Mark Vientos/Photo by Ed Delany, MMN
Kingsport Mets third baseman Mark Vientos has quietly dominated the Appalachian League this season, despite being more than two years younger than the average Appy League player.
After a quiet June in which the fourth best prospect in the Mets system slashed a solid but uninspiring .258/.343/.419, Vientos has caught fire in the last month and half, hitting an excellent .309/.371/.617 over the last 28 days with eight home runs.
Vientos has been especially hot at the plate recently, homering in back-to-back games this weekend against the Bristol Pirates. Over his last 14 games for the Kingsport Mets, Vientos has hit a ridiculous .423/.500/.885, and incredibly has recorded as many home runs as strikes outs during that span. This combination of prodigious power and good control of the strike zone should serve Vientos well as he continues to work his way up the Mets’ organizational ladder.
Highlights: @Kingsport_Mets take down Bristol. @MarkVientos_5 https://t.co/uFSnRg1SOF pic.twitter.com/LTuvBhD7Ie
— Kane O'Neill (@WJHL_Kane) August 5, 2018
One of the youngest players in the 2017 draft, Vientos has begun to display the impressive power that compelled the Mets to offer him an above-slot $1.5 million signing bonus to forego his commitment to play college ball for the University of Miami Hurricanes.
The Mets then assigned the young third baseman to the Gulf Coast League, where he hit .259/.316/.397 before earning a late-season promotion to the Appalachian League as a 17-year-old. Vientos has since improved upon those numbers since returning to Kingsport for the 2018 season, slashing .297/.368/.538 with nine home runs, eight doubles, and 16 walks against 24 strikeouts in 163 plate appearances.
Vientos is one of a number of exciting prospects currently on the Kingsport roster. He is almost a full five months younger than 2018 first round selection Jarred Kelenic, and shares the infield with shortstop Shervyen Newton and second baseman Luis Santana, who are both included in the top 20 of our MMN Mideason Top 50 in the Mets’ system.
If he continues to hit like he has over the last month, Vientos could very well end up being the first prospect in that group to be promoted out of the Appalachian League.