Since the retirement of David Wright, the search for finding the next third baseman of the future for the New York Mets has been seemingly going on for years. The search may finally be coming to an end.
For the last several years, the third baseman of the future was supposed to be Brett Baty. Starting in 2020, he was the Mets’ third baseman ranked in the top 100, coming in at #92 by MLB. By 2022, he was a top 40 prospect by Baseball America, MLB and Baseball Prospectus.
Baty saw 11 games of action with the Mets in 2022 before playing in 108 games last season and 50 games this season. But he has never quite adjusted to the MLB level and has a career slash line of .215/.282/.325 with 15 homes and 55 RBI in 169 career games.
With Baty struggling to maintain a hold of the Mets’ third base job, Mark Vientos is not. Like Baty, Vientos debuted in 2022. Like Baty, he struggled in his brief time with the club that season and struggled again in 2023. But unlike Baty, Vientos has made the adjustments needed to succeed at this level and is proving to be an up-and-coming dynasty player.
Career Stats
| YEAR | G | AB | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 16 | 36 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .167 | .268 | .278 |
| 2023 | 65 | 218 | 9 | 22 | 1 | .211 | .253 | .367 |
| 2024 | 73 | 262 | 19 | 48 | 0 | .275 | .333 | .557 |
| CAREER | 154 | 516 | 29 | 73 | 1 | .240 | .295 | .457 |
While Mark Vientos has never cracked a top 100 prospect list, the Mets have been high on him since selecting him in the second round of the 2019 draft out of Plantation Heritage High School in Florida. The reason they drafted him was due to the power he showed.
That power finally showed up in 2021 when he hit 25 homers and slugged .581 in 83 games between Double-A and Triple-A. The power display was no fluke as he added 24 homers with 72 RBI and a .519 SLG in 101 games at Triple-A in 2022, earning a September promotion to the Mets.
Last year, in only 61 games, he hit 16 homers, drove in 50 runs, and slugged .612 in 61 games.
The Mets began the season with Baty starting at third base. But he struggled at the plate and by June he was back in the minors. Since then, Vientos has seized his opportunity to become the everyday third baseman.
2024 Splits
| MONTH | G | AB | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| April | 3 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .429 | .429 | .857 |
| May | 12 | 42 | 2 | 6 | 0 | .310 | .370 | .548 |
| June | 23 | 83 | 7 | 17 | 0 | .265 | .333 | .554 |
| July | 25 | 100 | 6 | 17 | 0 | .283 | .330 | .554 |
| August | 10 | 38 | 3 | 6 | 0 | .211 | .286 | .526 |
While Baty was struggling with the Mets, Mark Vientos got off to another solid start in Triple-A. In 31 games he slashed .285/.376/.500 with six homers and 30 RBI. By the end of April, the Mets recalled him from the minors and he appeared in three games. He then was sent back down before coming back on May 15 and has basically been a mainstay in the lineup since. And for good reason.
Since May 15, Vientos has appeared in 70 games, slashing .271/.331/.549 with 18 home runs and 46 RBI. For the season, his xSLG ranks in the 89th percentile, which ranks second on the team behind Francisco Lindor. His Barrel% ranks first on the team and is in the 96th percentile. If Vientos had enough at-bats to qualify in the league leaders, his .557 SLG would tie him with Vlad Guerro in all of MLB.
The Tools
Mark Vientos isn’t a horrible hitter. His career average and on-base percentage in the minors is .277 and .349 with a 24.5% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate. His career numbers with the Mets are .240/.295 with a 27.5% strikeout rate and 6.8% walk rate. This season, however, his average and OBP are closer to his minor league career numbers (.275/.333) with a 25% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate.
Vientos does need to improve his strikeout rate and make more contact when he swings. His strikeout rate ranks in the 29th percentile while his Whiff% is horrid at 32.5%, ranking in the 8th percentile. His 31.2% chase rate ranks in the 31st percentile. So he has a lot of room for improvement in that area.
If you are expecting Vientos is be a .300 hitter then you will be disappointed. That is just not going to happen. But he is not going to kill you with a poor batting average or OBP. And the reason to want Vientos is not due to his hitting skills, it is due to what he can do when he hits the ball.
When he hits the ball, he hits it hard. His average EV this season is 91 mph, nearly three mph higher than the MLB average, and ranks in the 79th percentile. For his career, it is 9137 mph. His Hard Hit% ranks in the 78th percentile. Basically, when it comes to hitting the ball hard, Vientos can do that and do it often.
He had a spell in the minors when he was grounding out too much, but this season with the Mets he has a ground ball percentage of 44.8%, just above the MLB average of 42.3%. With fewer ground balls, Vientos has been able to tap more into his power as seen by his 6.6% home run rate.
Speed? What speed? All you need to know about Vientos and speed is the fact the two do not go hand-in-hand. Vientos is not going to steal bases for the Mets and thus he is not going to steal bases for you.
The Future
The Mets have tried to move Mark Vientos around the field during his time in the minors, appearing in games in left field, shortstop, first base as well as third base. But with the Mets he has basically been a third baseman, appearing in 70 games there this season with only four appearances at first base and no games in the outfield or shortstop.
If he had a bit more versatility he would have added value. But even if he is only going to be a third baseman, he has value. That is because Vientos can hit the ball out of the park on a consistent basis. Every dynasty player is looking for players with power as they help in so many scoring categories (runs scored, HR, RBI, SLG, OPS, etc, etc., etc.).
Perhaps his future will be DH and not even at third. Who cares? Is anyone complaining about Shohei Ohtani being only a DH (I know, bad comparison, but you get the point). I wasn’t sold on Vientos last season as I remember turning down a trade that included him. That wasn’t my best moment.
But I am sold on Vientos now. Others, however, appear to still be on the fence about him. Vientos is rostered in only 50% of Yahoo leagues and 19% of ESPN leagues. That is just silly. His seven homers in June and six in July should have led to him being rostered in more leagues, whether they are re-draft leagues or dynasty league or whatever.
If you can, go add Vientos now.
