As Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and mostly anyone of value got shipped out the door at the trade deadline — in exchange for prospects LuisAngel Acuna, Drew Gilbert and others — developing young talent became the priority for the foreseeable future in Flushing.
By trotting out inexperienced prospects every day, growing pains are expected with blue-chip youngsters playing at the highest level of competition on a consistent basis for the first time. However, the adjustment period may not necessarily be from the increased level of talent in between the lines.
“I feel like over here at this level, it could be a hiccup, you could cough the wrong way and then the next second someone hits a ball at you and then you misplay it. Then the next at-bat you strike out. It’s like things happen super quick,” rookie Mark Vientos told the Daily News.
“With here it’s just how quickly can you get it out of your mind. How quickly can you be like alright onto the next onto the next onto the next? And that’s what I feel like is the difference.”
The Mets (52-62) find themselves in this position — the not-so-Amazin’s head into Friday night’s series opener against the Braves a stunning 21 games behind Atlanta in the NL East and seven games back in the wild card hunt — because the season went south almost from the start.
After entering June with a 29-27 record, they won just seven out of their next 26 games, a stretch the season never recovered from.
Vientos started in his second consecutive game at the hot corner for the Mets in Wednesday’s 4-3 win over the Cubs after fellow neophyte Brett Baty was sent down to Triple-A after extended struggles in the bigs.
The 24-year-old is attempting to find an everyday spot for his glove while his bat provides plenty of promise (1.000 OPS at Triple-A) despite slashing .198/.233/.302 in 31 games in the bigs this season.
As the slugger climbed the ladder throughout the minor league season, he noticed a change in the overall speed of the game as he advanced from level to level before finally reaching the top — perhaps for the remainder of this season — in the big leagues.
“Every level is like alright, you have to be a tick quicker. Everything is a tick quicker [as you go up the minors],” Vientos told The News. “Like boom, you make a mistake, OK, because the next one could be hit to you and you make another one and you look like an even bigger idiot, but that’s just the way I’m seeing it so far.”
Luckily for Vientos and the rest of the Mets’ youngsters, the man at the helm has plenty of experience with players trying to break through. Buck Showalter, with 22-years under his managerial belt, still enjoys the conversations with prospects on what their perception of the big leagues is versus reality.
“I know talking with Brett [Baty] and all of these guys about the differences about what goes on compared to what they thought,” Showalter said before Tuesday’s game. “Just the constant, every little thing gets magnified — not necessarily with [the media]. The concentration up here, every pitch, you can’t take anything off because of the scrutiny.
“One of the guys were talking about how he can make up for an error or a physical error with his bat and up here it’s harder. It’s like a golf course, there are holes you can make up shots on but on the really good golf courses you can’t make them up.”
Outside of the perceived change in pace, the behind-the-scenes work required to be a big leaguer may take some players by surprise despite the perception of a glamorous, easier lifestyle after finally reaching the top.
“Some players I guess get shocked with how much work it is to be up here,” Vientos said. “But for me, I kind of obviously, when I first go here, I was like ‘OK, yeah, I’m right.’ But, I’ve always expected anything.”
The mainstream conversation will always be about how a player will adjust to the highest level of competition. While the fastballs may be harder and the offspeeds nastier, the mental jump is not discussed enough and ultimately could determine the fate of a player trying to establish himself.
Vientos has stepped in the box against good pitchers his entire life and he will look to lean on that thought as he navigates through the remainder of the season.
“Pitches are definitely better [in MLB],” Vientos said. “But I feel like I’m giving them too much credit. They have good stuff, but I’m giving them too much credit because I’m expanding [the zone] instead of letting them come to me and being like alright, I’m going to wait until I get my pitch…
“I’ve been seeing good competition for a while now. I feel like it’s all the same. It might be a tiny bit different, but, it’s just giving these guys credit. Obviously, you’ve got to give them credit because they’ve done it at the highest level for a long time. But you can’t give them credit because it’s you and him and both of you guys are in the same league. I expect like oh my god [these guys are so much better because they’re big leaguers]. But dude, it’s the same exact game.”
With the new direction of the organization, the Mets will have plenty of players throughout this retooling period searching for how to make the mental jump and become foundational pieces as they look to build a sustainable winner.
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