Minors Weekly Report: Elian Peña Breaks Out With Huge Week

Top international prospect Elian Peña had a monster week at the plate for the Mets Orange squad in the Domincan Summer League. Peña went 5-for-11 in four games with three home runs, eight RBIs, five walks, and seven runs. All three of his home runs occurred in the same game. After a dreadful start to his pro career, the highly touted prospect now owns a .744 OPS.

Across the rest of the farm, things are looking up for several other players, including a top pitching prospect who delivered one of his best starts of the season.

Triple-A

While they struggled for much of June, the Syracuse Mets ended the month on a strong note by taking five of six games in their series against the Rochester Red Wings. It wasn’t a particularly close series, with Syracuse outscoring Rochester 41-17. The Mets are now 5-1 to begin the second half of the season and 36-45 overall.

Newly picked up Pablo Reyes had an excellent week at the plate, tying for the team lead with two home runs and recording the most RBIs on the team with six. He went 6-for-17 and also added a triple and two stolen bases to his ledger. Reyes spent last year in the Mets organization but began this year with the Yankees.

Drew Gilbert also recorded two home runs in one of his best series of the season. Gilbert finished 7-for-23 with a double in addition to the two home runs. Gilbert has struggled this season but just improved his OPS to .701.

Francisco Alvarez made an impact in his first week back in Syracuse, recording two home runs and a double. He also drove in five runs in 16 at-bats. Alvarez will hope to regain his offensive prowess in Triple-A before re-joining the big league club for an important second half of the season.

Brandon Sproat delivered arguably his best start of the season, tossing six scoreless innings with two hits and three walks allowed in addition to six strikeouts. Sproat has had an up-and-down year, and his ERA now sits at 5.43.

Nolan McLean delivered yet another quality start for Syracuse, allowing two runs over six innings. McLean allowed four hits and three walks and struck out four. McLean now has a 2.72 Triple-A ERA and a 2.25 ERA overall on the season.

Double-A

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies won their series against the Portland Sea Dogs, taking four games and losing two. The series was very low scoring, with Binghamton outscoring Portland 17-12 in the six games. The Rumble Ponies are 4-2 in the second half and 49-24 overall.

Jacob Reimer had a solid first week in Double-A, recording a home run and pacing the team with six RBIs. His home run was his only extra-base hit, but he went 5-for-20 and is looking to carry over his strong first half of the season in Brooklyn. His cumulative OPS is .874.

Carson Benge had a similarly good first week in Binghamton, going 4-for-16 with a double, an RBI, five walks, and two stolen bases. Benge now has an .887 OPS for the season.

Jonah Tong delivered another fantastic start, allowing one run over six innings and striking out eight. He allowed three hits and three walks in his outing. Tong now has a 1.73 ERA for the season and 115 strikeouts in 73 innings. He should be in Syracuse any day now.

Joander Suarez had a similarly great start, also allowing a run over six innings while striking out eight. Suarez hasn’t had the kind of season Tong is having, but he’s lowered his Double-A ERA to 3.72 ERA over 11 outings.

Zach Thornton tossed five innings in his start, allowing just an unearned run on five hits and four strikeouts. Thornton now has a 2.60 ERA in Binghamton and a 1.98 ERA for the season.

High-A

The Brooklyn Cyclones had an impressive finish to June, taking five of six games in their series against the Jersey Shore BlueClaws. Brooklyn outscored Jersey Shore 32-18 over the series to improve to 7-2 in the second half and 53-22 overall.

A.J. Ewing had a great week at the plate, going 7-for-19 with a double, a home run, three walks, and three stolen bases. After a slower start in Brooklyn following his promotion, Ewing is up to speed with an .820 OPS in High-A. His season OPS is .898.

Chris Suero had another strong week for Brooklyn, going 6-for-19 with a double, a home run, four walks, and three stolen bases. He also scored a whopping seven runs, two more than anyone else on the team. Suero now has his OPS for the season up to .870 and he has a 1.237 OPS over his last 11 games.

Jesus Baez also impressed, going 4-for-16 with a home run, four walks, and a stolen base. Baez is now up to a .759 OPS on the year.

R.J. Gordon delivered a gem for the Cyclones, tossing six innings and allowing just an unearned run with six strikeouts. Gordon has been an under-the-radar pitcher in the Mets’ system this year, but he’s been fantastic with a 2.74 ERA.

Will Watson also looked great, allowing a run over five innings with four strikeouts. Like Gordon, Watson is a name many people likely don’t know, but he now has a 3.12 ERA this year, including a 1.96 ERA in four appearances with Brooklyn.

Jonathan Santucci is keeping his positive momentum going with another strong start. He allowed three earned runs over 5 1/3 innings while striking out eight. After his atrocious start to the year, Santucci now has a 3.79 ERA.

Low-A

The St. Lucie Mets split their series with the Jupiter Hammerheads, with each team taking three games. Jupiter won the score differential game, outscoring St. Lucie 25-15, aided by a 13-1 victory in the series finale. The Mets are now 6-3 in the second half of the season and 40-34 overall.

Yohairo Cuevas shined at the plate, going 5-for-16 with a home run, five walks, and a stolen base. Cuevas has been solid for St. Lucie this year, now owning a .763 OPS.

Trace Willhoite also looked good, continuing his impressive season. Willhoite went 6-for-21 with a homer, also adding three walks, two stolen bases, and a team-leading five runs. Willhoite’s season OPS sits at .829.

Simon Juan, who has mostly struggled, had a better week at the plate. Juan went 4-for-15 with two doubles, also adding three walks and leading the team with three RBIs. Juan now has a .622 OPS for the year.

Wellington Aracena didn’t start, but he delivered the best outing of any St. Lucie pitcher in the series. In one appearance out of the bullpen, Aracena tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts. Aracena has been excellent lately, recording a 0.93 ERA over his last six appearances and a 0.45 ERA over his last four. For the season, his ERA is 2.56.

Frank Elissalt had the best start of the week, throwing 5 1/3 scoreless innings while striking out two. He allowed just three hits and no walks. Elissalt has been great for St. Lucie, owning a 3.13 ERA over 15 appearances.

Channing Austin also had a great start. He only went four innings and allowed a run, but he struck out nine batters in the effort. Austin now owns a 4.31 ERA on the season.

FCL Mets

The FCL Mets went 1-3 this past week, worsening their record on the year to 14-24. They remain in last place in the Florida Complex League East division.

Catcher Julio Zayas had a good week at the plate, going 5-for-10 with two doubles and three RBIs. The 19-year-old has a .739 OPS on the year.

On the mound, Jonathan Jimenez played well with a start of four shutout innings. The 21-year-old Jimenez has mostly struggled this year, owning a 5.26 ERA.

DSL Mets

The DSL Mets Orange went 2-3 this past week, putting their record at 12-8. The DSL Mets went 4-2, their best stretch of the season yet. That puts them at 9-12.

In addition to what Elian Peña did for the DSL Mets Orange squad, pitcher Osiris Calvo had an excellent week on the mound. Calvo tossed nine shutout innings with 12 strikeouts over two appearances. In 19 2/3 innings on the year, he owns a 0.92 OPS.

For the DSL Mets Blue squad, Yunior Amparo is crushing it. This past week, he went 7-for-10 with two doubles, a home run, and a walk. For the season, he has a 1.316 OPS. Abner Meza had a brilliant week on the mound, tossing six scoreless innings across two appearances. For the season, he has a 1.76 ERA in 15 1/3 innings.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

AVG – A.J. Ewing (STL/BRK) – .325

OPS – A.J. Ewing (STL/BRK) – .898

HR – Ryan Clifford (BNG) – 13

SB – A.J. Ewing (STL/BRK) – 50

Pitching

ERA – Jonah Tong (BNG) – 1.73

SO – Jonah Tong (BNG) – 115

WHIP – Zach Thornton (BRK/BNG) – 0.812

Players of the Week

Offense – Elian Peña, C DSL Mets Orange

Not often do you see a player from the Dominican League earn honors as the organization’s best player in a week, but Elian Peña is different. His career certainly didn’t start out the way he hoped, with a lengthy hitless streak, but he’s broken out in a massive way and is showing flashes of what he can be for the Mets in the future.

Pitching – Brandon Sproat, P Syracuse

Brandon Sproat has not had the kind of year you’d expect him to have, especially considering the success of Nolan McLean and some other pitchers in Triple-A. He has, however, shown flashes this year, including in his last start. He still remains one of the Mets’ top pitching prospects despite his discouraging 2025 season, and he has an entire second half to try and turn it around.

Upcoming Schedule – July 1-6

• Triple-A Syracuse: @/vs. Worcester
• Double-A Binghamton: @/vs. Hartford
• High-A Brooklyn: @/vs. Hudson Valley
• Low-A St. Lucie: vs./@ Daytona

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