been totally mismanaged by the Mets. Other than a strong arm, he is a liability in the field. He should be our full time DH, and hopefully become our Yordan Alvarez. Let him just concentrate on hitting. Mauricio and Baty can handle 2B and 3B. If I can’t get Bellinger or Robert I would sign Bader and do my best to trade Nimmo and McNeil using Cohen money to soften the blow of their contracts. I would make this a punt year getting the best free agent pitcher(s) I can get and wait for 1927 to sign Skubal rather than decimate the minor leagues
ReplyDeleteI mostly agree on Vientos re: swing mechanics. And in this regard significantly different and better than Alvarez. But there are issues in his mechanics that I can explain. I will try to do so briefly. There are two of them, the interconnection of which make him doubly vulnerable: that is, he is vulnerable to high pitches in the zone with heat and anything down and away with curve or slider movement. The two problems are: steep swing path; too quick pressure shift from lead toes to heel when he moves laterally. Steep swings make one vulnerable to anything up in the zone. Early pressure shift increases rotation but makes one vulnerable to wiping and missing pitches on the outside of the zone. Almost all pull hitters have a lateral shift that correctly lands them on the balls of their front foot or even their big toe but they quickly move that pressue to the heel to open themselves up.. Judge's swing coach changed his initial move to drop his club more in the slot shallowing the path. That's one way of correcting for steep swing path. But not what I would recommend for ordinary mortals and still does nothing to help potential vulnerabilities down and away. The way to deal with both issues that Vientos faces is the following: in any lateral move (first part of kinetic sequence) pressure is shifted from trail heel to lead toe. The extent of pelvic rotation and the speed with which it occurs and when it occurs depends largely on how quickly the pressure is shifted from the front toes/ball of foot to the heel.. The great benefit of drills that keep ones body down and in prior to moving around and up (rotation then vertical) is that it naturally shallows the swing while increasing plate coverage. Strangely, more hitters with these issues (and there a lot of them in part as a consequence of the value put on home runs) might want to look at films of Vlad Guerrero SR. who would not only swing at pitches all over the place but make contact with them at a high rate. The goal is not to emulate what he did, but to try to learn how you can gain so much coverage while maintaining power all over the field. To me Vientos is far from a lost cause. He is quick and direct to the ball in sequence, like, Jim Rice, for example, but getting his pressure shift better in a way that keeps him down and in longer will both shallow his swing and improve his plate coverage dramatically. If anyone wants to see how these drills can shallow swing path and get good rotation but not too early or too much and improving contact dramatically in the context of golf where all of these issues also come up -- even among pro level players I can post golf videos Of course there are ways in which the golf swing and the baseball swing differ, but from a mechanics point of view -- a body movement and sequencing point of view -- all sports you play on the side of the ball (tennis, golf, baseball and more) are bound to share a lot in commom. After all, they share three things; feet on the ground; hands on the tool; and playing from the side. And they share goals: making solid contact first, fluidity, and recognition and reaction, controling ball flight.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Judge and many other players see hitting coaches outside the team should make one wonder why there is a problem with a team having two coaches/voices. There's nothing inherently problematic about that at all. And as far as most diagnosis goes, the best diagnosis in sports relies on eyes and ears not on machines. Machines are useful in confirming what you see or hear (ball flight and quality of contact). And the best test of success or failure of change is judged by outcomes on the field, the court or the course, not on a machine.
ReplyDeleteOnly other thing I will say about how to improve a player's ability is by understanding why they face the problem they do which is invariably something at an earlier point in their movement pattern. You have to determine what that is and change that aspect of the movement pattern to incentivize different effects In Vientos case, I am positing the cause of his difficulty with making contact with high pitches that RVH mentions is the steep path. Judge's coach changed the first movement in his motion to a kind of ulner deviation which lowered the bat barrel into the slot, creating a shallower swing path. Vientos' other problem is his swing and misses at anything with down and out movement at the edge of the zone and out. My hypothesis is that this is the result of an early pressure shift from lead toe to heel post lateral movement, a shift common to many pull hitters. While you can work on both issues separately my hypothesis is that there is one set of drills that will provide potential solutions to both problems; Drills that keep him in and down a fraction longer. Once he does these correctly his swing will be naturally shallower and he won't be coming out and up prematurely which will help him increase his plate coverage. Once that is in place, he will have more confidence as a hitter and working on pitch recognition will be most fruitful. And with that (with work of course) will come the confidence, even when he is fooled (as all hitters are from time to time) that he can waste the pitch that used to defeat him entirely.