Mark Vientos, Photo by James Farrance
With the New York Mets hiring Collin Hetzler from Driveline, there was an organizational focus on premium contact. As he would tell MMO Weekly, the organization wants their batters to identify pitches they can hit with an exit velocity of 95 MPH or more. If not, they should take the pitch, wait for your next pitch, and/or take a walk.
After serving as the Mets Complex Hitting Instructor, Hetzler is going to be the Triple-A Syracuse hitting coach. There, he is going to be entrusted with players like Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio, and Mark Vientos and helping them make the tweak or two needed to become Major League players.
Ronny Mauricio has three home runs in seven at-bats.
His OPS is 2.214 this spring.
Marlins announcers: “They don’t hit baseballs that far very often.”
— Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) March 1, 2023
In spring training, we have seen that philosophy begin to come to fruition. Mauricio has followed his LIDOM MVP campaign by leading the Grapefruit League in homers while posting a 2.214 OPS. He’s not the only Mets prospect thriving.
In fact, Baty has started off the spring with a 1.278 OPS. We have also seen Vientos have a couple of extra base hits. More importantly, than the results is how hard these three prospects have been hitting the ball. That was on display in the Mets spring game against the Miami Marlins.
Mets exit velo leaders from Wednesday:
107.4 Brett Baty -flyout
106.9 Mark Vientos -double
105.6 Ronny Mauricio -homer
104.2 Alex Ramirez -single— Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) March 1, 2023
Those are elite exit velocities. In the cases of Vientos and Mauricio, it directly led to extra base hits and runs. This directly ties to the philosophy espoused by Hetlzer, and it is a good start as this trio looks to make it to the majors in 2023.
Another important fact that shouldn’t be overlooked is Alex Ramirez being just behind that group. Ramirez is the highest rated Mets outfield prospect, and he is featured on the top 100 prospect rankings. At 20, he is posting exit velocities akin to older and more experienced players and prospects.
Behind all of this is the Mets having a number of prospects with real power potential. The organization hired people like Hetzler to get the most out of that potential. So far in spring, we are seeing tangible results which will hopefully carry forward into the season. If that does indeed happen, the Mets are very well set for the future.
