Mike Vasil, Photo by Ed Delany of MMO

On a night when three of the Mets four MiLB teams came out with a victory, the Mets 2021 eighth round draft pick, Mike Vasil, earned his first ever professional win. His impressive five innings start along with an Alex Ramirez three-hit night led the first place St. Lucie Mets to their fifth straight win in a 3-2 clipping of the Cardinals.

AAA: Syracuse Mets 5 (9-16) vs. Lehigh Valley IronPigs 3 (14-12) Box Score

Young was drafted by the Mets in the 15th round of last years draft, but don’t let his late selection fool you. He’s been playing like a first round draft pick since his promotion to Syracuse. Young got one of Syracuse’s eight hits in this game and started their scoring with an RBI single in the third, which would eventually lead the Mets to a 5-3 win over the IronPigs. Young is now hitting .345 and has an OPS of .897 since joining Syracuse.

Plummer also drove in a run for the Mets, collecting his 12th RBI on the season. Travis Blankenhorn got Syracuse their lone extra base hit of the night, with a double in the fifth and was later driven in by a Mazeika RBI single.

  • RHP Jose Rodriguez: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 9.92 ERA
  • RHP R.J. Alvarez: (W, 1-1) 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 4.00 ERA
  • LHP Alex Claudio: (H, 1) 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 1.64 ERA
  • RHP: Colin Holderman: (S, 2) 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 2.16 ERA

Jose Rodriguez had a rough month of April to say the least turning in a 10.95 ERA by months end. He started May a bit better with a serviceable outing giving up three runs with five strikeouts over four innings. The bullpen though was the real story from the mound tonight for Syracuse. Alvarez, Claudio, and Holderman combined to not give up a hit in their five innings of relief, slamming the door on any hopes of an IronPigs late game rally. Alex Claudio, a 30-year-old reliever, continues to put together a nice early season for the Mets, lowering his ERA to an impressive 1.64.

AA: F/11, Binghamton Rumble Ponies 2 (7-15) vs. Hartford Yard Goats 3 (12-11) Box Score

Super prospect Francisco Álvarez, appears to be mired in his first slump in Double-A. His rough 0-for-5 evening added to a 1-for-15 five game slide for the 20-year-old catcher. Brett Baty mirrored Álvarez’s struggles as well in this game going 0-for-5. The rest of the team couldn’t pick up the slack and fell in 11 innings in Hartford 3-2. Johneshwy Fargas provided the only runs for the Rumble Ponies with a two-run home run in the third. Unfortunately, Binghamton wouldn’t score again only managing to get five hits off Harford pitching.

  • RHP Jose Chacin: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 1 HR, 2.57 ERA
  • RHP Trey Cobb: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 1.13 ERA
  • RHP Bryce Montes de Oca: (L, 0-1) 0.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 2.08 ERA

Chacin started his Double-A career on a positive note pitching seven strong innings, giving up two runs and striking out three while getting no decision. Chacin through his first four starts with Brooklyn was dominant, pitching to the tune of a 1.53 ERA, striking out 22 and holding opposing batters to a paltry .206 average. He showed flashes of his Brooklyn brilliance in this game and his command was spot on, only allowing one walk in seven innings of work.

Cobb did all he could to give the Rumble Ponies a chance to win the game in relief firing off three shutout innings of his own. But a rare rough night for Bryce Montes de Oca sent the Rumble Ponies to a walk off loss against the Yard Goats.

A+: Brooklyn Cyclones 9 (12-11) vs. Aberdeen IronBirds 4 (16-6) Box Score

  • 3B Jose Peroza: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, .176/.230/.206
  • C Nic Gaddis: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI, .160/.279/.240
  • CF Jaylen Palmer: 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, .132/.281/.170

Over their last two games, both of them losses, the Brooklyn Cyclones managed to score just one run. Runs wouldn’t be at such a premium in this game as Brooklyn exploded for nine runs, seven of them coming in the last two innings and rolled to a 9-4 victory in Aberdeen. Jaylen Palmer, who like the rest of the Cyclones, was struggling at the plate, but broke out at long last, ending an 0-for-24 skid with a 2-for-3 game which included an RBI. Nic Gaddis might have put the final dagger in Aberdeen in the ninth with a two-run double that extended the Cyclones lead to 8-3 and leading to a 9-4 grounding of the IronBirds.

  • LHP Nick Zwack: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO, 1.80 ERA
  • RHP Jesus Vargas: (W, 2-0) 4.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 2.37 ERA

The Zwack attack came north for the spring as an impressive first month with St. Lucie for Nick Zwack earned him a promotion to Brooklyn. Zwack wouldn’t disappoint in his debut as he went five impressive innings in Aberdeen, allowing just one run and striking out four. Jesus Vargas would earn the win in relief of Zwack throwing four innings of relief giving up three runs and striking out four as he continues to turn heads his first month in the Mets organization.

Alex Ramirez, Photo by Ed Delany of MMO

A: St. Lucie Mets 3 (16-7) vs. Palm Beach Cardinals 2 (9-14) Box Score

The first place St. Lucie Mets peppered the Cardinals with 11 hits which resulted in three runs and a 3-2 win, their fifth straight. Speaking of streaks, Carlos Dominguez homered again for a second straight game and his eighth of the season and has now driven in two runs in three straight games. Dominguez leads the Mets minor league with eight home runs on the season.

Not to be outdone, Alex Ramirez continues to dominate in Single-A with another multi-hit performance going 3-for-5, with his eighth double of the season and raising his batting average to an elite .372.

Shortstop Shervyen Newton continues to hit the ball hard this season, he had the two hardest hit balls of the game at 105 and 106 mph. He went 1-for-3 with a walk and has a .908 OPS for the season.

  • RHP Mike Vasil: (W, 1-1) 5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO, 2.86 ERA
  • RHP Nate Jones: (H, 1) 3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 3.38 ERA
  • RHP Grant Hartwig: (S, 3) 1.0, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1.80 ERA

Mike Vasil continues to enjoy success this season in St. Lucie and now the Mets 2021 eighth round draft selection  has his first professional win. Vasil turned in a sparkling performance in Palm Beach as he only allowed one run while striking out six Cardinals. Vasil did scatter six hits over five innings but was able to dance out of danger and keep the Cardinals off the scoreboard through most of his start. Vasil was up to 95 mph with his fastball, but it was his curveball that signed on Wednesday night with a 67% whiff rate and another five called strikes on the pitch.

Nate Jones and Grant Hartwig ensured the Vasil would earn his win by limiting the Cardinals to just one run on one hit over a combined four innings of relief.