Mets' slugger gives candid response to inconsistent playing time

How Mark Vientos can improve down the stretch

Although Vientos has struggled throughout the year, he's still one of the Mets' most important players to the point that they're a significantly better team when he's on a hot streak.

New York's last two games were evident of this; Vientos crushed a three-run homer in Sunday's Little League Classic against the Seattle Mariners and a two-run shot against Washington on Tuesday. The Mets won both contests in convincing fashion, with the lineup totaling 15 runs.

It's clear that the 25-year-old has thunder in his bat. Last year, Vientos had an average exit velocity of 91.2 mph and a hard-hit rate of 46.6%, per Statcast. This year, he averages 90.8 mph off the bat with a 48.5% hard-hit rate, indicating that his power is still extremely threatening.

What Vientos needs to do is employ a more patient approach at the plate so he can put that power to use more often. In 2024, the young slugger had a 32.3% chase rate, a 34.4% whiff rate, and struck out in 29.7% of his plate appearances with a below average 7.3% walk rate. This overly aggressive approach was masked by a shockingly high BABIP (batting average on balls in play) of .324 last year, which was dramatically higher than his regular .266 clip; Vientos has been far less fortunate this year with a .279 BABIP.

The much lower BABIP has exposed this weakness for Vientos, as he still has high whiff (30.3%) and chase rates (32.3%). Even though his strikeout rate (23.3%) has improved, the slugger has a meager walk rate of 5.6%; amazingly, Vientos' walk in the seventh inning of Tuesday's game was only his second walk since May 25. With this tendency to chase pitches so often, this gives Vientos far fewer pitches to hit.

If Vientos can be more selective during his at-bats, he not only will get on base more often, but pitchers will be forced to throw him strikes. Given what the 25-year-old can do when he gets a strike, that would add a whole new layer to a Mets lineup that already features stars like Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, and more.

The Mets have seen first hand of what Vientos is capable of when he's hot at the plate, as he set a franchise record for RBI in a single postseason last year as New York made a stunning run to the NLCS. If the team wants to improve upon that run, then they need Vientos performing at the best of his ability; perhaps changing his hitting approach can get him back into the everyday lineup and allow the Mets to fire on all cylinders.