Mets Prospect Roundup: Mark Vientos goes deep for 24th time in Triple-A

Here's the latest on some of the Mets' top prospects...

3B/1B Mark Vientos, Triple-A Syracuse

It's no secret that one of the Mets' best potential bats in their farm system is Vientos. The 22-year-old reminded them of that on Friday night with a booming home run off of the batter’s eye to dead center that extended his team’s lead in the third inning.

After finishing the month of August 0-for-11 with four strikeouts, Vientos has heated up once again in September and has six hits in his last 17 at-bats to bring his slash line up to .280/.358/.519.

Aside from a rough April, New York’s No. 7 overall prospect has been scorching hot all season in Triple-A and hasn’t had a monthly OPS below .890 for the last four months. His 24 home runs has him tied for fifth in the league and his 72 RBI are tied for 11th, alongside teammate Daniel Palka.

With the major league ball club struggling to find any consistency at the DH position, Vientos could be an interesting option.

OF Alex Ramirez, High-A Brooklyn

Last we heard of Ramirez, the 19-year-old was scuffling at the plate a bit. Well, scuffle no more.

Since Aug. 27 Ramirez is hitting .291 (14-for-48) with six doubles, four walks, five RBI and five runs scored. During that stretch which spans 11 games, the No. 4 overall prospect has had at least one hit in nine games and at least two hits in five games.

The 6-foot-3, 170-pounder now has a .269/.324/.425 slash line with the Cyclones thanks to his torrid start to September. Ramirez made the jump from Single-A to High-A on July 4 and in 52 games, he has five home runs, 17 doubles, one triple and 33 RBI.

The one area he hasn’t shined is stealing bases. After stealing 33 bases over two seasons with St. Lucie and only getting caught 16 times (67 percent success rate), Ramirez has stolen four bags but has been caught six times for a 40 percent success rate with the Cyclones.

SS Ronny Mauricio, Double-A Binghamton

Ending August on a high note, Mauricio went hitless in his first 17 at-bats to begin September for the Rumble Ponies. However, the 21-year-old has steadied himself over his last four games, going 6-for-17 with a home run, double and three RBI.

His home run came on Friday and it was Mauricio’s first since Aug. 28. Despite the Mets’ sixth overall prospect’s recent homer drought at the plate, the 6-foot-3, 166-pounder has shown a great combination of power and speed from the shortstop position this season.

Mauricio has 25 home runs and 25 doubles to go along with 18 stolen bases and has only been caught on the base paths nine times — much better than his 8-for-24 success rate on stolen base attempts to start his career.

And while his power and speed combo are impressive, Mauricio still needs to figure out how to lay off tough pitches as he’s struck out 118 times and walked just 21 times. Still, his 25 home runs are tied for third most in the Eastern League while his 82 RBI are tied for second most.