Mark Vientos Thrives In Chance Against Right-Hander
It has been a week since the New York Mets decided to recall Mark Vientos back up to the big leagues. Even though the decision has not led to many wins for the organization, the team did something different on Tuesday to try to mix things up. Even though the Cleveland Guardians were starting a right-hander in Xzavion Curry, they decided to start Vientos at third base instead of Brett Baty.
Vientos got the scoring started for the Mets Tuesday in the top of the fifth when he hit a solo home run to center that went 430 feet and went 111 miles-per-hour off the bat to cut the then Cleveland lead to 3-1.
Starting against a righty over Brett Baty, Mark Vientos crushed one to center for his second homer of the year. pic.twitter.com/Al3STw1nws
— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) May 21, 2024
One inning later, Vientos kept that success going against a lefty in Sam Hentges when he doubled to center to begin a two-out rally. He would come around to score on a two-run home run by Jeff McNeil that cut New York’s deficit to one.
When you look at some of Vientos’s numbers, he tends to hit the ball on the ground a good amount against right-handers, which makes the home run against Curry stand out more. According to FanGraphs, he hits a groundball 66.7% of the time against righties in 11 at-bats. Meanwhile, his line drive percentage facing a right-hander (11.1%) than a left-hander (9.1%).
After the loss, Vientos told the media what has been the key to his success in the big leagues this week.
“Just trying to simplify things, not do too much up there, get my pitch and drive it. It all starts with the cage work, your routine, and your plan and I feel like we have been doing a good job talking about our approach and our plan.”
Since returning to the majors, Vientos is 6-for-18 with three doubles, a home run, three RBIs, a .400 on-base percentage, and a .667 slugging percentage. To put the small sample size in perspective, the third baseman has the fourth-most hits of any player on the Mets in May. In addition, he has the highest on-base percentage and .OPS (1.067).
Meanwhile, the struggles for Baty have continued over the past week. Over his last four games, he is 2-for-10 with a double, two RBIs, and four strikeouts. His 22 strikeouts are the most on the team this month and tied for the ninth-most in the National League.
Photo Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
As the Mets continue to experience offensive malaise and try different lineup combinations, they have to consider playing the hot hand at certain spots in hopes that a player can carry them for a week or two.
If the third base spot is truly a competition and not just a platoon between Vientos and Baty, then a tough decision might have to be made to sacrifice the defense that Baty brings in favor of the power potential Vientos has shown.
That’s not to say Baty can’t make the changes to his swing and bounce back, but the Mets right now need wins and their offense has to find a way to generate more consistency to help their pitching staff which has the fourth-highest ERA in the NL this month (4.86) and are one of eight NL teams to allow 20+ home runs.
Vientos isn’t going to be the player that fixes the offense long-term, but if he is the reason the Mets can pick up a couple of wins as they head into a long ten-game homestand against the Giants, Dodgers, and Diamondbacks, then that might help get the season on the right track.
The post Mark Vientos Thrives In Chance Against Right-Hander appeared first on Metsmerized Online.