Photo by Rick Nelson

Francisco Álvarez and Ronny Mauricio each hit a pair of home runs in a Rumble Ponies’ series victory. Here’s a look at some of the top performers in the Mets system this week.

Triple-A Syracuse

Syracuse split a six-game set with the Rochester Red Wings. The Mets are now 28-43.

Travis Blankenhorn led Syracuse with a huge week going 12-for-20 with three doubles, two home runs, and three stolen bases. Blankenhorn is hitting an exceptional .407/.484/.691 with five homers through 81 at-bats in June, raising is OPS to .798 on the year.

Quinn Brodey also picked up three extra-base hits following his callup from Binghamton, going 5-for-19 with a double, triple, and home run. Nick Dini and Johneshwy Fargas also homered for Syracuse in the series.

Thomas Szapucki made a pair of solid starts in Syracuse allowing three runs over nine total innings on seven hits and four walks while racking up 13 strikeouts. The left-hander is now 1-5 with a 3.48 ERA this year in Triple-A.

Double-A Binghamton

The Rumble Ponies took four of six from Reading as they improve to 28-41.

Brandon McIlwain continued his impressive start at Double-A going 8-for-23 with two doubles and a stolen base. McIlwain is slashing .355/.429/.548 through eight games in Binghamton.

Brett Baty had a strong series as well, going 7-for-20 with a home run. The 22-year-old third baseman is slashing .329/.424/.494 through 79 at-bats in June.

Francisco Álvarez and Ronny Mauricio, however, continued to show off their power, hitting a pair of home runs each. Álvarez is now third in the Eastern League with 17 homers while Mauricio is tied for eighth with 13.

While Max Scherzer‘s rehab start was the headline for the Rumble Ponies on the mound, the rest of the pitching in Binghamton was more of a mixed bag. Jose Butto struggled in a pair of appearances, allowing nine runs on 13 hits over seven innings while striking out only three. Butto’s ERA now sits at 4.35.

Meanwhile, Alec Kisena and Justin Lasko both earned a win with six-inning shutout performances, each allowing just four hits and a walk.

High-A Brooklyn

The Cyclones took five of six from Jersey Shore as they improve to 33-36.

Tanner Murphy led Brooklyn with six hits, including a double and a home run, in 19 at-bats. Matt Rudick also picked up six hits in 26 at-bats with three doubles and four stolen bases.

It was pitching, however, that powered the Cyclones to the series victory. Mike Vasil logged another quality start, allowing a run on four hits while striking out five to earn a win.

Nick Zwack earned a win as well with five shutout innings, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out six. Zwack has allowed just one run in his last four starts (19 innings). The left-hander is 1-1 with a 1.85 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP in 34 innings with Brooklyn.

Low-A St. Lucie

It was a rough week in St. Lucie as the Mets were swept in six games by the Palm Beach Cardinals, falling to 40-28 on the year.

Omar De Los Santos provided a bright spot in the series, going 9-for-20 with a double, a triple, and a home run. The 22-year-old outfielder also stole seven bases to increase his FSL-leading total to 43. De Los Santos is slashing .279/.331/.493 this season.

Carlos Dominguez also added a home run in the series, his 14th of the year.

Dominic Hamel was solid on the mound, allowing two runs on six hits while striking out seven over five innings in Tuesday’s start. He’d log another five strikeouts in two scoreless innings Sunday. Hamel is now 4-2 with a 3.92 ERA and a K/9 of 10.20.

Jeffrey Colon delivered a solid start as well, allowing a run on five hits in 5.2 innings. Meanwhile, Joel Diaz‘s struggles continued. The 18-year-old right-hander allowed three runs on three hits and two walks in just 1.1 innings. Diaz is now 0-1 with an 11.17 ERA and a 2.17 WHIP in 9.2 innings.

Dominican Summer League/Florida Complex League

Simon Juan had a solid bounce-back week in the DSL going 7-for-24 with a double, triple, and three stolen bases. Willy Fanas went 4-for-19.

In the FCL, Hector Rodriguez went 9-for-22 with a home run. The outfielder is second in the league with a .411 average.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

AVG – Brandon McIlwain (BRK/BNG) – .307

OPS – Francisco Álvarez (BNG) – .929

HR – Francisco Álvarez (SYR) – 17

SB – Omar De Los Santos (SLU) – 43

Pitching (min. 20 innings)

ERA – Nathan Lavender (BRK) – 0.65

SO – Alex Valverde (BNG) – 70

WHIP – Sammy Tavarez/Keyshawn Askew (SLU) – 0.82

Players of the Week

Offensive – Travis Blankenhorn, 2B Syracuse

Blankenhorn had a massive series for Syracuse going 12-for-20 with five extra-base hits (three doubles and two home runs). The 25-year-old utilityman was claimed off waivers by the Mets last June and went 4-for-23 in a brief stint with the major-league club.

In 58 games this year with Syracuse, Blankenhorn is slashing .272/.333/.465 with nine home runs. He’s hit safely in eight straight contests, going 15-for-29 with four doubles and three home runs over that span.

Pitching – Nick Zwack, LHP Brooklyn

Zwack continued his excellent run with Brooklyn, pitching five shutout innings to earn his second win of the year.

Zwack began the season with St. Lucie after he was drafted in the 17th round out of Xavier University. Since his callup to Brooklyn in early May, the left-hander has posted a 1.85 ERA in 34 innings with 34 strikeouts and just six walks.

In eight starts with Brooklyn, Zwack has yet to allow more than two earned runs in a start and hasn’t allowed a run in three of his last four starts.

While there wasn’t much hype around him in the draft, Zwack is establishing himself as a sleeper prospect with his dominance in High-A. The 23-year-old could be a fast riser in the Mets’ system and should find himself in Binghamton sooner rather than later.

Upcoming Schedule: June 28-July 3

AAA Syracuse: vs. Lehigh Valley

AA Binghamton: @ Hartford

High-A Brooklyn: @ Hudson Valley

Low-A St. Lucie: vs. Jupiter