Mets Minors Recap: Drew Gilbert Shows Off Power

Carson Benge continues to show his proficiency with the bat, Syracuse hung a baker’s dozen on the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in their win and Jonah Tong had some struggles in the Cyclones’ loss across the Mets’ farm system on Thursday.

Triple-A

Lehigh Valley IronPigs (60-65) 6, Syracuse Mets (70-57) 13

BOX SCORE

• 2B Luisangel Acuña: 1-for-4, R, RBI (48), SB (35), K (.673 OPS)
• CF Drew Gilbert: 1-for-5, R, HR (5), RBI (13), 2 K (.667 OPS)
• RF DJ Stewart: 2-for-5, R, RBI (4), K (.875 OPS)
• 3B Luke Ritter: 0-for-2, 2 R, 3 BB (.867 OPS)
• C Logan Porter: 1-for-4, R, HR (8), 4 RBI (31), 2 K (.871 OPS)

Acuña stole his 35th base of the season, further pushing his candidacy as a September call-up due to his positional versatility and speed. Porter had a big day with four RBIs, and Gilbert has found himself in a power groove, hitting his fifth home run of the season

• RHP Mike Vasil (5.54 ERA) 6 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR allowed (55 of 87 pitches for strikes)
• LHP Alex Young (2.10 ERA) 2 IP, 2 K
• RHP Tyler Zuber (4.91 ERA) 1 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 1 K

Vasil pitched well in his six innings, and the final score looks much closer than the actual game thanks to a Zuber implosion in the ninth inning. Young had a solid two inning outing and could potentially be on his way to Flushing to be the second lefty in the Mets’ bullpen.

Double-A

Binghamton Rumble Ponies (63-57) 1, Hartford Yard Goats (67-54) 7

BOX SCORE

• 1B Ryan Clifford 0-for-3, RBI, HBP (47), K (.799 OPS)
• CF Alex Ramírez 0-for-4, 2 K (.593 OPS)
• C Kevin Parada 0-for-3 (.645 OPS)
• 2B Wyatt Young 2-for-3, 2B, R, BB (.763 OPS)

The offense was lifeless, recording only four total hits and two walks. The five-through-nine hitters combined to go 0-for-16 with four strikeouts. Ramírez has seen his OPS fall under .600.

• RHP Luis Moreno (4.34 ERA) 4 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 6 H, 3 BB, 4 K (49 of 85 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Junior Santos (5.06 ERA) 3 IP, 3 H, 3 K
• RHP Josh Hejka (7.00 ERA) 1 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 HR allowed

Moreno lost command in his start, ceding three walks and a wild pitch. Hejka struggled in the eighth inning while the game was still in reach,  allowing three runs on two hits.

High-A

Brooklyn Cyclones (59-64) 5, Winston-Salem Dash (56-67) 6

BOX SCORE

• RF Nick Morabito: 2-for-5, BB, SB (45) (.712 OPS)
• C Christopher Suero: 1-for-5, R, RBI (40), K (.671 OPS)
• SS Boston Baro: 0-for-4, BB, K (.154 OPS)
• DH D’Andre Smith: 2-for-4, R (.678 OPS)

Smith has been on a tear in August, hitting .333 with two home runs, 10 RBIs and five steals.

• RHP Jonah Tong (3.71 ERA) 4 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 WP, 1 HR allowed (51 of 81 pitches for strikes)
• LHP Gregori Louis (1.80 ERA) 2 IP, 1 BB
• RHP Jawilme Ramirez (4.00 ERA) 1/3 IP, 1 K
• RHP Dakota Hawkins (4.32 ERA) 2 IP, 2 unearned runs, 2 BB, 1 K
• RHP Justin Lawson (2.64 ERA) 1/3 IP, 1 K

Tong had a solid outing going into the fifth inning, but gave up a two-run homer to end his day. Regardless of the outcome, this has been an impressive season for Tong and he has cemented himself as one of the top pitchers in the Mets’ organization. The Cyclones pitching as a whole wasn’t poor Thursday, but two defensive errors in the 10th inning when the Cyclones were up 5-4 led to the loss.

Low-A

Jupiter Hammerheads (62-59) 3, St. Lucie Mets (42-79) 2

BOX SCORE

• CF Carson Benge: 3-for-4, 2 RBI (7), K (1.150 OPS)
• SS Colin Houck: 0-for-3, 1 BB, 1 K (.614 OPS)
• LF A.J. Ewing: 1-for-2, 2 R, SB (6), K (.700 OPS)
• C Daiverson Gutierrez: 0-for-4, K (.429 OPS)
• 2B Nick Roselli: 0-for-2, 2 BB (.786 OPS)

Benge’s bat has been as advertised, going 3-for-4 in addition to throwing a runner out at third. St. Lucie only had one extra-base hit in this one.

• LHP Franklin Gomez (4.42 ERA)  4 IP, 2 ER, 2H, 2 BB, 4 K (36 of 56 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Brendan Girton (0.00 ERA) 1 IP, 3 K
• RHP Will Watson (0.00 ERA) 1 IP, 2 K
• RHP Brett Banks (4.91 ERA) 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K , WP
• RHP Cristofer Gomez (4.54 ERA) 2 1/3 IP, 1 H, 3 K

Gomez had a good, yet brief, start. Girton, the Mets’ 2024 10th-round pick, made his professional debut and struck out the side in his lone inning of work. Watson, the team’s seventh-rounder this year, struck out two in his professional debut as well.

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