The Mets are calling up prospect Mark Vientos, league sources confirmed to The Athletic on Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Through 38 games with Triple-A Syracuse this season, Vientos is batting .333 with 13 home runs and 37 RBIs.
- Vientos ranked No. 7 on The Athletic’s Keith Law’s top 20 Mets prospects list for 2023.
- Vientos has split time at third base and first base this season.
- A 2017 second-round pick by New York, Vientos made his MLB debut in September, recording his first hit in his fourth game.
The Mets are calling up Mark Vientos, as @JeffPassan first reported.
Vientos has always produced at Triple A with a .942 OPS and 40 home runs in 150 career games at the level.
— Will Sammon (@WillSammon) May 17, 2023
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
Why now?
Vientos has spent more than a year crushing the ball at Triple A, showcasing a type of power that the major-league roster severely lacks. Before they homered three times Tuesday, the Mets had gone more than 50 innings without a long ball — their longest drought since July 2015, the week before they both called up top prospect Michael Conforto and traded for Yoenis Céspedes.
Vientos, meanwhile, has 40 homers in 150 career Triple-A games. He’s mashed both lefties and righties this season and significantly lowered his strikeout rate. Buck Showalter talks often about how he wants to see minor leaguers master a level. Vientos has obviously mastered Triple A offensively. — Britton
How does he fit?
The Mets have been cautious to call up Vientos because of the lack of a clear role. His primary defensive positions are first base and third base; the Mets are covered at both. That leaves the DH spot for Vientos, along with Daniel Vogelbach and Tommy Pham. The club has repeatedly cited its affinity for Vogelbach’s on-base prowess, even as the power hasn’t followed, and it has liked Pham’s exit velocities, even without on-field results.
Vientos wouldn’t be called up if he wasn’t going to at least see the short side of the DH platoon, with starts against lefties. His success this season against righties — a .327 average, .415 on-base percentage and outrageous .690 slugging — mean the Mets could just give him run as the everyday DH to see how it works. — Britton
Scouting report
Vientos makes very hard contact that should lead to 20-30 homers a year in the majors depending on how much he’s able to put the ball in play, as he’s been a high-whiff guy in Triple A, especially on pitches in the zone that he should hit. It’s possible cutting down on the strikeouts will cost him power and this is just what he is: a low-OBP, high-power guy who can sort of handle third but would be better at first. — Law
Required reading
(Photo: Rhona Wise / USA Today)
