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There was not a lot to be happy about regarding the New York Mets on Saturday evening. New York loss 10-4 in Oakland against the lowly Athletics as their ace, and arguably the best pitcher in baseball (Jacob deGrom), made his worst start since 2019. Furthermore, to make matters worse, the Atlanta Braves defeated the Phillies. So, the Mets’ division lead trimmed back down to just 1.5 games. Though, in all this there was at least one bright spot. That being rookie Mark Vientos.

Vientos, the Mets’ seventh ranked prospect, was renowned for his power prior to his callup. Evidence of this reported power is his 25 minor-league home runs in 2021 and 24 more at the Triple-A level this year before his promotion. The Mets finally got to see the power that led to the 49 long balls the past two seasons during Saturday afternoon’s contest.

Vientos launched a 394-foot shot to right field that came 106 MPH off the bat. He squared up a 3-1 fastball that caught way too much of the plate and made no mistake in launching it over the fence in the second inning. It was only a matter of time before the American connected on his first career home run given all the power he possesses.

At the time, it was a huge home run for the Mets. It tied the game back up and gave New York some hope. Ultimately, despite the outcome of the game, the most important aspect of the home run is it might just signify Vientos is getting comfortable at the major-league level. This resulting in him potentially becoming a consistent force moving forward. Specifically, the home run, plus the other hit he registered in the game, marked his second and third hits in the 22-year-old’s last two games. Vientos has also walked at least once in his past three contests, which is very encouraging.

The beginning of Vientos’ major-league tenure did not get off on the best foot. He started his career 0-for-10, then found himself in another dry spell before breaking out the past two games. Given the prolonged struggles of Darin Ruf, the Mets desperately need a right-handed bat to emerge and take hold of the designated hitter role when the Mets face left-handed pitching.

Is this just the start of the power-hitting Vientos emerging and grabbing the much-needed role mentioned above? Can he build on his most recent performances? The Mets certainly hope so, as the team is quickly bearing down on what hopes to be a deep October run. Vientos’ emergence, and potential power hitting, would go a long way in ensuring the Mets’ October stay is a longer one.