Mets’ Rising Star Earns Massive Prediction That Will Fire Up Fans

The New York Mets stole most of the headlines during the MLB offseason when they signed Juan Soto to a massive $765 million contract that could reach over $800 million in incentives.

However, the Mets didn’t really do a whole lot else, which has many questioning if they are actually deep enough to make a legitimate playoff run in 2025.

New York will have to rely on some of its homegrown talent to make a serious push in the crowded National League field, and perhaps one of its most important players is third baseman Mark Vientos.

Vientos enjoyed a breakout campaign last year, slashing .266/.322/.516 with 27 home runs and 71 RBI over 454 plate appearances.

The 25-year-old will take center stage as one of the Mets’ most crucial hitters this season, and Josh Mayer of Rising Apple feels that Vientos will end up making his first All-Star appearance this summer. Why? Because the third base field in the NL is not exactly riveting.

“His competition will likely feature Braves’ Austin Riley, Padres’ Manny Machado, and Giants’ Matt Chapman,” Mayer wrote. “… Of course, whether or not Vientos can earn an All-Star bid against the NL third base competition is more reliant on his performance this season than anything else. There’s no guarantee that he can keep up his excellence from last year, but his development through the minor leagues and his Savant metrics are promising signs. If he can improve his whiff and walk rate, Vientos can be an even better hitter than he was last year.”

Vientos registered 135 strikeouts while walking just 33 times in 2024, so that is something that he absolutely must improve upon this season.

However, Vientos’ power numbers are clearly there, as evidenced by his sparkling .249 ISO. The Mets just have to hope last year wasn’t a fluke for the former second-round pick, as he owns a rather modest lifetime slash line of .243/.297/.454 across 728 big-league plate appearances.

New York will absolutely need other players outside of Soto and Francisco Lindor to step up in the coming months, as the NL East is not exactly a forgiving division.

We’ll see if Vientos can continue to build on what was a very impressive first “full” season in the majors last year.