Mets Minors Weekly Report: Ronny Mauricio Powering Syracuse to Success

Ronny Mauricio. Photo by Serena Spencer

Welcome to the first Mets Minors Weekly Report of the 2023 season! The Syracuse Mets are on a roll to start the year, while the rest of the teams in the Mets’ system are off and running to varying degrees of success.

Triple-A Syracuse

The Syracuse Mets proved through the first week of the season why they are considered one of the most talented minor league teams this year. They alternated wins and losses over their first six games, but a four-game win streak has the team sitting at a 6-3 record. In their most recent series, they took five of six games against the Rochester Red Wings.

Ronny Mauricio has been the star of the show, launching three home runs and collecting nine RBI in the team’s first nine games. He slashed .353/.405/.735 and struck out just six times compared to three walks. Brett Baty missed a few games with a thumb injury, but he is back on the field and is tearing up Triple-A pitching. Through five games, Baty has two home runs, five RBI, a .455 on-base percentage, and two stolen bases.

Francisco Álvarez had just four games to his name with Triple-A before being called up to the majors to replace an injured Omar Narváez. He also hit two home runs and even stole a base, but he struck out in half of his at-bats.

Mark Vientos is tied for second on the team with 10 hits and has posted a .357/.455/.607 slash line with two homers. The entire core of the Syracuse Mets’ offense has been firing on all cylinders.

On the mound, José Butto had a stellar performance in his second start of the season, allowing just two hits across six shutout innings and striking out five batters. He has a 1.86 ERA through 9 2/3 innings so far.

Alex Valverde has yet to allow a run through two starts (8 IP). Other pitchers who have yet to allow a run through multiple appearances include Grant Hartwig, Josh Walker, and Jimmy Yacabonis.

Double-A Binghamton

The Rumble Ponies are still searching for their first win of the campaign, losing each of their first three games against the Portland Sea Dogs.

Matt Rudick has two of the team’s three homers, and he is leading the way in just about every statistical category. He’s driven in six runs and has an impressive 1.364 OPS.

Luke Ritter has the other homer and has also drawn five walks. His OPS sits at 1.329, buoyed by a .615 OBP.

Dominic Hamel showcased great strikeout stuff in the Rumble Ponies’ second game, punching out seven batters and allowing just one hit across 3 1/3 scoreless innings. However, he did issue four walks.

High-A Brooklyn

The Cyclones have won two of three against the Jersey Shore BlueClaws to open up their season.

Kevin Parada has the team’s lone home run and has drawn four walks, posting a 1.012 OPS. All 12 stolen base attempts have been successful while he has been behind the plate, though, but part of that can be attributed to the Cyclones having several converted position players on the mound.

César Berbesi played in just two of the three games but managed to drive in three runs, walk three times, and steal a base in those games. Omar De Los Santos has three steals already after tallying 70 last season.

Alex Ramírez is off to a slow start, going 3-for-15 with four strikeouts. Stanley Consuegra is also struggling early on, going 2-for-12 but also drawing three walks.

Tyler Stuart had the best start of the rotation, firing four scoreless innings and striking out five. Daniel Juarez recorded a save and has not allowed a run in either of his appearances.

Quinn Brodey converted from an outfielder to a pitcher during the offseason and allowed one run across 2 1/3 innings in his one appearance on the mound. Similarly, Manny Rodríguez converted from a shortstop to a pitcher and tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings in his pitching debut.

Low-A St. Lucie

The St. Lucie Mets have struggled out of the gates, losing all three of their opening series matchups with the Daytona Tortugas.

Jett Williams is just 2-for-14, hitting a home run but also striking out five times. Jefrey De Los Santos and Jaylin Davis also hit one homer apiece.

Jacob Reimer is 4-for-11 with an RBI and two runs scored. He’s tied for the team lead in hits with Carlos Domínguez, who scored three runs and collected two RBI.

The best start of the series came from Christopher Vasquez, who struck out three batters across three scoreless innings. Jawilme Ramirez had an impressive performance out of the bullpen, racking up eight strikeouts and allowing just one run across 4 2/3 innings in his lone outing.

Jett Williams, from Ed Delany

Organizational Leaders

Batting

AVG – Mark Vientos (SYR) – .357 (10-for-28)

OPS – Ronny Mauricio (SYR) – 1.140

HR – Ronny Mauricio – 3

SB – Lorenzo Cedrola (SYR) and Omar De Los Santos (BRK) – 3

Pitching

Will be tracked once pitchers start to get enough innings under their belt.

Players of the Week

Offense – Ronny Mauricio, SS Syracuse

Mauricio continues to ride the momentum of impressive winter ball and spring training campaigns into the start of the minor league season. The 21-year-old has always had issues with his plate discipline, yet even that has looked much better, albeit in a very small sample size.

A full season of Triple-A ball will be the best test yet of just how close Mauricio is to seeing major league action. He’s made quite the impression already just based on the early returns.

Pitching – José Butto, P Syracuse

The de facto ace of the Syracuse rotation once Tylor Megill was promoted to the majors, Butto rebounded from a lackluster first start to fire off six scoreless innings in his second outing. Butto has the stuff to be downright dominant over long stretches of game action, but he needs to find better command of his pitches, as he has walked five batters across 9 2/3 innings. He won the International League Pitcher of the Week Award for his efforts.