Minors Weekly Report: Ewing Has Dominant First Week in Triple-A

The Syracuse Mets hovered around .500 for the first few series of the season, but it appears they may have broken through with a dominant series win last week. A.J. Ewing and Jonah Tong led the way as the most impressive players in the series.

Unfortunately, the Mets’ lower three minor league affiliates did not have as much success this week as Syracuse. For more on the latest news, here is this week’s Mets Minors Weekly Report.

AJ Ewing
Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Triple-A Syracuse

The Syracuse Mets had a strong series against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, winning five of six games. The series win propels the Mets to 18-14, tied for first place in the International League East division with two other teams.

Syracuse’s offense was led by newcomer A.J. Ewing, who got off to a scorching start in his Triple-A career. Ewing went 11-for-22 with a team-high eight runs scored in his first six games with Syracuse. He hit a double, a triple, walked three times and stole four bases. The 21-year-old has a 1.196 through six Triple-A games and a 1.088 OPS in 24 total games.

Cristian Pache also thrived at the plate, going 6-for-14 in five games. Pache hit two home runs, two doubles and stole two bases. Pache has been solid in 28 games, owning a .306 batting average and .856 OPS.

Nick Morabito had an impressive series, going 5-for-17 with two doubles, five walks and five stolen bases. He drove in three runs and scored seven. Morabito has been heating up and now has an .852 OPS.

Jonah Tong had a brilliant start, looking more like himself than he had earlier in the season. He tossed six innings, allowing an unearned run on one hit, two walks and six strikeouts. Tong brought a no-hitter into the sixth inning and at one point retired 16 straight. He owns a 4.60 ERA in seven starts.

Jack Wenninger also shoved, throwing 5 2/3 scoreless innings. He allowed four hits, a walk, a hit batsman and struck out seven. Wenninger has been phenomenal in the usually offense-friendly International League, recording a 1.61 ERA in five starts.

Daniel Duarte stood out with three appearances (two starts) in this series, tossing a total of five scoreless innings. He has a 2.45 ERA in 10 appearances (four starts). Jonathan Pintaro also shined across two outings with 3 1/3 hitless innings and seven strikeouts. Pintaro owns a 3.20 ERA in 10 appearances.

Jacob Reimer. Photo by Rick Nelson

Double-A Binghamton

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies continue to struggle, losing five of six games to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in their latest series. They have now lost each of their last three series and sit in last place at 10-17 in the Eastern League Northeast division.

Jacob Reimer was easily Binghamton’s top bat in this series. Reimer went 7-for-18 with three doubles, seven walks to just two strikeouts and a stolen base. Reimer, one of the Mets’ top prospects, has had a slow start to the season but might finally be heating up. He currently stands at a .730 OPS.

Jose Ramos also swung the bat well, going 7-for-21 with a double and seven RBIs. Ramos walked five times and struck out just four times. He has struggled for the most part, though, as he still sports a .642 OPS.

Joander Suarez delivered the most notable, although middling, pitching performance of the week. Suarez allowed two runs in 4 2/3 innings, allowing three hits and three walks with four strikeouts. Suarez has a 3.52 ERA in three starts with Binghamton.

Matt Turner, who spent 2025 in the Rockies organization, looked good out of the bullpen. In two games, he tossed three hitless innings. He allowed two walks and struck out five. In nine games, Turner has a 3.48 ERA.

Ronald Hernandez. Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

High-A Brooklyn

The Brooklyn Cyclones lost four of six games in their latest series to the Frederick Keys. A month into the season, the Cyclones have yet to win a series. They sit in dead last in the South Atlantic League North division at 7-19.

As evidenced by their record, things have been ugly in Brooklyn. John Bay was arguably the team’s top performer at the plate for the week despite going just 3-for-17 with three doubles, two walks and two stolen bases. He’s performed well in general this season, owning an .813 OPS.

Ronald Hernandez hit the only home run for the team in the series while going just 2-for-14. Hernandez did demonstrate solid plate discipline, walking five times while striking out at the same rate. He has a .727 OPS to start the season.

The team’s pitching definitely did not disappoint as they received some spectacular outings.

Channing Austin continued his stellar start to the season with another gem. He allowed just one hit and two walks over 5 2/3 scoreless innings while striking out seven. Austin owns a 1.21 ERA in five starts.
Irving Cota also kept the other team off the board, throwing five scoreless innings in his start with two hits, two walks and three strikeouts. Cota has been just as good, if not better than Austin, owning a 0.96 ERA in five games (three starts).
Parker Carlson, signed as an undrafted free agent last summer, looked solid across two outings including one start as an opener. He threw three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk with one strikeout. Carlson owns a 1.69 ERA in seven appearances.

Elian Pena. Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Low-A St. Lucie

The St. Lucie Mets also lost their series, dropping four of six games to the Tampa Tarpons. The Mets are 12-15 and in third place out of four teams in the Florida State League East division.

Despite losing the series, the Mets looked good at the plate. AJ Salgado led the way, going 8-for-23 with a double, a triple, two home runs and four RBIs. He also walked once and stole two bases. Salgado has been great this year, owning an .857 OPS.

Randy Guzman also continued his hot start to the year, going 7-for-21 with a double, two home runs, four RBIs and four walks with just three strikeouts. Guzman scored a team-high eight runs and improved his OPS to .935.

JT Benson looked good with the bat as well, going 5-for-18 with a double, a triple and a home run. He drove in six runs, most on the team, while walking once and stealing two bases. Benson raised his OPS to .909.

Elian Peña has looked great to start the year but cooled off a bit in this series. Still, he went 6-for-24 with two doubles, two walks and two stolen bases. In 25 games, he has an .858 OPS.

Cam Tilly delivered easily the team’s best start of the week, allowing a run in six innings. He allowed four hits, a walk, a hit batsman and struck out six. Tilly has mostly struggled early in the season, now owning a 4.64 ERA in five starts.

Frank Camarillo provided the Mets with a decent start, allowing three runs in five innings. He allowed three hits and a walk while striking out seven. Like Tilly, Camarillo also owns a 4.64 ERA in five starts.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

AVG – A.J. Ewing (BNG/SYR) – .388
OPS – A.J. Ewing (BNG/SYR) – 1.088
HR – Ronny Mauricio (SYR)/Randy Guzman (STL)/AJ Salgado (STL) – 6
SB – A.J. Ewing (BNG/SYR) – 16

Pitching (min. 10 innings)

ERA – Anderson Severino (SYR) – 0.00
SO – Jonah Tong (SYR) – 44
WHIP – Christian Rodriguez (STL) – 0.65

Players of the Week

Offense – A.J. Ewing, 2B/OF Syracuse

With Carson Benge in the majors, A.J. Ewing is making his case as the Mets’ undisputed best position player prospect still in the minors. After crushing Double-A, Ewing earned a promotion to Triple-A. Not only has he not skipped a beat, but he also arguably looks even better. He owns a 1.088 OPS in over 100 total plate appearances this year and he will look to keep crushing it just a step away from the majors.

Pitching – Jonah Tong, P Syracuse

Jonah Tong struggled to begin the year, but he delivered his best start yet in his latest outing. Tong doesn’t factor into the major league equation quite yet, but with multiple veterans struggling, he could see himself back up with the Mets in no time if he continues to pitch effectively.