Minors Weekly Report: Rumble Ponies Come Up Short of Playoffs

The Double-A season has come to a close, with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies playing their final series. Binghamton had a relatively strong second half, competing for a postseason spot, but they ultimately came up short of the playoffs.

Find the latest stats and news across the Mets minor leagues in the Minors Weekly Report below.

Jefferson Rojas. Photo Credit: Binghamton Rumble Ponies

Triple-A

The Syracuse Mets went 4-2 against the St. Paul Saints in their penultimate series of the International League regular season. The Mets are now 38-30 in the second half of the season and 76-67 overall.

To make the playoffs and finish second in the International League in the second half, Syracuse would need to gain a game on Scranton/Wilkes-Barre across the final six games. They’re currently a half-game behind the RailRiders. (Rochester finished first in the first half, so no need to catch them.) They’ll have top prospect Jefferson Rojas joining them for the final series of the year.

MJ Melendez continued his scorching Triple-A success, going 8-for-21 this week with a double, four home runs, 10 RBIs and six walks. Melendez now has a .979 OPS in 70 games with Syracuse.

Billy Amick also displayed his power, going 7-for-27 with two doubles and three home runs. Amick now has eight home runs and an .866 OPS in Syracuse, and an .867 OPS overall.

Ryan Clifford has not had a good season, but he had a good week, going 4-for-11 with two doubles, a triple and a home run. Clifford also added a walk and improved his OPS to .630.

Jonathan Santucci tossed five solid innings, allowing a run on five hits and no walks with six strikeouts. Santucci lowered his Triple-A ERA to 5.28. He was recently named the Mets’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

Jack Wenninger allowed two runs in five innings, doing so on six hits, two walks and seven strikeouts. Wenninger now has a 4.21 ERA this season.

Gabe Davis. (Photo Credits: Binghamton Rumble Ponies)

Double-A

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies went 1-4 in their final series of the season against the Portland Sea Dogs, cancelling the final game due to weather. The Rumble Ponies finished 34-34 in the second half of the season, going 61-76 overall.

Corey Collins only went 3-for-15, but he recorded a double and two home runs. Collins also added three RBIs, raising his Double-A OPS to .902.

Marco Vargas led the team with seven hits in 18 at-bats, recording two doubles, a triple and three stolen bases. Vargas finished the season strong, ending with a .770 OPS in 53 Double-A games.

Gabe Davis allowed just one run in his start of 4 1/3 innings. He gave up four hits and a walk with three strikeouts. Davis now has a 2.53 ERA in six appearances with Double-A Binghamton.

Bryce Conley pitched twice out of the bullpen, combining to throw 4 2/3 scoreless innings. He allowed just a hit and two walks with seven strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 5.81.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

AVG – Yonny Hernández (SYR) – .305
OPS – MJ Melendez (SYR) – .979
HR – Billy Amick (BNG/SYR) – 38
SB – Mitch Voit (BRK/BNG) – 45

Pitching (min. 10 innings)

ERA – Justin Armbruester (STL/BRK/BNG) – .108
SO – Jonathan Santucci (BNG/SYR) – 157
WHIP – Justin Armbruester (STL/BRK/BNG) – 0.880

Players of the Week

Offense – MJ Melendez, OF Syracuse

MJ Melendez has done nothing but rake in Triple-A, now up to 22 home runs and an OPS near 1.000 in 70 games. He showed flashes of his offensive ability with the major league squad earlier in the year, but not enough to stick around. At the very least, he’s solid depth and a veteran presence in the Syracuse lineup.

Pitching – Jonathan Santucci, P Syracuse

Jonathan Santucci has struggled in seven total starts since his promotion to Triple-A, but he’s had a good season overall with a 3.99 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A. The 23-year-old is one of the Mets’ top pitching prospects and could be a factor on the major league squad as soon as next season.