Mark Vientos. Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets are in a position where they need to move forward without Pete Alonso. Their best hitter is still at least 2 1/2 weeks away from returning after suffering a bone bruise and a left wrist sprain last Wednesday. His absence opens up playing time for a few different position players, most notably Mark Vientos. The 23-year-old has shown flashes of quality with the bat, but Buck Showalter seems hesitant to rely on the young slugger in big moments.

Sunday’s 2-1 loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates provides a perfect example. The Mets, down by one going into the top of the eighth inning, needed someone to spark a rally. Vientos was set to lead off, but Showalter opted to use Luis Guillorme as a pinch hitter instead. The decision did not pay off, as Guillorme struck out on a pitch violation.

Vientos is slashing .167/.200/.238 with one home run, five runs batted in, and -0.5 WAR in 45 plate appearances. While his stats may look alarming on the surface, he has hit the ball hard in many of his at-bats. Vientos has a hard-hit rate of 60 percent according to MLB’s Statcast. He has a .271 expected batting average and a .479 expected slugging percentage. It is pretty clear that he has the potential to do damage, but he has been given very few opportunities to be in the lineup.

Without Alonso, the Mets need someone to provide the power in the lineup. Francisco Álvarez has certainly brought that to the table, but so can Vientos. If Showalter is willing to give him more opportunities, he may be able to show more of the power he had in Triple-A Syracuse earlier this season. Otherwise, it will be difficult to expect Vientos to make much of an impact with little to no rhythm, starting two or three games a week.

Then again, it took Showalter a while to start playing both Álvarez and Brett Baty. Perhaps it will take one or two big moments from Vientos for his manager to show more faith in him. At that point, like the other baby Mets, maybe Vientos can start adjusting to the big-league level and hone his raw power.