Since the retirement of David Wright, the search for finding the next third baseman of the future for the New York Mets has been seemingly going on for years. The search may finally be coming to an end.
For the last several years, the third baseman of the future was supposed to be Brett Baty. Starting in 2020, he was the Mets’ third baseman ranked in the top 100, coming in at #92 by MLB. By 2022, he was a top 40 prospect by Baseball America, MLB and Baseball Prospectus.
Baty saw 11 games of action with the Mets in 2022 before playing in 108 games last season and 50 games this season. But he has never quite adjusted to the MLB level and has a career slash line of .215/.282/.325 with 15 homes and 55 RBI in 169 career games.
With Baty struggling to maintain a hold of the Mets’ third base job, Mark Vientos is not. Like Baty, Vientos debuted in 2022. Like Baty, he struggled in his brief time with the club that season and struggled again in 2023. But unlike Baty, Vientos has made the adjustments needed to succeed at this level and is proving to be an up-and-coming dynasty player.
Please, blog, may I have some more?