Mets Minors Weekly Report: Gilbert, Williams Dazzle

Just about every top prospect in the Mets organization has either been promoted or been recently acquired via trade within the last few weeks, leading to a lot of players having to make a lot of adjustments both on and off the field. Here are the biggest developments from throughout the organization, including monster weeks from Drew Gilbert and Jett Williams, both of whom have thrived in their new environments.

Drew Gilbert. Photo by Photo by Anne-Marie Caruso of NorthJersey/USA TODAY NETWORK

Triple-A Syracuse

The Syracuse Mets won three of five games at home against the Columbus Clippers. Syracuse has a 49-68 record on the year.

Brett Baty went 7-for-20 with one home run, two doubles, and six RBI. He recorded at least one hit in all five games of the series and has eight homers in just 71 Triple-A at-bats this season.

Ronny Mauricio went 4-for-21 with one home run, three runs scored, and two stolen bases. He started at second base in all five games of the series.

Luke Ritter hit a home run in each of the last three games of the series, giving him 26 on the season. Ritter leads all Mets minor leaguers in homers this year by a healthy margin.

Mike Vasil pitched six innings of one-run ball on Sunday, striking out four and issuing one walk. He followed up his no-hit bid last week with another solid outing, and he has lowered his Triple-A ERA to 5.01.

Double-A Binghamton

The Rumble Ponies split their six-game series at home against the Portland Sea Dogs. Binghamton is sitting with a 57-56 record.

Drew Gilbert went 9-for-21 with two homers, two doubles, six RBI, and five runs scored. He is hitting .345 with a .940 OPS in 15 games with Binghamton.

Luisangel Acuña went 7-for-23 with one double, six runs scored, and two stolen bases. Acuña is hitting just .209 with a .542 OPS since joining the Mets’ organization, but he has eight steals in 17 games to give him an even 50 on the year.

Dominic Hamel pitched six scoreless innings in his start on Saturday, allowing just four hits and striking out five batters. Hamel has a 2.45 ERA across four starts (22 IP) in August.

Blade Tidwell surrendered six runs in 3 2/3 innings of work on Tuesday, striking out five but also issuing four walks. He has a 6.46 ERA through his first three Double-A starts.

Tyler Stuart allowed three runs and struck out six batters in three innings on the mound on Wednesday. He has a 4.34 ERA in six Double-A starts and a 2.32 ERA overall this year.

High-A Brooklyn

The Cyclones lost four of six games at home against the Hudson Valley Renegades. Brooklyn has a 56-57 record on the year.

Jett Williams went 9-for-23 with one home run, four doubles, two RBI, three runs scored, and two stolen bases. Williams is hitting .311 with a 1.036 OPS in 18 games since being called up to High-A.

Ryan Clifford went 2-for-23 with one double and three runs scored. He struck out 11 times in the series, and he is hitting .172 with a .601 OPS in 15 games for Brooklyn.

Alex Ramírez went 4-for-20 with two runs scored and a stolen base. He is hitting .235 with a .662 OPS this season.

Jordany Ventura allowed four runs across four innings in his start on Wednesday, striking out four batters and issuing five walks. He picked up his first loss since being promoted to Brooklyn, and he has a 3.56 ERA in six starts at the High-A level.

Low-A St. Lucie

The St. Lucie Mets lost four of six games at home against the Jupiter Hammerheads. St. Lucie has a 39-74 record this season.

Kevin Parada appeared in four rehab games, going 1-for-13 at the plate. He caught two games and started as the DH in the other two as he continues to work his way back from a right ankle sprain.

Nick Morabito went 4-for-17 with two stolen bases. He is hitting .268 with a .714 OPS in 14 games since being called up to St. Lucie.

Wilfredo Lara went 9-for-19 with one home run, one triple, two doubles, and two stolen bases. The 19-year-old is having by far the best season of his young professional career, posting an .820 OPS with 13 homers after hitting just three in his first two seasons.

Florida Complex League Mets

The FCL Mets went 3-1 this week to improve to 31-18, clinching their division in the process.

Ronald Hernandez hit his first homer as a Mets farmhand and has posted a 1.047 OPS in 13 games since being acquired. Marco Vargas had three hits including two doubles in the three games he played. Simon Juan hit his second homer of the season.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

AVG – Luisangel Acuña (BNG) – .289

OPS – Jett Williams (BRK) – .870

HR – Luke Ritter (SYR) – 26

SB – Luisangel Acuña – 50

Pitching

(Among qualified players)

ERA – Tyler Stuart (BNG) – 2.32

SO – Dominic Hamel (BNG) – 130

WHIP – Christian Scott (BNG) – 0.86

Players of the Week

Offense – Drew Gilbert, OF Binghamton

Gilbert has attracted a ton of attention since being acquired in the Justin Verlander trade, and he has shown no signs of that pressure affecting him. He hit over .400 this week with four extra-base hits, driving in six runs and scoring five more. He has become the focal point of a strong lineup in Binghamton, and he is seemingly improving with each and every game in his new threads.

Gilbert is a consensus top 100 prospect in baseball and has the potential to become even more highly regarded if he can continue this elite level of play. The Mets may have given up a lot to get him, but he has quickly endeared himself to Mets fans and has more than demonstrated his value in just a few short weeks.

Honorable mentions go to Jett Williams for continuing his incredible start to his tenure at High-A, as well as to Wilfredo Lara for hitting nearly .500 as part of what has become a surprisingly strong campaign.

Pitching – Dominic Hamel, P Binghamton

Hamel had a rough few months early on this season as he adjusted to life as a Double-A pitcher, but he has pitched like a man on a mission in August. He had his second scoreless start of at least six innings this month when he toed the slab on Saturday, and he has allowed just six runs in 22 August innings.

Hamel’s strikeout numbers are down quite a bit of late. However, he still leads all Mets farmhands in strikeouts with 130 across 105 innings, and his walk rate this season is a big improvement over where it was in 2022. The former third-round pick should benefit greatly from being a part of what has become a star-studded rotation in Binghamton as he continues to hone his craft.

Honorable mentions go to Mike Vasil, who seems to really be hitting his stride with Syracuse after another scoreless start.