Mark Vientos, Photo by James Farrance

There have been several outstanding performances in the Mets minor leagues during the month of May with some players starting to raise their profiles. While we cannot mention everyone who has had a good month, here are the staff selections for the top performers in each category.

Position Player – 1B/3B Mark Vientos

Level: Triple-A Syracuse
Stats: .328/.408/.642, 2 2B, 5 HR, 14 RBI

Ever since the Mets made Vientos their second round pick in the 2017 draft, we have seen Vientos be a slow starter who breaks out with a great second month of the season. While there was some concern with Vientos’ start to the 2022 season, he once again proved that he takes about a month to truly get going, and when he gets going . . . WATCH OUT!

For Vientos, it began on May 8. In that game, he was 2-for-3 with 2 R, a HR, 4 RBI, and 2 walks. It was his first multi-hit game of the month and the first of six. As impressive as that was, two days later Vientos would have his first multi-home run game of the season.

Overall, Vientos finished the month with a 1.062 OPS. Vientos did the same thing last year in Double-A. He had a poor first month with a 1.182 OPS in the second month of the season. If you are looking for another reason to get excited about Vientos, he followed that with a 1.008 OPS in the following month and would have three months total with an OPS over 1.000.

Honorable Mention: Brandon McIlwain posted a .872 OPS for High-A Brooklyn stealing five bases in six attempts. Omar De Los Santos went on a power surge hitting six doubles, two triples, and four homers for Low-A St. Lucie while being successful in 15 out of 16 stolen base attempts. Nick Plummer had a 1.011 OPS for Triple-A Syracuse before getting called up to the majors where he homered in his first two career starts.

Starting Pitcher – Mike Vasil

Level: Low-A St. Lucie, High-A Brooklyn
Stats: 3-1, 2.05 ERA, 5 G, 5 GS, 22.0 IP, 1.000 WHIP, 2.5 BB/9, 12.3 K/9

After the Mets selected Vasil in the eighth round of last year’s draft, he impressed with a fastball considered to possibly be the best in that draft. After a successful 2021 season, he was named MMN‘s 27th-ranked prospect. Judging from his May, Vasil is going to ascend even higher in the rankings.

Vasil led all Mets minor leagues with 30 strikeouts over the course of the month. That was highlighted by his May 17 start where he struck out a career-high 11 batters. That was one of three starts in the month he did not allow an earned run, and it was one of four starts where he allowed a run or fewer. If you think the numbers are elite, you should see his strut game.

With Vasil, it isn’t just the strikeouts. It’s the control and the ability to dominate other batters. While the 12.3 K/9 was an incredible feat, you could argue the 5.00 K/BB was far more impressive. Overall, he would limit opposing batters to a .203/.267/.253 batting line, and he earned that promotion to Brooklyn.

Honorable Mention: Luis Moreno posted a 1.00 ERA for St. Lucie. Calvin Ziegler struck out 22 over 14 1/3 innings for St. Lucie.

Reliever – Trey Cobb

Level: Double-A Binghamton
Stats: 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 7 G, 16.2 IP, 0.660 WHIP, 1.6 BB/9, 11.3 K/9

After Tommy John surgery and the lost year with the pandemic, Cobb has reinvented himself a bit. He has dropped his arm angle, and he has shifted from a closer to a shut down middle reliever. He was certainly that with Binghamton, and he’s starting to put himself in the conversation for a call-up at some point this season.

Cobb did not allow an earned run all month long. More than that, he’s only allowed one run in Double-A this season. With his promotion to Triple-A, it appears that is going to be the case for the 2022 season.

One thing that is impressive with Cobb is all of his outings for the month were multiple innings. He pitched at least two innings in all seven appearances, and he pitched three innings twice. One of the reasons for his ability to do so is his limiting right-handed batters to a .140/.259/.200 batting line for the season. He has fairly neutral platoon splits with left-handed batters only having a .512 OPS against him.

Of course, the control is the biggest story. While Cobb is striking out more than a batter per inning, he also has an astounding 7.00 K/BB for the month. With those stats, it is no wonder he was rewarded for this dominant stretch with a promotion to Triple-A Syracuse.

Honorable Mention: Josh Hejka allowed just one earned over 12 innings pitched for High-A Brooklyn. Michel Otanez was a perfect 5/5 in save opportunities for Double-A Binghamton. Nathan Lavender picked up two wins while pitching 10 scoreless innings for Low-A St. Lucie.