3 NY Mets players feeling the heat in early April

2) Mark Vientos

After a breakout year in 2024, where he slashed .266/.322/.516 with 27 home runs and 71 RBI, Mark Vientos has yet to get the ball rolling this year. He's played poorly enough to accumulate a -0.3 fWAR in just nine games, and is slashing .118/.189/.176 in 37 plate appearances.

Vientos was a pillar of the Mets' offense last year, earning the starting third baseman spot. This year, the team has put a lot of trust in him (and so have I). They don't have any true veteran presence to back him up at third, and the fact that he's playing more so on par with the mediocrity he displayed in his limited major league experience before 2024 is certainly a point of concern.

It's not bad luck plaguing Vientos, either. His XBA is .197, and he's simply not hitting the ball hard. Last year his hard-hit rate was 46.6 percent, good for the 80th percentile in MLB. This year, that number has dropped to 29.2 percent, putting him at just the 18th percentile.

I'm not sure if we can necessarily call this a "sophomore slump," as Vientos exceeded his rookie status in 2023. Whatever it is, we need to start seeing last year's version of Swaggy V soon, or else we'll continue to have a gaping hole in a lineup spot meant for a budding superstar.