3 NY Mets players who need to stay hot in September to hold onto a playoff spot

2) Mark Vientos

Mark Vientos looked like a potential middle-of-the-order star for the Mets after last season. He turned in a .266/.322/.516 triple-slash, 133 wRC+, and hit 27 home runs in only 454 plate appearances. Last year, he was one of eight primary third basemen with at least 25 home runs. Among those eight, he was the only one to do it in fewer than 500 plate appearances. The next fewest was Jake Burger, with 29 in 579 trips to the plate.

But Vientos’ numbers for most of this season haven’t looked all that great. As late as August 15, the corner infielder was hitting a meager .227/.274/.359 with a 78 wRC+. Vientos was walking at just a 5.7% rate, with an unimpressive 23.6% strikeout rate. The power outage was the most worrying part of his game. He didn’t even reach double-digit home runs in his first 318 plate appearances of the year, hitting just seven long balls. There were even trade talks involving Vientos nearing this year's deadline.

Despite the rumors of getting traded, and the ice cold season for the most part, Vientos is looking like he may have found something that works for him, and is having his best stretch of games since the 2024 season. He is currently on a nine-game hitting streak. Throughout those nine games, he has had 39 plate appearances and 13 hits. Vientos has hit nearly as many home runs during this stretch as he did during his first 318 trips to the plate, with five dingers.

Getting Vientos to hit for power again is a massive boost for the Mets. His home runs in 2024 were a season-changer for the Mets. Had he played the whole season, Vientos would have been on a 40-home run pace. A 2024 Vientos performance in September will win the Mets a lot more games down the stretch.