Looking for offense, the Mets call up a top candidate
The news
The Mets have called up Mark Vientos, a powerful infielder considered by MLB.com to be the team’s sixth best prospect in the minors.
Vientos, 23, batted .333 with 13 home runs, 37 runs batted in and a 1,104 on-base plus slugging percentage in 38 games for Class AAA Syracuse this season – he was 2 for 5 with a home run in last night’s loss.
He has experience on first base, third base, and outfield, but getting his bat into the lineup would be the easiest way as a designated hitter, where he could join this season’s other rookies, catcher Francisco Álvarez and third baseman Brett Baty, as hopeful signs of the Mets’ future.
Why it matters
Expectations were sky-high for the Mets post-season with last year’s 101 wins and an off-season spending spree that saw Steven A. Cohen, the team’s billionaire owner, push the payroll to nearly $350 million, bringing even more go down the road thanks to Major League Baseball’s multi-tiered luxury tax system.
Almost nothing has gone right so far. The team lost to the Tampa Bay Rays, 8-5, on Tuesday, dropping their record to 20-23 – six and a half games behind Atlanta in the National League East. They are also a game and a half behind the Miami Marlins for the NL’s third wild card spot.
While the Mets’ main problem was throwing, with their starters having a combined 5.46 ERA, offense was also a problem. The team ranks 19th in OPS – a measurement that reflects both the team’s ability to get on base (on-base percentage) and to hit for power (slugging percentage) – 21st in runs and tied on ranked 20th in home runs.
The team’s most valuable hitters this season were first baseman Pete Alonso (13 home runs) and center fielder Brandon Nimmo (.830 OPS), but even they played somewhat below expectations. Vientos could theoretically provide a spark, especially compared to the team’s most used option among his reserves, outfielder Tommy Pham, who hit .188 in 81 at bats.
Moving forward
Vientos was just 17 in 2017 when the Mets picked him in the second round from American Heritage High School in Plantation, Fla. one home run and 12 strikeouts. But he absolutely crushed the ball in the high minors. In 150 AAA-grade games for parts of the past three seasons, he hit .294 with 40 home runs and a .566 slugging percentage.
A below-average runner, he hasn’t shown much promise defensively, which limits his overall value, and his best position will most likely be first base, which the Mets hope will be occupied by Alonso for years to come.
Vientos has the potential, at least in the short term, to free up regular playing time at DH or in the outfield, which would mean the Mets rely on three minimum-wage rookies despite having the highest payroll in MLB history .
Neither Baty, who was similarly called up to Vientos last season to suffer a season-ending injury, nor Álvarez have been particularly impressive with their bats, but both have held their own defensively in difficult positions, helping them in the setup. Vientos will have to justify his selection spot with his bat.
Outside of Vientos, Ronny Mauricio, the top prospect in the Mets system, in terms of major league readiness, is a shortstop who hits .354 with seven home runs for Syracuse.