Mets Minors Recap: McLean Shines, Benge Stays Hot

Nolan McLean put together another quality start in a Syracuse win, Carson Benge hit his fourth homer in three games in a Binghamton victory, A.J. Ewing had two hits in a Brooklyn loss, and Daviel Hurtado threw four solid innings in a St. Lucie victory.

Triple-A

Syracuse Mets (53-51) 8, Buffalo Bisons (40-60) 3

Box Score

• 1B Jared Young 0-for-5, 1 K (.895 OPS)
• 2B Luke Ritter 2-for-4, 1 R (.725 OPS)
• SS Pablo Reyes 3-for-4, 2B, 2 R, SB (3), BB (1.007 OPS)

Syracuse was consistently on the bases, with 13 hits and six walks. Hayden Senger hit his third home run of the season. Omar De Los Santos has been on a tear with Syracuse, which is positive after missing most of the year with injuries

• RHP Nolan McLean (3.01 ERA) 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 1 HR allowed (58 of 91 pitches for strikes)

Nolan McLean has been nothing but consistent, lowering his ERA to almost an even three. McLean has capitalized on a full focus on pitching to catapult himself up the Mets depth chart. It is worth noting that McLean is at 104 innings for the season after pitching 109 and two-thirds in 2024, so the Mets may be cautious with their usage of him in the final month or so of the season

Double-A

Binghamton Rumble Ponies (65-31) 7, Harrisburg Senators (47-50) 1

Box Score

• LF Carson Benge 3-for-5, 2 R, HR (7), 2 RBI (18), SB (4),  1 K (1.124 OPS)
• 2B Jett Williams 0-for-4, SB (29), 2 K (.884 OPS)
• CF Nick Morabito 1-for-3, 2 R, 1 BB (.780 OPS)
• 1B Ryan Clifford 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI (69) (.867 OPS)

Carson Benge is locked in at the plate in Double-A, with his third consecutive game with a home run. Benge has shown the promise and that he can get to some of his power extremely well in his first full season of professional ball. Nick Morabito has only attempted three steals in July after attempting 14 in June.

• RHP Jonah Tong (1.66 ERA) 3 IP, 1 H, 5 BB, 8 K (41 of 74 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Ryan Lambert (2.25 ERA) 1 IP, 2 BB, 2 K

Jonah Tong had his shortest outing of the season, requiring 74 pitches to get through three innings. While he did strike out eight batters, he walked five and barely threw over 50% of his pitches for strikes. If there is one knock against Tong, it is that he can get wild, having walked over four batters in an outing four times this season and has walked a batter in 14 of his 18 starts.

High-A

Brooklyn Cyclones (59-39) 3, Jersey Shore BlueClaws (41-53) 5

Box Score

• CF A.J. Ewing  2-for-4, 1 R, SB (42), 1 BB, 1 K (.793 OPS)
• LF Eli Serrano III  1-for-4, CS (3), 2 K (.730 OPS)
• DH Boston Baro  1-for-3, 2 SB (21), 1 BB (.622 OPS)
• 2B Marco Vargas 1-for-2, 1 R, 1 RBI (29), SB (28), 2 BB (.615 OPS)

The Cyclones did not manage an extra-base hit on Wednesday, and despite 12 baserunners, only scored three runs. A.J. Ewing had a nice day at the plate and stole a base.

• RHP Joel Díaz (3.69 ERA) 4 2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (43 of 68 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Raimon Gomez (6.95 ERA) 2/3 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Raimon Gomez has been struggling as of late, having been scored on in his last three appearances. Dakota Hawkins hasn’t been scored upon since July 5.

Low-A

St. Lucie Mets (56-40) 11, Jupiter Hammerheads (39-57) 3

Box Score

• 1B Trace Willhoite – 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI (59), SB (9), 1 BB (.878 OPS)
• 3B Trey Snyder – 3-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI (39), SB (32), 2 BB (.675 OPS)
• C Vincent Perozo – 2-for-5, 2B, 1 RBI (26) (.756 OPS)
• SS Jeremy Rodriguez – 1-for-6, 1 R, 1 K (.557 OPS)
• DH Antonio Jimenez – 0-for-4, 1 RBI (1), SB (1), 1 BB (.125 OPS)

St. Lucie drew nine walks, and Trey Snyder reached base five times in the rout of Jupiter. 2025 second-round pick Antonio Jimenez went hitless but collected his first professional RBI.

• LHP Daviel Hurtado (2.86 ERA) 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

Hurtado put together a solid outing on the mound, lowering his ERA to 2.86 for St. Lucie. He’s allowed just three earned runs in 13 innings in July.

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