The New York Mets offense needed a spark and Mark Vientos provided it.
Vientos, the organization's No. 7 prospect, was called up on Wednesday and paid immediate dividends, hitting a game-tying, two-run homer in the seventh inning against the Tampa Bay Rays.
You can watch it below: It came on a hanging slider from reliever Ryan Thompson.
He was drafted in the second round of the 2017 draft. This was his second career homer, as he hit one in limited call-up action in 2022.
For more on Vientos, here's a portion of his MLB.com profile:
Vientos was only 17 when the Mets selected him in the second round of the 2017 Draft, and after a few years of buildup (including the lost 2020 season), he broke out in a big way with 25 homers, a .581 slugging percentage and .933 OPS in 83 games between Double-A and Triple-A in 2021. He continued to show plus pop in Syracuse last season with 24 blasts in 101 games and debuted for the Mets in September, when they were in dire need of righty designated hitter options. He went just 6-for-36 (.167) during that span and didn’t crack the club’s Wild Card roster.
The slugger is capable of exhibiting at least plus raw power with exit velocities going above 110 mph, and his 45.8 percent hard-hit rate was about equal to Pete Alonso’s in the Majors, albeit over a much smaller sample. That said, Vientos started putting the ball on the ground more than ever in 2022 -- 48.4 percent of the time, 14th-highest among 107 Triple-A qualifiers -- and his power comes more from natural strength than bat speed, calling into question how he’ll handle big league arms.
Like Brett Baty, the Mets have tried moving Vientos around from third base to left field, hoping his plus arm could give some defensive value at either spot.
Entering play on Wednesday, the Mets were a disappointing 20-23, had lost two straight, and are in fourth place in the National League East. Offensively, they are 21st in runs scored, 20th in hits, 24th in doubles, 20th in home runs and 19th in batting average.
They are currently tied with the Rays 2-2 after the Vientos blast.
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