Mark Vientos, Photo by Richard Nelson

Jeff Passan of ESPN reports the New York Mets are calling up Mark Vientos to the majors. Vientos, 23, has been destroying the ball down in Triple-A this season, hitting .333/.416/.688 with 11 doubles, 13 homers, and 37 RBI.

Vientos’ early season power surge has been nothing like we have seen in his career. Typically, he’s been a slow starter, but he jumped right out of the gate this season posting a 167 wRC+. Behind these numbers are some very promising signs of progress from the young slugger.

He has significantly cut down on his strikeouts, going from 28.6% in Triple-A last season to 20.5% this year. With more contact, Vientos is doing much more damage at the plate. Vientos is routinely hitting the ball in excess of 100 MPH, and we have seen him post higher exit velocities in the minors than Pete Alonso once did.

Power has always been a given for Vientos. The issue for him has always been defense. His play at third base has been improved, but Brett Baty has been a better defender. Vientos is not going to supplant Pete Alonso at first. Seeing Vientos in the outfield in 2021 led to the Mets abandoning that plan.

Wherever he plays with the Mets, they will need his power bat in the lineup. When Baty homered against the Tampa Bay Rays, it snapped a 56-inning homerless streak for the Mets offense. While attention has been paid to the pitching rotation, the lack of power has been an issue for the Mets offense.

As a team, the Mets rank in the bottom third in homers, and they have the third-worst ISO and SLG in the National League. They also have the fourth-fewest doubles in the league. Overall, they’ve scored the fifth fewest runs in the National League. The end result has been a 20-23 record to start the season.

While many will warn not to make a prospect a savior, the Mets are in a position where they need more power in the lineup. At the moment, no one in the Mets organization is hitting for more power than Vientos. His addition to the lineup promises to add more thunder to the lineup, which will hopefully equate to more wins.