Maybe Mark Vientos will break out.
Perhaps Vientos is staking his claim as the Mets’ bona fide third baseman.
Perhaps Vientos is on track to realise his promising potential and the lofty expectations placed on him.
Or maybe not.
But this is just the beginning, as the 24-year-old is beginning to put together some encouraging performances.
Vientos was the lone bright spot in the Mets’ 10-5 loss at Citi Field on Saturday afternoon, hitting a solo home run in the fifth inning and an infield single in the ninth.
This came a day after he had his best performance of the season in a 10-9 Mets win over Arizona on Friday night, going 3-for-5 with two RBIs.
The timing is noteworthy.
Vientos was competing for the third base position with good friend Brett Batey, also a highly regarded prospect.
Batey won that battle in spring training, then Vientos began the season in Triple-A.
Vientos briefly played in three games in the majors in late April while Starling Marte was on the bereavement list, but was demoted back to the majors after Marte’s return despite going 3-for-7 with one home run.
But Batty’s prolonged struggles led to Vientos being called up again last month, with him and Batty playing third base for about two weeks.
Batty’s performance worsened and he was demoted to Triple-A on Friday.
Vientos now has a big chance to prove himself. For now, third base is his job.
He is batting .340/.386/.642 with a 1.028 OPS this season, but has only appeared at plate in 57 games.
But Vientos showed one of his biggest shortcomings defensively and would have been called for an error if not for Pete Alonso, who threw to first base in the sixth inning after Eugenio Suarez grounded out to first base, but Alonso stayed on base and made an acrobatic play to scoop the ball up and get the out.
On a somber afternoon that marred the good mood that accompanied Darryl Strawberry’s retirement, at least Vientos offered a little optimism for the future.
