Sophomore slumps aren’t exactly uncommon for players under 25, and while Mark Vientos is probably several games past being considered a “sophomore,” the Mets third baseman played the most he ever has in the big leagues in the 2024 season. He established himself as a legitimate power threat in the middle of the order, or at times, the top of it.
But it takes more than one good season to establish oneself. This year, the slugger’s slugging numbers have diminished, and while the Mets aren’t necessarily worried about him, the at-bats have been spread out as he tries to find his stride this season.
“I feel like he’s missing good pitches to hit,” manager Carlos Mendoza said over the weekend. “Last year, he was on time and he was able to drive pitches to all fields, whether it was right, center-left, center, but especially pitches in the strike zone. I feel like this year, it’s timing, obviously, that’s where it starts, where he’s missing those pitches.”
Vientos, 25, is hitting just .212 with a .619 OPS this season. He’s hit six home runs, and with an average exit velocity of 90.5, he’s still hitting the ball hard. His strikeout rate is also lower than it’s been, but without the timing he once had, especially on fastballs, he’s still swinging and missing, which puts him in bad counts and forces him to swing at pitches he might not otherwise.
He’s also getting fooled on offspeed offerings more than he did last season, hitting just .105 compared to .286 last season, and whiffing on 53.5% of offspeed pitches thrown to him. His bat has also been slower this season, and he’s barreling the ball about half as much as he did last year.
“He’s in some different positions setting up. He’s trying to find what we call his trigger, and he just hasn’t been able to find it as well,” hitting coach Jeremy Barnes told the Daily News. “The biggest thing is he’s kind of getting along on the back side, so we’re just trying to tighten things up and get him basically on a trigger ready to go, without having to unwind and get too long.”
After straining his hamstring in early June in Los Angeles, Vientos was afforded some time off to rehab. Injuries are never ideal, but the injury was relatively minor and offered him a mental reset and a chance to go down to Triple-A to work on his swing.
The results of his rehab assignment might not have looked great on paper, but rehab assignments are more about process than results. Being unable to find his trigger meant inconsistent swings. He needed to be able to repeat the motion of his swing to get back to a place where the barrel was coming through the strike zone at the right plane and at the right time.
Triple-A is a good place to work through swing inconsistencies.
“That was the plan when he went down there, not only to kind of just get through the injury, but more like to get at-bats and get his timing right,” Mendoza said. “We’ve got to give him time.”
Vientos only has two hits in seven games since being activated off the injured list, but he already feels like he’s repeating the motion of his swing more consistently, and he’s happy with the quality of his at-bats. The Mets like the at-bats as well, with Mendoza specifying a few to bench coach John Gibson.
“I feel like that [Thursday], he took a couple of swings that were balanced, and I liked the way the barrel came through the zone, even though he fought it off,” Mendoza said. “I turned up to Gibby and said, ‘Man, that’s good. That’s one of the better swings he’s taken as of late.’ So hopefully, that’s a sign.’”
The Mets know how driven Vientos is to succeed. He’s made some changes to his pregame routine that he hopes will help him be better prepared for at-bats during games, something that hasn’t gone unnoticed with the coaching staff. He rarely lacks confidence, but he has shown frustration outwardly at times. This isn’t bad — it shows he cares — but the Mets don’t want him to get down on himself.
Barnes has been there to listen to Vientos voice his feelings, while trying to guide him out of that headspace as well. He likens hitting coaches to caddies on a golf course, helping players with the right tools and advice.
Vientos is determined to get back to where he was last season when he hit 27 home runs.
“Obviously I get frustrated, but I don’t think there’s a feeling of like, ‘Oh man, I started feeling sorry for myself,’” Vientos said. “I think it’s just like, I keep working, just keep going, and eventually I’ll figure it out. I kind of give myself no choice but to figure it out…
“It’s either I don’t figure it out and I go work at a regular job, or I figure it out and I play baseball. So it’s either one or the other, but I know it’s harder to work a regular job, so that’s the way I think about it.”
