Minors Weekly Report: Elian Peña Finishes First Pro Season

With the Dominican Summer League coming to an end this past week, top international prospect Elian Peña is officially done with his first professional season.

His season started in the worst way imaginable, going 0-for-26, but he rebounded in a huge way. His final numbers were outstanding, as he finished with a slash of .292/.421/.528/.949 with nine home runs, 33 RBIs, and 21 stolen bases. The 17-year-old has a bright future in the Mets organization and will look to keep the momentum going in 2026, when he could be playing stateside.

Triple-A

The Syracuse Mets had a rough series against the Indianapolis Indians, dropping four of six games to lose the series. The Mets have now dropped two consecutive series and are 33-18 in the second half and 64-62 overall.

Ryan Clifford had his best week yet in Triple-A, going 5-for-13 with two home runs. Clifford maintains the minors home run lead with 26, and has an .840 OPS in 10 games with Syracuse.

Jared Young also shined with a team-leading nine hits in 18 at-bats. He recorded three doubles and two home runs as he raised his season OPS to .964.

Joey Meneses only recorded three hits in the series, but all of his hits were home runs. He drove in a team-high four runs and scored a team-high five runs to improve his OPS to .775.

Jonah Tong‘s second start in Triple-A was nothing short of brilliant, as he tossed six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts. Tong has yet to allow a run in 11 2/3 innings over two starts since being promoted.

Tylor Megill impressed in another rehab start, allowing just a hit and a walk in five scoreless innings. He struck out four in the effort, and he continues to look good in his rehab.

Double-A

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies split their six-game set with the Sea Dogs, being outscored 31-26. The Rumble Ponies, like the Syracuse Mets, are also 33-18 in the second half and 78-40 overall.

Jacob Reimer had an excellent week at the plate, going 8-for-17 with two doubles, a triple, and two home runs. He added three walks and a stolen base while driving in a team-high five runs. Reimer is becoming very comfortable at the Double-A level, and now owns an .857 OPS in 46 games.

A.J. Ewing recorded a whopping 12 hits in 27 at-bats over six games this series, recording five doubles, two walks, and four stolen bases. Ewing’s five runs were the most on the team as he raised his Double-A OPS to .895 over 12 games.

Kevin Parada had a strong series with the bat, going 6-for-20 with two doubles and a home run. Parada continues to provide optimism in a rebound season, as he owns a .760 OPS on the year.

R.J. Gordon delivered one of his best starts of the season, pitching seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. It was just Gordon’s seventh appearance (six starts) in Binghamton, and he owns a 3.29 ERA with the club.

Jack Wenninger also provided a quality start, allowing two runs in 6 1/3 innings. Wenninger allowed seven hits and a walk while striking out seven, and saw his ERA drop to 2.73.

Jonathan Santucci pitched just five innings in his start, but he didn’t allow a run and struck out three. Santucci has been brilliant in Double-A, owning a 2.34 ERA in seven starts.

High-A

The Brooklyn Cyclones lost four of six games against the Aberdeen IronBirds in their latest series. The Cyclones are now 22-32 in the second half and 68-52 overall.

It was a generally rough week at the plate for Cyclones batters, but not for Trace Willhoite, who has been consistently great all season, mostly for Low-A St. Lucie. Willhoite went 5-for-16 with a double and a home run, the only long ball from Brooklyn in the series. He stole a base and scored four runs, raising his High-A OPS through 10 games to .994.

Colin Houck was the only other batter to have a respectable series, as he went 4-for-17 with a double and a triple. He also walked twice and drove in two runs. It’s been a struggle for Houck since joining Brooklyn, as he has just a .574 OPS in 45 games with the team.

Joel Díaz had the best start of the week for the Cyclones, tossing seven scoreless innings with just a hit and a walk allowed. He struck out six and lowered his ERA on the year to 3.71.

Will Watson also had a scoreless outing, his over six innings, and it led to a promotion to Double-A Binghamton. In Watson’s start, he allowed just a hit and two walks with five strikeouts. In 14 games (13 starts) with Brooklyn, he owned a sparkling 1.70 ERA.

Franklin Gomez was also impressive, allowing two runs (one earned) over five innings with seven strikeouts. Gomez has looked excellent since joining the Cyclones, recording a 1.96 ERA in four starts.

Low-A

The St. Lucie Mets were the only Mets minor league affiliate to win their series this past week, taking four of six games from the Palm Beach Cardinals. The Mets are on fire in the second half with a 37-17 record to put them at 71-48 overall.

Undrafted free agent John Bay had a scorching week at the plate, earning him a promotion to High-A Brooklyn. Bay went 10-for-20 with a double, two home runs, and 10 RBIs. Bay has done nothing but hit since joining St. Lucie, and he leaves for Brooklyn with a 1.057 OPS.

Yonatan Henriquez also mashed, going 11-for-26 with four doubles and a home run. He had two walks, two stolen bases, and a team-high seven runs scored. Henriquez now owns a .764 OPS for the year, but a .979 OPS in his last 37 games as he’s looked very good for a while now.

Daiverson Gutierrez had a good week at the plate, going 5-for-15 with two doubles, four RBIs, and four walks to no strikeouts. He scored five runs and raised his OPS for the year to .682.

Joel Lara made two great outings out of the bullpen, combining for six innings pitched and one run allowed. He walked five but struck out six as he now has an 0.87 ERA in four games for St. Lucie.

Channing Austin also looked good with two appearances (one start), in which he tossed three scoreless innings. He allowed just a hit and a walk while also hitting a batter, and he struck out two. Austin now has a 4.43 ERA in 19 games (10 starts) with the Mets.

DSL Mets

Both DSL squads played just one game this week as their season came to a close. The Orange team won to improve to 31-25, while the Blue team lost to drop to 19-37.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

AVG – A.J. Ewing (STL/BRK/BNG) – .314

OPS – Carson Benge (BRK/BNG/SYR) – .917

HR – Ryan Clifford (BNG/SYR) – 26

SB – A.J. Ewing (STL/BRK/BNG) – 65

Pitching

ERA – Jonah Tong (BNG/SYR) – 1.43

SO – Jonah Tong (BNG/SYR) – 179

WHIP – Zach Thornton (BRK/BNG) – 0.812

Players of the Week

Offense – John Bay, OF St. Lucie

John Bay came out of seemingly nowhere for the St. Lucie Mets, signing as an undrafted free agent out of Austin Peay. Bay went 10-for-20 with a double, two home runs, and 10 RBIs. From the minute he joined the team, he hit, and now he’s been rewarded with a promotion to the Brooklyn Cyclones.

Pitching – Joel Díaz, P Brooklyn

Joel Díaz is not a notable prospect, owning a 3.77 career professional ERA, including a 3.71 ERA this season, but his latest start was as dominant as you can get. He allowed just two baserunners and no runs in seven innings, by far his best outing of the year.

Upcoming Schedule – August 26-31

• Triple-A Syracuse: @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
• Double-A Binghamton: vs. Somerset
• High-A Brooklyn: vs. Hudson Valley
• Low-A St. Lucie: vs. Lakeland

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