Another month of baseball is in the books! The Florida Complex League is finished, and some of the Mets’ 2026 draftees have made their professional debuts. With any luck, next month’s players of the month will include some of them or some of the newly acquired players from the trade deadline.

TRIPLE-A: SYRACUSE METS

HITTER OF THE MONTH: CHRISTOPHER MOREL

Statistics: 20 G, .318/.400/.636/1.036, 5 HR, 6 2B, 13 RBI, 9 BB, 18 SO

Do you remember that the Mets have Christopher Morel? Signed as a minor league free agent on July 1, Morel was sent straight to Syracuse and started mashing. He’s got pop, and he made a decent bit of non-homer contact this month too. This also doesn’t include his three-home-run game from August 2, either, so he’s really been productive in Triple-A since joining the organization.

The story with Morel has always been the same: When at his best, he can be a good major league hitter who makes loud contact. When at his worst, he can’t make contact. The Marlins saw his worst this season when he struck out 38.4% of the time in 22 big league games, ultimately leading to his release. His strikeout rate was only 24% in July, which is definitely an improvement, but it’s still against Triple-A pitching. At this point, we need to see it in the majors to believe there’s any real change. He has also never been able to find a defensive home, and has split his time between the two corner infield spots for Syracuse. Maybe he gets a chance at some point if there’s an injury, but I don’t know how likely it is.

PITCHER OF THE MONTH: JONAH TONG

Statistics: 5 G (5 GS), 24.2 IP, 19 H, 10 R (10 ER), 29 SO, 14 BB, 3.65 ERA, 1.34 WHIP

Jonah Tong needed this. After putting up perhaps the best season of any minor league pitcher in 2025 and even earning a big league look, Tong’s taken a substantial step back in 2026. He’s walking too many hitters (a consequence of just not throwing enough strikes) and getting hit more. The new pitches he’s been working on just haven’t been as effective as they need to be. July was at least a step in the right direction.

Is he back? I don’t think I’m willing to say that yet. His K-BB% in July was almost exactly the same as it has been all year, so there is a possibility he just got more fortunate batted ball luck. With that said, it’s at least encouraging to see nonetheless. His last two starts suggest there could be a real improvement, giving up one earned run over 9 and 2/3 innings with an improved K-BB%. Most of those gains came from strikeouts, though, as he still walked 15% of batters. That’s just too high.

Jonathan Santucci. Photo by Binghamton Rumble Ponies

DOUBLE-A: BINGHAMTON RUMBLE PONIES

HITTER OF THE MONTH: NICK LORUSSO

Statistics: 20 G, .256/.352/.474/.826, 4 HR, 5 2B, 11 RBI, 12 BB, 25 SO, 4 SB (0 CS)

Nick Lorusso gets the nod again this month after turning in a rock-solid July. The 25-year-old has been playing mostly third base this year but has a handful of games at second base, a brand new development in 2026. A bulk of the trade deadline acquisitions were assigned to Double-A, so Lorusso was moved up to Syracuse. It likely only happened because room was needed in Binghamton, but he also earned it. If anything, it should have happened sooner. I’m excited to see what the former ninth-round pick can do now that he’s just one step away from the big leagues, and would love it if the Mets could give him his MLB debut late in September if there’s room.

PITCHER OF THE MONTH: JONATHAN SANTUCCI

Statistics: 4 G (4 GS), 22.2 IP, 14 H, 9 R (7 ER), 37 SO, 10 BB, 2.78 ERA, 1.06 WHIP

Another month, another Jonathan Santucci title. The lefty was fantastic, with the only blemish being a slightly high walk rate. Even then, though, it wasn’t anything too bad. When you strike out players at the rate Santucci does, you can live with it. At this point, there’s not much new to say about him. He’s the best pitching prospect in the organization. He earned a Triple-A promotion at the end of the month and had a successful Syracuse debut on August 1, putting him in play for a potential September call-up.

HIGH-A: BROOKLYN CYCLONES

HITTER OF THE MONTH: JOHN BAY

Statistics: 11 G, .300/.391/.650/1.041, 3 HR, 3 2B, 1 3B, 9 RBI, 5 BB, 10 SO

The Mets have a few former undrafted free agents making waves throughout the system, and John Bay might be the best of the bunch. He’s 25, so definitely old for High-A, but he earned a promotion to Binghamton after the first three weeks of July and has kept on slugging. A former college teammate of Nolan McLean, he’s one of now four notable former Oklahoma State Cowboys in the organization after the acquisition of Gabe Davis from the White Sox. Bay made his name at Austin Peay, but it still counts. The Mets—almost certainly unintentionally—have a bit of a pipeline going.

PITCHER OF THE MONTH: NOAH HALL

Statistics: 4 G (2 GS), 23.1 IP, 9 H, 1 R (1 ER), 30 SO, 10 BB, 0.39 ERA, 0.81 WHIP

It was a great bounce-back month for Noah Hall, who was having a tough season repeating High-A. It’s really hard to get much better allowing a single earned run and just nine hits in 23 and 1/3 innings. Hall’s biggest issue is he doesn’t throw enough strikes for someone who sits around 90-91 mph, and while he made slight improvements in July, they weren’t big enough to feel truly encouraged by. He’s also finally up to Double-A to start August.

SINGLE-A: ST. LUCIE METS

HITTER OF THE MONTH: TREY SNYDER

Statistics: 18 G, .394/.438/.592/1.030, 2 HR, 6 2B, 1 3B, 16 RBI, 6 BB, 13 SO, 9 SB (2 CS)

A high over-slot signing in 2024, Trey Snyder struggled through much of 2025 and got hurt during spring training this year, seriously delaying his season. Finally on the field, he’s showing why the Mets were so high on him. He’s nailed down his mechanics at the plate after doing too much tinkering last year, and the results are showing. He’s also now mostly a center fielder, but will keep playing some outfield. Like almost everyone here, Snyder also received a promotion, and he’s now up in Brooklyn.

PITCHER OF THE MONTH: ELWIS MIJARES

Statistics: 9 G (0 GS), 15.1 IP, 9 H, 3 R (2 ER), 20 SO, 5 BB, 1.17 ERA, 0.91 WHIP

It’s a little bit of slim pickings in St. Lucie this month on the pitching front, so we’re going with a 20-year-old reliever who just earned himself a promotion to Brooklyn. Elwis Mijares throws three different fastballs and can run it up over 95 mph, with a slider acting as his primary breaking pitch. It hasn’t always been smooth this year for the young right-hander, so it’s always nice to see a month like this.

DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE: DSL METS

HITTER OF THE MONTH: CESAR ACOSTA

Statistics: 21 G, .319/.432/.514/.946, 2 HR, 8 2B, 18 RBI, 14 BB, 19 SO, 3 SB (1 CS)

A slugging catcher, Cesar Acosta beat out top international signing Wandy Asigen for the top spot in July. Acosta appeared on the back end of FanGraphs’ top 45 Mets prospects list at the beginning of the season because of his power upside, and so far he’s rewarding their faith.

PITCHER OF THE MONTH: ABNER MEZA

Statistics: 4 G (4 GS), 19.2 IP, 14 H, 3 R (2 ER), 19 SO, 5 BB, 0.92 ERA, 0.97 WHIP

A 19-year-old repeating the Dominican Summer League, Abner Meza has been great all season. DSL stats are always a little wonky, especially for pitchers, but the biggest thing that stands out to me is that he seems to be throwing strikes. So many talented arms just can’t find the zone. He is, and he’s getting results.