Minors Weekly Report: Brandon Sproat Continues Scoreless Streak

Each of the Mets’ full-season minor league affiliates played just a three-game series this past week due to the All-Star break.

Brandon Sproat looked extremely sharp in his start against Norfolk, tossing five scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. He allowed just one hit and one walk. Sproat has now thrown 23 innings in his last four starts and has not allowed a single run in that span. He has since lowered his ERA to 4.34.

Despite the short week, let’s look at how the rest of the minor league affiliates did. Also, make sure to check out Mike Mayer’s midseason Top 50 prospects list ahead of the trade deadline!

Triple-A

The Syracuse Mets took two of three games from the Norfolk Tides in their most recent series. It was a high-scoring set of games, with the Mets outscoring the Tides 28-19. Syracuse is now 15-6 in the second half of the season and 46-50 overall.

Francisco Alvarez had another ridiculous series torching Triple-A pitching, prompting his call-up back to the major league team. Alvarez went 4-for-10 with three home runs, six RBIs, four walks, and five runs scored against Norfolk, good for a 1.871 OPS. He had an absurd 1.129 OPS in 21 games with Syracuse this year.

Gilberto Celestino also had an excellent series, going 4-for-11 with a double, a home run, four walks, two stolen bases, and four runs scored. Celestino has had a decent year in Syracuse, accumulating a .765 OPS.

José Buttó made a couple of rehab appearances as he looks to work his way back to the major league squad. Buttó threw two scoreless innings with two hits allowed and two strikeouts. It’s expected that he’ll be back in the big leagues shortly, potentially as soon as today after an off day Monday.

Double-A

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies also won a relatively high-scoring series, taking two of three games from the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Binghamton and New Hampshire each scored 21 runs. Binghamton continues to roll as they are 14-7 in the second half of the season and 59-29 overall.

Carson Benge had an excellent series, going 6-for-12 with a double, three walks, a stolen base, two RBIs, and three runs scored. Benge has arguably been the best position player prospect in the Mets’ system this year, and he raised his Double-A OPS to 1.005.

Jacob Reimer had a pair of extra-base hits, going 3-for-11 with a double, a home run, a walk, and three runs scored. Like Benge, Reimer has done well in Double-A, raising his OPS with Binghamton to .840.

Kevin Parada also had another good series, going 4-for-9 with two doubles, a triple, three RBIs, and two runs scored. Parada has been swinging the bat extremely well lately, owning a 1.017 OPS in his last 32 games. It’s been quite the turnaround at the plate for the former first-round pick. His OPS for the year is .763.

Jonah Tong delivered the best start of the series for the Rumble Ponies, going 5 1/3 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. Tong’s ERA lowered to 1.71 through 16 starts on the year.

Jack Wenninger also had a good start, allowing two runs (one earned) in 4 2/3 innings with two strikeouts. Through 18 starts, Wenninger owns a 2.96 ERA.

High-A

The Brooklyn Cyclones dropped their series to the Hub City Spartanburgers, winning just one of the three games. The Cyclones have been stumbling in the second half with a 12-12 record, bringing their overall record to 58-32.

Troy Schreffler, who has struggled mightily in 32 games this year, had a fantastic series against Hub City. Schreffler went 3-for-8 but hit two home runs, his first two of the year, and recorded five RBIs and three runs. Schreffler still has just a .532 OPS on the year.

A.J. Ewing led the team with six hits in 11 at-bats, recording two doubles, a triple, two walks, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Ewing has been one of the breakout stars in the Mets system this year, and he owns an .802 OPS in Brooklyn after a scorching start to the year in St. Lucie.

Ronald Hernandez also had a solid series, going 5-for-11 with a triple, a walk, a stolen base, three RBIs, and a team-high five runs scored. Hernandez has not had a good year as he still owns just a .681 OPS for the season.

Brendan Girton was one of the better performers in the Mets’ system, shoving for 4 2/3 innings in his start and not allowing a single baserunner. He also struck out nine batters. Girton has been phenomenal this season, especially in his last six games, where he has a 1.14 ERA. On the season, he owns a 2.49 ERA in 17 games for the Cyclones.

In addition to Girton, Will Watson also tossed 4 2/3 innings of shutout ball, allowing two hits, two walks, hitting a batter, and striking out four. Watson, like Girton, has shone this year and has a 2.29 ERA in eight games since being promoted to Brooklyn.

Low-A

The St. Lucie Mets won just one game in their last series against the Palm Beach Cardinals to drop the three-game set. The Mets are now 15-8 in the second half of the season and 49-39 overall.

Trace Willhoite was the lone standout batter for the Mets in this series. He had just seven at-bats, but he recorded three hits, including a home run, with five walks, four RBIs, and three runs. Willhoite has been great all year for St. Lucie, and he now owns an .856 OPS for the season.

Wellington Aracena continued his excellent stretch with another scoreless outing, going 4 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts. Aracena now owns an 0.81 ERA across 22 1/3 innings in his last five games, and he owns a 2.38 ERA in 17 games for the season.

Alfred Vega and Franklin Gomez each made one appearance out of the bullpen and looked great. Vega threw three perfect innings with four strikeouts, while Gomez tossed four scoreless innings with three hits and two walks allowed with three strikeouts. Vega has a 2.54 ERA across three levels this year, and Gomez has a 2.06 ERA in 13 games with St. Lucie.

FCL Mets

The FCL Mets went 3-2 this past week to improve on the season to 24-27. They remain in third place in the Florida Complex League East division, 11 games behind the first-place team.

Edward Lantigua had the team’s best week at the plate, going 4-for-12 with two doubles, two RBIs, and three walks. Lantigua has looked solid for the FCL Mets, owning a .780 OPS in 47 games.

On the mound, Paul Blackburn made a rehab start and looked solid, allowing a run in 3 2/3 innings while striking out eight. Blackburn is scheduled to make his next rehab start in Syracuse on Tuesday.

Jose Guevara had an excellent start, tossing three perfect innings with four strikeouts. Guevara has not had success this year, owning a 5.50 ERA in 11 games.

DSL Mets

The DSL Mets Orange went 2-3 this past week to move to 21-14 on the season. The DSL Mets Blue had an even worse week, going 0-4 to drop to 15-20.

Elian Peña had a great week for the Orange squad, going 6-for-15 with two doubles, four walks, three stolen bases, two RBIs, and three runs. Peña now owns a strong .829 OPS in his first professional season. On the mound, Jose Lopez allowed two runs (one earned) in six innings while striking out seven. Lopez owns a 5.56 ERA in six starts.

The Blue squad had a really rough week as they had just two extra-base hits total, and no batter with more than five at-bats had an OPS above .762 (Jhonael Cuello, who went 2-for-6, hit that mark). On the mound, Christopher Rochin threw four scoreless innings with six strikeouts. Rochin now owns a 3.10 ERA in nine games.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

AVG – A.J. Ewing (STL/BRK) – .315

OPS – Carson Benge (BRK/BNG) – .919

HR – Ryan Clifford (BNG) – 17

SB – A.J. Ewing (STL/BRK) – 55

Pitching

ERA – Jonah Tong (BNG) – 1.71

SO – Jonah Tong (BNG) – 132

WHIP – Zach Thornton (BRK/BNG) – 0.812

Players of the Week

Offense – Francisco Alvarez, C Syracuse

Francisco Alvarez did everything he needed to and more to earn a promotion back to the big league club. He hit immediately upon his arrival to Syracuse and continued to hit until he was called back up, mashing home runs seemingly every day. If that means he can turn it around at the major league level, his initial demotion will be deemed a brilliant move.

Pitching – Brendan Girton, P Brooklyn

Brendan Girton was perfect in his latest outing, and he’s been outstanding all season. The 23-year-old has excelled at the High-A level, and conquering the Double-A level will be his next challenge whenever his eventual promotion arrives.

Upcoming Schedule – July 22-27

• Triple-A Syracuse: vs. Omaha
• Double-A Binghamton: @ Reading
• High-A Brooklyn: @ Greensboro
• Low-A St. Lucie: vs. Daytona/@ Jupiter

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