Mark Vientos’ 2025 season has been a huge disappointment following his breakout 2024. He looked down for the count and had rarely been used over the past couple of weeks. Sunday night, he rose again, leading the New York Mets to a 7-3 victory. Can he capitalize, and will Manager Carlos Mendoza let him?

2024 Breakout

Vientos, upon his 2024 mid-May call-up, became an immediate catalyst for the Mets’ offense. He helped spark New York’s turnaround from a dreadful 22-33 start to a storybook playoff run.

Vientos hit 27 home runs, knocked in 71 runs, and maintained a respectable .837 on-base plus slugging percentage. Throughout a full season, his stats projected to over 30 homers with 90 runs batted in.

Vientos saved his best for the playoffs. He hit .327 with five home runs, 14 RBIs, and eight runs scored, seemingly in the middle of all runs-scoring rallies. He especially feasted on the Philadelphia Phillies in the four-game NL Divisional Series, hitting over .500 with two HRs and five runs batted in.

Where Has Vientos Gone?

The Mets and their fan base banked on Vientos as a 2025 lineup staple. He has been anything but. The season has felt like one giant slump, and his poor fielding hasn’t helped his playing time. A lineup expected to be one of the best has floundered, especially with men on base.

Vientos is one of a quartet of hyped young bats, which includes Brett Baty, Francisco Alvarez, and Ronny Mauricio. All have gotten ample chances this season, none have capitalized. Vientos carried the most expectations due to his previous success.

Baseball is a humbling game; the best hitters fail seven out of ten times. Hotshot rookies can quickly become stumbling sophomores. Vientos is not the first to fail to follow up on a breakthrough season. Major league pitchers are skilled at adjusting and finding holes they can attack.

Vientos has slipped to a pedestrian .232 average with eight home runs and 36 runs knocked in. So clutch down last season’s stretch run, he has become the face of RISP failure. General Manager David Stearns believed enough in Vientos to hold onto him at the trade deadline despite multiple asks in deal discussions. Mendoza, though, hasn’t been hot to trot in playing Vientos.

Vientos, since Stearns decided not to ship him out, has mostly sat. His body language screamed with no confidence. Lack of playing time only made it worse. Vientos’s struggles have helped make New York’s bottom half of the lineup a black hole where runs go to die.

Baty has shown flashes and a better glove than Vientos, but can’t maintain consistency. He’s capable of a five-homer week, then disappearing for weeks straight. Mauricio displays considerable talent and the occasional big game, like his four-hit night in San Francisco. He also has a poor understanding of the strike zone, and slumps follow him.

Alvarez struggled mightily for months, was sent down to the minors, and found his stroke. He has hit well since coming back, but fans wonder when the next injury will occur.

Vientos Drives Win Over Mariners

Mendoza decided to play Vientos on Sunday night. Many of Mendoza’s managerial moves have been downright disasters over the last couple of months, but he got the Vientos lineup call right.

New York hasn’t won many a series lately; they especially haven’t beaten many good teams. On Sunday, they did both, keyed by Vientos and the other young bats. They faced George Kirby on a dominant stretch, having pitched six innings plus in each of his last four starts. He allowed only four runs in 25 innings during that period, striking out 31 while helping Seattle win all four.

The Mets jumped on Kirby early, scoring three runs in the second. Alvarez doubled home a run, Baty followed with a single to make the score 2-0, and Vientos hit a sacrifice fly to cap the three-run inning. New York hasn’t gotten production from multiple young bats simultaneously often.

Vientos led a four-run explosion in the fifth, more runs than the Mets have scored in many of their games during the summer collapse. He blasted a 385-foot HR over right field, scoring three runs and giving New York a firm grip on the game. Unlike a few nights ago against the Atlanta Braves, when they blew a 6-0 lead, the Mets held onto this one.

End Of My Mark Vientos Rant

Vientos is capable of extended hot stretches that can carry a lineup. He displayed this throughout last year’s playoffs. He needs playing time to make that happen and to find a consistent approach. Confidence has been an issue. Does Mendoza find value in trying to restore that? Can he afford to give Vientos the opportunity?

Fans have gotten restless over the last few weeks for good reason. New York fell into a 2-14 pit before the sparkling Nolan McLean debut Saturday afternoon. Mendoza’s baffling decisions played a big part in the Mets’ disintegration. He needs victories and likely doubts whether Vientos can help provide them.

Stearns failed to acquire impact hitting during the trade deadline, so New York doesn’t have many options to go to. It must have players find a spark within and turn around a stumbling offense. Owner Steve Cohen coined the quartet of Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, and Brandon Nimmo the Fab Four. Often this season, they have been anything but fabulous. Lately, they have started to heat up.

The Fab Four’s efforts to ignite the run scoring would be enhanced if the young bats come to play, too. Vientos is likely the best option because he has done it before. Mendoza may have to swallow hard and take a big leap of faith to play him consistently. The constant juggling hasn’t worked.

Fans sit on pins and needles waiting for Alvarez’s latest MRI for a jammed thumb he suffered last night. He scorched the ball the last few weeks, but injuries have a knack for finding him. Knowing Alvarez’s history, it will come as no surprise if he’s out for weeks.

This puts more pressure on Vientos to find his stroke. The Mets have gotten a breather from the collapse; if they want to make it permanent, he must lead the other young bats to pull their weight. Fans are fair to be skeptical, but if it doesn’t happen, New York is not going to make the playoffs. Sunday night provided a glimpse of what can be and should be; it needs to become a regular occurrence.