The final week of the minor league season is here, with the Syracuse Mets rounding out a disappointing season with a series split. In Double-A, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies advanced to the Eastern League Championship Series and then lost Game 1 to the Erie SeaWolves. To win their first title since 2014, the Rumble Ponies will have to win two consecutive games in Erie. Game 2 is scheduled for September 26 and Game 3, if necessary, is scheduled for September 27.

Here are the biggest developments throughout the organization, including a clutch homer from Jett Williams and a statement start from Dominic Hamel.

Jett Williams, Photo by Bronson Harris of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies

 

Triple-A Syracuse

The Syracuse Mets split their six-game series at home against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Syracuse finishes its season with a 61-85 record.

Jaylen Palmer’s homer in Tuesday’s game made it four long balls in a five-game span. He hit just .173 with a .603 OPS on the season, but he did post a .974 OPS in his first 21 career Triple-A games.

José Peroza hit .333 with a 1.107 OPS in nine games with Syracuse after a mid-September call-up. He finished the season with a .766 OPS and tied a career-high with 12 homers.

Carlos Cortes set a new career high with 15 homers this year to go along with a .783 OPS. He also demonstrated significant improvements with both his walk rate and strikeout rate.

Mike Vasil allowed two runs (one earned run) in four innings of work on Thursday, striking out eight batters and issuing three walks. He finished the season with a 4.65 ERA across 20 starts (124 innings), racking up 138 strikeouts.

 

Double-A Binghamton

The Rumble Ponies won their best-of-three Division Series against the Somerset Patriots in two games, claiming victories by a score of 9-2 in Game 1 and 2-0 in Game 2. Binghamton advances to the Eastern League Championship Series against the Erie SeaWolves, another best-of-three series starting on Monday.

Jett Williams hit a three-run homer in Game 1, his first long ball at the Double-A level, and he drew two walks across the two games. Rowdey Jordan had three hits including a double in Game 1 and stole a base in Game 2.

Jeremiah Jackson hit a solo homer in Game 1. Luisangel Acuña drove in a run on a sacrifice fly in Game 2.

Drew Gilbert stole a base and scored a run in Game 1, and he collected two hits in Game 2. Hayden Senger drove in a run in both games including a solo homer in Game 2.

Christian Scott started Game 1, allowing one run on two hits and striking out five batters in three innings of work. Luis Moreno pitched five innings of one-run ball in relief to pick up the win.

Dominic Hamel got the start in Game 2 and pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and striking out eight. Paul Gervase retired all four batters he faced in relief to close out the game and send the Rumble Ponies to the Championship Series.

Blade Tidwell took the mound for Game 1 of the EL Championship Series against the Erie SeaWolves. Tidwell’s night started out strong, as he struck out five SeaWolves across three scoreless innings. The SeaWolves, however, got the best of Tidwell in the next two innings. Ben Malgeri got the SeaWolves on the board in the top of the fourth with an RBI double. Erie then took the lead in the top of the fifth after Trei Cruz smacked an RBI triple and Jake Holton blasted a two-run homer to make it 4-3. Tidwell was only charged with three earned runs.

Binghamton’s bullpen also struggled. Benito Garcia, Joander Suarez, and Wilkin Ramos allowed five earned runs in 2 2/3 combined innings which led to the Rumble Ponies’ eventual 9-6 loss.

Despite losing, the Rumble Ponies’ offense was on fire against Wilmer Flores. Kevin Parada singled in the first inning to give Binghamton an early 2-0 lead, and Rhylan Thomas tacked on another run in the second with a ground-rule double to make it 3-0. Flores was pulled after those two innings and was charged with three earned runs.

The biggest offensive moment of the night came in the bottom of the sixth. Down 6-3, Gilbert blasted a three-run homer of left Lael Lockhart to tie the game. Those would be the last runs of the night scored by the Rumble Ponies.

With their loss on September 25, the Rumble Ponies have their backs against the wall. They need to win two consecutive games on the road to win the 2023 EL title, which Binghamton hasn’t won since 2014.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

AVG – Luisangel Acuña (BNG) – .294

OPS – Jett Williams (BNG) – .876

HR – Luke Ritter (SYR) – 27

SB – Luisangel Acuña – 57

Pitching

(Among qualified players)

ERA – Tyler Stuart (BNG) – 2.20

SO – Dominic Hamel (BNG) – 160

WHIP – Christian Scott (BNG) – 0.86

 

Players of the Week

Offense – Jett Williams, SS/OF Binghamton

Williams had a rough string of games upon first being called up to Double-A in early September, hitting .227 with a .581 OPS in Binghamton’s final regular season series. He could not be contained for long, as he launched a three-run homer that put Game 1 of the Division Series out of reach. He reached base twice via the walk, a staple of his game from the moment he became a professional ballplayer. Williams also displayed his eye in the championship series. He went 0-for-1 but walked four times and scored two runs.

Williams will turn 20 during the off-season and will most likely start the 2024 season at Double-A. Having earned two promotions during this past season, it is entirely reasonable to expect to see Williams at the Triple-A level at some point in 2024. He is unquestionably one of the Mets’ most exciting prospects, and it will be interesting to see just how much of his superb 2023 season he will be able to replicate moving forward.

 

Pitching – Dominic Hamel, P Binghamton

Hamel delivered a shutdown outing in Game 2 to help the Rumble Ponies clinch a spot in the Eastern League Championship Series, allowing just five baserunners across 7 2/3 scoreless innings. Hamel has not allowed a run in 21 2/3 innings on the mound in September, an exceptional run of form that has helped catapult Binghamton into the upper echelon of the Eastern League.

Hamel spent the entire 2023 season at the Double-A level and should start the 2024 season with Triple-A Syracuse. Entering his age-25 season, Hamel will most likely make his major league debut at some point next season. With a 3.85 ERA and 160 strikeouts across 124 innings this season, there’s plenty of anticipation about what he can do at that top level.