Photo by Ed Delany

Stanley Consuegra highlighted a strong offensive week in St. Lucie with two doubles, two, triples, and two home runs. Here’s a closer look at Consuegra and other performances from around the Mets organization this week.

Triple-A Syracuse

The Triple-A Mets dropped four of seven (including a make-up game from April 10) to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre as they fall to 21-38 this season.

Travis Blankenhorn led the Mets with eight hits, including a double, in 21 at-bats. Blankenhorn has been hot of late, slashing .436/.500/.667 in 39 at-bats since the start of June.

Meanwhile, Daniel Palka continues to show off his power in Syracuse, slugging another three home runs in the series. The 30-year-old first baseman now has 13 homers on the year and a .816 OPS.

Mark Vientos returned from a 10-day stint on the IL with a home run Sunday. Vientos is slashing .248/.331/.482 with eight home runs this season.

Dominic Smith added a home run as well, his second with Syracuse, and stole a pair of bases. Smith is now 10-for-37 since his demotion.

On the pitching front, Tim Adleman threw four perfect innings Wednesday while striking out three. The veteran swingman now has a 5.54 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP in 13 innings this season. Adleman made 33 starts for the Reds in 2016 and 2017 going 5-19 with a 4.97 ERA. Trevor Cahill, another veteran starter, made his debut with Syracuse allowing a run on two hits in two innings.

Mike Montgomery couldn’t build off his previous quality start as he allowed six runs on seven hits in just 1.2 innings.

Double-A Binghamton

The Rumble Ponies lost four of six to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Binghamton is now 21-35 on the year.

Unsurprisingly, most of the offense in Binghamton came from Brett Baty and Francisco Álvarez this week. Baty went 8-for-20 with a pair of home runs while  Álvarez was 5-for-18 with two doubles and three home runs. Álvarez is now slashing .297/.357/.811 in June with five home runs in 37 at-bats.

A recent report suggests the 20-year-old Álvarez could get called up to the majors for the Mets at some point in 2022 because he’s performed so well.

Ronny Mauricio was 4-for-19 in the series with a double and three stolen bases while only striking out twice. The shortstop is slashing .237/.302/.500 in his last 38 at-bats while sporting an impressive 7.6% strikeout rate over that span.

Jose Butto earned the win Wednesday, allowing just a run on four hits and two walks over five innings while striking out three. Butto is now 3-4 with a 3.64 ERA and a K/9 of 11.68.

David Griffin and Jesus Vargas were both solid as well, each allowing a run in five innings. On the other hand, Jose Chacin struggled, allowing seven runs on six hits in just two-thirds of an inning. Chacin now has a 5.58 ERA in seven starts with Binghamton.

Alex Valverde allowed four runs (three earned) in four innings on six hits and four walks while striking out eight. While command has been an issue for the 25-year-old right-hander (evident in his 6.49 ERA) he now has 17 strikeouts in his last two starts and a K/9 of 12.98 this season.

High-A Brooklyn

The Cyclones dropped the first five games of a seven-game set against Aberdeen before winning the final two as they fall to 24-31.

Jose Peroza and JT Schwartz each had eight hits in the series. Peroza had two doubles and two stolen bases while Schwartz had a triple and one steal.

Brandon McIlwain also picked up a pair of triples in a 5-for-21 week. The former college quarterback is now slashing .284/.376/.446 with five home runs and 12 stolen bases this season.

Jaylen Palmer hit a pair of home runs, including a grand slam in Sunday’s victory, though he struck out 14 times in 23 at-bats. Palmer now has six home runs and a .606 OPS with a strikeout rate of 42.5%.

Despite a tough week, the Cyclones had a few encouraging pitching performances. Junior Santos took a loss despite allowing just two runs (one earned) on six hits and a walk over six innings while striking out five. Carson Seymour also took a hard-luck loss allowing a run on three hits and a walk while striking out seven in five innings. Seymour has a 3.21 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP through 14 innings (three starts) with Brooklyn.

Mike Vasil was impressive as well, allowing three runs on three hits and a walk with eight strikeouts over six innings. The 22-year-old right-hander has an impressive 13.20 K/9 and a 2.88 ERA in 50 innings between St. Lucie and Brooklyn. Nick Zwack also struck out eight in just four innings, allowing a run on two hits and a walk.

Low-A St. Lucie

St. Lucie split a six-game series with the Jupiter Hammerheads. The Mets are now 37-19 this season.

Stanley Consuegra filled up that stat sheet this week in St. Lucie going 10-for-23 with two doubles, two triples, two home runs, and two stolen bases. The 21-year-old outfielder is hitting .260/.327/.427 this year with five homers and five steals.

Junior Tilien had a big week as well with nine hits, including three doubles and a home run, in 28 at-bats. Tilien, a 2019 signee from the Dominican Republic, is slashing an impressive .284/.330/.591 with seven home runs in his age-19 season.

Carlos Dominguez clubbed a pair of home runs to give him 13 on the season, tying Daniel Palka for the organizational lead. William Lugo, Raul Beracierta, and Omar De Los Santos all homered as well for St. Lucie in the series. De Los Santos also added five stolen bases, giving him 28 0n the season.

Christian Scott earned a win on the mound, allowing two runs on seven hits over five innings while striking out six. The fifth-round pick is 2-0 with a 5.30 ERA this season.

Javier Atencio continued to impress this week, scattering three hits and two walks in four scoreless innings while punching out five. The 20-year-old lefty, the number 23 prospect in the Mets’ system according to Baseball America, has allowed just one earned run in 14 innings with 14 strikeouts in his first season with St. Lucie.

Dominican Summer League/Florida Complex League

Both the DSL and FCL seasons got underway this week, featuring a few of the Mets’ top international signees.

Willy Fanas went 6-for-15 with a double and a stolen base. Simon Juan struggled in his professional debut, going 2-for-20.

The top performance in the DSL goes to Yonatan Henriquez who had nine hits, including three doubles, in 18 at-bats. The infielder has some power potential, so he could remain a name to watch this summer.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

AVG – Alex Ramirez (SLU) – .311

OPS – Junior Tilien (SLU) – .921

HR – Carlos Dominguez (SLU)/Daniel Palka (SYR) – 13

SB – Omar De Los Santos (SLU) – 28

Pitching (min. 20 innings)

ERA – Nathan Lavender (BRK) – 0.76

SO – Alex Valverde (BNG) – 62

WHIP –Hunter Parsons (BNG) – 0.96

Players of the Week

Offensive  – Stanley Consuegra, OF St. Lucie

Consuegra had a huge week with six extra-base hits, raising his OPS to .754. Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2017, he’s still a raw prospect but offers some intriguing power/speed potential. Injuries have slowed down Consuegra’s development, but the 21-year-old outfielder has adapted well in his first season stateside. He has five home runs and five stolen bases (in nine attempts) with an acceptable 27% K-rate and an average exit velocity of 89.21 MPH.

The highlight of Consuegra’s game, however, is his defense. Despite originally signing as a shortstop, he’s shown impressive awareness in centerfield while using his speed to track down balls in the gaps. Consuegra also has arguably the strongest arm in the Mets’ system, which would allow him to play a corner outfield spot at the next level.

Pitching – Junior Santos, RHP Brooklyn

Santos had an up-and-down start to the season, leading to an ERA of 4.36, but he’s now allowed just one run in each of his previous two starts. More importantly, he’s issued just one walk in that span (eleven innings) while striking out 11.

The 6-foot-7 right-hander is an interesting prospect, ranked No. 17 in the Mets’ system by Baseball America. Santos throws a fastball in the mid-90s and his frame should allow for added velocity as he progresses.  As evident by his previous two outings, Santos can be effective when he throws strikes. The development of his secondary pitches (a low-80s slider and a mid-80s changeup) will determine whether or not he can eventually reach his ceiling in a big-league rotation. At 20 years old, Santos is still fairly young for High-A so there’s reason to be encouraged by his recent success.

Transactions

Upcoming Schedule: June 14-19

AAA Syracuse: @ Norfolk

AA Binghamton: @ Bowie

High-A Brooklyn: @ Wilmington

Low-A St. Lucie: vs. Tampa