Mets Minors Weekly Report: 2024 Draftees Take Over St. Lucie

This past week in the Mets minor leagues was headlined by brilliant performances from some of the Mets’ 2024 draftees. Carson Benge, Corey Collins, and Nick Roselli all hit their first pro home runs, while Eli Serrano III also had a great week at the plate in St. Lucie. Will Watson (seventh-round pick) and Ryan Lambert (eighth-round pick) also made their pro debuts with Watson recording a scoreless outing in St. Lucie and Lambert recording a scoreless outing in Brooklyn.

Triple-A

The Syracuse Mets split their series with the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, each team winning three games. The split puts Syracuse at 25-31 in the second half of the season and 71-59 overall.

• Luisangel Acuña paced the team with 10 hits in the six games, including a triple and a home run. He drove in six runs and stole four bases. Acuña didn’t get tabbed for a September call-up this year as the Mets want him to play every day, and he had a fantastic week to increase his Triple-A OPS to .671.
• Carlos Cortes also looked really good, recording seven hits including three doubles and a home run. The 27-year-old outfielder owns a .797 OPS in Syracuse this season.
• Yolmer Sánchez was on base a ton, going 8-for-19 with three doubles, a triple, a home run, and four walks. Sánchez owns a .701 OPS for the Mets this year.

Brandon Sproat made two starts this week. Though his first start (4.2 IP, 4 ER) was nothing to write home about, Sproat looked more like himself in his second start of the week when he went 5.1 scoreless innings and struck out six. Between the two starts, he allowed four runs in 10 innings and struck out 11. He owns a measly 6.75 ERA in five starts with Syracuse, but the Top 100 prospect may finally be settling in at Triple-A.

Mike Vasil also continued his upward trajectory for the Mets, allowing two earned runs in six innings in his latest showing. Vasil owns just a 5.54 ERA on the year, but he’s gone at least six innings in five of his last six starts and he owns a better, but not great, 4.48 ERA in his last 13 games.

Out of the bullpen, several relievers had fantastic weeks. Max Kranick, who has a 3.27 ERA, struck out five in 3 2/3 perfect innings, while Justin Jarvis and Shintaro Fujinami each went three scoreless. Jarvis owns a 5.71 ERA in Syracuse and a 4.20 ERA overall, while Fujinami owns a 6.29 ERA in Triple-A but has a 1.50 ERA with 14 strikeouts in his last eight outings.

Additionally, Eric Orze, who owns a 3.23 ERA in Syracuse, struck out four in two perfect innings, while Alex Young struck out two in two perfect innings, and Matt Gage also threw two scoreless innings. Young owns a 4.91 ERA in Syracuse but has been much better in the majors this year, while Gage owns a 4.85 ERA in Syracuse.

Double-A

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies struggled in their series against the Hartford Yard Goats, dropping five out of six games. Binghamton won a one-run game in the series opener but dropped the final five games. The Rumble Ponies are now 28-28 in the second half of the season and 63-60 overall.

Only three Binghamton offensive players really showed up this week. Among them was top prospect Ryan Clifford, who led the team with eight hits including two doubles and a home run. With his performance, Clifford raised his Double-A OPS back up to .815.

Matt Rudick also stood out in this series, going 7-for-19 with two home runs and three walks. Rudick has been solid all year for the Rumble Ponies, owning a .733 OPS.

Wyatt Young was the final standout offensive performer, going 6-for-17 with a double, four walks, and a stolen base. The 24-year-old increased his season OPS to .756 and earned a promotion to Triple-A where he spent part of the 2023 season.

Jordan Geber made two solid starts for the Rumble Ponies, allowing two runs in each start. In total, he allowed four runs across 11 innings and struck out six. Geber has impressed across three levels this year, earning a 3.32 ERA on the year including a 3.42 ERA in 15 appearances with Binghamton.

Jonathan Pintaro continued his impressive season (which started in independent ball), allowing one earned run and striking out five across 5 2/3 innings in his latest start. Pintaro has truly come out of nowhere for the Mets this year, as he owns a 2.69 ERA in 14 appearances in the Mets organization, including a 2.96 ERA in five starts in Binghamton.

Joshua Cornielly, Cam Robinson, and Junior Santos were Binghamton’s standout relievers, with each tossing at least three scoreless innings. Cornielly has an impressive 0.87 ERA in six appearances with Binghamton, while Robinson owns a 3.57 ERA and Santos owns a 5.06 ERA in Double-A.

High-A

The Brooklyn Cyclones won their series against the Winston-Salem Dash, winning four games to Winston-Salem’s two. Brooklyn’s series win puts them at 28-32 in the second half of the season and 61-65 overall.

Jefrey De Los Santos had a fantastic week, leading the team in both batting and slugging. De Los Santos went 6-for-18 with a double, a triple, and a home run in addition to two walks. The 21-year-old has struggled this year, though, owning a .601 OPS as the season comes to a close.

D’Andre Smith also had a really good week, leading the team with eight hits. Smith recorded two doubles, two walks, and three stolen bases. He raised his season OPS in 33 games to .671, though he has an .843 OPS in his last 22 games.

Nick Morabito continued to demonstrate his impressive bat and speed with seven hits including a home run and four steals this week. Morabito owns a .730 OPS with Brooklyn this year and continues to lead the Mets minor leagues in batting and in stolen bases.

Omar De Los Santos also showed off his bat and his speed this week, going 6-for-19 with a double and a triple in addition to two steals. The speedster owns a .626 OPS on the year, though he’s been on fire for a while with a .252/.336/.504/.840 slash in his last 36 games. He also trails just Nick Morabito for the Mets organization stolen base lead with 41 on the year.

Felipe De La Cruz made two starts this week and looked really good in both. In total, he allowed just one run in eight innings while striking out six. De La Cruz is just 3-8 with a 4.28 ERA in 24 games for the Cyclones this year, though he has a 3.48 ERA in his last seven starts.

Zach Thornton and Jack Wenninger also had good starts, with Thornton striking out four in five scoreless innings and Wenninger striking out five and allowing one earned run in 4 1/3 innings. Thornton had a rough start to the year in St. Lucie, but he owns a 3.72 ERA in five games in Brooklyn, and it’s a similar story for Wenninger who has a 3.38 ERA in nine appearances in Brooklyn.

Out of the bullpen, Luis Moreno tossed four scoreless innings, striking out five in the process. Moreno owns a 3.91 ERA in 10 appearances with Brooklyn. Layonel Ovalles also looked phenomenal, striking out four in three perfect innings for his first two appearances in High-A. He also struggled mightily with St. Lucie this year but has had a great start for Brooklyn.

Ryan Ammons also continued his fantastic year, striking out six and allowing a run in 3 1/3 innings. Like Thornton, Wenninger, and Ovalles, Ammons had trouble in St. Lucie to begin the year, but he has a 1.47 ERA in 13 appearances with the Cyclones.

Low-A

The St. Lucie Mets split their final home series of the season, taking three games against the Jupiter Hammerheads. It was a good offensive series for the Mets, who scored 31 runs in six games, though the team allowed 29 runs too. The Mets are now 21-37 in the second half of the season and 43-81 overall.

It was the week of the 2024 draft class, as several of the newest Mets had fantastic weeks offensively.

• First-round pick Carson Benge led the group in hits, home runs, and RBIs, going 8-for-22 with a double, his first two pro home runs, and seven RBIs. In his first 11 pro games, Benge owns an .894 OPS.
• Fourth-round pick Eli Serrano III had the second-most hits with seven, going 7-for-19 with two doubles, a triple, and a home run. The NC State product also walked three times and stole a base. Serrano owns a .737 OPS in his first 14 pro games.
• Eleventh-round pick Nick Roselli out of Binghamton University had an extremely impressive week, going 6-for-17 with his first pro home run, five walks opposed to just two strikeouts, and two steals. Roselli has played solely second base to start his career, and he owns a .931 OPS in his first 14 pro games.
• Sixth-round pick Corey Collins only played in three games going 3-for-10, but like Benge and Roselli, he also hit his first pro home run after launching 20 in his final year at the University of Georgia. The power-hitting first baseman has played in just five games with St. Lucie thus far, but he owns a .912 OPS.

It’s also worth mentioning that Marco Vargas, who has not been on the map much this year due to poor play and injury, went 3-for-8 with a double in four games. The most notable part of his week, however, was that he walked nine times, stole three bases, and scored six runs in just the four games he played in. The 19-year-old owns just a .632 OPS this year, but he’s walked at least once in seven straight games and at least twice in five straight. He’s also scored at least one run in six of his last seven games.

Edgar Moreta pitched extremely well in two appearances, one of which was a start and one which came in relief. Moreta allowed two earned runs and struck out seven in six innings for his start and then struck out four over three scoreless innings out of the bullpen. In total, he struck out 11 and allowed two runs in nine innings. The soon-to-be 21-year-old owns a 5.25 ERA in 12 appearances with St. Lucie.

Joel Díaz also had a quality start, striking out four and allowing two earned runs in six innings pitched. Díaz owns a 4.95 ERA in 16 Low-A appearances but he has a 3.80 ERA in his last five appearances.

Kyle Crick made two rehab appearances for the Mets and struck out three over three scoreless innings. Crick has been on the mend all season after initially being a major league bullpen option, and he’s allowed one run in 4 1/3 innings in four rehab appearances with Low-A St. Lucie. Crick owns a career major league ERA of 3.56 across parts of six seasons with three teams.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

(Among Qualified Players)

AVG – Nick Morabito (STL/BRK) – .310

OPS – Luke Ritter (SYR) – .869

HR – Luke Ritter (SYR) – 25

SB – Nick Morabito (STL/BRK) – 59

Pitching

(Among Qualified Players)

ERA – Brandon Sproat (BRK/BNG/SYR) – 3.02

SO – Jonah Tong (STL/BRK) – 146

WHIP – Brandon Sproat (BRK/BNG/SYR) – 1.03

Players of the Week

Offense – Carson Benge, OF St. Lucie

There were great offensive performances across the board this week, including from top prospects Ryan Clifford and Luisangel Acuña, as well as from Benge’s fellow 2024 draftees. Benge entered the series against Jupiter with just a .675 OPS in his first 28 plate appearances of the year, but he broke out in a big way with three multi-hit games and his first home runs as a Met, both of which went to the opposite field.

The Mets have high hopes for the first rounder, who is currently MMO’s No. 6 ranked prospect, and he’s definitely shown promise in his first foray into pro ball.

Pitching – Edgar Moreta, P St. Lucie

Brandon Sproat, Mike Vasil, Zach Thornton, Felipe De La Cruz and several relievers pitched outstandingly this past week, and any could be deserving of this recognition. However, Edgar Moreta, who is not a highly touted prospect by any means, earns the pitcher of the week honors after striking out 11 and allowing just two runs in nine innings. Moreta pitched well in rookie ball to start the year but has struggled in Low-A. His latest two outings, however, were two of his best of the year.

Upcoming Schedule – September 2-8

• Triple-A Syracuse: vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
• Double-A Binghamton: vs. Somerset
• High-A Brooklyn: vs. Wilmington (last series of the regular season)
• Low-A St. Lucie: @ Clearwater (last series of the regular season)

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