In his first regular season with Brooklyn, Díaz threw 106 2/3 innings, most of them coming as a starter, with a 3.80 ERA. After Diaz was pulled with two outs in the seventh, Hoss Brewer came in to get out of a jam that he created by walking the first two batters he faced to keep the game scoreless. Brooklyn will begin the Championship Series at home on Sunday against either the Hub City Spartanburgers or the Bowling Green Hot Rods.

Syracuse Mets (71-70) 1, Worcester Red Sox (71-69) 10

Box Score

• CF Carson Benge 0-for-4, K ( .418 OPS)
• SS Jett Williams 1-for-4, 2K (.653 OPS)
• LF Ryan Clifford 0-for-4, 2K (.742 OPS)
• 1B Jared Young 1-ro-3, BB (.962 OPS)

The Mets’ “big three” prospects in Triple-A (Benge, Williams and Clifford) all struggled in Thursday night’s game, going 1-12 with five strikeouts. Syracuse has been a tough adjustment for Benge, MMO’s No. 2 prospect. After tearing up Brooklyn and Binghamton, Benge is hitting just .143 with a .418 OPS in his first go-around with the affiliate.

• LHP Brandon Waddell 4IP, 8H, 7R, 7ER, BB, 3K (5.05 ERA)
• RHP Kevin Herget 1IP, 2H, 3R, 1ER, K (2.74 ERA)

Waddell and Herget, both guys who have played a role for the Mets in the majors at some point this year, combined to give up eight earned runs and ten hits, while only striking out four batters. Ty Adcock, also having pitched three innings for the Mets this year, worked a scoreless seventh inning for Syracuse.

Binghamton Rumble Ponies (87-46) 7, Portland Sea Dogs 8

Box Score

• LF A.J. Ewing 2-for-4, 3B, 2R, BB (.831 OPS)
• CF Nick Morabito 1-for-4, RBI, R, BB (.734 OPS)
• RF Omar De Los Santos 3-for-4, 3RBI, R (.613 OPS)
• 1B Nick Lorusso 2-for-4, 2B, 2RBI, 2R (.697 OPS)

Ewing continues to mash Double-A pitching, adding another multi-hit game and raising his batting average to .351 and his OPS to .831. He is still searching for his first home run with Binghamton, but his speed and plus bat-to-ball skills allow him to pick up extra-base hits by way of doubles and triples. Ewing has seven doubles and two triples with Binghamton. Morabito, MMO’s No. 16 prospect, added an RBI and a run scored, continuing a solid year with the Rumble Ponies.

Joel Diaz. Photo by Bella Dunning/Brooklyn Cyclones

Brooklyn Cyclones (2-0) 4, Greensboro Grasshoppers 1, (0-2)

Box Score

• SS Marco Vargas 1-for-4, R, BB (.425 OPS)
• CF Yonatan Henriquez 2-for-5, 2R, K (.700 OPS)
• 3B Colin Houck 0-for-4 (.625 OPS)
• RF Yohairo Cuevas 1-for-2, 2RBI, BB (.417 OPS)

Brooklyn completed a sweep of the three-game series over the Greensboro Grasshoppers last night to advance to the South Atlantic League Championship Series. This will be Brooklyn’s first SAL Championship Series appearance, and it’ll face either the Hub City Spartanburgers or the Bowling Green Hot Rods. Henriquez and Cuevas led the charge offensively for Brooklyn, getting on base a combined four times in eight plate appearances. Marco Vargas, MMO’s No. 18 prospect, added a hit and a walk. Vargas, part of the David Robertson trade to Miami in 2023, has struggled offensively in Brooklyn this year after being promoted early in the season from St. Lucie.

• RHP Joel Díaz 6 2/3 IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 2BB, 2K, W (0.00 ERA)
• RHP Dakota Hawkins 2IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 5K (3.00 ERA)

Diaz dominated the Grasshoppers hitters, allowing only two hits and two walks for Brooklyn. He is not known for his strikeout stuff, as he’s averaged only 8.27 K/9 this year with Brooklyn. However, as he showcased last night, he is able to generate soft contact and get batters out on balls in play. Hawkins allowed the only earned run of the night for the Cyclones, but struck out five batters over two innings. Hawkins, a Washington State product, has pitched for Syracuse, Binghamton and Brooklyn this year.

St. Lucie Mets (1-1) 2, Daytona Tortugas (1-1) 7

Box Score

• 2B Mitch Voit 1-for-4, R, 2K (.472 OPS)
• CF Trey Snyder 1-for-3, R, BB, K (.583 OPS)
• SS Antonio Jimenez 1-for-3, BB, RBI, K (.889 OPS)
• 3B Jeremy Rodriguez 2-for-4 (1.071 OPS)

St. Lucie was unable to finish the Florida State League East Divisional round Thursday night and will head to a Game 3 tonight. St. Lucie, like its MLB affiliate, scored all of its runs in the first inning, then went the remaining eight innings without a run. 2025 first-round pick Mitch Voit is still looking to find a groove, as his OPS during his first professional campaign currently sits at .637. Rodriguez, MMO’s No. 22 prospect, added a pair of hits and is hoping to stay hot in these playoffs. His OPS in his first season with St. Lucie was down to .540 with only one home run.

• LHP Daviel Hurtado 2 2/3 IP, 5H, 7R, 5ER, 4BB, 2K (16.88 ERA)
• RHP Omar Victorino 4IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, BB, 4K (0.00 ERA)

Hurtado struggled to get outs Thursday night, allowing a plethora of singles and walks that forced the lefty to leave the game in the third inning. While the defense did not help out (two unearned runs in the first inning), Hurtado could never settle in and struggled to command the zone. Victorino, an August call-up, pitched four scoreless innings in relief to keep the game close. St. Lucie will try to advance to the next round with the rubber match on Friday.

The post Mets Minors Recap: Joel Díaz Helps Brooklyn Reach SAL Championship Series appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The High-A Brooklyn Cyclones will visit the Greensboro Grasshoppers Tuesday in Game 1 of the Division Series of the South Atlantic League playoffs. Meanwhile, the Low-A St. Lucie Mets will battle the Daytona Tortugas in Game 1 of the Florida State League Division Series. Both series are best of three.

Colin Houck. Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Brooklyn vs. Greensboro

Channing Austin, 23, gets the 6:30 p.m. Game 1 start for the Cyclones after giving up two earned runs in three innings in his High-A debut last week. The right-hander went 2-4 with a 4.31 ERA in 20 appearances (11 starts) for St. Lucie, striking out 66 in 71 innings before he was promoted. Game 2 and Game 3 (if necessary) will be in Coney Island on Thursday and Friday.

The minor-league playoffs pit the division winner of the first half against the second half (if the same team wins both halves, second place in the second half qualifies) and Brooklyn (72-59 overall) was the first-half champ with a 46-20 record. With many of their best players promoted (Carson Benge, Jacob Reimer, A.J. Ewing, Chris Suero), the Cyclones went 26-39 in the second half. Greensboro, a Pirates affiliate, went 88-43 overall and 43-23 in the second half.

Brooklyn will look for offensive production from, among others, infielders Marco Vargas and Colin Houck and recently promoted OF-3B Yonatan Henriquez. Vargas stole 38 bases and posted a .624 OPS in 408 plate appearances. Houck is a 2023 first-round pick who posted an .812 OPS at St. Lucie before slashing just .198/.269/.289 in 54 games for Brooklyn. Henriquez stole 33, hit eight homers and posted a .749 OPS in 104 games at St. Lucie. He’s 7-for-28 in seven games with the Cyclones.

The Cyclones will start Joel Díaz (5-5, 3.80 ERA) in Game 2 on Thursday and Noah Hall (5-7, 2.72 ERA) in Game 3 on Friday if necessary.

Díaz, 21, of the Dominican Republic struck out 98 in 106 2/3 innings for Brooklyn. Hall, 24, a seventh round pick in 2023 from the University of South Carolina, fanned 115 in 112 2/3 innings. Greensboro has not announced any of its starting pitchers.

The winner of the Brooklyn-Greensboro series will play in the South Atlantic League Championship Series, a best of three that will start on Sunday.  The Bowling Green Hot Rods (Rays) are playing the Hub City Spartanburgers (Rangers) in the other Division Series.

Mitch Voit. Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

St. Lucie vs. Daytona

St. Lucie (77-53 overall) finished first in both halves in their division. They will visit Reds affiliate Daytona (65-66 overall, 36-29 second half) for Game 1 (6:35 p.m. ET) and host Games 2 and 3 on Thursday and Friday if necessary. Jose Chirinos, who has 56 1/3 innings and a 3.20 ERA under his belt for St. Lucie, will get the start for the Mets.

One St. Lucie player to watch is infielder Mitch Voit, 20, who was drafted in the first round (38th overall) in July from the University of Michigan. He has stolen 20 bases in 22 games while posting a .638 OPS in 99 plate appearances. He hit 14 homers and slashed .346/.471/.668 in 56 games for the Wolverines this year and had a breakout week last week.

Daiverson Gutierrez, a 19-year-old catcher from Venezuela, hit four homers and slashed .242/.362/.309 in 91 games for St. Lucie and 1B-OF Randy Guzman has been hot since his promotion from Rookie Ball, hitting .333/.381/.604 with three homers, 13 doubles and two triples in 26 games. He is a 20-year-old from the Dominican Republic.

The winner of St. Lucie-Daytona will play in the Florida State League Championship Series, a best of three that will also start on Sunday. The Lakeland Flying Tigers (Tigers) are playing the Clearwater Threshers (Phillies) in the other Division Series.

The post Brooklyn, St. Lucie Set for Playoffs This Week appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Carson Benge. Photo by Steven Wojtowicz of MMO

Triple-A

Syracuse Mets (65-65) 2, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (77-50) 6

Box Score

• SS Jett Williams, 0-for-3, K (.602 OPS)
• CF Carson Benge, 1-for-4, HR (1), 2 RBI (2) (.748 OPS)
• 3B Luisangel Acuña, 2-f0r-4, SB (8), CS (2) (.731 OPS)
• DH Jared Young, 3-for-4, SB (5) (.975 OPS)

Benge, 22, was ranked No. 2 on MMO’s updated prospect rankings earlier this month. Williams, a 2022 first-round pick, was first on the list. He’s 13-for-66 (.197 batting average) in 16 games since being promoted to Syracuse after posting an .868 OPS with 10 homers at Binghamton.

• RHP Douglas Orellana (6.43 ERA) 2 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K
• RHP Alex Carrillo (6.08 ERA) 1 1/3 IP, 2 BB, 3 K

Double-A

Somerset Patriots (64-60) 6, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (80-42) 5

Box Score

• 1B Chris Suero, 0-for-2, 2 R, 2 BB (.726 OPS)
• 3B Jacob Reimer, 2-for-4, 2 2B, RBI (34), SB (4), R (.911 OPS)
• 2B A.J. Ewing, 1-for-4, RBI (4), SB (9)  (.864 OPS)

Reimer, 21, entered Friday slashing .338/.429/.623 with five home runs this month. Ewing, 21, entered hitting .371/.409/.484 since his promotion to Double-A. He’s stolen nine bases in 15 games for Binghamton.

• RHP Will Watson (2.08 ERA) 4 1/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, ER, 2 BB, 5 K, HR, L
• RHP Saul Garcia (2.16 ERA) 1 1/3 IP, H, 2 K

It was a big night for debuts of 22-year-old seventh-round picks. Jonah Tong (2022 draft) made his major-league debut, and Watson (2024 draft) made his first Double-A appearance. Watson, taken from the University of Southern California, pitched to a 1.70 ERA while fanning 77 in 63 2/3 innings for High-A Brooklyn.

High-A

Hudson Valley Renegades (74-47) 5, Brooklyn Cyclones (70-54) 1

Box Score

• CF Yohairo Cuevas, 2-for-4, 2B, CS (1), K (.484 OPS)
• C Ronald Hernandez, 1-for-2, R, BB (.658 OPS)

Brooklyn was held to three hits as the top four hitters in the lineup (Marco Vargas, Trace Willhoite, John Bay and Colin Houck) combined to go 0-for-15 with 10 strikeouts.

• RHP Joel Díaz (3.69 ERA) 5 1/3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, HR, L

Díaz, 21, of the Dominican Republic, has struck out 97 in 102 1/3 innings for Brooklyn.

Low-A

Lakeland Flying Tigers (70-50) 4, St. Lucie Mets (74-49) 8

Box Score

• DH Jesse Winker, 0-for-3, 3 K (.000 OPS)
• DH Jose Siri, 2-for-2, RBI (1), R (2.000 OPS)
• SS Antonio Jimenez, 3-for-5, RBI (10), 2 R (.624 OPS)
• RF Randy Guzman, 2-for-5, 3B, 2 RBI (20), R, CS (3) (.983 OPS)
• C Daiverson Gutierrez, 2-for-4, 2 RBI (40), (.672 OPS)

Winker is 0-for-5 with four strikeouts in two rehab games. This was also Siri’s second rehab game. He walked and scored in his first. Guzman, 20, of the Dominican Republic, is 24-for-73 (.329 batting average) with three homers, nine doubles, and a triple in 20 games with St. Lucie. The win clinched the second-half championship for St. Lucie.

• LHP Daviel Hurtado (2.11 ERA) 4 IP, 5 H, ER, 4 BB, 5 K,

This makes 10 straight outings (36 2/3 innings pitched) where Hurtado, 20, of Cuba has allowed one earned run or none. He gave up one earned run in 19 innings (0.47 ERA) for the Rookie Ball Florida Complex League Mets before he was promoted.

The post Mets Minors Recap: Benge Belts First Triple-A Homer appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Brandon Sproat. Photo Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Triple-A

Syracuse Mets (42-48) 0, Lehigh Valley IronPigs (53-35) 2

BOX SCORE

• CF Drew Gilbert – 0-for-3 (.736 OPS)
• 3B Luke Ritter – 0-for-2, 1 BB, 1 K (.714 OPS)
• C Francisco Alvarez – 0-for-4, 2 K (.705 OPS)

Syracuse had five baserunners on Thursday and zero extra-base hits. They were stifled by top Phillies prospect Mick Abel and former Mets prospect Josh Walker. Jared Young has slashed .308/.424/.654 with three home runs since he was optioned back to Syracuse on June 27.

• RHP Brandon Sproat (4.61 ERA) 7 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 K (87 of 62 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Dylan Ross (1.23 ERA) 1 IP, 1 H, 1 K

Sproat had his longest outing of the season, firing seven strong innings and allowing only four baserunners, one of them coming via the walk. He has now thrown 18 innings over his last three outings, all of which have been caught by Alvarez, without giving up a run. Ross fired a scoreless inning, dropping his ERA to 1.23 with Syracuse.

Double-A

Binghamton Rumble Ponies (56-26) 2, Altoona Curve (39-44) 1

BOX SCORE

• LF Carson Benge – 0-for-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K (.956 OPS)
• SS Jett Williams – 0-for-3, 1 BB, 2 K (.858 OPS)
• CF Nick Morabito – 1-for-3, 1 BB, 2 K (.784 OPS)
• RF Ryan Clifford – 0-for-4, 2 K (.836 OPS)
• 3B Jacob Reimer – 2-for-4, 1 RBI (11), 1 K (.886 OPS)
• C  Matt O’Neill – 3-for-3, 2B, 1 R, CS (1) (.745 OPS)

The Rumble Ponies’ top four hitters went a combined 1-for-13 with seven strikeouts. The deciding run crossed the plate when O’Neill scored on a balk. Reimer had yet another RBI hit, giving him 11 in 14 games with Binghamton.

• RHP R.J. Gordon (1.29 ERA) 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 1 HR allowed (55 of 78 pitches for strikes)

Gordon was electric in his Double-A debut, striking out eight batters over seven innings while throwing 78 pitches. Gordon will definitely be shooting up most Mets prospect lists with his performance this season, cementing himself within the top-10 pitchers in the system.

High-A

Brooklyn Cyclones (56-28) 7, Wilmington Blue Rocks (38-45) 5/ 10 INNINGS

BOX SCORE

• CF Eli Serrano III – 0-for-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K (.750 OPS)
• C Chris Suero – 1-for-5, 1 R, 2 K (.835 OPS)
• RF A.J. Ewing – 1-for-5, SB (40), 1 K (.791 OPS)
• 3B Boston Baro – 2-for-5, 2B, 1 R (.597 OPS)
• SS Marco Vargas – 1-for-5, 2 K (.610 OPS)
• DH Ronald Hernandez – 2-for-5, 1 R, HR (6), 3 RBI (42), 2 K (.668 OPS)

Hernandez has had a solid season. Part of the 2023 David Robertson trade with the Miami Marlins, he has slashed .232/.309/.359 with six homers, 34 RBIs and 16 stolen bases in 17 chances. While the power has yet to come, even via extra-base hits, Hernandez has proven he can use his other tools to affect the game. Ewing stole his 40th base of the season in Brooklyn, and even despite his own struggles is still making his mark every game.

• RHP Joel Díaz (3.62 ERA) 4 IP, 5 H, 4 R (2 ER) 1 BB, 7 K, 1 HR allowed (44 of 65 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Dakota Hawkins (1.69 ERA) 4 1/3 IP, 6 K

Díaz has had a good 2025 season after his return from an arm injury and continues to get better as the Mets limit his pitches. He struck out seven batters on 65 pitches, and while he has allowed 64 hits in 64 innings, only four have been home runs while only walking 11 batters. Hawkins was lights-out in his extended relief appearance, striking out six and lowering his ERA to 1.69.

Low-A

St. Lucie Mets (45-37) 5, Bradenton Marauders (40-43) 3

BOX SCORE

• DH Trey Snyder – 1-for-4 (.667 OPS)
• SS Jeremy Rodriguez – 0-for-5, 1 K (.569 OPS)
• LF Willy Fanas – 1-for-3, 1 R, HR (1), 3 RBI (11), 1 BB, 1 K (.565 OPS)
• 2B Nick Roselli – 0-for-2, 1 BB (.649 OPS)
• 1B Trace Willhoite – 4-for-4, 1 R (.856 OPS)

St. Lucie came alive in the seventh inning, scoring all five of its runs in the final three frames. Yonatan Henriquez has gone 6-for-8 in his last two games with two runs, four RBIs and a stolen base.

• RHP Wellington Aracena (2.56 ERA) 4 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 4 K (37 of 64 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Layonel Ovalles (1.42 ERA) 1 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 4 BB, 2 K

Aracena keeps turning in solid starts. He completed another scoreless outing on Thursday, during which he struck out four batters. Ovalles, on the other hand, just couldn’t find the strike zone, allowing his first earned run since May 29 in the process.

Florida Complex League

FCL Mets (20-24) 6, FCL Cardinals (18-28) 5

SS Branny De Oleo went 2-for-4 with a run scored, an RBI (his 10th of the season) and a walk. CF Edward Lantigua went 1-for-5 with a three-run double to raise his OPS to .732 in 2025. RHP Nicolas Carreno struggled, allowing two earned runs in two-thirds of an inning with two walks and a strikeout.

Dominican Summer League

DSL Mets Blue (13-15) 6, DSL Phillies White (9-18) 5

DH Yovanny Rodriguez is hitting the cover off of the ball, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs. After struggling in 2024, he has exploded in 2025 with a slash line of .370/.525/1.047 to go alongside a 15/16 BB/K ratio. Yensi Rivas stole his 15th base of the season.

DSL Mets Orange (17-10) 3, DSL Giants Black (21-7) 4

Elian Peña went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base, his eighth of the season. Adolfo Miranda went 2-for-3 with a triple, a stolen base and an RBI, his 19th of the season.

The post Mets Minors Recap: Brandon Sproat Extends Scoreless Streak With Syracuse appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

From Nolan McLean at Triple-A to Jose Chirinos, who recently got promoted from the Florida Complex League, and every level in between, there is pitching talent with tantalizing potential throughout the organization.

Nolan McLean. Photo Credit: Kylie Richelle

The Stable

The headliners are McLean and Jonah Tong, prospects with big-time helium who are taking off in 2025.

McLean started the year at Double-A, dominated, got promoted to Triple-A, and hasn’t missed a beat. He has an elite sweeper that has been big league ready from the moment he stepped onto a professional mound, a mid-90s heater, a sinker that has been missing bats like crazy, a cutter that has been inducing weak contact, and a changeup and curveball he mixes in occasionally.

Tong boasts the best fastball in the organization. Due to it’s elite IVB (induced vertical break), it was already the best fastball in the organization when he was throwing it in the low-to-mid 90s. Now, he’s routinely throwing it 95 and can get it up to 97. He has a big looping curveball and a slider that can both be plus pitches, but his new Vulcanchange has been a game changer, giving him an effective offspeed pitch that he had been searching for. He’s too good for Double-A, and should probably receive a promotion to Triple-A soon.

There’s also Brandon Sproat, who is probably more of a household name than Tong and McLean despite those two passing him in the prospect ranks. Sproat flew through the minors last year, making it all the way to Triple-A in what was his first season of professional baseball. However, he struggled mightily once he got there, and those struggles have continued in 2025. Sproat has a bunch of solid offerings, but no standout pitch like Tong and McLean. He’s still just 24, and is less than a year removed from dominating hitters at Double-A, so there’s plenty of time for him to right the ship. (He has a 2.25 ERA in his last 16 innings as of publishing.) He remains one of the top pitching prospects in the organization, the hype has just faded a bit.

Blade Tidwell is at Triple-A as well, and he’s been one of the most effective pitchers in the league. Don’t let the 4.02 ERA fool you—that’s pretty good for the International League. It’s also a full run lower since he was returned to Triple-A after making his big league debut a little over a month ago. He got hit around a bit by the Cardinals in that debut, but he has good stuff, and it’s very possible he makes another big league start at some point this season.

Meanwhile, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies have a stacked rotation just one level below. It’s headlined by Tong, but there are multipe probable future big leaguers on that staff as well.

Jack Wenninger. Photo by Kylie Richelle

Jack Wenninger has turned in the fourth-highest strikeout rate among  Double-A qualifiers, only behind Tong, top MLB pitching prospect Chase Burns and rising Cardinals prospect Tekoah Roby. Jonathan Pintaro, a former Division II pitcher who was signed out of indy ball last year, would be near the top of those leaderboards as well if he were qualified. He’s a great story, and while he is older at 27, he’s turned himself into a legitimate prospect in this system. Then there’s Zach Thornton, a southpaw, who rarely walks people while still posting a high strikeout rate. Over his last three starts, he’s given up just three hits and one run over 19 innings while striking out 22 and walking four.

High-A Brooklyn has maybe even more talent. 2024 second-round pick Jonathan Santucci actually has the worst ERA of the bunch at 4.32, but after a rough start he’s thrown 20 and 2/3 innings of one-run ball over his last four starts. Third-rounder Nate Dohm has turned in four good starts after his promotion from St. Lucie, and Noah Hall, Brendan Girton and R.J. Gordon all have ERAs under 3.30 in over 40 innings.

The Cyclones actually have too many pitchers for available starts. Gordon and Girton piggybacked each other earlier this week, with Gordon going the first three and 2/3 and Girton going the next four and 1/3. Two days later, Dohm and Hall did the same, throwing a respective five and four scoreless innings en route to a shutout victory.

It continues down to Single-A St. Lucie and the Florida Complex League. Irving Cota has a 1.85 ERA in 35 innings and even threw five scoreless innings in a spot start at Double-A before being sent back to St. Lucie. Will Watson had success, earning a promotion to Brooklyn in early June. Edgar Moreta and Wellington Aracena have both had strong seasons. Jose Chirinos was great in the FCL, and then threw four and 2/3 scoreless with seven strikeouts in his Single-A debut.

There are more. Joander Suarez had a lot of success at Double-A and is now getting his first taste of Triple-A action. Joel Díaz has had a solid season at High-A. Former top prospect Matt Allan is finally back on the mound, pitching for Brooklyn. These guys might be more like organizational depth pieces, but they have all flashed before.

There are also, of course, relievers. Some are former starters, like Douglas Orellana, Felipe De La Cruz, Saul Garcia, Cameron Foster and Dom Hamel. There are a few fireballers, like Ryan Lambert, Dylan Ross and Raimon Gómez, who are capable of touching triple digits. Then there are other relievers, like Ryan Ammons, Anthony Nunez and TJ Shook, who have consistently turned in good results.

The farm system is deeper than it ever has been before.

The Mets have had groups of highly-touted pitching prospects before. Generation K. The Big 5 of the mid-2010s. Maybe it’s a reminder that so often, prospects don’t pan out as expected. But the Mets have also never had the infrastructure to support these pitching prospects as they do right now.

The Big Picture

The Arizona Diamondbacks just provided the baseball world with an unfortunate reminder this past week with the news of Corbin Burnes needing to undergo Tommy John surgery becoming official—don’t sign starting pitchers to long-term contracts. Develop pitchers, that way you’re not forced to sign free agent starting pitchers to big-money, multi-year contracts.

The Mets have leaned heavily into that philosophy in the first two years under David Stearns. They pursued Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a unicorn in the free agent market at 25 years old, but other than that, they’ve stayed away from the big-name, high-priced free agent pitchers. No Burnes. No Max Fried. No Blake Snell. Fried has been great, but it’s an eight-year contract. That’s a long time to count on a pitcher to be healthy. Burnes and Snell are both already on the shelf.

Instead, the Mets opted for shorter deals. In 2024, it was Sean Manaea and Luis Severino. In 2025, it was Clay Holmes, Griffin Canning, Frankie Montas and re-upping Manaea. Montas and Manaea both opened the season on the injured list, but they are signed to two-year and three-year deals, respectively. There’s no true long-term commitment to either.

Is the Big Money Worth It?

Pitchers are inherently a high-risk free agent buy. Burnes signed a 6-year, $210 million deal with the Diamondbacks this offseason. He will miss the rest of 2025, and there’s a good chance he will miss all of 2026 as well. Arizona will pay him roughly $62 million for what could be 11 total starts from 2025 to 2026. The next time he pitches for the Diamondbacks will likely be when he is 32 years old. He already showed some early signs of decline this year before the injury. Who knows how he will look in 2027, especially coming off a major arm injury? Arizona will then be on the hook for four more years, with Burnes making over $30 million each year, and then owe him over $10 million a year for six more years in deferred money starting in 2031.

The Mets are better equipped than most to withstand injuries to players on big contracts, but no team wants that much dead money on the books. Even Steve Cohen wants to avoid paying people to not play as much as possible.

But how does a smaller market team justify that risk? That much dead money can be a backbreaker for a team that only signs a handful of players to big-money contracts — and “handful” might be too optimistic for a few organizations.

Since 2022, 11 pitchers (and Shohei Ohtani, who is yet to pitch for the Dodgers) have signed 9-digit free agent contracts: Max Scherzer, Robbie Ray, Kevin Gausman, Carlos Rodón, Edwin Díaz, Aaron Nola, deGrom, Yamamoto, Burnes, Fried and Snell. Eight of those 11 pitchers have made at least one trip to the 60-day IL. That includes the youngster Yamamoto, who made just 18 starts for the Dodgers in his rookie season.

Aaron Nola hasn’t, but after signing a seven-year, $172 million deal entering his age-31 season, he’s regressed so much just one year later that his contract is beginning to look like an albatross. He’s also currently on the 15-day IL and just had his return timeline pushed back. Fried hasn’t, and again, has looked fantastic, but he’s just two months into an eight-year deal. Gausman is the outlier, not taking a single trip to the injured list over the three years and change of his five-year deal, and has remained productive.

It’s an unfair line of thinking for pitchers, and it raises a lot of questions about a much larger issue. How does the league balance a need to compensate pitchers fairly for their work with the obligations of a front office to do what’s best for their organization?

Organizations getting what may be the best years of a pitcher’s career, while significantly underpaying them for six years for the value they are providing, and then tossing them aside when they finally have the opportunity to get paid is, to put it bluntly, a pretty crappy way to treat pitchers. However, organizations should always do what is in their best interests as they pursue the ultimate goal of winning a championship, and that includes wisely distributing their payroll. Smart organizations pay players for what they believe they will do over the course of their new contract, not what they have already done.

History shows it is not smart to sign free agent pitchers to long-term contracts, but underpaying pitchers for years only to cut them loose when it’s finally time for them to make money feels borderline predatory. Short-term contracts for pitchers will always exist, but even if they have high average annual values, they lack the security many players desire.

Is the solution players hitting free agency earlier, maybe after four years instead of six (or seven if their service time is manipulated)? That way, players hit free agency younger, they can cash in earlier, and maybe long-term deals for pitchers are more justifiable if that pitcher is 26 or 28 instead of 30 or 32.

Of course, that opens a much, much, MUCH larger can of worms, and would likely have a ripple effect on many other parts of the Collective Bargaining Agreement — too much to get into right now.

It’s such a difficult issue. Players deserve to be compensated fairly for the value they create, but ultimately, teams need to do everything possible to win, and anything less is malpractice. Unfortunately, that usually means staying away from giving long-term free agent deals to pitchers, signing pitchers to short-term deals when needed, and ideally, developing your own pitchers instead of buying them.

The Mets didn’t have a ton of MLB-ready, quality arms in the minor leagues in 2024 or to begin 2025. They turned to undervalued veterans with good tools like Manaea, Canning and the others, and focused on getting the most out of them. Soon, some of those big league starts will be taken by players the Mets have developed through the minor leagues themselves. McLean has the best combination of talent and proximity, but Sproat, Tidwell, Tong, Wenninger, Pintaro and Thornton are all at least at Double-A. Once you reach that level, the big leagues are within striking distance.

Not everyone will stick in the big leagues, but some will, and that’s an exciting thing for Mets fans to look forward to.

The post The Mets Have As Much Pitching Depth As They Ever Have appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Triple-A

Syracuse Mets (13-15) 0, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (13-14) 2/ 7 INNINGS

BOX SCORE

• DH Drew Gilbert – 0-for-1, 1 BB (.723 OPS)
• 2B Brett Baty  – 0-for-3, 2 K (.864 OPS)
• 3B Luke Ritter – 0-for-3, 1 K (.564 OPS)

Syracuse managed two hits and five total baserunners on the day, which was a makeup of the April 29th game. They were stifled by Yankees prospect Sean Boyle for 5 1/3 innings. Luke Ritter has struggled in 2025, with an OPS under .600, and he has failed to hit a home run in 81 at-bats after hitting 26 last season. Jakson Reetz, despite a .180 batting average, has an OPS of .768.

• RHP Brandon Sproat (5.48 ERA) 4 1/3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (50 of 79 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Tyler Zuber (5.23 ERA) 1 2/3 IP
• LHP Anthony Gose (2.38 ERA) 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K

Brandon Sproat has yet to find consistency in Triple-A, with another short start that has lacked the dominance he showed across two levels in 2024, struggling with control and pitch location despite great stuff. Lefty Anthony Gose may be a name to watch for the Mets based on the recent, potentially season-ending injuries to Danny Young and A.J. Minter. Gose has struck out 14 over 11 1/3 innings, however, he has also walked seven.

Syracuse Mets (13-16) 0, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (14-14) 5 / 7 INNINGS

BOX SCORE

• CF Drew Gilbert- 1-for-3, 1 K (.711 OPS)
• 3B Brett Baty – 1-for-3, 1 K (1.214 OPS)
• 1B Joey Meneses – 2-for-3, 2B (.853 OPS)
• LF Jared Young – 0-for-3, 1 K (1.167 OPS)

In the second game of the day for Syracuse, the offense managed to get seven hits as opposed to the two hits in game one, but only one went for extra bases, and they failed to score a run. Joey Meneses has been a pleasant surprise, providing solid organizational depth, and in the event of an injury to a right-handed Mets hitter, could receive a call-up to the majors. Brett Baty has played well at Triple-A and was only sent down due to the roster crunch required by the activations of Jeff McNeil and Francisco Alvarez.

• RHP Dom Hamel (4.20 ERA)  4 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 1 HR allowed (45 of 69 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Grant Hartwig (4.15 ERA) 2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 K

Dom Hamel had seven strikeouts on the day, but was victimized by a three-run homer that turned his solid day into an outing that looks much worse than it was. Grant Hartwig chipped in with three strikeouts over two innings while allowing a run. With no offense on the day, the pitchers needed to be perfect, and unfortunately, they just weren’t.

Double-A

Binghamton Rumble Ponies (13-9) 3, Erie SeaWolves (15-8) 2

BOX SCORE

• SS Jett Williams – 1-for-4, 2B, 1 K (.862 OPS)
• RF Nick Morabito – 1-4, 1 K (.705 OPS)
• RF/1B Ryan Clifford – 0-for-4, 2 K (.703 OPS)
• 1B/3B Nick Lorusso – 1-for-4, R, 2 K (.798 OPS)
• 3B/SS William Lugo – 3-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI (5), 1 K (.696 OPS)

On Wednesday, the Rumble Ponies fought hard to secure their win over Erie. They got out to an early lead, putting up three runs by the fourth inning. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Erie put up two runs to cut the lead down to one. William Lugo had a great day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a double. Kevin Parada went 1-for-4 with no strikeouts, but still has an OPS of .418. Binghamton struck out 11 times to only one walk.

• RHP Zach Thornton (4.15 ERA) 4 1/3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 K, 1 HR allowed (54 of 78 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Ryan Lambert (0.00 ERA) 1 IP, 2 BB, 2 K
• RHP Douglas Orellana (0.87 ERA) 2 IP, 2 K

Zach Thornton made his Double-A debut and looked solid, allowing two runs on five hits, including a home run. Thornton looks to be another fast riser in the Mets system after a stellar 2024, and a great start to his 2025 season saw him promoted to Double-A before May 1st. Ryan Lambert, also recently promoted, made his debut for the Rumble Ponies and also looked strong, striking out two in an inning of work as well as walking two. Douglas Orellana came out to secure the save and has been having quite the season as well, striking out two on Wednesday and 16 for the season over 10 1/3 innings.

High-A

Brooklyn Cyclones (15-7) 15, Wilmington Blue Rocks (7-16) 1

BOX SCORE

• DH Jacob Reimer – 3-for-5, 3 R, 3 HR (5), 5 RBI (21), 1 K (1.042 OPS)
• C Ronald Hernandez – 4-for-4, 3 R, 2 HR (2), 4 RBI (11), SB (7) (.772 OPS)
• LF Carson Benge – 2-for-5, 3B, R, CS (1) (.845 OPS)
• CF A.J. Ewing – 1-for-4, R, RBI (1), SB (2), 1 BB, 2 K (.522 OPS)
• 2B Marco Vargas – 1-for-4, 3B, 2 RBI (4), 3 K (.717 OPS)
• RF Eli Serrano III – 1-for-5, 3B, 2 R, RBI (13), 2 K (.820 OPS)
• SS Boston Baro – 2-for-2, 2 R, 1 K (.568 OPS)

The Cyclones’ offense was firing on all cylinders on Wednesday, scoring a run in six of the eight innings they hit. Jacob Reimer dominated in the game, hitting three home runs and pushing his OPS over 1.000. Ronald Hernandez, acquired in the 2023 David Robertson trade along with Marco Vargas, had himself a day, going 4-for-4 with two homers and a steal, upping his OPS to .772 on the day. Every Brooklyn player managed a hit, and all but one scored a run. The Cyclones weren’t only hitting the ball out of the park as they managed three triples as well. The Cyclones’ lineup is loaded with prospects, so every game for them will be a must-watch to see the potential future pieces in Flushing.

• RHP Joel Díaz (0.44 ERA) 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 6 K (47 of 61 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Chandler Marsh (0.00 ERA) 1 IP, 1 K
• LHP Ryan Ammons (0.00 ERA) 1 IP, 2 K

As good as the offense was, the pitching was just as impressive. Joel Díaz continued his ascent up the prospect ladder in his return from injury, turning in his longest start of the season, allowing one run on three hits while striking out six. The rest of the bullpen teamed up for four scoreless innings, including Chandler Marsh and Ryan Ammons keeping their ERAs at 0.00 with solid one-inning outings each.

Low-A

St. Lucie Mets (13-10) 8, Palm Beach Cardinals (14-9) 6

BOX SCORE

• 2B Trey Snyder – 4-for-5, 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI (10), 1 BB (.595 OPS)
• SS Jeremy Rodriguez – 3-for-6, 1 R, CS (3), 2 K (.681 OPS)
• 3B Colin Houck – 1-for-6, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI (13), 1 K (.678 OPS)
• RF Simon Juan  – 2-for-5, 1 R, 1 K (.413 OPS)
• DH Daiverson Gutierrez – 1-for-5, R, HR (1), 2 RBI (9), 1 BB, 1 K (.561 OPS)

The offense today was initiated by the top of the order, top prospects Trey Snyder and Jeremy Rodriguez both had great days at the plate, combining for seven hits. Daiverson Gutierrez hit his first Low-A home run of the season. Simon Juan, who has struggled thus far this season, had a nice day at the plate, going 2-for-5 and, despite an outfield error, made a key outfield assist to throw a runner out at third trying to advance on a fly ball. Most of the younger hitters on the team have struggled early on, but seem to be finding their footing.

• RHP Matt Allan (2.25 ERA) 2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 K (23 of 37 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Frank Elissalt (0.90 ERA) 2/3 IP
• RHP Hoss Brewer (0.73 ERA) 2 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 unearned run, 2 BB, 3 K

Matt Allan was solid in his two-inning start, allowing two hits while striking out three and walking one. The Mets have been careful with Allan, not trying to push his pitch-counts up early, which is to be expected considering he hasn’t pitched in a game in nearly four years. Channing Austin had a forgettable outing that was not helped by his defense. Hoss Brewer came out and earned the win after he blew the save with two and two-thirds innings of good pitching to keep St. Lucie in the game.

The post Mets Minors Recap: Jacob Reimer Hits Three Homers In Cyclones Blowout Win appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Triple-A

Syracuse Mets (69-57) 3, Lehigh Valley IronPigs (60-64) 2

BOX SCORE

• SS Luisangel Acuña: 2-for-5, RBI (47), K (.675 OPS)
• 3B Luke Ritter: 2-for-5, 2 2B, RBI (83), K (.867 OPS)
• 1B JT Schwartz: 1-for-4, RBI (8) (.566 OPS)
• DH DJ Stewart: 2-for-4, R, 2B, BB, SB, K (.880 OPS)
• LF Drew Gilbert: 1-for-5, 2B, K (.653 OPS)

On Wednesday, the Syracuse offense had 10 hits, and 8 of the 9 players in the starting lineup recorded at least one hit. Ritter got Syracuse on the board with an RBI double in the top of the first. He has recorded multiple hits in two of the last three games.

Then, in the seventh, the Mets were able to rally to take the lead for good. Schwartz tied the game with an RBI single, and then Acuña followed up with a single to drive in the go-ahead run. The shortstop has six RBIs in his last five games and is 8-for-15 with 11 total bases over the last three contests.

• RHP Blade Tidwell (5.40 ERA): 4 IP, 2 R, 6 H, 3 BB, 4 K (54 of 88 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Max Kranick (2-1, 3.38): 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 K (22 of 31 pitches for strikes)
• LHP Matt Gage (5.25): 1 IP. 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K (10 of 17 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Shintaro Fujinami (6.85): 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K (16 of 24 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Eric Orze (3.29, 3rd save): 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, K (7 of 11 pitches for strikes)

The five Syracuse pitchers combined to strike out 11 IronPigs and they were able to get clutch outs. Lehigh Valley as a team went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position. They scored both of their runs against Tidwell in the first, but the right-hander did not allow a single extra-base hit. Meanwhile, the bullpen held the IronPigs hitless over the final five innings to preserve the win.

Double-A

Hartford Yard Goats (66-54) 4, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (63-56) 3

BOX SCORE

• 3B Jeremiah Jackson: 2-for-4, R, HR (16), 2 RBIs (55), K (.604 OPS)
• SS Wyatt Young: 2-for-3, RBI (31), BB (.753 OPS)
• 2B Rowdey Jordan: 1-for-4, R, SB (.652 OPS)
• 1B Ryan Clifford: 1-for-4, R, 3 K (.805 OPS)
• CF Matt Rudick: 1-for-3, HBP, K (.711 OPS)

With the score tied at one in the top of the fourth, Jackson put the Rumble Ponies ahead with a two-run home run. The 24-year-old hit his first home run since August 17, and he has 13 RBIs in the month of August. Young drove in the other run with an RBI single in the third. He has a hit in five straight games and has had multiple hits in four of those games.

• RHP Jonathan Pintaro (3.33): 5 2/3 IP, 2 R, 7 H, 3 BB, 5 K (61 of 96 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Joshua Cornielly (1.08): 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K (16 of 25 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Wilkin Ramos (2-1, 2.08): 1 2/3 IP, 2 R, 3 H (21 of 29 pitches for strikes)

Wednesday night was Pintaro’s third straight start that he pitched into the sixth inning or later. He has struck out at least five batters in three of his last four starts. Cornielly came in after him and had a scoreless outing for the fifth time in his last six appearances (1.08 ERA in August). Hartford was able to walk it off by scoring two runs against Ramos in the ninth.

High-A

Brooklyn Cyclones (59-63) 6, Winston-Salem Dash (55-67) 2

BOX SCORE

• 2B D’Andre Smith: 3-for-4, 3 R, 2B, RBI (11), 3 SB (.650 OPS)
• 3B Junior Tilien: 1-for-3, R, 2B, 3 RBIs (40), K (.633 OPS)
• LF Christopher Suero: 1-for-2, R, 2B, 2 BB, K (.675 OPS)
• RF Jefrey De Los Santos: 2-for-4, RBI (34), K (.585 OPS)
• CF Nick Morabito: 0-for-4, 2 K (.709 OPS)

Out of the seven hits that the Cyclones had on Wednesday, Smith was able to record three of them. The 23-year-old had his first three-hit performance of the year and had a season-high three stolen bases. He drove in a run on a fielder’s choice in the top of the seventh that broke a 1-1 tie.

Tilien was the other star on offense. He drove in three runs for the first time since June 8 (4) via a sacrifice fly in the fifth and a two-run double in the seventh.

• LHP Zach Thornton (3.72): 5 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 3 K (48 of 65 pitches for strikes)
• LHP Ryan Ammons (3-0, 1.56): 2 1/3 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 3 K (22 of 34 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Alan Perdomo (2.35): 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, K (5 of 7 pitches for strikes)

Thornton threw five scoreless innings for the second time in the last three outings. Despite allowing four stolen bases, he did not allow a single extra-base hit in the no-decision. Ammons picked up the win in relief. This month, he has a 1.54 ERA in seven appearances (no runs allowed in five of those outings).

Carson Benge, Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Low-A

St. Lucie Mets (42-78) 10, Jupiter Hammerheads (61-59) 7

BOX SCORE

• DH Carson Benge: 3-for-4, 2 R, 2B, HR (2), 3 RBIs (5), BB (1.107 OPS)
• 1B Yohairo Cuevas: 2-for-4, 2 RBIs (43), BB (.625 OPS)
• CF A.J. Ewing: 1-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBIs (32), BB (.706 OPS)
• RF Eli Serrano III: 2-for-4, R, RBI (5), BB, K (.557 OPS)
• SS Jett Williams: 0-for-2, BB (.721 OPS)

It has been an eventful last couple of days for Benge. The first-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft homered for the second straight game when he hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the first. Later in the game, his RBI double in the seventh was part of a six-run inning that ultimately gave St. Lucie the win. Ewing ended that inning with a two-run single to give him six RBIs in the last three games.

• RHP Joel Díaz (4.95): 6 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 9 H, 4 K (63 of 84 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Joseph Yabbour (1-0, 6.62): 1 1/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 3 K (13 of 17 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Anthony Nunez (4.76): 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 1 BB, K (14 of 24 pitches for strikes)

In a no-decision on Wednesday, Díaz still put up a quality start. It is the third time in the last five outings that the 20-year-old right-hander has gone at least five innings.

The post Mets Minors Recap: Carson Benge Homers Again appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Jackie Bradley Jr.. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons (47-53) 3, Syracuse Mets (61-39) 6

BOX SCORE

• CF Luisangel Acuña: 2-for-5, RBI (.670 OPS)
• RF Jackie Bradley Jr.: 1-for-4, R, HR (1), RBI, K (.555 OPS)
• LF Drew Gilbert: 1-for-5, 2 K (.575 OPS)

Syracuse redeemed themselves with a victory on Saturday after blowing their late lead the night before. Led by Jackie Bradley Jr.’s first Syracuse home run and a multi-hit game from Luisangel Acuña, the Mets cruised to a 6-3 win over the Buffalo Bisons.

Bradley Jr. joined the Mets’ organization this week after dominating the Independent League with the Long Island Ducks.

•  RHP Jordan Geber (3.12 ERA): 4 2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K (75 pitches/45 strikes)
• RHP Justin Jarvis: 2 1/3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
• LHP Matt Gage: 1 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K

In his first Triple-A start, Jordan Geber delivered a very solid performance by going almost five innings of one-run ball. Geber has played in both Binghamton (Double-A) and Syracuse this season but has mostly made relief appearances.

Jarvis and Gage were great out of the bullpen, providing both length and quality on the mound.

Brandon Sproat. Photo by Bronson Harris of Binghamton Rumble Ponies

Double-A

Binghamton Rumble Ponies (49-43) 3, Richmond Flying Squirrels (45-50) 4 In 10 Innings

BOX SCORE

• RF Matt Rudick: 2-for-3, R, 2 2B, BB (.706 OPS)
• 2B Rowdey Jordan: 1-for-3, 2 RBI, BB (.654 OPS)
• 1B Ryan Clifford: 1-for-5, 3 K (.889 OPS)

The Rumble Ponies lost in extras to the Flying Squirrels 4-3. Binghamton failed to bring in the free runner in the top of the tenth frame, which Richmond took advantage of, winning via a walk-off throwing error by Paul Gervase.

The Ponies’ offense was powered by Rowdy Jordan’s two-RBI single in the third inning and two doubles from Matt Rudick, who also had a double Friday night.

• RHP Brandon Sproat (2.67 ERA): 5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (80 pitches/53 strikes)
• RHP Cameron Foster: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
• RHP Trey McLoughlin: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K
• RHP Paul Gervase: 1 IP, 0 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 1 K

While Richmond got to him in the second inning, Sproat was as effective as he’s been this entire season. His ability to not give up walks and throw most of his pitches for strikes while limiting hard contact has been a revelation. Sproat’s promotion to Syracuse seems inevitable.

Nick Morabito. Photo by Steven Wojtowicz of Metsmerized

High-A

Brooklyn Cyclones (44-51) 1, Rome Emperors (46-47) 5

BOX SCORE

• 3B Wilfredo Lara: 2-for-4, RBI (.692 OPS)
• 1B Mateo Gil: 1-for-4, 2B (.653 OPS)
• DH Nick Morabito: 2-for-4, SB (32) (.719 OPS)

After an explosive Friday night offensively, Brooklyn was held in check in their 5-1 defeat against the Rome Emperors. Nick Morabito picked up two more hits in the leadoff spot while collecting his 32nd stolen base in High-A.

While the Cyclones scored eight hits, they drew zero walks and struck out eight times.

• LHP Felipe De La Cruz (4.48 ERA): 4 1/3 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (73 pitches/51 strikes)
• RHP Luis Moreno: 1 2/3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• RHP Jimmy Loper: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K

De La Cruz gave a solid bounce-back performance after a rough stretch in July where he combined to allow 11 earned runs over his three previous outings (14 innings).

A.J. Ewing. Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Low-A

Palm Beach Cardinals (55-38) 12, St. Lucie Mets (31-64) 3

BOX SCORE

• 2B A.J. Ewing: 3-for-3, 2 RBI, BB (.600 OPS)
• C Ronald Hernandez: 2-for-4, 2 R (.754 OPS)
• SS Colin Houck: 0-for-1, RBI, 2 BB, K (.605 OPS)

St. Lucie was dominated by the Palm Beach Cardinals on Saturday, losing 12-3. While the Mets’ offense was not lackluster (nine hits and four walks), their three runs were not enough to overcome a tough night for the St. Lucie pitching staff.

A.J. Ewing broke out on Saturday with three hits and two RBI. Ewing has struggled in July, posting a .141/.250/.156 (.306 OPS) slash line.

• RHP Joel Diaz (5.63 ERA): 2 2/3 IP, 5 H, 7 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 0 K
• RHP Layonel Ovalles: 1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• RHP Juan Arnaud: 3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
• RHP Alan Perdomo: 2 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

St. Lucie’s pitching got roughed up on Saturday night, though five of 12 runs were unearned. Starter Joel Diaz lacked his typical strikeout stuff and allowed a big third inning for the Cardinals. Alan Perdomo was the lone pitcher to hold Palm Beach scoreless, as he went two and a third innings on the mound.

Dominican Summer League

DSL-Giants Orange 9, DSL-Mets Blue 3

BOXSCORE

DSL-Mets Orange 4, DSL-Twins 0

BOXSCORE

Right-handed pitcher Jose Guevara threw six shutout innings leading DSL-Mets Orange to their weekend win. Haniel German led the way in the loss for the DSL-Mets Blue going 2-for-3.

The post Mets Minor Recap: Jackie Bradley Jr. Launches First Homer With Syracuse appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Triple-A

St. Paul Saints (26-31) 5, Syracuse Mets (34-23) 1

BOX SCORE

• 3B Rylan Bannon: 1-for-4, 2B, 2 K (.869 OPS)
• RF Trayce Thompson: 1-for-3, R, HR (14), RBI (38), 2 K (.874 OPS)
• DH Carlos Cortes: 1-for-3 (.789 OPS)
• C Hayden Senger: 1-for-3, 2 K (.626 OPS)
• SS Luisangel Acuña: 0-for-3, BB (.646 OPS)

The Syracuse offense managed only four hits and struck out 12 times in Wednesday night’s loss up in Minnesota. Thompson drove in the lone run with a solo home run in the top of the fifth. It was his first home run since May 19 and he has driven in at least one run in three of the last five games. His 14 home runs are tied for the most in the International League.

Photo by: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

• RHP Christian Scott (2.97 ERA): 5 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, BB, 7 K (40 of 59 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Blade Tidwell (0-1, 4.38): 0.2 IP, 4 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, K (18 of 35 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Yacksel Ríos (3.00): 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H (9 of 11 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Jon Duplantier (4.91): 1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, BB, K (14 of 25 pitches for strikes)

In what will be a temporary stint for Scott back at Triple-A, he put up a high strikeout total while limiting his pitch count. Scott struck out three of the final six batters he faced with the only run he allowed coming on a solo home run to the first batter of the game he faced.

Tidwell came in the game in the sixth and after a pair of one-out walks, he allowed a single and a three-run home run as part of a four-run inning by St. Paul.

Tidwell and Scott were recently ranked among the Top 100 prospects by Baseball America.

Double-A

Bowie BaySox (27-25) 6, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (26-25) 5

BOX SCORE

• 1B Ryan Clifford: 1-for-2, 2 R, HR (3), RBI (7), 2 BB, K (.710 OPS)
• SS Jeremiah Jackson: 1-for-4, 2 RBIs (18), K (.536 OPS)
• RF Brandon McIlwain: 1-for-3, RBI (9), BB, K (.677 OPS)
• DH Kevin Parada: 1-for-3, 2 R, K, HBP (.641 OPS)

The Rumble Ponies only had one extra-base hit in Wednesday’s loss as they combined for 13 strikeouts a a lineup. That one hit came in the top of the second when Clifford hit a solo shot to center. It was his third of the season and his second in the last four games.

Ryan Clifford goes deep for the second time in his past three games!

MLB’s No. 75 prospect has reached base in 12 of his 13 most recent outings for @Mets Double-A @RumblePoniesBB. pic.twitter.com/jGK9ZBC2gi

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 5, 2024

• RHP Justin Jarvis (3-2, 4.37): 2.1 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 3 K (42 of 67 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Luis Moreno (5.08): 5 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, BB, 7 K (47 of 75 pitches for strikes)

It was a rough night on the mound for Jarvis. The BaySox offense scored all six of their runs in the first three innings and it was a season-high for runs allowed in a start for the 24-year-old right-hander. Moreno did allow a double, but kept the offense in the game with his seven strikeouts (season-high)

High-A

Aberdeen Ironbirds (27-26) 4, Brooklyn Cyclones (28-25) 0

BOX SCORE

• RF Nick Morabito: 2-for-5, K (.824 OPS)
• 2B Jefrey De Los Santos: 2-for-4, K (.697 OPS)
• DH Francisco Alvarez: 0-for-3, BB, K (.542 OPS)
• 3B Nick Lorusso: 0-for-3, BB, SB (.856 OPS)

The Cyclones were unable to record a single extra-base hit and they went 1-for-9 as a team with men in scoring position in Wednesday’s loss. However, Morabito had one of the two multi-hit games and he now has a .406 on-base percentage in 23 games with Brooklyn. Alvarez continued his rehab and his best at-bat came when he drew a walk in the seventh.

• RHP Jawilme Ramirez (2-2, 4.08): 3.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, BB, 2 K (45 of 65 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Julian Smith (0.00): 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, K (12 of 21 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Justin Lawson (3.29): 3 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 K (32 of 54 pitches for strikes)

The Ironbirds did their damage against Ramirez in the top of the third when they put up two runs via an RBI single and a sacrifice fly. Over his last two starts (8.2 innings pitched), he has allowed a total of 12 hits. Lawson was the bulk reliever for the Cyclones and tied his longest outing of the season (three innings).

Low-A

St. Lucie Mets (19-34) 2, Daytona Tortugas (23-30) 1

BOX SCORE

• DH Jesus Baez: 1-for-4, RBI (32) (.767 OPS)
• 3B Boston Baro: 1-for-5, RBI (20), K (.781 OPS)
• SS Colin Houck: 1-for-4 (.641 OPS)
• LF Willy Fañas: 2-for-4, 3B, K (.796 OPS)
• 1B Yohairo Cuevas: 0-for-1, R, 3 BB, SB, K (.518 OPS)

After the Mets and Tortugas were scoreless through five innings, the Mets got on the board first in the sixth thanks to RBI singles from Baro and Baez, who were the top two spots in the lineup. Baez has driven in at least one run in four of his last five games (6 RBIs in 4 games this month). Baro returned to the lineup on Wednesday after not playing since May 31 and he drove in a run for the third consecutive game. Houck ended up extending his hit streak to seven games as well in the win.

• RHP Joel Díaz (1.80): 4 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, BB, 5 K (37 of 54 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Miguel Alfonseca (1-2, 7.50): 2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 3 K (21 of 35 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Alan Perdomo (6.53): 2 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 2 K (22 of 41 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Juan Arnaud (1.65, 1st save): 1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H (7 of 11 pitches for strikes)

Díaz struck out three of the final six batters he faced in his four no-hit innings of work. The 20-year-old right-hander had his longest outing of the season and he has 11 strikeouts over his last two starts (7.1 innings). Arnaud got the final three outs for his first save of the year. The 20-year-old right-hander has not allowed an earned run in each of his last six appearances.

Florida Complex League

FCL Cardinals (11-13) 10, FCL Mets (10-12) 5

BOX SCORE

• 3B Jake Zitella: 2-for-3, R, RBI (8), BB (.819 OPS)
• C Francisco Toledo: 1-for-2, R, 2 RBIs (6), BB, K (.573 OPS)
• DH Donovan Antonia: 1-for-4, R, 2B, RBI (6) (.631 OPS)
• SS Jeremy Rodriguez: 1-for-4, R, K (.896 OPS)
• CF Simón Juan: 0-for-4, 2 K (.8o3 OPS)

Even though the Mets found themselves in a 7-0 hole by the end of the third inning, they were able to work their way back into the game with three runs in the fifth. Those runs came around to score on a double by Antonia and a two-run single by Toledo, who were at the bottom two spots in the order respectively. Zitella had a multi-hit game, including an RBI single in the top of the eighth, to give him a hit in four of the last six games.

• RHP Wellington Aracena (1-2, 8.71): 0.2 IP, 4 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, K
• RHP Lucas Gordillo (3.38): 3.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, K
• RHP Christian Rodriguez (6.32): 4 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 6 K

Out of the three pitchers that appeared in Wednesday’s game, Rodriguez recorded six of the eight total strikeouts. The 19-year-old right-hander did allow two home runs, but he set a career-high for strikeouts in an outing.

The post Minors Recap: Christian Scott Shines In Return to Syracuse appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

In St. Lucie, one of the Mets top draft picks from a year ago had a three-hit performance. Meanwhile, Brooklyn and the Florida Complex League saw players hit home runs for the second straight game. At Syracuse, one of the Mets top pitching prospects had a quality start in his second outing at the level.

Triple-A

Syracuse Mets (32-20) 5, Buffalo Bisons (28-25) 3

BOX SCORE

• 2B Luisangel Acuña: 1-for-3, 2 R, SB, BB (.681 OPS)
• DH Luke Ritter: 2-for-4, 2 RBIs (34), K (.869 OPS)
• SS Jose Iglesias: 0-for-3, RBI (29), K (.769 OPS)
• RF Trayce Thompson: 0-for-3, RBI (36), BB (.872 OPS)
• C Hayden Senger: 1-for-3, 2B, RBI (12), K (.645 OPS)

The Mets only had one extra-base hit on Wednesday and five hits total, but they managed to pick up the win. Ritter got the scoring started with an RBI single in the bottom of the first and his single in the eighth ended up breaking a 3-3 tie. Ritter has a hit in five of his last six games (three multi-hit games) and has 24 RBIs in May.

Don’t worry, Luke is still raking.

We’re back in front in the eighth! https://t.co/2gDceeZBic pic.twitter.com/Zxgz5VZJ27

— Syracuse Mets (@SyracuseMets) May 30, 2024

As for Acuña, his base hit gave him a hit in 12 of his last 13 games. His 32 hits this month are the second-most of any player in the International League.

• RHP Blade Tidwell (1.54 ERA): 6 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 2 K (47 of 85 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Drew Smith (1-0, 12.00): 1 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, K (15 of 22 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Grant Hartwig (2nd save, 2.45 ERA): 1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, BB, K (10 of 17 pitches for strikes)

For the second consecutive start, Tidwell did end up walking four batters. However, the 22-year-old right-hander did not allow a single extra-base hit and he was able to get six groundball outs. According to Baseball Savant, he had eight swings-and-misses and had an average fastball velocity of 93.8 miles-per-hour.

Drew Smith continued his rehab assignment and allowed the only three runs of the game in the top of the eighth that allowed the Bisons to tie the game.

Double-A

Harrisburg Senators (28-19) 2, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (24-21) 0 in 7 Innings

BOX SCORE

• SS Wyatt Young: 1-for-3 (.849 OPS)
• DH Kevin Parada: 0-for-3, 2 K (.67o OPS)
• RF Ryan Clifford: 0-for-1, BB (.539 OPS)

On a rain-shortened afternoon, it was a rough day for the Binghamton offense. The only hit that they had was a one-out single by Young in the bottom of the third.

• RHP Nolan McLean (0-1, 5.00): 5 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 4 K (48 of 76 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Cam Robinson (2.45): 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, K (11 of 17 pitches for strikes)

The one mistake McLean made came in the second inning when Harrisburg worked a two-out rally that was capped by a two-out single from Robert Hassell III. Three of the six hits that he allowed came in that inning. The 22-year-old right-hander went five innings in three of the five starts he made this month.

High-A

Brooklyn Cyclones (25-22) 5, Jersey Shore BlueClaws (26-21) 2

BOX SCORE

• CF Nick Morabito: 1-for-5, R, HR (2), RBI (5), 2 K (.886 OPS)
• LF Stanley Consuegra: 2-for-4, R, 2 2B, RBI (19), BB (.704 OPS)
• 1B Nick Lorusso: 1-for-5, R, HR (7), RBI (26), 2 K (.924 OPS)
• RF Wilfredo Lara: 2-for-2, R, RBI (13), BB (.571 OPS)
• SS William Lugo: 2-for-4, R, BB, K (.611 OPS)

For the second straight game, Morabito was able to hit a home run. This time, he started the game with a solo shot to left field. He has recorded at least one hit in five of the last six games.

Later in the game, Lorusso hit a solo shot of his own in the ninth for his seventh of the year and his fifth this month. As for Consuegra, his double in the fourth gave him 165 career hits for the Cyclones, which is a franchise record.

• RHP Dakota Hawkins (4.08): 4 IP, 2 ER< 4 H, BB, 5 K (38 of 54 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Jeffrey Colon (1-0, 6.89): 2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, K (10 of 18 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Josh Hejka (1.89): 2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 K (17 of 24 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Brett Banks (1st save, 3.48): 1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H (4 of 5 pitches for strikes)

On Wednesday, Hawkins made his first start of his professional career. Jersey Shore did put up a couple of runs in the first inning against the 24-year-old right-hander, but he was able to recover and minimize the damage. He retired 12 of the last 14 batters he faced with the last three coming via swinging strikeouts in the fourth. It is the third time this year he has struck out five batters in an outing (season-high).

Low-A

Dunedin Blue Jays (24-23) 6, St. Lucie Mets (14-33) 5

BOX SCORE

• 1B Ronald Hernandez: 4-for-5, 2 R, K (.758 OPS)
• SS Colin Houck: 3-for-4, R, 2B, 2 RBIs (13), BB, K (.584 OPS)
• LF Kellum Clark: 1-for-1, 2 RBIs (3) (.580 OPS)
• DH Jesus Baez: 1-for-5, 2 K (.800 OPS)

The St. Lucie offense had nine hits on Wednesday, but it only came from four players in the lineup and they had a total of 15 strikeouts against five Blue Jays pitchers. Houck had a pair of RBI singles in the first and sixth inning respectively. He had a double in the eighth that would have led to another RBI, but Hernandez was thrown out at the plate. Nevertheless, it was Houck’s second three-hit game of the year and his sixth multi-hit game this month.

As for Hernandez, it was his second four-hit game of the month. His 28 hits in the month of May are second on the team behind Baez (29) and the fourth-most in the Florida State League. Clark came off the bench and had a two-run single in the eighth that tied the game at four at the time.

• RHP Joel Díaz (3.00): 3.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 6 K (38 of 51 pitches for strikes)
• LHP Gregori Louis (4.91): 2.1 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K (26 of 45 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Alan Perdomo (7.56): 2 IP, 1 R, 0 H, 2 BB, K (13 of 25 pitches for strikes)
• LHP Ryan Ammons (1-3, 2.87): 0.2 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 K (11 of 20 pitches for strikes)

Díaz got the start for St. Lucie and he did give up a pair of solo home runs. However, his six strikeouts were the most he has had in the five outings this year combined with the Florida Complex League. Ammons ended up allowing the game-winning run to score on a walk-off triple in the bottom of the ninth.

A.J. Ewing, Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Florida Complex League

FCL Cardinals (10-10) 6, FCL Mets (9-8) 2

BOX SCORE

• CF A.J. Ewing: 1-for-3, R, HR (4), RBI (13), 2 BB (.916 OPS)
• C Julio Zayas: 2-for-3, R, 2B, BB (.767 OPS)
• 2B Jeremy Rodriguez: 1-for-5, K (.902 OPS)
• 3B Jake Zitella: 1-for-4, K (.799 OPS)
• LF Simon Juan: 0-for-4, BB, 3 K (.691 OPS)

For the second straight game, Ewing was able to hit a home run as his solo shot in the first put the Mets up 1-0. The 19-year-old has eight RBIs over the last six games.

The other run on the day came via an RBI single from Sebastian Castro in the fourth. Zayas had the only multi-hit game on a day where the Mets had a total of 11 strikeouts.

• RHP Wellington Aracena (1-1, 5.59): 1.2 IP, 5 R (3 ER), 4 H, 4 BB, K
• RHP Estarlin Escalante (1.69): 2.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 BB, 3 K
• RHP Edgar Moreta (4.26): 4 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, BB, 4 K

It was a rough outing for Aracena as the 19-year-old right-hander had a season-high four walks (10 in his last four outings). The Cardinals made those walks pay by scoring five of their six runs in the first two innings. Moreta ended up keeping the team in the game with his strong relief outing. The four innings he threw were a season-high and he has 14 strikeouts to two walks in four appearances this month.

The post Minors Recap: A.J. Ewing, Nick Morabito Homer For Second Straight Day appeared first on Metsmerized Online.