Mark Vientos has been nothing short of Amazin’ over the last month.
Whether it’s scorching seven homers in June or proving himself worthy of the third base job over Brett Baty, the 24-year-old is emphatically showcasing that he is a productive player in the league.
Vientos on Friday night further pleaded his case while helping the Mets climb to a 7-6 victory over the Rockies, swatting a pair of extra-base hits along the way, including his 12th home run of the season.
“It feels good,” Vientos said of his recent surge. “It feels even better that we are winning and I am contributing.”
The first time Vientos punished the baseball and opposing pitcher Tanner Gordon was at the bottom of the second, rocketing the ball 408 feet over the fence in left-center for the Mets’ first run of the game.
“The first pitch, he threw me a fastball and blew it by me, and I kind of was like, the whole at bat, hoping he would throw me that pitch again,” Vientos said. “He threw it again, and I put a good swing on it.”
Some credit for Vientos’ recent success is given to Mets special assistant Carlos Beltrán.
The former All-Star outfielder proposed that Vientos keep his sights on center and right-center field so he could enhance his connection without losing power.
Vientos also helped Francisco Alvarez secure a run with a double in the bottom of the third on a line drive to Rockies left fielder Sam Hilliard.
If this were a year ago, fans, pundits and maybe even Vientos wouldn’t find any of this to be a likely story.
He wasn’t getting enough reps with the Mets and had to fight for playing time during the 2023 season while splitting time between the big club and Triple-A Syracuse.
But fight for playing time he did.
And since the middle of May, Vientos has been manning third base with a booming bat.
In 174 at-bats through Friday, Vientos has produced a slash line of .299/.353/.569.
“It means a lot,” Vientos said. “A lot of hard work was put into this past offseason coming into this year, and I am just happy it’s working out.”
Vientos capped his 49th game Friday at Citi Field by going 2-for-3 with a walk.
In doing so, he showed why his bat could be an integral part of the Mets’ resurgent season going forward.