Mets Minors Recap: Joel Díaz Helps Brooklyn Reach SAL Championship Series

The Brooklyn Cyclones are heading to their first-ever South Atlantic League Championship, thanks to a dazzling performance by right-handed pitcher Joel Díaz. Allowing only two hits and two walks over almost seven innings, Diaz helped lead the Cyclones over the Greensboro Grasshoppers.

In his first regular season with Brooklyn, Díaz threw 106 2/3 innings, most of them coming as a starter, with a 3.80 ERA. After Diaz was pulled with two outs in the seventh, Hoss Brewer came in to get out of a jam that he created by walking the first two batters he faced to keep the game scoreless. Brooklyn will begin the Championship Series at home on Sunday against either the Hub City Spartanburgers or the Bowling Green Hot Rods.

Syracuse Mets (71-70) 1, Worcester Red Sox (71-69) 10

Box Score

• CF Carson Benge 0-for-4, K ( .418 OPS)
• SS Jett Williams 1-for-4, 2K (.653 OPS)
• LF Ryan Clifford 0-for-4, 2K (.742 OPS)
• 1B Jared Young 1-ro-3, BB (.962 OPS)

The Mets’ “big three” prospects in Triple-A (Benge, Williams and Clifford) all struggled in Thursday night’s game, going 1-12 with five strikeouts. Syracuse has been a tough adjustment for Benge, MMO’s No. 2 prospect. After tearing up Brooklyn and Binghamton, Benge is hitting just .143 with a .418 OPS in his first go-around with the affiliate.

• LHP Brandon Waddell 4IP, 8H, 7R, 7ER, BB, 3K (5.05 ERA)
• RHP Kevin Herget 1IP, 2H, 3R, 1ER, K (2.74 ERA)

Waddell and Herget, both guys who have played a role for the Mets in the majors at some point this year, combined to give up eight earned runs and ten hits, while only striking out four batters. Ty Adcock, also having pitched three innings for the Mets this year, worked a scoreless seventh inning for Syracuse.

Binghamton Rumble Ponies (87-46) 7, Portland Sea Dogs 8

Box Score

• LF A.J. Ewing 2-for-4, 3B, 2R, BB (.831 OPS)
• CF Nick Morabito 1-for-4, RBI, R, BB (.734 OPS)
• RF Omar De Los Santos 3-for-4, 3RBI, R (.613 OPS)
• 1B Nick Lorusso 2-for-4, 2B, 2RBI, 2R (.697 OPS)

Ewing continues to mash Double-A pitching, adding another multi-hit game and raising his batting average to .351 and his OPS to .831. He is still searching for his first home run with Binghamton, but his speed and plus bat-to-ball skills allow him to pick up extra-base hits by way of doubles and triples. Ewing has seven doubles and two triples with Binghamton. Morabito, MMO’s No. 16 prospect, added an RBI and a run scored, continuing a solid year with the Rumble Ponies.

Brooklyn Cyclones (2-0) 4, Greensboro Grasshoppers 1, (0-2)

Box Score

• SS Marco Vargas 1-for-4, R, BB (.425 OPS)
• CF Yonatan Henriquez 2-for-5, 2R, K (.700 OPS)
• 3B Colin Houck 0-for-4 (.625 OPS)
• RF Yohairo Cuevas 1-for-2, 2RBI, BB (.417 OPS)

Brooklyn completed a sweep of the three-game series over the Greensboro Grasshoppers last night to advance to the South Atlantic League Championship Series. This will be Brooklyn’s first SAL Championship Series appearance, and it’ll face either the Hub City Spartanburgers or the Bowling Green Hot Rods. Henriquez and Cuevas led the charge offensively for Brooklyn, getting on base a combined four times in eight plate appearances. Marco Vargas, MMO’s No. 18 prospect, added a hit and a walk. Vargas, part of the David Robertson trade to Miami in 2023, has struggled offensively in Brooklyn this year after being promoted early in the season from St. Lucie.

• RHP Joel Díaz 6 2/3 IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 2BB, 2K, W (0.00 ERA)
• RHP Dakota Hawkins 2IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 5K (3.00 ERA)

Diaz dominated the Grasshoppers hitters, allowing only two hits and two walks for Brooklyn. He is not known for his strikeout stuff, as he’s averaged only 8.27 K/9 this year with Brooklyn. However, as he showcased last night, he is able to generate soft contact and get batters out on balls in play. Hawkins allowed the only earned run of the night for the Cyclones, but struck out five batters over two innings. Hawkins, a Washington State product, has pitched for Syracuse, Binghamton and Brooklyn this year.

St. Lucie Mets (1-1) 2, Daytona Tortugas (1-1) 7

Box Score

• 2B Mitch Voit 1-for-4, R, 2K (.472 OPS)
• CF Trey Snyder 1-for-3, R, BB, K (.583 OPS)
• SS Antonio Jimenez 1-for-3, BB, RBI, K (.889 OPS)
• 3B Jeremy Rodriguez 2-for-4 (1.071 OPS)

St. Lucie was unable to finish the Florida State League East Divisional round Thursday night and will head to a Game 3 tonight. St. Lucie, like its MLB affiliate, scored all of its runs in the first inning, then went the remaining eight innings without a run. 2025 first-round pick Mitch Voit is still looking to find a groove, as his OPS during his first professional campaign currently sits at .637. Rodriguez, MMO’s No. 22 prospect, added a pair of hits and is hoping to stay hot in these playoffs. His OPS in his first season with St. Lucie was down to .540 with only one home run.

• LHP Daviel Hurtado 2 2/3 IP, 5H, 7R, 5ER, 4BB, 2K (16.88 ERA)
• RHP Omar Victorino 4IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, BB, 4K (0.00 ERA)

Hurtado struggled to get outs Thursday night, allowing a plethora of singles and walks that forced the lefty to leave the game in the third inning. While the defense did not help out (two unearned runs in the first inning), Hurtado could never settle in and struggled to command the zone. Victorino, an August call-up, pitched four scoreless innings in relief to keep the game close. St. Lucie will try to advance to the next round with the rubber match on Friday.

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