Mets Minors Recap: Junior Santos Tosses Seven Strong Innings

Junior Santos, Photo by Ed Delany of MMO

Junior Santos struggled mightily for the first month of the 2022 season, but he has found a nice groove since that point. On Saturday evening, he had one of his best starts of the season, tossing seven innings of one-run ball.

AAA: Lehigh Valley IronPigs (58-46) 7, Syracuse Mets (46-58) 4 Box Score

Dominic Smith 1B: 0-for-3, BB, K, .250/.354/.412
Tzu-Wei Lin 3B: 1-for-3, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, .152/.257/.250
Khalil Lee CF: 1-for-4, 2B, K, .197/.316/.373

The Mets did not have much offense in Saturday’s game, but were helped by a couple of mistakes by the IronPigs. They scored one run via a balk in the fifth inning and scored another on a wild pitch in the seventh inning. Smith played his second rehab game in his return from an ankle sprain. He had four plate appearances and played seven innings at first base.

RHP Tim Adleman (2-1, 6.04 ERA) 4.0 IP, 3 H, ER, 3 BB, 2 K
RHP Stephen Nogosek (2-0, 1.24 ERA) 1.2 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 K
LHP Locke St. John (L, 1-3, 4.73 ERA) 1.0 IP, 2 H, 4 ER, BB

All four Mets’ pitchers who appeared in this game allowed at least one run. Adleman has been much better as a starter than as a reliever this year. He has a 3.86 ERA as a starting pitcher this season, as opposed to his 13.94 ERA as a reliever.

Not including his ill-fated major league stint, this was the first run Nogosek allowed since July 4th. Four runs are the most St. John has allowed in a single game since August of 2021.

Somerset Patriots (61-39) 4, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (39-61) 2 Box Score

Brandon McIlwain CF: 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, K, .244/.317/.400
Brett Baty 3B: 0-for-4, K, .309/.401/.534
Luke Ritter 1B: 1-for-4, R, HR, RBI, .236/.341/.431

With just five hits and an 0-for-6 performance with runners in scoring position, it’s no surprise that the Rumble Ponies struggled to score runs in Saturday’s game. A double by McIlwain in the fourth inning, and a solo home run by Ritter in the seventh represented the totality of their scoring.

After struggling to the tune of a .143/.229/.214 line in July, McIlwain has gotten August off to the right start with two straight multi-hit games featuring two extra-base hits. Baty had a rare hitless game, snapping a five-game hitting streak.

RHP Jordan Yamamoto (1-1, 4.85 ERA) 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, BB, 6 K
RHP Jose Chacin (L, 0-8, 6.99 ERA) 3.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, K

Yamamoto made just his third start of the season, and it was both his best and by far his longest appearance of the season. After not even going four full innings in any appearance this season, he needed just 66 pitches to make it through five strong innings.

After making 17 straight starts to begin the season, two of Chacin’s last three appearances have come out of the bullpen. This indicating that his struggles in Double-A may have resulted in the Mets shifting him to a relief role.

A+: Brooklyn Cyclones (51-50) 3, Winston-Salem Dash (48-53) 1 Box Score

Gregory Guerrero 1B: 2-for-2, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, .455/.571/.818
Alex Ramirez RF: 0-for-4, K, .273/.336./505
Rowdey Jordan 2B: 1-for-3, R, BB, SB, .263/.368/.383

Guerrero’s big home run in the second inning provided all the offense that the Cyclones would need to secure the victory in this game. Guerrero has saved his best performances for his brief cameos in Brooklyn. He has a sub-.600 OPS in both St. Lucie and the Florida Complex League this season, but has gotten on base multiple times in three of his four games with Brooklyn.

After playing almost exclusively in center field when he was with St. Lucie, Ramirez has played about 1/3rd of his games with Brooklyn in right field. He is in a mini-slump, having started August with a .158/.238/.211 slash line through five games.

RHP Junior Santos (W, 6-10, 4.12 ERA) 7.0 IP, 6 H, ER, 4 K
RHP Daison Acosta (1-6, 6.09 ERA) 2.0 IP, 2 H, BB

Santos had one of his best starts of the season, as he needed just 80 pitches to make it through seven innings of one-run ball. His seven innings of work tied his career high. Since the start of July, Santos has gone at least five innings and allowed two runs or less in all but one of his six starts. Meanwhile, Acosta has a 1.75 ERA in 25 2/3 innings as a reliever this season.

A: St. Lucie Mets (59-41) 3, Daytona Tortugas (39-59) 1 Box Score

Raul Beracierta LF: 1-for-3, R, HR, RBI, BB, K, .300/.351/.470
Junior Tilien 2B: 2-for-4, K, .269/.318/.450
Omar De Los Santos CF: 2-for-3, RBI, BB, CS, .269/.338/.462

The Mets were held without a single run for the first four innings on Saturday, but Beracierta broke the scoreless tie with his 11th home run of the season. He has been scorching hot for the last month. Over the last 30 days, he is slashing .351/.377/.581. His 1.112 OPS over the last 15 days leads the Florida State League. De Los Santos started the season 41-for-45 in stolen base attempts but has gone just 15-for-24 since then.

RHP Kyle Wilson (0-0, 5.40 ERA) 2.0 IP, 5 K
RHP Jeffrey Colon (W, 3-0, 3.23 ERA) 5.0 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, 4 K
RHP Benito Garcia (2-1, 2.45 ERA) 1.0 IP, K

Wilson was dominant in his third rehab appearance of the season (he missed all of 2021 due to an undisclosed injury). He averaged 93.4 MPH and topped out at 94.5 MPH on his fastball. His cutter was his best secondary pitch. Wilson threw it nearly 1/3rd of the time, and it generated a 50% whiff rate.

Also, batted balls against Colon had just a 78.6 MPH average exit velocity, as he managed to generate soft contact throughout his five innings of work. Garcia has a 12:1 K:BB ratio in 11 innings with St. Lucie this season.

FCL: FCL Nationals (28-14) 2, FCL Mets (25-18) 0 Box Score

RHP Jawilme Ramirez (1-0, 0.97 ERA) 3.0 IP, 3 H, 2 K

The Mets had no offense to speak of on Saturday, but Ramirez continued his outstanding season on the mound. He has not given up an earned run in any of his four most recent appearances (13 2/3 innings pitched).