Danny Mendick, Photo by Richard Nelson
Here’s a recap of the Mets’ minor-league action on Friday.
Triple-A: Louisville (25-23) 15, Syracuse (19-30) 8 Box Score
- 3B Branden Fryman, 1-for-5, HR (1), 2 RBI (2), .222/.856
- DH Jaylin Davis, 1-for-5, HR (7), 2 RBI (26) .236/.793
- RF Danny Mendick, 3-for-5, .251/.681
Luis Guillorme, Lorenzo Cedrola, and Nick Meyer also each added multi-hit nights for the Mets in what turned out to be a trouncing after they initially held a 3-1 lead. Consecutive multi-run innings by the Bats (along with a four-run ninth inning) added up to the 15-8 final tally despite a strong offensive performance even with Ronny Mauricio out of the lineup.
- RHP David Griffin (7.33 ERA) 2.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
- LHP Josh Walker (1.72 ERA) 1.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
- RHP Tony Dibrell (10.86 ERA) 3 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
It was an ugly day for the Syracuse staff with a lone bright spot of Josh Walker’s scoreless performance. Walker has been nails all season, and while he did make his big league debut last week, Buck and the front office would probably like to see him lower his walk rate after issuing a pair of free passes in his first inning in the show. Once he dials in the command, he will be a good up-and-down lefty to use in his first option year.
As far as the other arms go, it was a forgettable day for Griffin, Dibrell, and William Woods, who coughed up four runs in two innings. Dibrell has been a failed experiment in Triple-A following a season on the injured list last year and, at some point, he should at least go on the development list to try to make a change. As ex-pitching coordinator Ricky Meinhold once said, doing things the same way over and over again and failing each time in the same way is the definition of insanity.
Double-A: Binghamton (20-22) 7, Richmond (21-21) 2 Box Score
- 3B Jose Peroza, 2-for-3, 2 RBI (23), BB, 3B (1) .303/.950
- LF Brandon McIlwain, 2-for-4, 2B (6), RBI (19) .234/.652
- 3B Luke Ritter, 1-4, HR (4), 3 RBI (10) BB .193/.693
Matt Rudick had a hitless night but still collected a walk and six Rumble Ponies had knocks on the night, roughing up former Mets farmhand Nick Zwack. Ritter took Zwack deep in the third inning, Joe Suozzi smashed his first Double-A double, and Jose Peroza flashed his not-often-seen speed on a triple.
It’s always a good feeling to have a strong performance against a quality arm. Despite Zwack’s struggles to being 2023 (7.58 ERA), it was an encouraging performance from the Binghamton bats.
- RHP Luis Moreno (6.13 ERA) 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
- RHP Justin Courtney (6.35 ERA) 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
- RHP Hunter Parsons (4.67 ERA) 2 IP, o H, 0 ER, o BB, 1 K
Friday’s game was a great performance on the mound for the Ponies too as Moreno picked himself up off the ground and tossed six strong innings. After a breakout 2022, he has struggled out of the gate with both command and consistency. Despite the three free passes, it was a big step forward.
The same goes for Justin Courtney who has been in a rut of late since being sent back to Double-A after filling in for Syracuse. He and Hunter Parsons combined for an important three scoreless innings to close out the game. Parsons has gained over one mph on his fastball so far this year (93.7) after averaging below 89 mph in his 2019 short-season debut. He has made big strides in his personal development and it’s encouraging to see him pitch meaningful innings for Reid Brignac‘s and AJ Sager’s staff.
High-A: Brooklyn (18-22) 3, Winston Salem (24-17) 2 Box Score
- 1B Jose Mena, 2-for-3, 2B (2), 2 RBI (2) .313/.827
- SS Kevin Kendall, 2-for-3, .226/660
- 2B Chase Estep, 2-for-4, .200/.634
Kevin Kendall had a solid night along with Jose Mena, the resident veteran on the Brooklyn squad. Kendall’s slow start is understandable following a lost season due to his 2022 thumb injury, so a betting man might count on a strong second leg to the season. Stanley Consuegra and Alex Ramirez both added hits of their own and are slowly building strong resumes with above-average league production to this point.
- RHP Jeffrey Colon (7.28 ERA) 6.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K
- RHP Quinn Brodey (2.65 ERA) 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
- RHP Jace Beck (4.50 ERA) 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
The Brooklyn pitching staff had a strong day to hold off the intimidating Winston Salem lineup and Quinn Brodey continues to beckon for a promotion. Calm, cool, and collected left-handed relievers are hard to come by and he is certainly earning his keep through this point in the season.
Jace Beck now has 25 strikeouts in 12 innings pitched, however, he also has 13 walks to go along with it. Those K numbers are out of this world and after three seasons of relative mediocrity (50 innings pitched in his career through three seasons) he is now deserving of attention. His fastball profile is unique with a high vertical break (19″) and an unseen extension of 7.3. Although his release height of 6’1″ isn’t ideal for misses at the top of the zone, his movement, extension and 93.7 mph average velocity make it an elite pitch. He should look to improve slider shape long term (82 is a bit slow for the shape he has currently) and use his splitter more to lefties, although his vertical profile should pair well to both righties and lefties.
Low-A St. Lucie
St. Lucie’s game was postponed due to weather after Thursday’s game was suspended after just a half inning.
The team plans to finish Thursday’s game on Saturday and play another seven-inning game afterward. They’ll finish the series (playing five games instead of six) on Sunday with one nine-inning game.
The weather is looking far more promising on Saturday and Sunday.
