Minors Recap: Mets Pitching Prospects Continue to Shove
Pitching, pitching, and more pitching. The Mets continue to get good pitching performances from their minor league system. Zach Thornton, Jose Chirinos, Nate Dohm, and Noah Hall were all impressive on Thursday night.
Triple-A
Buffalo Bisons (24-34) 9, Syracuse Mets (28-32) 1
BOX SCORE
- CF Gilberto Celestino 1-for-3, BB, SB, .797 OPS
- LF Luke Ritter 1-for-3, BB, 2B, .684 OPS
- RF Drew Gilbert 0-for-4, 2 K, .648 OPS
Ritter had a brutal month of April (.539 OPS), but he’s picked it up recently with a .807 OPS since the start of May. Gilbert continues his struggles in Triple-A; his wRC+ is down to 78 for the year.
- LHP Felipe De La Cruz 1.2 IP, 2 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 7.56 ERA
- RHP Rico Garcia 2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 5.14 ERA
- RHP Dom Hamel 3.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 4.35 ERA
- RHP Tyler Zuber 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 7.45 ERA
The 2025 season has been a rough one for Zuber, but on Thursday, he tossed a perfect inning with two strikeouts and now has three scoreless outings in a row.
Zach Thornton. Photo by Matt Kipp of Binghamton Rumble Ponies
Double-A
Binghamton Rumble Ponies (36-17) 7 , Somerset Patriots (24-29) 4
- DH Jett Williams 2-for-4, 1 BB, .827 OPS
- CF Nick Morabito – 2-for-4, BB, .777 OPS
- C Kevin Parada 1-for-3, HR (6), BB, 2 RBI, .632 OPS
- SS William Lugo – 1-for-3, 2 R, HR (3), .696 OPS
Jett Williams continued to do Jett Williams things, getting two hits on the day and walking once. Morabito has been an on-base machine for Binghamton with a .388 OBP since the start of May. The Rumble Ponies have won 12 straight games.
- LHP Zach Thornton (2.13 ERA) 6 2/3 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 8 K, 1 HR allowed (60 of 90 pitches for strikes)
Thornton is slowly nudging his way into the cadre of promising arms the Mets have in their farm system. He is relying on great command and some deceptive pitches to rack up the strikeouts while limiting the hits. His 0.699 WHIP is the best in Minor League Baseball among 352 pitchers with at least 40 innings thrown this season.
High-A
Brooklyn Cyclones (37-16) 1, Wilmington Blue Rocks 0
BOX SCORE
- RF A.J. Ewing 0-for-3, BB, .850 OPS
- CF Carson Benge 1-for-3, BB, 2B, .911 OPS
Ewing picked up his 26th stolen base with Brooklyn and his 40th overall. The 20-year-old is one of three minor leaguers to reach the 40 steals plateau this season. Catcher Chris Suero stole two bases in the game to give him 18 on the season.
The 22-year-old Dohm lowered his season ERA between St. Lucie and Brooklyn to 2.95, and he has 51 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings. Hall has limited batters to only 36 hits in 52 innings this season for Brooklyn.
Low-A
St. Lucie Mets (28-24) 1 vs. Dunedin Blue Jays (27-26) 3 GAME 1/7 INNINGS
- 2B Trey Snyder – 0-for-4, 1 K (.644 OPS)
- SS Jeremy Rodriguez – 0-for-4 (.613 OPS)
- 3B Colin Houck – 0-for-1, 2 BB (.774 OPS)
- C Daiverson Gutierrez – 0-for-2, 1 BB (.637 OPS)
St. Lucie only managed seven baserunners in game one of the doubleheader, and their only run scored on an error. Slowly but surely, Colin Houck has advanced to second on the team in OPS with his .774 mark. While the strikeouts are still there, he is hitting the ball much harder and stealing bases as well. Additionally, Houck is only six extra-base hits shy of his season total last year in 235 less at-bats. Defensively, the team also struggled with three errors on the day.
- RHP Irving Cota (1.85 ERA) 5 1/3 IP, 5 H, 3 R (2 ER) 3 K (45 of 61 pitches for strikes)
- RHP Hoss Brewer (0.78 ERA) 1 2/3 IP, 2 H, 2 K
Irving Cota held up his end of the bargain, only allowing two earned runs on the day without allowing a free pass. Unfortunately, two of the five hits he allowed were doubles with men on base. Hoss Brewer completed his fifth consecutive scoreless appearance.
St. Lucie Mets (29-24) 4 vs. Dunedin Blue Jays (27-27) 1 GAME 2/7 INNINGS MAKEUP OF JUNE 4TH GAME
- 3B Trey Snyder – 1-for-4, 1 R, HR (3), 4 RBI (22) (.659 OPS)
- 2B Nick Roselli – 0-for-2, 1 BB, 1 K (.713 OPS)
- 3B Colin Houck – 2-for-3 (.783 OPS)
In game two, Trey Snyder walked it off with a grand slam to secure the win for St. Lucie. Only four players got hits on the day, and Snyder’s home run was the only extra-base hit. Willy Fanas has struggled in his second year in Low-A, slashing .200/.267/.268 while stealing two bases and being caught four times.
- RHP Jose Chirinos (0.00 ERA) 4 2/3 IP, 2 H, 7 K
- RHP Cristofer Gomez (3.48 ERA) 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
- RHP Juan Arnaud (3.94 ERA) 1 1/3 IP, 2 BB, 4 K
Jose Chirinos, in his first start with St. Lucie, was dominant, striking out seven batters and showing a fastball up to 96 mph. Prior to his promotion, Chirinos had struck out 22 batters in 15 1/3 innings. Cristofer Gomez walked six people in the month of May, and walked four alone on Thursday. Juan Arnaud, who was wild but struck out over a batter an inning last year, has continued on the same path in 2025, with some slightly better control and a higher batting average allowed thus far.
Florida Coast League
FCL Mets (7-10) 6, FCL Marlins (6-10) 3
- 3B Bohan Adderley – 1-for-2, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 SB (10)
- CF Victor Gomez – 0-for-2, 1 R, 1 SB (7), 2 BB, 1 K
- LF Edward Lantigua – 2-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI (8), SB (4)
Bohan Adderley is barely hitting above .100 but stole five bases on the day, bringing his season total to 10. While still very raw as a player, striking out in 50% of your at-bats is not a solid way to advance your prospect stock. Edward Lantigua keeps hitting, with his .327/.411/.388 slash line showing he’ll hit the ball and get on base, but the power just isn’t there yet.
- LHP Daviel Hurtado (0.56 ERA) 4 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
- RHP Layonel Ovalles (0.00 ERA) 1 IP, 2 K
Daviel Hurtado allowed his first run of the season, but he’s been great all year, allowing only five hits in 16 innings with 20 strikeouts. A call-up to St. Lucie could be in the cards shortly, as batters haven’t yet figured out how to hit him in the FCL.
Dominican Summer League
DSL Rockies (3-0) 7, DSL Mets Blue (0-3) 3
DSL Mets Orange (2-0), DSL Blue Jays Red (0-2) SUSPENDED
The Mets Orange/Blue Jays Red game was suspended in the top of the fourth inning. At the point of suspension, the Blue Jays were up 3-2. Elian Peña was 0-for-1 with a walk and his second stolen base of the season.
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