Mark Vientos Should Be Next New York Mets Call Up
The Mets currently have their No. 1 and No. 2 prospects at the MLB level in catcher Francisco Alvarez and third baseman Brett Baty.
The latter will be called up prior to New York's series in Los Angeles with the Dodgers after punishing baseballs at Triple-A Syracuse.
Baty became hard to ignore after he rocked five home runs and had a 1.386 OPS.
Infielder Mark Vientos might present a similar situation.
Vientos, 23, is hitting .346/.417/.692 with five home runs at Triple-A and could give the Mets even more pop in their lineup.
Currently, the Mets' lower half of the batting order is having trouble producing on offense.
Eduardo Escobar is hitting a dismal .125/.173/.229 on the year, but will likely be supplanted on a regular basis by Baty.
The catching position hasn't put together any kind of offense so far for the most part, but they are also leaning on Alvarez who is still just 21-years-old and Tomas Nido who is known more for his glove.
An area where Vientos can help, however, is at the designated hitter position.
Daniel Vogelbach, who has taken a majority of the reps at DH so far this year, has been getting on base at a strong clip so far this year (.387), but is hitting under the Mendoza line and has zero home runs.
Vientos, a right-handed hitter, could take some at bats from the position against southpaws while Vogelbach continues hitting against righties.
Of course, it would also allow the Mets to see if Vientos succeeds and if Vogelbach continues to struggle, could open the door for more playing time for Vientos.
New York has some flaws in their offense, especially at the back end of their roster.
Calling up Baty was a positive move, but the Mets need to keep the train rolling with Vientos.
Infielder Ronny Mauricio might also ultimately force New York's hand as the switch hitter has a 1.192 OPS so far this year at Triple-A.
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