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NL Silver Slugger race shows how unique 2024 NY Mets season was for Mark Vientos

Put those 2024 stats in 2026 and he's a Louisville Silver Slugger Award waiting to happen.
May 19, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA;  New York Mets third baseman Mark Vientos (27) hits the ball into play against the Washington Nationals during the fifth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images
May 19, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; New York Mets third baseman Mark Vientos (27) hits the ball into play against the Washington Nationals during the fifth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It wasn’t all that long ago Mark Vientos looked like the guy the New York Mets were waiting for. Jeff Passan said it best and least accurately during the 2024 MLB playoff race.

We were fooled. Vientos hasn’t come close to replicating his monster 2024 season. An abbreviated one that didn’t earn him Louisville Silver Slugger Award honors, it looked like only a matter of time before he could accomplish that feat.

In 2026, Vientos is still trying to recapture that 2024 magic. That glorious season of his measures up incredibly well in comparison to the ongoing NL Silver Slugger race among third basemen. Of course, Vientos is no longer playing the hot corner with a transition to a first base/DH role in 2026. Nevertheless, flashing back just two years shows us how close he was to Silver Slugger immortality.

How Mark Vientos’ 2024 season compares to the current NL Silver Slugger race

Vientos slugged .516 with an .837 OPS. His 27 home runs in 454 plate appearances gave him a 5.9% home run rate. It’s higher than what Pete Alonso produced in 2022 and 2025.

The current NL Silver Slugger picture has Max Muncy in the lead as the only third baseman still in the league with the qualified at-bats and an OPS over .800. The Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman has hit 26 home runs, .490 slugging percentage, and owns a .839 OPS. Alex Bregman has given him some competition, but with a .783 OPS, he’s playing catch up.

Equal numbers in 2024, the current candidates to win the award have something Vientos hasn’t and that’s defensive skills strong enough to stay at third base. It’s unfair to compare a player at one position to another in terms of the Silver Slugger race. But in 2024, Vientos was a third baseman with all but two of his starts at that position.

It only took Vientos 454 tries in 2024 to become a candidate for the award. In 2025 and 2026, he has combined for 722 total plate appearances, 29 home runs, and 97 RBI. It arrived with an unsatisfying .684 OPS.

Slugging .516 in 2026 would match what Willson Contreras has done for the Boston Red Sox. Vientos was putting up top-tier first baseman-like offensive production less than two calendars ago. The fall off is one of the biggest and has him feeling like quite possibly one of the biggest Mets one-hit-wonders in franchise history.

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