Minors Weekly Report: A.J. Ewing, Nolan McLean Dominate

This past week in the Mets minor leagues featured a series win (Binghamton), a series tie (Syracuse), and two series losses (Brooklyn, St. Lucie). Drew Gilbertand Nolan McLean were the standout players among Mets minor leaguers, but guys such as A.J. Ewing and Jonathan Pintaro had impressive performances as well.

Triple-A

The Syracuse Mets and Durham Bulls split their six-game set. Durham outscored Syracuse 36-26, even with Syracuse pitchers shutting them out for a game. The Mets are now 22-28 in the second half of the season and 68-56 overall.

Drew Gilbert had his first impactful week since returning to Triple-A. After recording a .565 OPS with no home runs in his first 19 games back in Syracuse, Gilbert recorded three home runs and seven RBIs in this six-game series. With his breakout series, Gilbert now owns a .660 OPS on the year.

Mike Brosseau clubbed a pair of homers in 15 at-bats, driving in three runs. Through 81 games this year, Brosseau owns an .849 OPS.

Catcher Austin Allen also had a great series, going 5-for-11 with a home run, four RBIs, and three runs. Allen also stole a base. In 34 games with Syracuse, Allen owns an .850 OPS.

Tylor Megill, who could be promoted to the major league team following Paul Blackburn‘s placement on the injured list, tossed a scoreless outing of 4 2/3 innings against Durham. He allowed just one hit and struck out six. In eight starts with Syracuse, Megill owns a 3.15 ERA.

Mike Vasil had a solid outing, allowing four runs (three earned) in six innings of work. Vasil struck out five and lowered his season ERA to 5.67.

Eric Orze and Shintaro Fujinami shined in the bullpen, with each throwing three scoreless innings. Orze allowed two hits and struck out three, while Fujinami struck out two but didn’t allow any hits. Orze lowered his Triple-A ERA to 3.35 while Fujinami lowered his to 7.17. Fujinami, however, owns a 2.00 ERA with a .285 OPS against in six games in the month of August.

Double-A

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies had a great week against the Reading Fightin Phils, winning five of six games. Their lone loss was a blowout by a score of 10-3, but Binghamton held Reading to three runs or fewer in each of the other five games. The Rumble Ponies are now 27-23 in the second half of the season and 62-55 overall.

The Rumble Ponies recorded just one home run in the six-game set, and it was off the bat of Jaylen Palmer. Palmer had a great week, going 5-for-17 with four of his five hits going for extra bases (three doubles, one home run). He walked three times, scored three runs, and drove in five runs himself. In 66 games in Double-A, Palmer now owns a .748 OPS.

Stanley Consuegra matched Palmer for the team lead in RBIs with five as he went 5-for-16 with two doubles. Consuegra walked twice, stole two bags, and scored three runs. It was a solid week for the struggling bat, who owns a .624 OPS for Binghamton.

Wyatt Young led the team in hits, going 9-for-21 with two doubles. Young walked twice, stole two bags, and scored four runs while driving in just one. Young now owns a.748 OPS and has been one of Binghamton’s hottest batters; in his last 18 games, he’s recorded a slash line of .407/.493/.475/.968.

Matt Rudick has been another hot bat, as he went 7-for-16 with two doubles. Rudick walked three times, stole two bags, and scored two runs. The outfielder has a .711 OPS this year, including a .770 OPS in his last 30 games.

Nolan McLean had a fantastic week on the mound, making two starts. He threw a combined 10 2/3 innings, allowing just two runs and striking out 12. He allowed just five hits and one walk in total. McLean is 1-8 with a 4.30 ERA in Binghamton but he’s been fantastic lately; in his last nine starts, he owns a 2.76 ERA while allowing three runs or fewer in each game.

Three more starters put up quality starts, with Jonathan Pintaro (3.38 ERA) allowing one run in seven innings, Joander Suarez (3.92 ERA) allowing one run in six innings, and Jordan Geber (3.46 ERA) allowing two runs in six innings. If there’s one reason why the Reading offense was shut down in five of their six games, it’s because of the dominance of the Binghamton rotation.

Cameron Foster and TJ Shook each looked phenomenal out of the bullpen, as they both went 3 1/3 innings without allowing a run. Foster allowed five hits and struck out five while Shook allowed two hits and struck out six. Foster owns a 3.45 ERA while Shook owns a 1.35 ERA since coming over at the trade deadline.

High-A

The Brooklyn Cyclones had a troubling series against the Jersey Shore BlueClaws, dropping five of six games and being outscored 44-17. The Cyclones are now 24-30 in the second half of the season and 57-63 overall.

Nick Morabito was one of just two Cyclones batters to have a decent series. Morabito went 9-for-21 with a double, five walks and two RBIs and stealing five bases. Morabito has been the Mets’ minor league leader in average and stolen bases all year, and he had a signature week showing off his bat and his speed. His OPS with Brooklyn is now .724.

Junior Tilien was the other Cyclone to have a positive week, going 8-for-24 with a double and a home run. Tilien also drove in four runs. He now owns a .632 OPS on the year.

Pitching was unfortunately not much better than the hitting, but there were a couple of pitchers who stood out. First is Jonah Tong, who struck out eight in five scoreless innings during his outing. Tong now owns a 3.47 ERA in Brooklyn.

Luis Moreno was the only other pitcher on the team to combine length and effectiveness, allowing two earned runs in six innings across two outings. Moreno now owns a 4.64 ERA with Brooklyn.

Low-A

The St. Lucie Mets dropped five of their six games this past week against the Palm Beach Cardinals. The only win came on a walk-off grand slam to cap off a seven-run ninth inning in the series finale. The Mets are now 18-34 in the second half of the season and 40-78 overall.

Not only was A.J. Ewing the hero on Sunday for launching the game-winning grand slam, but he was also easily the Mets’ best minor league hitter of the week. He recorded 12 hits in 22 at-bats with three doubles, two home runs, and four walks. That equates to a ridiculous slash line of .545/.615/.955/1.570. The former fourth-round pick from the 2023 draft now owns a .711 OPS in St. Lucie this year.

Boston Baro, a fellow member of the 2023 draft class, also looked good in a week that concluded with a promotion to High-A Brooklyn. He went 7-for-16 with a home run, finishing his time in St. Lucie with a .767 OPS.

Yohairo Cuevas trailed only A.J. Ewing in RBIs on the week, driving in five. He went 5-for-14 with two doubles, two walks, and two stolen bases. The 20-year-old owns a .619 OPS this year, but he has a .756 OPS in his last 41 games.

St. Lucie did not receive any notable starts this week, but there were still some impressive pitching performances. Irving Cota allowed just two runs in 5 2/3 innings of work across two outings. Cota, who started the year in the FCL, owns a 2.84 ERA in five appearances with the St. Lucie Mets.

Christian Rodriguez tossed four scoreless innings and earned the win in St. Lucie’s lone victory of the week. The 19-year-old has made just two appearances with St. Lucie, but he’s only allowed one run on three hits across eight innings.

Layonel Ovalles and Wellington Aracena have both struggled this year, but both pitchers tossed three scoreless innings against Palm Beach. Ovalles allowed one hit and struck out four, while Aracena allowed one hit and struck out three. Ovalles owns a 6.25 ERA while Aracena owns an 11.42 ERA in St. Lucie this year.

Dominican Summer League Mets

The DSL season came to a close this past week. The DSL Mets Orange finished the year 27-27 while the DSL Mets Blue finished the year 21-33. Neither team made the postseason.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

(Among Qualified Players)

AVG – Nick Morabito (STL/BRK) – .311

OPS – Luke Ritter (SYR) – .871

HR – Luke Ritter (SYR) – 24

SB – Nick Morabito (STL/BRK) – 55

Pitching

(Among Qualified Players)

ERA – Jonah Tong (STL/BRK) – 2.82

SO – Jonah Tong (STL/BRK) – 142

WHIP – Brandon Sproat (BRK/BNG/SYR) – 1.05

Players of the Week

Offense – A.J. Ewing, 2B/OF St. Lucie

You’d be hard-pressed to find a better week of any Mets minor leaguer this year than the week A.J. Ewing just had. In addition to his absurd stats, which raised his OPS nearly 100 points from .614 to .711, he also ended the week with a walk-off grand slam. It honestly doesn’t get much better than that. Ewing has struggled in St. Lucie this year, but he looked really good in the FCL at the beginning of the year, and he certainly looks good right now. It would be great to see if the 20-year-old can keep his foot on the pedal through the rest of the season.

Pitching – Nolan McLean, P Binghamton

You could honestly say any of Binghamton’s starters from this previous week are deserving of pitcher of the week, but McLean gets the nod as he had two really effective outings. McLean struggled both at the plate and on the mound after he was promoted to Double-A, but since he has decided to focus solely on being a pitcher, he’s looked more comfortable on the mound. The 2023 third-rounder has a ton of potential and he’s been showing lately what he’s capable of.

Upcoming Schedule – August 27 – September 1

• Triple-A Syracuse: @ Lehigh Valley
• Double-A Binghamton: @ Hartford
• High-A Brooklyn: @ Winston-Salem
• Low-A St. Lucie: vs. Jupiter

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