Colin Houck Goes Deep Twice, Blackburn Rolls in Rehab Start

Colin Houck clubbed two home runs in a St. Lucie Win, Syracuse swept both games in their doubleheader, and Brooklyn continued its dominance as every Mets affiliate that completed their games won on Wednesday.

Triple-A

Game 1

Syracuse Mets (23-29) 4, Iowa Cubs (27-23) 2 MAKEUP OF MAY 27 GAME/ 7 INNINGS

BOX SCORE

CF Drew Gilbert – 0-for-3, SB (1), 1 BB, 1 K (.639 OPS)
2B Donovan Walton – 1-for-1, 1 R, HR (7), 2 RBI (24), 2 BB (.701 OPS)
DH Jon Singleton – 0-for-2, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K (.804 OPS)
1B Joey Meneses – 1-for-3, 2B, RBI (28) (.805 OPS)

Drew Gilbert had some signs of life with his legs, netting his first stolen base of the season. Otherwise, May has been a forgettable month for Gilbert. Gilbert has hit .190 in the month of May, albeit with a .320 OBP and more walks than strikeouts (16 to 15). With only four hits on the day, Syracuse made them count by scoring four runs. Luke Ritter continues to struggle as well, with his 0-for-3 day and two strikeouts continuing a rough start to the 2025 season.

RHP Nolan McLean – 5 1/3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

Nolan McLean looked good on Wednesday, throwing nearly two-thirds of his pitches for strikes on his way to five strikeouts. Of all of the Mets starting prospects at Triple-A, McLean has fared the best while being able to keep his strikeout rate up. Considering this is his first season devoted to pitching, it is great to see him shrug off adversity like his six-walk start on May 15th and bounce right back. The bullpen held the fort with three relievers combining to finish the seven-inning game.

Game 2

Syracuse Mets (23-29) 3, Iowa Cubs (27-23) 2 / 7 INNINGS

BOX SCORE

CF Drew Gilbert – 0-for-3, 2 K (.649 OPS)
2B Ronny Mauricio – 2-for-3, 2 R, SB (3) (1.488 OPS)
LF Donovan Walton – 1-for-3, 1 K (.671 OPS)
DH Jon Singleton – 0-for-3 (.810 OPS)
1B Joey Meneses – 1-for-3, 2B, RBI (27) (.802 OPS)

Ronny Mauricio is still on a tear, hitting over .500 in a small sample size. Mauricio has been hitting the cover off the ball, and it seems as if he trusts his legs and still has the speed that made him a top-100 prospect in baseball. Joey Meneses has seen 11 of his 37 hits in May go for extra bases while having a respectable 7:10 BB:K ratio.

RHP Paul Blackburn (2.70 ERA) 6 1/3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR allowed (54 of 84 pitches for strikes)

Paul Blackburn had another quality start and at this point seems to just be biding his time in the event the big club needs a starter on short rest. With Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea due back in the near future, Blackburn may be fighting for a look in Flushing. Grant Hartwig came out to finish the game with two-thirds of an inning of work.

High-A

Brooklyn Cyclones (32-15) 6 vs. Aberdeen IronBirds (19-28) 4

BOX SCORE

CF A.J. Ewing – 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI (11), SB (20), 1 BB, 1 K (.890 OPS)
RF Carson Benge – 0-for-4, 2 K (.951 OPS)
1B Jacob Reimer – 1-for-3, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K (.994 OPS)
LF Chris Suero – 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI (27), 1 K (.841 OPS)
3B Jesus Baez – 0-for-1, 1 R, 1 RBI (26), 2 BB (.802 OPS)

The Cyclones did some lineup juggling today, with Jacob Reimer getting a rare start at first base and Chris Suero playing in left-field. A.J. Ewing has been dominant in May, with seven of his 30 hits going for extra bases while running a 12/14 BB/K. The Cyclones managed six runs without a single extra-base hit.

RHP R.J. Gordon (2.97 ERA) 3 IP, 5 H, 4 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 5 K (39 of 56 pitches for strikes)
RHP Cristofer Gomez (0.00 ERA) 3 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 6 K
RHP Raimon Gomez (9.64 ERA) 2 IP, 1 BB, 2 K

Cristofer Gomez has yet to allow a run over 22 2/3 innings of work all while striking out 38 batters. Raimon Gomez hasn’t been as dominant as he was in Low-A, but today was a move in the right direction, not allowing a hit over two innings.

Low-A

St. Lucie Mets (26-21) 7, Palm Beach Cardinals (22-25) 2

BOX SCORE

SS Jeremy Rodriguez – 1-for-3, 2 R, 1 BB (.611 OPS)
3B Colin Houck – 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR (6), 3 RBI (26), 1 K (.739 OPS)
C Daiverson Gutierrez – 0-for-3, 1 R, 1 BB (.631 OPS)
1B Vincent Perozo – 2-for-3, 1 RBI (14), CS (3), 1 BB, 1 K (.821 OPS)
RF Simon Juan – 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI (20), 1 BB (.634 OPS)
LF Nick Roselli – 1-for-3, 1 R, HR (4), 1 RBI (.698 OPS)

Colin Houck was on fire Wednesday, hitting two home runs, giving him more home runs (six) in 2025 over 158 at-bats than he did in 2024 (five) in 408 at-bats. Houck is still striking out in nearly 33% of his at-bats, which isn’t a sustainable path for success, but is still an improvement over a 2024 season that saw him plummet down many prospect lists. Vincent Perozo has been a nice surprise, putting up an OPS over .800, making him one of the best players on the St. Lucie squad.

RHP Frank Elissalt (2.21 ERA) 3 IP, 2 H, 1 unearned run, 2 BB, 2 K (32 of 53 pitches for strikes)
RHP Estarlin Escalante (4.26 ERA) 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 4 K

The pitching was good on Wednesday as Frank Elissalt got the start, and didn’t allow a run over three innings. He has been quite the surprise in 2025, potentially another late-round hit in the 2024 Mets draft. The rest of the bullpen was also firing on all cylinders, allowing only one more run in six innings with only three walks. Josh Blum secured his third save of the season and has struck out 21 batters in 20 innings.