All four Mets minor league affiliates lost their games on Saturday. Syracuse saw Luke Ritter, Pablo Reyes, and Carlos Cortes homer, while St. Lucie showed off a lineup of six 2024 draftees, including fifth-round selection Trey Snyder.

Luke Ritter. Photo by Herm Card

Triple-A

Lehigh Valley IronPigs (62-65) 8, Syracuse Mets (70-59) 4

BOX SCORE

Syracuse had some big-time offense performances on Saturday, but the four-run first inning for the IronPigs was too deep of a hole to climb out of, falling 8-4.

It was announced Saturday night that Pablo Reyes would be the September position player call-up.

  • RHP Dom Hamel (6.77 ERA) 3.2 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 HR allowed (43 of 76 pitches for strikes)
  • LHP Joey Lucchesi (4.88 ERA) 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
  • RHP Shintaro Fujinami (6.29 ERA) 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Fujinami has found a groove in August for the Syracuse bullpen. Boasting a 1.80 ERA and K:BB ratio of 14:4. Fujinami has been dialed into the strike zone, leaning heavily on his upper 90’s fastball. Specifically, 15 of his 20 pitches were four-seamers on Saturday.

Ryan Clifford. Photo by Bronson Harris of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies

Double-A

Binghamton Rumble Ponies (63-59) 6, Hartford Yard Goats (69-54) 7 in 10 Innings

BOX SCORE

After posting two lackluster offense games in a row, the Ponies offense righted the ship with a six-run effort against the Yard Goats despite losing the game in extra innings. Ryan Clifford picked up his second four-hit game of the season, while the struggling Alex Ramirez brought his OPS back up to .600.

  • RHP Nolan McLean (4.71 ERA) 3.2 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 2 K (45 of 77 pitches for strikes)
  • RHP Cam Robinson (3.57 ERA) 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K
  • RHP Joshua Cornielly (0.87 ERA) 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
  • RHP TJ Shook (1.72 ERA) 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 5 K

McLean’s final start of August was his least successful, walking four batters and striking out only two. Before his Saturday start, McLean had his best month since turning to full-time pitching, and he’ll need to limit his walks to attain that level of play again.

Nick Morabito. Photo by Steven Wojtowicz of Metsmerized

High-A

Brooklyn Cyclones (60-65) 8, Winston-Salem Dash (57-68) 9

BOX SCORE

Nick Morabito continues to be an on-base machine. With his two hits and a stolen base on Saturday, he now leads the Mets farm system in hits and stolen bases (132 and 58, respectively).His homer on Saturday was only his fourth for the season.

  • RHP Jack Wenninger (3.38 ERA) 4.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 5 K (49 of 82 pitches for strikes)
  • RHP Justin Lawson (2.58 ERA) 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K

In five August starts (16 1/3 innings pitched), Wenninger has a 3.31 ERA, struck out 27 batters and walked only eight. The 2023 sixth-round selection has been a sleeper within the Mets farm system, posting a K/9 of 9.88 and BB/9 of 3.62 on the season.

Low-A

Jupiter Hammerheads (63-60) 11, St. Lucie Mets (43-80) 9

BOX SCORE

  • 1B Corey Collins 2-for-4, R, HR (1), 3 RBI (.912 OPS)
  • SS Trey Snyder 2-for-5, 2 R, 2 K (.800 OPS)
  • 2B Nick Roselli 2-for-4, 2 R, HR (1), 2 RBI (.876 OPS)
  • RF Eli Serrano III: 2-for-5, 2 R, 3B, K (.672 OPS)
  • DH Marco Vargas: 1-for-1, 2 R, RBI, 3 BB, SB (11) (.632 OPS)

St. Lucie rolled out a lineup with six 2024 draftees, including fifth-round pick Trey Snyder’s professional debut. Snyder became the first Mets high school draft pick to reach Low-A St. Lucie the same year he was drafted.

In the loss, Collins and Roselli launched their first professional home runs, and the Mets took a 9-2 lead in the fifth inning. 2024 has been a lost season for Marco Vargas, but the 19-year-old has stayed healthy in August and produced. He has collected 13 walks in the last seven games.

Rodriguez earned six whiffs on Saturday, five coming from his above-average rated changeup.