Mets Minors Weekly Report: Mauricio Continues to Excel, Peterson Gets On Track

Ronny Mauricio. Photo by Serena Spencer

The fortunes of the Mets’ system, much like the major league squad, turned around in a big way this week, with only one of the four teams losing their series. Check out all of the biggest developments in the farm system, including marquee performances from David Peterson, Ronny Mauricio, and Mike Vasil.

Triple-A Syracuse

The Syracuse Mets split their six-game series away at the Norfolk Tides. The team has climbed out of the cellar of the International League East and currently have a 19-26 record on the year.

Ronny Mauricio continues to do his thing, going 10-for-28 with four doubles, seven RBI, and a stolen base. He became the first player across all of baseball (MiLB/MLB) to reach 20 doubles this season, and his .991 OPS is ninth in the International League.

David Peterson pitched like he had something to prove in his lone start this week, firing off eight scoreless innings, striking out nine batters, and generating an impressive 21 swings and misses. He issued three walks and allowed just two hits. He was using his slider a lot more and his changeup less, both trends more in line with his 2022 success.

It was a good week for Syracuse southpaws, as Joey Lucchesi put together another great start, pitching six scoreless innings and racking up seven strikeouts to pick up his third win. He lowered his Triple-A ERA to 1.66.

José Butto had a rather pedestrian start in his one appearance on the mound, allowing three runs on five hits across five innings. Nathan Lavender allowed his first run in Triple-A, but he still managed to pick up a hold and a save across two appearances, and his season ERA sits at 1.65 in 16 1/3 innings.

Double-A Binghamton

The Rumble Ponies split their six-game series away at the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The team is currently sporting a 17-21 record on the year.

The Binghamton offense continues to be anchored by the table-setting Matt Rudick, who went 8-for-22 with two doubles, two homers, seven RBI, and seven runs scored. Rudick has a .307 average and a .969 OPS this season, both of which comfortably lead the team.

José Peroza followed up his Eastern League Player of the Week performance last week by going 5-for-22 with two doubles, one RBI, and two runs scored. He has a .923 OPS at Double-A after his early-season return from injury.

Mike Vasil was simply sensational as he has been all throughout the month of May, pitching seven scoreless innings to pick up his first win of the season. He allowed just five baserunners (three hits, two walks) and struck out five batters, lowering his season ERA to 2.19.

Vasil’s 0.70 WHIP is far and away the best mark of any pitcher in the Mets system, and batters are hitting just .154 against him this season. He has allowed just one run across three starts (21 innings) in May, racking up more strikeouts (19) than the number of runners he’s allowed to reach base (12).

Dominic Hamel allowed four runs on seven hits in five innings in his first start of the week, but managed to fire off three perfect innings in his second start, striking out four batters. His ERA is sitting at 4.24 in what has been a very up-and-down season for the young right-hander.

High-A Brooklyn

The Cyclones won four of six games away at the Hudson Valley Renegades. Brooklyn put together their first four-game winning streak of the season against a good Renegades team and improved to a 15-21 record.

Alex Ramírez went 6-for-24 with three doubles, one home run, four RBI, and four runs scored. Not to be outdone, Kevin Parada went 6-for-23 with two doubles, one home run, three RBI, and five runs scored.

Blade Tidwell had his best start of the season, allowing two unearned runs across five innings to pick up his first win. He did issue five walks, but he also racked up eight strikeouts. He lowered his season ERA to 6.56.

Tyler Stuart finally picked up his first win of the season, firing off 6 1/3 scoreless innings and striking out eight batters in his lone start. He has allowed just one run across 18 1/3 innings in the month of May, and his season ERA sits at an impressive 1.13 mark.

Low-A St. Lucie

The St. Lucie Mets lost four of six games at home against the Palm Beach Cardinals. They have won their last two games but still reside in the basement of the Florida State League with a 10-29 record.

Jett Williams went 3-for-19 with one RBI, two runs scored, and four stolen bases. He continues to draw walks at a high clip, drawing six walks in the six games, and he is up to 10 steals on the year.

Tomás Nido started his rehab assignment on Friday, going 2-for-11 with one home run, two RBI, and two runs scored. He caught one game and served as the DH in the other two.

Jordany Ventura followed up his scoreless start last week with another solid outing, allowing one run across five innings and striking out five. That run was the only one he has allowed over his last three appearances (11 IP), helping him lower his season ERA to 4.91. Javier Atencio is still struggling to put things together, allowing three runs in just 2/3 of an inning in his lone start. He has an 0-6 record and an 11.09 ERA this season.

Layonel Ovalles has not fared much better, allowing five runs in four innings in his one appearance to bring his season ERA up to 6.56. He allowed just two hits, but he issued a staggering eight walks.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

AVG – Ronny Mauricio (SYR) – .353

OPS – Mark Vientos (SYR) – 1.104

HR – Mark Vientos – 13

SB – Omar De Los Santos (BRK) and Jaylen Palmer (BRK) – 14

Pitching

(Among qualified players)

ERA – Tyler Stuart (BRK) – 1.13

SO – Mike Vasil (BNG) – 46

WHIP – Mike Vasil – 0.70

Players of the Week

Offense – Ronny Mauricio, 2B Syracuse

This section of the report might as well be renamed the “Ronny Mauricio Player of the Week” segment. Mauricio may not have hit a home run this week, but he continues to collect extra-base hits at a prodigious rate, and he makes hitting for a .353 average look so easy.

Mauricio is the last man standing after the early-season call-ups of Brett Baty, Francisco Álvarez, and Mark Vientos, and he’s likely to continue serving as a lone wolf in the minors at least for the immediate future. He’s still adjusting to life as a second baseman, as evidenced by the three errors he committed this week, and his 5:1 K/BB ratio across the six games still leaves a lot to be desired. He has tons of potential at the plate, but he’s probably better off fine-tuning those issues in the minors so that he can make an immediate impact when he does get the call to the majors.

An honorable mention goes to Matt Rudick for continuing to jumpstart an otherwise lackluster Binghamton offense, clubbing two homers, picking up seven RBI, and scoring eight runs in just six games.

Pitching – David Peterson, P Syracuse

Peterson was rather understandably pitching with a chip on his shoulder after his demotion from the majors, and he looked like a man on a mission when he took the mound on Sunday. He pitched eight scoreless innings, racking up nine strikeouts and earning the International League Player of the Week award for his efforts.

It was a massive step in the right direction for Peterson, who was 1-6 with an 8.08 ERA in eight starts at the major league level this year. Peterson has alternated good and disastrous seasons since making his major league debut in 2020: he showed tons of promise during his debut season in 2020 (3.44 ERA), struggled mightily in 2021 (5.54 ERA), bounced back with a very solid 2022 season (3.83 ERA), and then crashed hard to start 2023.

When things have been going right for Peterson, he has shown immense promise, and the Mets would be wise not to give up on the 27-year-old lefty. He would probably benefit from spending a prolonged stretch of the season at Triple-A, but with the major league starting rotation in constant turmoil this year, he might get the call back up sooner rather than later.

Honorable mentions go to Mike Vasil and Tyler Stuart, who each put together scoreless starts to extend what have been stellar stretches of performances for both pitchers, as well as Joey Lucchesi for yet another strong outing for Syracuse.