Mets Minors Recap: Ritter, Acuña, Cliffford All Post Big Days

All four Mets minor league affiliates lost their games on Saturday. Syracuse saw Luke Ritter, Pablo Reyes, and Carlos Cortes homer, while St. Lucie showed off a lineup of six 2024 draftees, including fifth-round selection Trey Snyder.

Triple-A

Lehigh Valley IronPigs (62-65) 8, Syracuse Mets (70-59) 4

BOX SCORE

• 3B Luke Ritter 2-for-5, R, HR (25), RBI, 2 K (.874 OPS)
• RF Carlos Cortes: 3-for-4, R, HR (10), 2B, RBI, BB (.805 OPS)
• DH Pablo Reyes: 1-for-5, R, HR (11), RBI, K (.867 OPS)
• SS Luisangel Acuña: 3-for-5, 3B, RBI, SB (36) (.676 OPS)

Syracuse had some big-time offense performances on Saturday, but the four-run first inning for the IronPigs was too deep of a hole to climb out of, falling 8-4.

It was announced Saturday night that Pablo Reyes would be the September position player call-up.

• RHP Dom Hamel (6.77 ERA) 3.2 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 HR allowed (43 of 76 pitches for strikes)
• LHP Joey Lucchesi (4.88 ERA) 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
• RHP Shintaro Fujinami (6.29 ERA) 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Fujinami has found a groove in August for the Syracuse bullpen. Boasting a 1.80 ERA and K:BB ratio of 14:4. Fujinami has been dialed into the strike zone, leaning heavily on his upper 90’s fastball. Specifically, 15 of his 20 pitches were four-seamers on Saturday.

Double-A

Binghamton Rumble Ponies (63-59) 6, Hartford Yard Goats (69-54) 7 in 10 Innings

BOX SCORE

• 1B-LF Ryan Clifford 4-for-5, 2B, RBI (.815 OPS)
• CF Matt Rudick 2-for-6, R, HR (6), RBI, K (.723 OPS)
• LF Alex Ramirez 3-for-5, 2 R, RBI (.600 OPS)
• C Drake Osborn 3-for-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB (.628 OPS)

After posting two lackluster offense games in a row, the Ponies offense righted the ship with a six-run effort against the Yard Goats despite losing the game in extra innings. Ryan Clifford picked up his second four-hit game of the season, while the struggling Alex Ramirez brought his OPS back up to .600.

• RHP Nolan McLean (4.71 ERA) 3.2 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 2 K (45 of 77 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Cam Robinson (3.57 ERA) 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K
• RHP Joshua Cornielly (0.87 ERA) 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
• RHP TJ Shook (1.72 ERA) 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 5 K

McLean’s final start of August was his least successful, walking four batters and striking out only two. Before his Saturday start, McLean had his best month since turning to full-time pitching, and he’ll need to limit his walks to attain that level of play again.

High-A

Brooklyn Cyclones (60-65) 8, Winston-Salem Dash (57-68) 9

BOX SCORE

• RF Nick Morabito: 2-for-4, R, HR (3), 2 RBI, K, SB (48) (.724 OPS)
• LF Kellum Clark 1-for-2, 2 RBI, BB (.602 OPS)
• SS Boston Baro 1-for-5, RBI (.230 OPS)
• 1B Ronald Hernandez 1-for-4, RBI, 2 K (.410 OPS)

Nick Morabito continues to be an on-base machine. With his two hits and a stolen base on Saturday, he now leads the Mets farm system in hits and stolen bases (132 and 58, respectively).His homer on Saturday was only his fourth for the season.

• RHP Jack Wenninger (3.38 ERA) 4.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 5 K (49 of 82 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Justin Lawson (2.58 ERA) 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K

In five August starts (16 1/3 innings pitched), Wenninger has a 3.31 ERA, struck out 27 batters and walked only eight. The 2023 sixth-round selection has been a sleeper within the Mets farm system, posting a K/9 of 9.88 and BB/9 of 3.62 on the season.

Low-A

Jupiter Hammerheads (63-60) 11, St. Lucie Mets (43-80) 9

BOX SCORE

• 1B Corey Collins 2-for-4, R, HR (1), 3 RBI (.912 OPS)
• SS Trey Snyder 2-for-5, 2 R, 2 K (.800 OPS)
• 2B Nick Roselli 2-for-4, 2 R, HR (1), 2 RBI (.876 OPS)
• RF Eli Serrano III: 2-for-5, 2 R, 3B, K (.672 OPS)
• DH Marco Vargas: 1-for-1, 2 R, RBI, 3 BB, SB (11) (.632 OPS)

St. Lucie rolled out a lineup with six 2024 draftees, including fifth-round pick Trey Snyder’s professional debut. Snyder became the first Mets high school draft pick to reach Low-A St. Lucie the same year he was drafted.

In the loss, Collins and Roselli launched their first professional home runs, and the Mets took a 9-2 lead in the fifth inning. 2024 has been a lost season for Marco Vargas, but the 19-year-old has stayed healthy in August and produced. He has collected 13 walks in the last seven games.

• RHP Christian Rodriguez (2.25 ERA) 4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K (43 of 77 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Estarlin Escalante (3.00 ERA) 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K

Rodriguez earned six whiffs on Saturday, five coming from his above-average rated changeup.

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