Mets Minors Weekly Report: Brandon Sproat Continues Dominance in Binghamton

The first week of the second half of the season saw Syracuse win their series while Binghamton and Brooklyn lost theirs. St. Lucie drew a split. Syracuse was powered by Carlos Cortes, who had a brilliant week at the plate, while Brandon Sproat also had a fantastic with six scoreless innings.

For more on all the performances in the Mets minor leagues this past week, check it out below in the Mets Minors Weekly Report.

Note: While Monday is usually the lone off-day of the week in the minor leagues, all four affiliates played and started new series on Monday, July 1. For the sake of continuity, these games will be included in next week’s Mets Minors Weekly Report.

Triple-A

The Syracuse Mets started the second half of the season on a high note, winning four of six games in their series against the Buffalo Bisons. The Mets were fantastic in the first half with a 46-28 record and are now 4-2 to start the second half. Overall, they are 50-30.

Carlos Cortes had a fantastic week, recording a 1.223 OPS in six games. He went 10-for-25 with three home runs and nine RBIs, also scoring five runs. Cortes raised his season OPS to .886 and is playing much better of late. Over his last 12 games, his OPS is 1.128.

Brett Baty also hit three home runs against Buffalo. He went 7-for-26 and he also scored five runs. Baty continues to mash since his demotion, and he now sports a 1.026 OPS in Syracuse.

Pablo Reyes hit two home runs himself, and he is looking like a great depth pickup for David Stearns, who traded cash for him in late May. Reyes went 5-for-18 this week and also recorded three walks in addition to his two long balls. His OPS with Syracuse is now sitting at .872.

Rylan Bannon hit two home runs as well, and he walked five times in contrast to striking out three times. Bannon had a .958 OPS for the week which raised his season OPS to .869.

Syracuse received great starting pitching performances this week, with the most impressive outings coming from Dom Hamel, Joey Lucchesi and José Buttó.

Hamel struck out nine in seven innings of work, and he only allowed three earned runs. It was an impressive outing for the struggling Hamel, whose season ERA in Syracuse is 6.64.

Lucchesi allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings of work while striking out eight, and Buttó allowed two runs in seven innings while striking out five. Lucchesi’s Triple-A ERA is currently 4.46 while Buttó’s is a much better 3.05.

Of note this week, top pitching prospect Christian Scott is being recalled Wednesday to start for the Mets versus the Nationals.

Double-A

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies and Portland Sea Dogs only played five games as one of their matchups was postponed due to inclement weather. That robbed the Rumble Ponies of a chance to tie the series, as they fell 3-2. It was a tough offensive series for both teams, as Portland outscored Binghamton 16-12 in the five games. Binghamton is now 2-3 in the second half of the season and 37-35 overall.

Given the Rumble Ponies managed to score just 12 runs in five games, there weren’t many standout performances at the plate. Ryan Clifford was the only Binghamton batter to homer this week, and he went just 2-for-14 at the plate. He did walk three times while striking out just twice, however, but his Double-A OPS lowered to .828.

The best hitter at the plate during Binghamton’s series with Portland was JT Schwartz, who went 6-for-12. He also walked four times and struck out just twice. Schwartz raised his OPS on the season to .804.

Brandon Sproat threw six shutout innings in his start last week, and he continues to pitch like a top-100 prospect in all of baseball. (He actually just cracked MLB Pipeline’s list.) In addition to not allowing a run, he allowed five hits and two walks and struck out three. Since his call-up to Binghamton, he has a 1.94 ERA in seven starts.

Justin Jarvis also continues to pitch really well, as he went 4 2/3 innings without allowing a run in his start. He allowed five hits and a walk while striking out five, lowering his Double-A ERA to 2.90.

Nolan McLean has struggled mightily both at the plate and on the mound since his promotion to Binghamton, but he had a great outing on the mound this week. He allowed one earned run in five innings, allowing six total baserunners and striking out five. His ERA in Binghamton is now 6.07.

High-A

The Brooklyn Cyclones had a brutal week against the Aberdeen IronBirds, dropping five games of their six-game set. They were outscored 37-24, with 10 of their 24 runs coming in the final game of the series, which also happened to be a loss. The Cyclones have hovered around .500 for most of the season but have struggled mightily of late. In the second half of the season, they’re 2-7 and are now 35-40 overall.

Jesus Baez made his High-A debut this past week and he fared really well. Baez went 6-for-21 with a home run and two doubles. He also scored three runs and stole a base. His OPS for the week was .810 after having a .782 OPS with St. Lucie to start the season.

Wilfredo Lara didn’t hit much this week but he demonstrated good plate discipline, going 4-for-17 with a home run and five walks. His OPS for the week of .821 raised his season number to .657.

Nick Morabito went 7-for-20 in five games played, recording a double, a walk and two stolen bases. Morabito’s OPS since joining Brooklyn is now .772 after he had a scorching start to the season in St. Lucie.

Nick Lorusso, arguably Brooklyn’s best hitter this year, only went 3-for-18 this week but he walked six times and struck out just three times. He also hit a home run, recorded four RBIs and stole a base. His season OPS is now at .850.

Brooklyn saw a trio of brilliant starting pitching performances this week. Jonah Tong is really settling into High-A now as demonstrated by his latest performance. He allowed one run in six innings, striking out 11. Tong had a couple of bad performances in a row, but he now has a 1.69 ERA with 21 strikeouts in his last three starts. His ERA with Brooklyn is 3.38.

Dakota Hawkins continued his strong season with a six-inning outing in which he didn’t allow a run. He allowed just three hits, no walks, and struck out five. The former undrafted prospect now has a 3.71 ERA in Brooklyn.

Kade Morris also went six innings, allowing two runs and striking out eight. Morris has a 4.54 ERA in seven starts with Brooklyn, but his last two starts have been quality starts of six innings.

Low-A

The St. Lucie Mets, for seemingly the first time in forever, didn’t lose their series this past week. They didn’t win either, though, drawing a split. They played the Palm Beach Cardinals, losing the first two matchups before winning three of the last four. St. Lucie is now 3-6 in the second half of the season and 25-50 overall.

Colin Houck had a bit of a breakout week, as he went 7-for-23 with a double, a home run and four RBIs. His .838 OPS for the week raised his season OPS to .634.

Boston Baro also had a good week at the plate, going 9-for-27. He didn’t slug much, as eight of his nine hits were singles, the other hit being a double. Still, Baro hit .333 for the week and raised his OPS on the year to .737.

A.J. Ewing, on the other hand, showed off more power by going 5-for-19 with three of his hits being doubles. He also drove in three batters, walked twice and stole a base. On the year, Ewing has a .703 OPS with St. Lucie.

Joel Díaz and Saul Garcia provided the Mets with some quality starting pitching, something the team has not seen much of this year. Garcia only went 3 2/3 innings but didn’t allow a run despite allowing six baserunners. Still, he struck out five and lowered his season ERA to 5.58. Díaz provided more length, going 5 1/3 innings while allowing a run. He only struck out two batters but was effective, nonetheless. His season ERA is now 5.92.

St. Lucie also got some great bullpen performances, with Jeremy Peguero (4 IP), Layonel Ovalles (2 2/3 IP) and Cristofer Gomez (2 1/3 IP) among a group of relievers that didn’t allow a single run in their outings.

Florida Complex League Mets

The FCL Mets went 1-4 this past week, worsening their record on the season to 17-23. They currently sit in fourth place in the FCL East division.

Jake Zitella (2B, 3B, HR, .792 OPS) had a good week for the FCL Mets to raise his season OPS to .744. Jeremy Rodriguez (.535 OPS) and Simon Juan (.161 OPS) struggled mightily. Juan has been great this year and has an .817 OPS, while Rodriguez is still underachieving with a .726 OPS.

Wellington Aracena (4 IP, 0 ER, 7 K) was the standout pitcher for the FCL Mets, as he didn’t allow a hit in four innings. He was the starter for what turned out to be the FCL Mets’ first no-hitter since the 2015 season. He’s struggled this season, though, with a 6.20 ERA.

Dominican Summer League Mets

The DSL Mets Orange went 3-2 this past week, giving them a 10-10 record on the year. They’re currently in fifth place in the DSL South division. Keiver Garcia (.850 season OPS) went 7-for-19 with three walks and three stolen bases on the week while Bohan Adderley (.612 season OPS) walked four times and also stole three bases. Josue Morillo (1.64 season ERA) threw five hitless innings while Jonathan Jimenez (5.65 season ERA) allowed one unearned run in 4 1/3 innings.

The DSL Mets Blue went 1-for-4, giving them a rough 6-14 record on the year. They’re in seventh place in the DSL East division. Rainer Reyes (1.051 season OPS) went 5-for-18 with a double and a home run, while Vladi Gomez (.631 season OPS) went 4-for-15 with a double and two triples. Darling Felix (9.00 season ERA) struck out seven in 3 1/3 innings of work, while Leyvi Rodriguez (2.25 season ERA) allowed two unearned runs in four innings and struck out six.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

(Among Qualified Players)

AVG – Nick Morabito (STL/BRK) – .332

OPS – Rylan Bannon (SYR) – .869

HR – Luke Ritter (SYR) – 17

SB – Nick Morabito (STL/BRK) – 34

Pitching

(Among Qualified Players)

ERA – Brandon Sproat (BRK/BNG) – 1.61

SO – Jonah Tong (STL/BRK) – 92

WHIP – Brandon Sproat (BRK/BNG) – 0.97

Players of the Week

Offense – Carlos Cortes, OF Syracuse

Carlos Cortes has had a great year for Syracuse, sporting an .886 OPS on the year after he had a .783 OPS in Syracuse a season ago. He’s in a current stretch of his best games of the year, demonstrating both contact and power ability. Cortes is freshly 27 years old and was a 2018 third-round draft pick of the Mets. He has yet to reach the majors, and he likely won’t this year unless a barrage of injuries hits the Mets, but he is turning into a fine player at the Triple-A level.

Pitching – Brandon Sproat, P Binghamton

To put it simply, there haven’t been many better pitchers in the minor leagues this year than Brandon Sproat. He has a 1.94 ERA in Binghamton and a 1.61 ERA overall this year with a WHIP under 1.00. The 2023 second-round pick delivered yet another dominant outing of six shutout innings this past week and there’s no reason to think he won’t continue down this path of just making it look easy.

Upcoming Schedule – July 1-6

Triple-A Syracuse: vs. Worcester

Double-A Binghamton: vs. Hartford

High-A Brooklyn: vs. Hudson Valley

Low-A St. Lucie: @ Daytona

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