Ronny Mauricio. Photo by Serena Spencer

The story of Friday night in the Mets farm system was an all too familiar one. Syracuse’s bats stayed hot as Brett Baty led the way again. He hit a grand slam and continued to show that he should be in the bigs on an everyday basis. Ronny Mauricio also continued to rake with another multi-hit day of his own, including three doubles and a late-game homer to stay ahead of Baty in the stat sheet.

 AAA: Syracuse (9-4) 6, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (1-4) 1 Box Score

  • 3B Brett Baty, 2-for-4, HR (5), 5 RBI (15) .400/1.386
  • SS Ronny Mauricio, 4-for-4, HR (6), 3 2B (5), RBI (14), .380/1.316
  • 2B Jonathan Araúz,  2-for-5, 2 RBI (8) .370/.985
  • LF Lorenzo Cedrola,  3-for-5, RBI (7) .286/.889

Mauricio and Baty are screaming to be called up to the big leagues. It’s a matter of time for the Mets who boast a struggling offense. Mauricio has been consistent throughout winter ball, spring training, and his first taste of AAA baseball. There’s no doubt that he has regained his star status that was waning last year.

Syracuse’s good day was mostly on the hitting side of things. Josh Walker looked solid on the night with three strikeouts to continue a good start to the season. T.J. McFarland was the star of the night with 2.1 scoreless innings to hold the lead, striking out four in the process. His ERA stands at 2.70 on the young season.

Double-A: Somerset Patriots (4-3) 6, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (2-5) 0 Box Score

There weren’t many highlights for Binghamton on Friday as they were shut out and recorded just three hits. Rowdey Jordan raised his average to .071. Their woes so far this season have mostly been offensive as five hitters in their Friday lineup had batting averages starting with a zero or a one.

Dominic Hamel had another gritty outing, the style of which we became acquainted with during his first full season last year. He will, from time to time, have high walk numbers in games as he did on Opening Day (3.1 IP with 4 BB). He now has 8 BB in 7.1 IP along with 10 K’s. His ERA is pristine but, to advance to the next level, he will need to find the zone more to show he can be a reliable starter.

Nolan Clenney had a nice bounce-back performance after a rough first Double-A outing, throwing three scoreless. Both him and Hunter Parsons seem to have found their footing in the second series.

High-A: Brooklyn (3-4) 8, Winston-Salem Dash (3-2) 3 Box Score

Brooklyn’s offense came alive early on in Friday’s game with two three-run home runs from top prospects Alex Ramírez and Stanley Consuegra. Parada added in a multi-hit game and the Cyclones bashed their way to an 8-3 victory. It was great to see a sign of life from Ramírez, hitting his first round tripper of the season.

Raimon Gómez was able to make it out of the first inning in his second outing of the season and showed signs of promise, striking out six in his first two innings. In relief, Manny Rodríguez made massive strides towards his ‘pitchability’ by going three innings out of the pen without any walks. This was the biggest hurdle for Manny to get through after sitting 93-95 in his last outing. Jace Beck also added a scoreless inning out of the pen with two strikeouts.

Low-A: Game 1 St. Lucie Mets (2-4) 5, Jupiter Hammerheads (3-3) 3 Box Score

Carlos Domínguez blasted his first homerun of the season after hitting 20 in 2022. Notably, he has four walks and six walks so far this season after posting a concerning 37:173 BB:K ratio a year ago. The excessive strikeouts are likely why he didn’t begin the season in Brooklyn. A few more weeks of continued patience and production and he will likely be up north.

Jordany Ventura bounced back after a rough opening outing to at least make it through a few scoreless frames. He now has an alarming 10 BB in 5 IP to start the season but he had thrown just 8.2 innings since 2019 entering the 2023 season. Growing pains may be the reality for Jordany’s electric arm but he needs to find the zone in a hurry.

Game 2: St. Lucie Mets (3-4) 8, Jupiter Hammerheads (3-4) 7 Box Score

Jefrey De los Santos blasted his second round-tripper of the season in the nail-biter second game of the twin bill on Friday. The Mets were able to hang on, both scoring and then allowing three runs in the final frame to walk away with the win.

Jawilme Ramirez had an average outing, pounding the zone but allowing seven hits in his outing. He should be a horse for St. Lucie this year, however, throwing 60 of 78 pitches for strikes.