Mets Minors Weekly Report: Mark Vientos Breaks Out, Jonah Tong Dominates

Of the four Mets affiliates this past week, one won their series (St. Lucie), two split their series (Binghamton, Brooklyn), and one lost their series (Syracuse). Although there was just one series win among the four teams, there were many individual performances across the organization that lifted their teams up.

Mark Vientos. Credit: Ed Delaney, MMO

Triple-A Syracuse

The Syracuse Mets only played five games this past week due to a rainout, and that caused them to lose their series to the Charlotte Knights three games to two.

Trayce Thompson had an outstanding series for the Mets, recording a hit in all five games played. Of the six hits he recorded, two were doubles and three were home runs. This five-game surge brought his batting average on the season from .105 to .172 and his OPS from .494 to .762.

Mark Vientos also heated up, entering the series with an .869 OPS and leaving it five games later with an OPS of 1.018. In his five-game series, Vientos recorded 11 hits, including a trio of three-hit games. He only hit one home run, but he also tacked on a double and a triple and recorded eight RBIs. After a somewhat slow start by his standards at Triple-A, Vientos seems to be completely locked in now.

Syracuse received solid pitching performances from three of their top pitchers in Christian Scott, Dom Hamel, and Joey Lucchesi. While the three of them appear to be settling in, Mike Vasil has not had the same luck. In his game against Charlotte, he allowed six runs in five innings in what was a fourth straight troubling start. His ERA through four starts is now 11.20.

As for Scott, he continues to dominate. Against the Knights, he allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings and struck out seven to give him 26 strikeouts through 14 1/3 innings pitched this year.

Dom Hamel appears to be on the right track after a miserable first start of the season. He has now put together two good starts in a row, and like Scott, he allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings against the Knights. He struck out six, giving him 19 punchouts in 13 innings this year.

Joey Lucchesi had a second straight quality start in his outing against the Knights, throwing for six innings and allowing two runs. Through four starts and 21 innings, his ERA sits at 2.57. While his strikeout numbers don’t compare to the likes of Scott and Hamel, he’s been really effective for Syracuse to start the year.

This is the crop of players to keep an eye on if Adrian Houser continues to struggle at the MLB level.

Out of the bullpen this week, Tyler Jay, Nate Lavender, and Cole Sulser each put up an outing of two scoreless innings. Sulser added another outing of 1 2/3 scoreless innings, and he allowed just one baserunner over those combined 3 1/3 innings.

Blade Tidwell, Photo by Bronson Harris of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies

Double-A Binghamton

The Rumble Ponies split their series with the Fightin Phils, 3-3. After winning the first two games of the series, Binghamton dropped the next two. They won the next game and were in the driver’s seat to win the series, but a loss in the final game secured a tie.

The two offensive stars of the week for the Rumble Ponies were José Peroza and Rhylan Thomas. Peroza went 9-for-16 with three RBIs in five games against Reading. Of his nine hits, just one went for extra bases, but three of his five games saw him record two or more hits. After his fantastic week at the plate, Peroza now leads the entire organization in batting average at .361. His OPS is also stellar, sitting at .998.

Thomas had a nearly identical week to Peroza, as he also recorded nine hits in five games. Of those five games, he recorded two or more hits in three of them. Thomas recorded five RBIs and also stole two bags. Thomas sits right behind Peroza in terms of production on the season, entering Tuesday with a .34o batting average and .851 OPS.

While he didn’t start the game he pitched in, Blade Tidwell still put together an impressive performance against the Fightin Phils. He pitched innings five through eight in Sunday’s loss, and he allowed just one earned run in those four innings. This came after he appeared in relief in Tuesday’s win, when he pitched five innings and allowed two earned runs.

He has now made three appearances on the year and has a 1.84 ERA in 14 2/3 innings. He has also recorded 18 strikeouts, including 10 on Tuesday.

Tyler Stuart, another one of the Mets’ top pitching prospects, also had a good start following a less-than-stellar first start of the season. In five innings, he allowed two earned runs on six hits, two walks, and four strikeouts. The numbers don’t jump out like some of the Mets’ other pitching prospects, but this start was an improvement from his last start and that’s what the team is looking for.

Troy Miller perhaps made the best start of the series, throwing for four scoreless innings and striking out five. He allowed just three hits and walked none. Through three games, his ERA sits at 4.09, but OPS allowed of .554 does a better job at depicting his effectiveness on the mound.

The two relievers who stood out most this week were Paul Gervase and Wilkin Ramos. Gervase pitched in two games against Reading, recording the win in one of them. In three total innings, he struck out six and allowed just one walk and no hits. His ERA on the year is now 1.42 through four appearances. For Ramos, he recorded two saves and also pitched three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out three. Ramos has been outstanding this year, as he has four saves and still hasn’t allowed a run through four appearances.

High-A Brooklyn

Like their Double-A brethren, the Cyclones also split their series this past week 3-3. Things looked bleak after losing three of the first four games, but the Cyclones rallied to win the final two against the Jersey Shore BlueClaws.

He had a rough start to the season, but Ryan Clifford finally seems to be heating up. The 2023 trade deadline acquisition went 7-for-18 with seven walks in five games against Jersey Shore, including a four-walk game on Sunday. That’s 14 times on base in 25 plate appearances. Clifford now has a .795 OPS on the year thanks to an impressive .415 on-base percentage.

Two-way prospect Nolan McLean had another scorching week at the plate, despite playing in just two games. In those two games, he went 4-for-9 with three doubles and an RBI. Through 20 at-bats on the year, he now has a 1.200 OPS. Unfortunately, McLean wasn’t as successful on the mound this week. After a scoreless 3 1/3 innings in his first outing of the season, he got roughed up by Jersey Shore and allowed six runs in 2 2/3 innings.

Nolan McLean. Credit: Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Brandon Sproat made two starts this past week for the Cyclones, pitching in both the first and final games of the series. Across his two starts, he tossed seven innings and allowed two runs on six hits, three walks, and seven strikeouts. Through his first three starts this year, the Mets’ 2023 second-round draft pick has a 1.86 ERA.

Noah Hall was roughed up during his first two starts of the season, but he settled in nicely for his third start. He allowed just one run in five innings for Brooklyn after allowing 10 runs over his first two starts.

Also of note this week for Brooklyn is the devastating news that Calvin Ziegler, who started the year with six hitless innings and 13 strikeouts, will undergo Tommy John surgery. He’s becoming a case of an extremely talented pitcher who just can’t stay healthy. Ziegler is still just 21 years old, but he has another long recovery ahead of him after elbow and quad issues in 2023.

Low-A St. Lucie

The only affiliate to win their series last week was the St. Lucie Mets, topping the Tampa Tarpons four games to two. After losing two of the first three games, St. Lucie rattled off three straight wins to give them their first series victory of the season.

Nick Morabito continues to be the most productive bat in St. Lucie’s lineup. In five games against Tampa, he recorded eight hits and three RBIs, also stealing a base. On the season, he is slashing an impressive .333/.475/.500/.975.

Colin Houck also had a good series, despite recording four hits in 19 at-bats. Three of his four hits went for extra bases, and he also walked four times and was hit by a pitch twice to boost his on-base percentage. He enters Tuesday with a three-game hit streak as he looks to break out of his early season struggles.

One of the more out-of-nowhere performances this week was by Christopher Suero, who had a five-hit game with three runs and an RBI in the first game of the series. Over the whole series, he went 7-for-16 with five runs, a home run, and three RBIs. He also walked four times and was hit by a pitch. Suero entered the series with five hits all year and a .625 OPS.

The most impressive pitcher in the entire Mets organization to start the year? Jonah Tong. He just continues to be untouchable, and he was so against Tampa. In 4 1/3 scoreless innings, he allowed just two hits and struck out six. Through three starts this year, he’s thrown for 12 2/3 innings, allowed just five hits and five walks, and struck out 27 all without allowing a run. Insanity. He ought to be in Brooklyn before long.

Tong combined with Austin Troesser to pitch all nine innings of Friday’s win. Troesser started the game and allowed a run in 4 2/3 innings, striking out eight. In three appearances this year, Troesser has a 1.54 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings.

Kade Morris also made two solid starts for St. Lucie, allowing two runs in a combined 7 2/3 innings against Tampa. He has been really impressive and now holds a 1.42 ERA through three appearances.

Jack Wenninger threw for five innings out of the bullpen in a game against the Tarpons this week. He allowed two runs on three hits but struck out seven. He has 18 strikeouts and a 3.75 ERA through 12 innings this season.

Other impressive bullpen performances came from Wilson Lopez, Juan Arnaud, and Ryan Ammons. Each pitched at least two innings without allowing a run this past week.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

AVG – José Peroza (BNG) – .361

OPS – Mark Vientos (SYR) – 1.018

HR – Trayce Thompson (SYR) – 5

SB – Omar De Los Santos (BRK) – 8

Pitching

(Among Qualified Players)

ERA – Jonah Tong (STL) – 0.00

SO – Jonah Tong (STL) – 27

WHIP – Jonah Tong (STL) – 0.79

Players of the Week

Offense – Mark Vientos, 1B/3B Syracuse

It was only a matter of time until Mark Vientos broke through. He wasn’t having a bad start to the year, but he wasn’t putting together the results we’re used to seeing of him at the Triple-A level. He finally did so this week, and with an OPS that sits above 1.000 now, look for him to continue hitting at an impressive rate.

Pitching – Jonah Tong, P St. Lucie

For the second week in a row, Jonah Tong is the pitcher of the week in the Mets organization. It would be a lie to say anyone performed better than he did this week, or at all this entire season. He leads all qualified pitchers in every category to start the year and has exceeded every and all expectations.