Mets Minors Weekly Report: Ewing, Peña Continue to Impress

A.J. Ewing continued his scorching start to the year with another impressive week. Ewing went 6-for-18 with two home runs, a triple, seven walks and four stolen bases. He drove in four runs and scored five runs, both team highs for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. In 18 games, Ewing has an outstanding 1.052 OPS.

Following Ewing’s impressive week, he was promoted to Triple-A Syracuse on Monday morning.

Elian Peña has continued a great start to the season, too, as one of the youngest players in the minors. He collected another six hits this week and two steals this week, bringing his season totals to a .916 OPS and nine steals in 19 games.

Elian Pena. Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Triple-A Syracuse

The Syracuse Mets lost their series last week to the Worcester Red Sox, dropping four of the six games. Syracuse won game one of the series 12-3 but were unable to do much else in the other five games. The Mets are now 13-13 and in fourth place in the International League East division.

Ronny Mauricio had limited action this series, playing in two games, but he made his presence known. Mauricio went 3-for-8 with all three of his hits leaving the yard. Mauricio drove in five runs and scored four runs while walking twice. Now with the major league team in Francisco Lindor‘s absence, Mauricio’s Triple-A OPS for now stands at .987.

Ryan Clifford continued his power streak by hitting two more home runs and also driving in eight runs, a team high for the series. Clifford, however, went just 5-for-23 in the series with 11 strikeouts. He owns a .769 OPS.

Nick Morabito, Ji Hwan Bae, and Cristian Pache all performed well in the series, each recording an OPS over .900.

Morabito went 6-for-21 with two doubles, a home run, seven walks and two stolen bases
Bae went 8-for-19 with a double, four walks and two stolen bases
Pache went 10-for-25 with three doubles, a walk, and a stolen base

Jonah Tong made two solid starts, totaling four runs allowed over 10 innings. Tong struck out 15 batters as he lowered his ERA through six starts to 5.68.

Bryce Conley also had a decent start, though he dealt with a lot of traffic. He allowed four hits and six walks in just four innings of work, but he limited the damage to just a run while striking out two. He has a 4.22 ERA in three starts.

Dakota Hawkins looked sharp in a three-inning stint out of the bullpen, allowing just a walk and no hits with four strikeouts. This was Hawkins’ first Triple-A appearance this year after having already appeared in High-A and Double-A.

Marco Vargas. Photo by Ed Delany, MMO

Double-A Binghamton

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies also dropped their series this past week to the Erie SeaWolves, losing four of six games. After losing the first three games of the series, Binghamton was able to rebound and win two of the final three games. The Rumble Ponies are now 8-12 and tied for fourth place in the Eastern League Northeast division.

Marco Vargas, whose stock has fallen tremendously over the past few years, broke out with a good week. Vargas went 7-for-17 with two doubles, a triple, four walks and three stolen bases. He still has just a .636 OPS on the year.

Nick Lorusso also impressed, going 4-for-13 with a double, triple and a home run. Lorusso has otherwise been off to a really slow start to the year, owning a .678 OPS.

Zach Thornton delivered Binghamton’s best start of the series, firing six innings with two runs allowed and six strikeouts. Thornton has been great after missing most of the 2025 season due to injury. He has a 2.76 ERA in his first three starts of the season.

Brendan Girton looked good on the mound, allowing a run over five innings. Girton allowed two hits and three walks while striking out five. He has a 4.02 ERA on the year.

Ronald Hernandez. Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

High-A Brooklyn

The Brooklyn Cyclones had a rough week, dropping five of six games to the Hudson Valley Renegades. The Cyclones have had a brutal start to the season and are now sitting at 5-15 and in last place in the South Atlantic League North division.

Corey Collins had a breakout week, recording two home runs including one off of Gerrit Cole. Collins went 4-for-16 and also added a double and two walks. He has a .798 OPS through 15 games.

Kevin Villavicencio also contributed, going 4-for-11 with a home run, a walk and two stolen bases. He’s had a slower start to the year, owning a .663 OPS.

Ronald Hernandez led the team with six hits in 21 at-bats, recording four doubles, two walks and two stolen bases. Despite a batting average of .214, he has his OPS up to .732.

Channing Austin looked phenomenal in two starts, allowing no runs in 9 1/3 innings with 11 strikeouts. He allowed five hits and four walks while lowering his ERA through four starts to 1.62.

Dylan Ross started two games as an opener in a rehab assignment and he looked great, firing two perfect innings with a strikeout. Those were Ross’ first two appearances for Brooklyn this year.

Cristofer Gomez was the standout arm out of the bullpen as he allowed no runs in three innings across two appearances. Gomez allowed two hits and three walks while striking out four. His ERA is now 1.04 through seven appearances.

Low-A St. Lucie

The St. Lucie Mets lost four of their six games to the Palm Beach Cardinals this past week. Pitching was an issue as the Mets allowed 52 runs in six games. St. Lucie is now 10-11 and in third place in the Florida State League East division.

Randy Guzman‘s fast start to the year continued as he went 7-for-19 this series with three doubles, a home run and four walks. Guzman has an .888 OPS through 20 games.

Sam Biller impressed at the plate, going 7-for-19 with two doubles, three walks and four stolen bases. Biller, originally signed by the Mets as an undrafted free agent, owns an .893 OPS in 11 games.

Branny De Oleo had a great week as well, going 5-for-13 with a home run, a walk and two stolen bases. Unlike Guzman, De Oleo has mostly struggled this year and owns a .694 OPS.

Nicolas Carreno was outstanding in two appearances, including one start. He totaled just one run allowed in eight innings on two hits and three walks. He also struck out 10 and he now has a 2.25 ERA through five appearances (three starts).

Jose Chirinos has also shone early in the year and did so again in this series. Chirinos allowed a run in 4 2/3 innings, striking out six. He owns a 2.45 ERA in four appearances (three starts).

Frank Camarillo also gave the Mets a solid start, allowing two runs in five innings. He allowed five hits and a walk while striking out five. He owns a 4.41 ERA in four starts.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

AVG – A.J. Ewing (BNG) – .349
OPS – A.J. Ewing (BNG) – 1.052
HR – Ronny Mauricio (SYR) – 6
SB – A.J. Ewing (SYR)/Sam Robertson (STL) – 12

Pitching (min. 10 innings)

ERA – Anderson Severino (SYR)/Christian Rodriguez (STL) – 0.00
SO – Jonah Tong (SYR) – 38
WHIP – Christian Rodriguez (STL) – 0.68

Players of the Week

Offense – A.J. Ewing, 2B/OF Binghamton

A.J. Ewing broke out as one of the Mets’ top prospects in 2025 with a fantastic season, and he’s already outperforming himself this year. The 21-year-old has an OPS over 1.000 and has now earned a promotion to the final level of the minors before the major leagues. If he can continue to dominate in Syracuse, he may be a contributor in Flushing before long.

Pitching – Channing Austin, P Brooklyn

Channing Austin is enjoying a great start to the season in Brooklyn after a relatively underwhelming 2025 (4.38 ERA in 21 appearances) in St. Lucie. Austin, 24, is certainly older than most of the competition he’s facing, but it’s good to see him have success after not having much last year.