With Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio, and Mark Vientos raking, Mets might have to shake offense up soon

As the Mets were leaving a small village on the bases during their eventual 4-2 loss to the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night at Citi Field, three of their best prospects were doing what they've done all season for Triple-A Syracuse -- demolishing the baseball.

Brett Baty homered.

Mark Vientos homered.

Ronny Mauricio homered.

The optics and juxtaposition of it were wild.

Through their first 12 games, the Mets scored 46 runs -- an average of 3.83 per contest. That is not going to cut it.

Of course, it's incredibly early. And the sample size -- both at the big league level and in Syracuse -- is too small to draw conclusions from.

But it is not too soon to ask how quickly the Mets will act, and should act, if their top prospects keep doing what they're doing in Syracuse while the lineup continues to sag in the majors.

It's at this point that we'll point out that the majors are not the minors. Duh. 

For an example of that, you can look at Francisco Alvarez's at-bat from the ninth inning on Tuesday against Josh Hader, when he was way too aggressive and kept going out of the zone, eventually striking out to end the game.

Alvarez has started two games since being called up following Omar Narvaez's injury, and should continue to get regular playing time in order to get more comfortable -- to the point where an at-bat like the one he had on Tuesday is one he can handle.

But Alvarez is not Baty (who arguably should've broken camp with the team) or Vientos (a likely DH option who mashes lefties), or Mauricio (who seems to have maybe turned a corner).

In 23 at-bats, Baty is hitting .391 with a .481 OBP and 1.351 OPS. He has three home runs.

In 33 at-bats, Vientos is hitting .333 with a .421 OBP and 1.057 OPS. He has three home runs.

In 36 at-bats, Mauricio is hitting .361 with a .439 OBP and 1.245 OPS. He has four home runs.

For a few reasons, Mauricio is the most interesting of the bunch.

The first is that after not being very selective at the plate during his minor league career, Mauricio may have had a light bulb go off.

As noted by SNY contributor Joe DeMayo, Mauricio has four walks in 41 plate appearances so far this season (9.7 percent) after walking just 24 times in 541 plate appearances last season (4.0 percent).

If Mauricio can just be decent when it comes to plate discipline, he can be a seriously impactful player. But as a shortstop who's blocked in the bigs, the Mets really need to have him start learning the outfield.

There are no such issues with Baty or Vientos.

Baty, who made strides defensively at third base during the offseason and in spring training, would simply take over the regular job at the hot corner.

Vientos, as is noted above, would probably be a DH option.

So, how soon should the Mets dip into the minors and call on their promising prospects?

Eduardo Escobar has started the season in a funk, slashing .111/.154/.222 in 39 plate appearances. Even if he picks it up, he's a switch-hitter who is most valuable against lefties and is not an asset defensively.

Tommy Pham is hitting .231/.286/.385 over 28 plate appearances, as he's been getting some time in the outfield and some time at DH.

As is noted above, the fit for both Baty and Vientos should be easy, while Mauricio is a different story.

If Mauricio continues to rake while showing improved discipline at the dish, he might force the Mets' hand. But It will be hard for them to clear a spot for him if he isn't first exposed to either the outfield or third base. So they should really get on that.

I've said this before, and I'll continue saying it until the Mets get properly aggressive: this is not a season to be hesitant or deliberate when it comes to making moves that will help them win.

To me, that means that Baty should be up here when the Mets return home on April 25 if he keeps showing he's "mastered" Triple-A -- as the club wanted him and its other prospects to do when they sent them down toward the end of spring training.

Things are a bit more complicated with Vientos and a lot more complicated with Mauricio. But like Baty, if they keep doing what they're doing -- and the offense in the majors continues to leave a lot to be desired -- the Mets will have to soon start making room for them.