Juan Soto Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Offensive Player of the Week: Juan Soto 

Soto continued to impress last week. He made history by notching the most multi-home run games before age 27, surpassing MLB great Jimmie Foxx. He did this by belting two home runs against the Braves in the Mets’ 7-3 win on Wednesday. Soto slashed .304/.407/.826 with an OPS of 1.233 last week, hitting four home runs and six RBIs. Soto currently has 11 home runs in June, bringing his season total to 20. He currently leads the team in homers, runs (61), walks (68) and on-base percentage (.394).

Pitcher of the Week: Austin Warren 

Austin Warren got called up from Triple-A Syracuse on June 26. He was thrown right into the fire in his first game for the Mets this season. Warren came in for relief once Canning went down with an injury to his Achilles. Although short, his appearance was impactful, pitching 2 ⅓ innings, in which he only allowed one hit. He kept the Braves at bay, not allowing one run while striking out two batters, and ultimately picked up the win. Unfortunately for Warren, he was optioned back to Syracuse the following day. With all the injuries to the Mets’ pitching staff, we may see Warren back in the pen soon.

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Honorable Mention: Brett Baty 

Brett Baty is starting to catch fire again. Baty slashed .360/.407/.480 with an OPS of .887 last week. He hit three doubles and drove in three RBIs. Baty was able to drop his strikeout percentage to 13% compared to 22% the week before. Also of note, Baty’s BABIP last week was .500. Baty used the center of the field more frequently during the week, as 61% of his contacts were recorded there. It would be great for Baty to continue this success at a consistent rate, which could solidify his place in the lineup.

Up Next 

The Mets have a much-needed off day on Monday, then look to get back on track against the Brewers. The Brewers come in very hot to Citi Field, winners of eight of their last ten. Then it’s a battle for New York as the second leg of the Subway Series takes place at Citi Field on July 4. The Yankees won the previous series by taking two of three. Look for the Mets to get some revenge against their crosstown rivals, and get back to winning this week.

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Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Offensive Player of the Week: Juan Soto 

Juan Soto had a stellar week. He slashed .350/.458/.800 with a 1.258 OPS. He managed to hit three home runs and drove in five RBIs. His performance against the Phillies on Saturday was the highlight of the week, as he hit two solo home runsand drove in another run late in the game. He finished Saturday’s game 4-for-5 with four hits, four RBIs and two runs. With his multi-homer game, Soto made history by marking his 26th multi-homer game before age 27, tying him with MLB great Jimmie Foxx, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs. 

Pitcher of the Week: Justin Hagenman

Very slim pickings for Pitcher of the Week. The starters were ineffective last week, and the bullpen gave up a lot of late-inning runs. A needle in this haystack was Justin Hagenman. The 28-year-old pitched in one game last week and didn’t give up a run. He faced 10 batters throughout 2 and ⅔ innings, only allowing two hits while striking out one batter. Although he wasn’t seen in a high-leverage spot, it would be great to see this effectiveness replicated when the game is on the line.

Brandon Nimmo (9) Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Honorable Mention: Brandon Nimmo 

Brandon Nimmo made an appearance as Offensive Player of the Week two weeks ago, and he continued his hot hitting last week. Nimmo slashed .364/.417/.727 with an OPS of 1.144. Nimmo helped jumpstart the anemic Mets offensive by also having his own multi-homer game against the Phillies on Saturday. His home runs traveled a distance of 415 and 369 feet. His multi-home run game came when Nimmo was batting second in the line-up, where he has been producing. Nimmo is hitting .352/.418/.676 with a 1.094 OPS batting second and has hit six home runs and 12 RBIs in 79 plate appearances in the spot.

Up Next 

The Mets got through the gauntlet of away games against the Braves and Phillies, but their NL East matchups are not over. The Mets get another crack at the Braves starting on Monday June 23, this time at Citi Field. This is another pivotal NL East matchup, as the Mets can create more distance between their rivals. They then travel to Pittsburgh on June 27 to take on the Pirates.

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Brandon Nimmo (9) Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Offensive Player of the Week: Brandon Nimmo

Brandon Nimmo had a great week at the plate. Nimmo slashed .375/.423/.750 with an OPS of 1.173. Brandon’s highlight of the week was his game against the Nationals on June 11. He hit two solo home runs, which helped secure the Mets’ victory. For the week, Nimmo hit three home runs, drove in five RBIs and scored six runs. An area of note for his contacted pitches, Nimmo was pull-happy this week, pulling 52.6% of his batted balls. This is up from last week’s performance of 29.2%. Pulling the ball seems to be helping Nimmo offensively, as his average, slugging percentage, and OPS all increased this week compared to last week.

Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Pitcher of the Week: David Peterson

David Peterson makes another appearance as the Pitcher of the Week, and for good reason. Peterson was able to secure his first career complete game shutout against the Nationals on June 11. His stat line consisted of striking out six while allowing six hits and zero walks through nine innings of work. What made Peterson’s performance remarkable is that he got through all nine innings on only 106 pitches! That is the only way to do it in today’s game with such a strict pitch count number for starters. It is rare to see a complete game anymore, so this makes Peterson’s performance that much more exceptional.

Honorable Mention: Jeff McNeil 

Jeff McNeil is consistently having good at-bats. He’s been a very tough out for opposing teams. McNeil slashed .300/.417/.450 last week, with an OPS of .867. His approach at the plate has been very balanced. His line drive to ground ball to fly ball ratio was  21.1% to 36.8% to 42.1% last week. He’s also been using all of the field during his at-bats. He hit 26.3% of his batted balls to left field last week, 31.6% to center and 42.1% to right. McNeil has also been more patient at the plate this year. McNeil is seeing 3.76 pitches per plate appearance this season, the second-highest amount in his career. With Jeff’s bat strengthening, he is lengthening the Mets lineup.

Up Next 

This week is a very important one for the Mets, a true test. The Mets start a six-game NL East away trip on Tuesday night. They first face off against the Atlanta Braves with a red-hot Ronald Acuña Jr. For reference, Acuña’s OPS last week was 1.788. Then, the Mets take on the Philadelphia Phillies starting on Friday night. The Phillies have been on a bit of a tear as of late, winning five of their last six, including a sweep against the Blue Jays. These next six games can impact how the NL East standings play out.

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A relatively overlooked lefty pitching prospect who had an ERA above 4.00 for High-A Brooklyn last year, De La Cruz shined by tossing six scoreless innings with just one hit allowed and nine strikeouts in his Syracuse Mets debut. De La Cruz is soon to be 24 years old and has been one of the most notable breakout pitchers in the Mets’ farm system this year.

Felipe De La Cruz. Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Triple-A

The Syracuse Mets had a rough series against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders, dropping four of the six games in the series. The Mets lost the first three games of the series, two of which were shutouts, but they avoided total embarrassment by grabbing two of the last three games of the series. Syracuse is 15-18 this year.

While Felipe De La Cruz is receiving most of the attention in Syracuse, Drew Gilbert is also settling in nicely with his Triple-A squad after a really strong week against the RailRiders. Gilbert went 5-for-17 with a home run and a double, and he also drove in three runs while scoring five of his own. Gilbert struck out just three times in six games and walked five times. With a .987 OPS for the series, Gilbert now has an .823 OPS through 14 games with Triple-A this year.

Donovan Walton had a strong week at the plate as he was the only Met to hit multiple home runs in the series. (He had two.) He also led the team with seven hits and tied for the team lead with two doubles. Walton now owns a .752 OPS on the year.

Rico Garcia (four scoreless innings) and TJ Shook (three scoreless innings) stood out as quality bullpen arms this past week. Garcia didn’t allow a single hit and walked two with three strikeouts, while Shook allowed a hit and a walk with four strikeouts.

Drew Gilbert, Photo by Kylie Richelle of Syracuse Mets

Double-A

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies played six games including two doubleheaders against the Erie SeaWolves this past week. The series was very even, with both teams taking three games each including a split of both doubleheaders. The Rumble Ponies are 15-11 through 26 games.

The big news out of Binghamton is that Nolan McLean has been promoted to the Syracuse Mets. His last start with the Rumble Ponies was a fantastic one, as McLean tossed six scoreless innings with four strikeouts. That brought his ERA on the year down to 1.37 through five starts.

Jett Williams has been hot at the plate, and he continued his strong performance against Erie. In five games, Williams went 5-for-16 with three doubles and a stolen base. He also struck out just once and walked twice. After recording a .529 OPS in 22 games with Binghamton last year, Williams owns an .873 OPS in 21 games with Binghamton to start 2025.

William Lugo is hitting .324 on the year for the Rumble Ponies, and that average received a bum due to an 8-for-20 week against Erie. Lugo hit a home run and three doubles, though he did strikeout seven times with no walks. His deficiency in walks this year makes his .755 OPS seem disappointing compared to his stellar batting average, though the Mets will take the hits after he batted just .186 in Brooklyn last year.

Nick Lorusso also looked strong at the plate against Erie, going 6-for-16 with a home run, a double, and two walks. Lorusso owns an .823 OPS through 22 games this year.

Jonah Tong continued doing what he does best in his lone start against Erie: striking people out. Tong allowed a run in four innings, striking out eight in the process. He now owns a 3.38 ERA in five starts this year, with 38 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings. Tong could be joining McLean in Syracuse later this summer.

Jonah Tong. Photo Credit: Matt Kipp

High-A

The Brooklyn Cyclones won their series against the Wilmington Blue Rocks, taking four out of the six games. The Cyclones excelled offensively, scoring 44 runs in the series (7.33 runs per game), though they also received some great pitching performances. Brooklyn is now 17-9.

Two Cyclones (Zach Thornton, who is now with Binghamton, and Jacob Reimer) earned awards for the month of April, with Thornton being named South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Month and Reimer being named South Atlantic League Player of the Month.

While Thornton has already been promoted and Reimer hasn’t, the third baseman might not be far behind as he has continued his success into May. In the series against Wilmington, Reimer went 10-for-25 with three home runs, two doubles, and seven RBIs. He owns a 1.027 OPS through 25 games this year.

Carson Benge and Ronald Hernandez also had scorching performances at the plate during the series. Benge went 8-for-22 with a triple, two doubles, and six runs scored while Hernandez went 8-for-18 with two home runs, five RBIs, and four runs scored. Benge continued to heat up, improving his OPS on the year to .787 while Hernandez now owns a .750 OPS.

Paul Blackburn made his first rehab start of the year as he looks to work his way back to the Mets for his 2025 debut. Blackburn allowed two runs in three innings but struck out six in the effort.

Noah Hall made two of the starts in this series and looked great, allowing just three runs in 10 innings with 13 strikeouts. Hall has been phenomenal through six starts, owning a 1.88 ERA.

Joel Díaz finally allowed his first run of the season in his fifth appearance, allowing just the one run in five innings. Díaz will now have to settle with owning an 0.44 ERA instead of the 0.00 ERA he held entering this past week.

Low-A

The St. Lucie Mets split their series with the Jupiter Hammerheads, though they now sit in first place in their division due to a five-loss skid from the Palm Beach Cardinals, who had been in first place. St. Lucie owns a 15-12 record through 17 games this year.

While he has since been promoted to Brooklyn, A.J. Ewing was recognized as being the best batter in the Florida State League for the month of April after he dazzled with a 1.121 OPS.

Yonatan Henriquez was the standout hitter for the Mets against the Hammerheads, even though he went just 3-for-14. He had two home runs and walked four times, giving him an OPS over 1.000 for the series. The struggling Henriquez now owns a .606 OPS for the year.

Simon Juan had a positive week after being in a massive slump to start the year. The 19-year-old who broke out in rookie ball a year ago went 8-for-22 with a home run and four runs scored. He still owns just a .521 OPS.

The stars of the week, however, were two starting pitchers in Nate Dohm and Edgar Moreta. Dohm struck out six over 5 1/3 scoreless innings, while Moreta struck out five over five scoreless innings. Dohm has been impressive this year with a 2.22 ERA in six starts, while Moreta has also looked good with a 3.57 ERA in five appearances including three starts.

Irving Cota, meanwhile, shined out of the bullpen with 4 2/3 scoreless innings across two appearances. Cota has been phenomenal this year, owning a 0.50 ERA through six appearances an 18 innings.

Florida Complex League

The FCL Mets’ season is officially underway, though they have played just one game to this point and are 0-1 with a 9-2 loss to the FCL Cardinals. Julio Zayas and Jake Zitella drove in the two runs for the Mets while Jose Guevara started and struggled.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

AVG – A.J. Ewing (STL/BRK) – .365

OPS – Jacob Reimer (BRK) – 1.027

HR – Jon Singleton (SYR) – 7

SB – A.J. Ewing (STL/BRK) – 16

Pitching

ERA – Joel Díaz (BRK) – 0.44

SO – Jonah Tong (BNG) – 38

WHIP – Joel Díaz (BRK) – 0.68

Players of the Week

Offense – Jacob Reimer, 3B/1B Brooklyn

Reimer appears close to being promoted to Binghamton as he continues to mash in High-A. The April Player of the Month hasn’t lost a step in May and carries an OPS above 1.000 into Tuesday’s action. The 21-year-old appears ready for the next step, whenever he may be called upon.

Pitching – Felipe De La Cruz, P Syracuse

Earning Pitcher of the Week honors for his first ever start in Syracuse, part of a league known to favor offense, is no small feat for Felipe De La Cruz. The lefty looked excellent and appears poised for a breakthrough season. After recording a 4.25 ERA in Brooklyn last year and a 5.40 ERA in the Dominican Winter League this past winter, De La Cruz now has a 1.37 ERA in five appearances between Binghamton and Syracuse, including his latest start for Triple-A which was nothing short of a gem.

Upcoming Schedule – May 6-11

• Triple-A Syracuse: @ Jacksonville
• Double-A Binghamton: vs. Erie
• High-A Brooklyn: @ Asheville
• Low-A St. Lucie: vs. Clearwater

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