The Syracuse Mets and Binghamton Rumble Ponies uncharacteristically struggled, losing 11 of their combined 13 games. On the contrary, the Brooklyn Cyclones and St. Lucie Mets combined to win nine of their 12 games, with both teams winning their respective series.
As for individual performances,Brett Batywas far-and-away the most productive Mets minor leaguer from this previous week, while several others offered solid contributions as well. For the rest of the news from this previous week, check out the Mets Minors Weekly Report below.
Brett Baty. Photo Credit: Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports
Triple-A
The Syracuse Mets continued their second half free fall, losing five of six games to the Rochester Red Wings this past week. Syracuse dropped the first five games of the series before recording a win in the finale. Syracuse is now 19-25 in the second half and 65-53 overall.
Brett Baty had a fantastic week at the plate, leading the Mets in runs, home runs and RBIs, while also being tied for the team lead in hits. He went 7-for-23 with three home runs, good for a 1.146 OPS in the six games. Baty continues to swing the bat really well, now owning an .884 OPS in Syracuse. He’s certainly made himself a candidate to be a September call up in a couple of weeks.
Pablo Reyesalso continued his great season, going 7-for-19 with a double, two walks, and two stolen bases. The former Red Sox infielder now owns an .871 OPS in Syracuse this year, including a .901 OPS in Triple-A overall.
Jackie Bradley Jr.only played in three games but he still made an impact, going 5-for-11 with two doubles, a walk, and two stolen bases. The veteran outfielder currently has a .744 OPS in 12 games with Syracuse.
Tylor Megillimpressed in his lone start of the week, allowing four runs but going 7 2/3 innings and striking out 11 batters. Megill has been solid in seven starts with Syracuse, now owning a 3.57 ERA.
Blade Tidwellhad an impressive outing, allowing just two runs in 6 1/3 innings. Tidwell has struggled with inconsistency at the Triple-A level, owning a 5.55 ERA, but his most recent start was perhaps his best since late May.
Joey Lucchesiand trade deadline acquisitionTyler Zuberboth looked good out of the pen. Lucchesi tossed an outing of three innings, allowing no runs on one hit and two walks, while Zuber struck out four in two perfect innings. Lucchesi now owns a 4.78 ERA in Triple-A this year while Zuber has a 3.60 ERA in seven outings with Syracuse.
Double-A
The Binghamton Ruble Ponies and Portland Sea Dogs engaged in a seven-game series that included make up a game, but the Rumble Ponies could only muster one win, which also happened to be in the final game of the series. Binghamton is now 22-22 in the second half of the season and 57-54 overall.
Ryan Cliffordlooked great in seven games against Portland, going 7-for-24 with a home run, three runs, and four walks. Clifford has cooled down a bit since his torrid stretch at the plate, but he still owns an .807 OPS with Binghamton.
Wyatt Youngwas perhaps Binghamton’s best player at the plate in this series, as he went 7-for-19 with five RBIs, and five walks to just two strikeouts. Young continues to look great, owning a .729 OPS with Binghamton including a .947 OPS in his last 13 games.
Binghamton received some fantastic pitching performances this past week, including fromJoander Suarezwho struck out 10 over 10 1/3 innings across two starts. Suarez allowed three earned runs in those two starts and now owns a 4.05 ERA, with his ERA in his last five starts being 1.61.
Nolan McLeanalso produced a great start, allowing no runs in 5 1/3 innings. It was McLean’s first shutout since joining Binghamton, and he now owns a 4.79 ERA with the club. His ERA in his last seven starts has been 3.13.
Jonathan Pintarolooked solid, allowing three earned runs (and two unearned runs) in six innings of work. Pintaro has a 4.63 ERA in three starts with Binghamton, but that number drops to 2.45 if you don’t count his disastrous first start. The former independent ball pitcher has a 3.02 ERA across 12 total appearances in the Mets organization this year.
Out of the bullpen,Carlos Guzmanwas the star reliever. Guzman allowed no runs and no hits in 4 2/3 innings of work, striking out six. Guzman owns just a 4.40 ERA in Binghamton this year, but he has a 2.16 ERA in his last 17 appearances across two levels.
Nolan McLean. Photo by Bronson Harris of Binghamton Rumble Ponies
High-A
The Brooklyn Cyclones had better luck than its two superior affiliates, taking five out of six games against the Wilmington Blue Rocks. Brooklyn outscored their opponent 24-18 in the six games, in what was a generally low-scoring series. Brooklyn is now 23-25 in the second half of the season and 56-58 overall.
Omar De Los Santoswas Brooklyn’s best hitter this past week despite not hitting much for most of this year. The speedy outfielder went 6-for-19 with a double, a home run, five RBIs, three walks, and a stolen base in what was a busy series for him. De Los Santos now owns a .618 OPS in Binghamton, including a .912 OPS in his last 26 games.
William Lugoalso impressed, going 5-for-21 with three doubles, a home run, and two RBIs. Lugo has also not hit much this year, owning just a .655 OPS for the Rumble Ponies, though he has also been trending upwards. He owns a .909 OPS in his last 22 games.
D’Andre Smithhas been getting more comfortable at the plate, as he went 6-for-18 this past week with two doubles and a stolen base. The 2022 fifth-round pick owns a .615 OPS in 23 games this year.
Jack Wenningerproduced the best start of the week for Brooklyn, striking out eight in five scoreless innings. Wenninger has been great since being promoted to Brooklyn, owning a 2.84 ERA in six appearances.
Zach Thorntonalso made a start of five scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out three batters. Thornton now owns a 2.38 ERA in three appearances with the Cyclones.
Jonah Tong, who has been fantastic all season, tossed a quality start of three runs in six innings, striking out five batters in the process. Tong has been great all year for St. Lucie and Brooklyn, and he owns a 3.70 ERA with the Cyclones.
Low-A
The St. Lucie Mets recorded a rare series win, taking four of six games from the Daytona Tortugas. Despite the series win, St. Lucie was outscored 31-23 over six games. The Mets are now 17-29 in the second half of the season and 39-73 overall.
This past week saw the debut of some of the Mets’ most recent draft picks, includingCarson Benge(first round), who walked four times and stole two bases in nine plate appearances, andEli Serrano III(third round), who recorded his first pro home run.Nick Roselli(11th round) and Jacoby Long (17th round) also debuted, with both impressing in small sample sizes. Roselli tripled and walked three times in four games, while Long also tripled and walked twice in four games.
Yohairo Cuevaswas easily the most productive batter of the week for St. Lucie, going 5-for-18 with three doubles and six walks. Cuevas owns a .608 OPS on the year.
Saul Garciaimpressed on the mound in two appearances, one as a starter and one as a bulk reliever. In total, Garcia allowed just one run in 8 2/3 innings, striking out seven batters. Garcia owns a 4.96 ERA on the year, but he has a 2.05 ERA in his last six games.
Joel Díaz,Edgar Moreta,andJorge De Leonall impressed in their starts as well. Díaz struck out six and allowed a run in five innings, Moreta struck out five and allowed a run in 5 2/3 innings, and De Leon tossed three scoreless innings. Díaz now owns a 5.20 ERA, while Moreta owns a 6.00 ERA and De Leon sports a 7.71 ERA.
Layonel OvallesandJuan Arnaudshined out of the bullpen. Ovalles was especially dominant, striking out seven and allowing a run in 4 1/3 innings, while Arnaud struck out four in 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Ovalles now owns a 6.82 ERA this year while Arnaud has a 4.25 ERA.
Dominican Summer League Mets
The DSL Mets Orange went 2-2 this past week, bringing their record on the year to 26-27.Vladi Gomez(.761 season OPS) was phenomenal, going 8-for-16 with a double, a triple, four walks, a strikeout, and six stolen bases, whileEnderson Asencio(.724 season OPS) also impressed, going 4-for-10 with six RBIs, three walks, and a stolen base.Jonathan Jimenez(3.99 season ERA) tossed six scoreless innings and struck out four whileNicolas Carreno(3.66 season ERA) threw five scoreless innings.
The DSL Mets Blue went 3-2 this past week, improving their record to 21-32.Vladi Guerrero(.574 season OPS) doubled and tripled while driving in three runs andAlex Acosta(.717 season OPS) went 4-for-7 with a double and a home run.Anthony Crespo(3.24 season ERA) struck out six and allowed a run across seven innings whileElwis Mijares(5.80 ERA) struck out seven over five scoreless innings.
Organizational Leaders
Batting
(Among Qualified Players)
AVG –Nick Morabito(STL/BRK) – .305
OPS –Luke Ritter(SYR) – .887
HR – Luke Ritter (SYR) – 23
SB – Nick Morabito (STL/BRK) – 50
Pitching
(Among Qualified Players)
ERA –Brandon Sproat(BRK/BNG/SYR) – 2.55
SO – Jonah Tong (STL/BRK) – 134
WHIP –Brandon Sproat (BRK/BNG/SYR) – 1.01
Players of the Week
Offense – Brett Baty, 3B/2B Syracuse
Despite Syracuse’s poor showing this week, it wasn’t the fault of Brett Baty who was spectacular. He hit three home runs and hit safely in four of the six games. There was a time where Baty seemed to be struggling even at the Triple-A level, but he has picked it back up and owns an .877 OPS in his last 24 games.
If Baty continues to swing the bat well down the stretch, there’s a good chance he could re-join the major league club in September or even before then. All the Mets can do is hope that Baty comes back swinging a hotter bat than when he was sent down.
Pitching – Saul Garcia, P St. Lucie
While Garcia is the pick, pitchers such as Tylor Megill, Blade Tidwell, Nolan McLean, and Jack Wenninger deserve props as well. Garcia, though, earns this recognition in part because he has pitched so well lately after carrying a 6.58 ERA through his first 15 games of the year. Garcia has cut his ERA down to 4.96 with the help of a spectacular week for the St. Lucie Mets. The 21-year-old is in his fourth professional season, and he has yet to experience a prolonged stretch of success, though he is certainly in a groove right now.
Upcoming Schedule – August 20-25
- Triple-A Syracuse: vs. Durham
- Double-A Binghamton: vs. Reading
- High-A Brooklyn: vs. Jersey Shore
- Low-A St. Lucie: vs. Palm Beach
