Minors Weekly Report: Brandon Sproat Pitches His Way To Syracuse

This past week in the Mets minor leagues was forgettable for the Syracuse Mets, who lost their second consecutive series, and the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Cyclones split their series, and the St. Lucie Mets achieved a rare series win, albeit in a rain-shortened four-game set.

Despite the overall struggles out of Syracuse and Binghamton, the two best minor leaguers from this past week were Syracuse’s Luke Ritter and Binghamton’s Brandon Sproat. Sproat is now a member of the Syracuse Mets after earning a promotion following his latest dazzling start in which he struck out 13 batters over five innings.

Triple-A

For the second consecutive series, the Syracuse Mets looked nothing like themselves, losing five out of six games. This time, it came against the Columbus Clippers. The final three games of the series were especially lopsided, with Syracuse being outscored 14-2. Syracuse is now 16-17 in the second half of the season and 62-45 overall.

Luke Ritter had a phenomenal week, recording nine hits including three home runs, and also driving in nine runs. Ritter had an OPS of 1.688 in his six games against Columbus to raise his season OPS to .895.

Drew Gilbert recorded four hits in four games, two of which were doubles. Gilbert also walked three times while striking out just twice. Gilbert is still settling back into Syracuse after returning from his injury, and he owns a .659 OPS on the year.

Jackie Bradley Jr. continues to have success for the Mets since his signing, as he went 3-for-12 with a home run this week. Bradley now owns an .816 OPS through six games with Syracuse.

Mike Vasil impressed in two starts against the Clippers. In his first outing, he allowed one run over seven innings before allowing four runs over six innings in his second outing. Overall, he allowed five runs in 13 innings and struck out 10. Vasil now owns a 5.46 ERA on the year, including a 3.76 ERA in his last 10 starts.

Out of the bullpen, Max Kranick impressed with 2 2/3 scoreless innings, while Eric Orze and Shintaro Fujinami each threw two scoreless innings. Fujinami impressively did not allow a batter to reach in his two innings of work. Kranick owns a 3.20 ERA, Orze a 3.25 ERA, and Fujinami a 9.42 ERA with Syracuse this year.

Double-A

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies went 2-4 against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The two teams headed into a Sunday doubleheader with two wins each, but New Hampshire outscored Binghamton 8-1 in the two games to earn the sweep and the series win. The Rumble Ponies are now 17-15 in the second half of the season and 52-47 overall.

Stanley Consuegra was Binghamton’s standout bat of the week, going 5-for-17 with a double, a home run, and a stolen base in six games. Consuegra owns a .649 OPS since being called up to Binghamton.

Matt Rudick was the only other Bingo bat to have a good week at the plate, going 6-for-18 with two doubles. Rudick has a .710 OPS in Binghamton this year.

Brandon Sproat had arguably the start of the year for any Mets minor leaguer. In five shutout innings, he was nearly unhittable, striking out 13 batters, including a stretch of 11 in a row. With his performance, Sproat lowered his ERA with Binghamton to 2.45 and earned a well-deserved promotion to Triple-A Syracuse. He’s easily become the Mets’ top pitching prospect since Christian Scott’s promotion to the bigs.

While Sproat had a fantastic outing, both Luis Moreno and Joander Suarez had almost equally impressive appearances. Moreno allowed just one hit and one walk over five shutout innings, striking out nine, while Suarez allowed just one hit over six shutout innings, also striking out nine. Moreno owns a 3.82 ERA in 18 games with Binghamton, while Suarez owns a 4.30 ERA in 19 games.

The Rumble Ponies also experienced some great bullpen appearances, with Josh Hejka (4 2/3 innings) and Nolan Clenney (3 1/3 innings) each not allowing a run. Jeffrey Colon (3 2/3 innings) also did not allow a run, though he was the starter in his game. Hejka has a 4.63 ERA in eight games since being promoted, while Clenney has a 5.54 ERA and Colon has a 1.69 ERA in four appearances.

High-A

The Brooklyn Cyclones split their series with the Aberdeen IronBirds to move them to 15-21 in the second half of the season. Overall, Brooklyn is 48-54 on the year.

• Mateo Gil had a fantastic series, going 7-for-21 with two doubles and two home runs. He also led the team with six runs driven in. Gil has struggled with Brooklyn this year, owning a .681 OPS.
• Nick Morabito also impressed, leading the team with eight hits while recording a double, a triple, and four stolen bases. Morabito now owns a .735 OPS in Brooklyn.
• Jacob Reimer made his return to the Brooklyn Cyclones and despite playing in just three games, he went 3-for-10 with a double, an RBI, and a walk without striking out once. His OPS in the three games was .817.

On the pitching side:

• Jonah Tong pitched well in his start, allowing two runs in 5 1/3 innings and also striking out 10 batters. Through 15 starts in Brooklyn, Tong now owns a 3.36 ERA with 88 strikeouts in 64 1/3 innings. Will he get a chance to pitch in Binghamton before the season is over? The Mets have been aggressive with their prospects this year.
• Jawilme Ramirez also had a solid start, allowing one run in four innings. Ramirez has started just five games in 14 appearances for the Cyclones, and he owns a 3.80 ERA.
• Justin Lawson was the Cyclones’ best reliever, allowing two unearned runs in 4 2/3 innings over two appearances. Lawson now owns a 2.84 ERA in 26 appearances in Brooklyn.

Low-A

The St. Lucie Mets and Fort Myers Mighty Mussels were only able to play a four-game series due to inclement weather, but the Mets came out on top by winning three of the four games. Still, St. Lucie is just 12-22 in the second half of the season and 34-66 overall.

• Boston Baro had a fantastic week, going 5-for-14 with a double, a triple, and two RBIs. Baro now owns a .775 OPS with St. Lucie, including an .831 OPS in his last 29 games.
• Colin Houck also had a really good week, going 4-for-9 with a home run and leading the team with four RBIs. Houck has struggled overall, though, owning a .617 OPS.
• Diego Mosquera also went 4-for-9, though he didn’t walk or record an extra-base hit. Still, he raised his OPS on the year to .532.

On the pitching side:

• Saul Garcia had a phenomenal outing this week. Despite not starting, he went four scoreless innings and struck out nine batters. Garcia has a 5.47 ERA with St. Lucie but a 1.59 ERA in his last three appearances.
• Joel Díaz also had a lengthy outing despite not starting. He went seven innings, allowing just two runs and striking out just two. Still, it was a great appearance for Díaz who has a 5.17 ERA on the year but a 3.86 ERA in his last four appearances.
• Gregori Louis also continues to shine for the Mets out of the bullpen, as he struck out five in two scoreless innings. The lefty owns a 1.54 ERA in 17 appearances with St. Lucie this year.

Dominican Summer League Mets

The DSL Mets Orange had a solid week, going 3-2. That puts them at 23-21 on the year. Keiver Garcia (.735 season OPS) went 4-for-11 with a triple and stolen bases while Yovanny Rodriguez (.641 OPS) recorded two doubles and five RBIs. Jose Guevara (1.49 season ERA) allowed one run and struck out five in five innings, as did Emilio Obispo (3.42 season ERA).

The DSL Mets Blue struggled, going 1-3 to put them at 15-28 on the year. Diover De Aza (.623 season OPS) had four hits including a double and a home run, also driving in five runs. Meanwhile, Yensi Rivas (.687 season OPS) recorded three hits, four walks, and three stolen bases. Elwis Mijares (7.42 season ERA) looked fantastic, allowing a run over six innings and striking out eight, while Wilmer Lugo (2.81 season ERA) struck out six in five scoreless innings.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

(Among Qualified Players)

AVG – Nick Morabito (STL/BRK) – .315

OPS – Luke Ritter (SYR) – .895

HR – Luke Ritter (SYR) – 22

SB – Nick Morabito (STL/BRK) – 47

Pitching

(Among Qualified Players)

ERA – Brandon Sproat (BRK/BNG) – 2.05

SO – Jonah Tong (STL/BRK) – 124

WHIP – Brandon Sproat (BRK/BNG) – 0.94

Players of the Week

Offense – Luke Ritter, IF/OF Syracuse

Luke Ritter has long been a call-up candidate for the New York Mets, though he has yet to reach the majors. The 27-year-old provides defensive versatility and impressive pop as seen from his display this week. Not only did Ritter hit three home runs and record nine RBIs, he logged games at second base, third base, and left field. He has also played first base this year but has not done so in nearly a month.

Ritter now leads the International League with 78 RBIs in 98 games, and he could certainly be called up to help the Mets for the stretch run to the playoffs.

Pitching – Brandon Sproat, P Binghamton

Brandon Sproat is on the fast track to the major leagues, evidenced by his promotion to Triple-A, his third stop in his first professional season. Sproat has been one of the best pitching prospects in baseball and is a possible call-up candidate to help the Mets later in the season. If that happens, he will likely start out in the bullpen.

The Mets will be interested to see how Sproat fares in Triple-A, where pitchers’ stats typically falter, but the 23-year-old has not shown any reason he won’t continue to dominate.

Upcoming Schedule – August 6-11

• Triple-A Syracuse: vs. Worcester
• Double-A Binghamton: @ Somerset
• High-A Brooklyn: vs. Hudson Valley
• Low-A St. Lucie: vs. Bradenton

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