Mets Minors Weekly Report: Drew Gilbert Stays Hot, Palka Returns with Bang

None of the usual suspects did much to stand out in what was a down week for every team except for the surging Rumble Ponies. As a result, other players who might not have as much acclaim were given the chance to step up and fill in the gaps. Here are the biggest developments, including a triumphant return to the organization for Daniel Palka, Drew Gilbert staying hot, and an electric Double-A debut for Joander Suarez.

Aug 8, 2023; Bridgewater, NJ; Mets’ new minor league prospect Drew Gilbert is shown at TD Bank Ballpark.

Triple-A Syracuse

The Syracuse Mets lost all six games of their series away at the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Syracuse is currently on a seven-game losing streak and has a 52-77 record on the year.

Daniel Palka went 8-for-22 with three homers, two doubles, five RBI, and five runs scored. Palka spent the 2022 season with Syracuse and showed out in his first game action since being signed as a free agent at the beginning of last week.

Carlos Cortes went 2-for-3 with two homers, six RBI, and two walks in Tuesday’s game. He is up to a career-high 15 homers on the year to go along with an .839 OPS.

Mike Vasil allowed five runs in 1 2/3 innings of work on Friday. He has a 5.28 ERA in 13 Triple-A starts and an overall ERA of 4.54 through 23 starts.

Double-A Binghamton

The Rumble Ponies swept their six-game series at home against the Harrisburg Senators. Binghamton is riding a seven-game winning streak and is second in its division with a 32-23 record in the second half of the season.

Drew Gilbert went 5-for-20 with one double, two stolen bases, and five walks. Gilbert is hitting .323 with a .921 OPS in 26 games for Binghamton.

Luisangel Acuña went 6-for-22 with three stolen bases, three RBI, and three runs scored. Acuña is still looking for his first homer as a Rumble Pony, although he does have a staggering 54 stolen bases on the year including 12 in 28 games with Binghamton.

Kevin Parada went 3-for-22 with one home run and five RBI in his first series as a Double-A player. Parada is up to 12 homers on the year.

Blade Tidwell pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings and struck out six batters in his start on Tuesday. He has a 3.86 ERA through his first five Double-A starts.

Joander Suarez had a masterful debut for the Rumble Ponies on Thursday, firing six hitless innings and racking up six strikeouts. Suarez was named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for his performance, marking the second straight week that a Rumble Pony received the award (Tyler Stuart).

Dominic Hamel struck out 11 batters across six scoreless innings in his start on Friday. It was the third time this season that Hamel has recorded 11 strikeouts in a start, and he has a 4.11 ERA on the year.

Jordan Geber pitched six scoreless innings in his first Double-A start of the year on Saturday. Geber has a 5.22 ERA through 13 appearances (seven starts).

High-A Brooklyn

The Cyclones lost four of six games away at the Greenville Drive. Brooklyn is tied for the top spot in their division with a 34-26 second-half record entering their final series of the regular season.

Jett Williams went 3-for-18 with one home run, one stolen base, and six walks. Williams is hitting .298 with a 1.003 OPS in 30 games with Brooklyn.

Ryan Clifford went 3-for-5 on Sunday, crushing his 23^rd homer of the year and driving in three runs. However, he went just 1-for-16 in the five games prior and is hitting just .190 with a .687 OPS in 27 games for Brooklyn.

Alex Ramírez hit his seventh homer of the season on Saturday. Stanley Consuegra had two triples in the series and also hit his 20^th homer of the year.

Layonel Ovalles allowed one run and struck out six batters in 5 2/3 innings of work in his High-A debut on Friday. He has a 4.53 ERA in 23 appearances (19 starts) this season.

Robert Colina struck out 10 batters across six scoreless innings of work on Saturday. He reached double-digit strikeouts for just the second time in his career, and he has a 3.72 ERA in 67 2/3 innings on the mound this season.

Low-A St. Lucie

The St. Lucie Mets lost three of four games away at the Tampa Tarpons. St. Lucie has a 41-82 record this year.

Marco Vargas went 3-for-12 with a stolen base. Ronald Hernandez went 0-for-9 with four walks.

Nick Morabito went 3-for-10 with one double and six stolen bases. He had four steals in Friday’s game and has 21 steals in 53 games this season.

Nolan McLean allowed one run in 1 1/3 innings of work on Friday. The third-round pick in this year’s draft, who was drafted as a two-way player, is also hitless in his first two at-bats at the Low-A level.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

AVG – Luisangel Acuña (BNG) – .301

OPS – Jett Williams (BRK) – .880

HR – Luke Ritter (SYR) – 27

SB – Luisangel Acuña – 54

Pitching

(Among qualified players)

ERA – Tyler Stuart (BNG) – 2.20

SO – Dominic Hamel (BNG) – 147

WHIP – Christian Scott (BNG) – 0.86

Players of the Week

Offense – Daniel Palka, 1B/DH Syracuse

All of the top prospects had rather pedestrian performances, so the honor this week will go to Palka for crushing it in his return to the Mets organization. He had five extra-base hits in the six games he played including three homers, and he provided Syracuse with essentially all of its offense in what was ultimately a listless series for the team.

Palka had 27 homers for the White Sox in his first year in the majors back in 2018, but he hasn’t appeared in a major league game since 2019. It is unlikely that there is much of a future for Palka with the Mets’ organization beyond Syracuse. However, the sudden emergence of DJ Stewart has proven that no one should be counted out to make an impact on the major league roster down the stretch of this disappointing 2023 season, including Palka.

Honorable mentions go to Nick Morabito for recording a four-steal game, as well as to Carlos Cortes for setting a new career high in homers with his two long balls.

Pitching – Joander Suarez, P Binghamton

Suarez had about as good of a Double-A debut as one could ask for, pitching six hitless innings and allowing just one baserunner on a walk. He earned Eastern League Pitcher of the Week honors, and he will have a few more starts this year to establish himself in an immensely talented Binghamton rotation.

It took the 23-year-old Suarez until his fifth professional season to reach Double-A, but he’s finally having the sort of season that will have Mets brass hopeful for the future. He has a 4.76 ERA on the year with 124 strikeouts in 96 1/3 innings, and although his walk rate is sky-high, he’s allowed just six home runs. Suarez hasn’t struggled too much with walks in the past, so if he can get his command under control while preserving his strikeout stuff, he could be a name to watch moving forward.

Honorable mentions go to Dominic Hamel for tying a career high with 11 strikeouts over six scoreless innings, as well as to Jordan Geber for pitching six scoreless innings in just his second career Double-A start.