Can you believe the baseball season is almost over? There’s only a month left in the MLB regular season, and the minor league seasons will be done before that. The rookie leagues are already done; High-A wraps up this week, Double-A next week and Triple-A the week after that.

It was a big August for many Mets minor leaguers on both sides of the game. Let’s go through who was the best of the best.

TRIPLE-A: SYRACUSE METS

HITTER OF THE MONTH: MJ MELENDEZ

Statistics: 21 G, .256/.307/.634/.931, 7 HR, 1 3B, 8 2B, 19 RBI, 6 BB, 24 SO

MJ Melendez spent a decent chunk of time up with the big club in the first half of the season, but he’s been down in Syracuse since late June. He had a great August, with 16 extra-base hits, but some of his bigger flaws still showed up. He still struck out 27.3% of the time, and I imagine the Mets will want to see that improve before he’s in consideration for a return to the show. He was also just leapfrogged on the depth chart by Nick Morabito, likely signalling the Mets’ focus shift to long-term development for the final month of the season. I’m not sure we’ll see Melendez in the big leagues again with the Mets.

There are a handful of players who had better slash lines over fewer games, like Mark Vientos, Christopher Morel, Vidal Bruján and D’Andre Smith, but Melendez’s production over his sample size and sheer volume of extra-base hits gets him the nod here.

PITCHER OF THE MONTH: JONAH TONG

Statistics: 5 G (5 GS), 26.1 IP, 16 H, 8 R (7 ER), 26 SO, 11 BB, 2.39 ERA, 1.03 WHIP

What a month for Jonah Tong. This year has been a struggle for the young righty. There’s no way around that, but he’s now strung together back-to-back months where he was the best pitcher in Syracuse. It still hasn’t been completely smooth sailing. Even his first start in August was rough, giving up five solo homers in five innings. He righted the ship since then, though, and finished with a fantastic four-start stretch where he posted a 0.84 ERA in 21 1/3 innings. His walk rate was still in the double digits, so it doesn’t look like that can be realistically expected to come down much more at this point, which means he’s just going to have to find ways to live with it.

I’m really interested in whether Tong will make any more big-league starts for the Mets this season. There was an obvious opening for him to be inserted into the rotation with the rosters expanding in September, but the Mets opted for Justin Hagenman instead. I don’t see much point in running out the almost 30-year-old Hagenman—and even less with the 36-year-old Robert Stock—so it would make sense for the Mets to give Tong a shot. He’s definitely not a finished product yet, but he’s been better, and he deserves another look.

DOUBLE-A: BINGHAMTON RUMBLE PONIES

HITTER OF THE MONTH: JEFFERSON ROJAS

Statistics: 21 G, .279/.326/.605/.931, 7 HR, 1 3B, 5 2B, 25 RBI, 7 BB, 15 SO

Billy Amick made a real case here, but his mid-August promotion split his time between Double-A and Triple-A just a bit too much. If Jefferson Rojas wasn’t as good as he was, Amick still might have won, but Rojas was too good to ignore the difference in sample sizes. It was a really great month for the organization’s top trade deadline acquisition. He needs to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason, or else it leaves him vulnerable to being taken in the Rule 5 Draft—and he definitely would be selected. So, seeing as he’ll be on the 40-man roster already, the door is wide open for him to make his MLB debut in 2027 (if there is a 2027). I wouldn’t even count out Opening Day, especially if he gets a Triple-A cameo towards the end of this season, which I think he will.

PITCHER OF THE MONTH: R.J. GORDON

Statistics: 5 G (5 GS), 29 IP, 21 H, 10 R (7 ER), 27 SO, 10 BB, 2.17 ERA, 1.07 WHIP

R.J. Gordon burst onto the scene last year as an eighth-round pick who turned in an ERA in the mid-to-low threes, but his second full year of pro ball hasn’t been nearly as smooth. He’s missed some time, too, and still has an ERA over five even with his great August under his belt. It will be interesting to see how he finishes his season – if he closes with another handful of really solid starts, his stock would be back on the rise – maybe not all the way to the point where he finished last season, but seeing him turn it around for an extended period of time would re-instill a lot of confidence.

HIGH-A: BROOKLYN CYCLONES

HITTER OF THE MONTH: YONATAN HENRÍQUEZ

Statistics: 24 G, .303/.369/.576/.945, 6 HR, 9 2B, 25 RBI, 10 BB, 18 SO, 11 SB (2 CS)

After an injury-plagued first few months of the season, Yonatan Henríquez rebounded in a big way in August. The switch-hitter works with two very distinct stances and swings from each side of the plate, and he’s really nailed each of them down now that he’s not playing through pain. His chase and contact metrics have improved significantly over the last month, supporting the jump in surface stats. The coaching staff in Brooklyn thinks really highly of him; he plays all over the field, and he’s still just 21 years old. There’s a really under-the-radar potential future contributor here.

PITCHER OF THE MONTH: NICOLAS CARRENO

Statistics: 4 G (4 GS), 23 IP, 12 H, 4 R (3 ER), 27 SO, 11 BB, 1.17 ERA, 1.00 WHIP

There’s been a trio of really exciting young pitchers in Brooklyn for the last few months—Daviel Hurtado, Jose Chirinos and Nicolas Carreno—and while they were all really good in August, Carreno clearly was the best. He’s had his ups and downs since being promoted to Brooklyn in June, and this was by far his best stretch since joining the Cyclones. He has a really special dual fastball and slider combo from the left side, and he’s one more pitch away from cementing himself as a true starter going forward. He might still be able to live as a starter with just these three pitches because they’re that good, but the reliever risk is definitely higher until a fourth pitch emerges. He just turned 20 in June, though, so he’s very young for his level. There’s plenty of time here to develop.

SINGLE-A: ST. LUCIE METS

HITTER OF THE MONTH: JULIO ZAYAS

Statistics: 19 G, .275/.359/.522/.881, 5 HR, 2 2B, 13 RBI, 9 BB, 19 SO

Many of the Mets’ 2026 draft picks played their first full month of pro ball in August, including third-round pick Aiden Robbins, but it was Julio Zayas who hit the best. The 20-year-old first baseman has spent the entire year in St. Lucie, after one year in the DSL and two years in the FCL, and he’s been solid in his first full-season look. The five homers are encouraging, as he’s going to need to reach more power as a first baseman.

PITCHER OF THE MONTH: ERNESTO MERCEDES

Statistics: 10 G (0 GS), 14.1 IP, 10 H, 5 R (2 ER), 20 SO, 9 BB, 1.26 ERA, 1.33 WHIP

A reliever! Ernesto Mercedes was great in August. The 22-year-old righty has a big, big arm, sitting over 95 mph on his heater with a slider that can creep into the 90s as well. He misses a ton of bats. However, like many young, high-velocity arms, he also has some trouble throwing strikes. He dropped his walk rate a bit in August, but it was still too high. Everything else, though, was great. Even though his season ERA is still over six, he has 70 strikeouts in 43 innings, so that will surely keep getting him opportunities next year when he’ll likely move up to Brooklyn.