Worth noting: When corner infielder Aderlin Rodriguez was placed on the 7-day disabled list with an undisclosed injury earlier this month, it left a glaring void in the middle of the St. Lucie lineup. Though he had not gone deep since May 23, he still ranked second on the team with nine home runs and was an intimidating presence against southpaws with eight extra-base hits and an .847 OPS.
Fortunately for the Mets, Rodriguez’s replacement — Jayce Boyd — has filled in admirably since his arrival from Low-A Savannah and compiled multiple hits in each of his first four games at the advanced level. Boyd, who shunned an offer from the Texas Rangers after being selected out of high school in the 19th round of the 2009 MLB Draft to play at Florida State University, went 9-for-17 (.529) with five RBI in his first week with St. Lucie. The 22-year-old moved up 13 rounds in the draft when New York plucked him in the sixth round of the 2012 edition after he paced the ACC with a .376 batting average during his junior season.
Boyd, who is projected to be a first baseman but can also play third, has made tremendous strides offensively this season after his first professional campaign at Brooklyn last year. His plate discipline has always been his strong point and he recorded more walks (35) than strikeouts (32) in 65 games with the Sand Gnats — a strong attribute for any developing minor-league player. That patience led to a stellar batting average of .361 and .441 on-base percentage.
Surging in the batter’s box: Outfielder Dustin Lawley. The Mets’ recent wave of promotions has forced St. Lucie to drastically alter its batting order, but Lawley has remained a constant in the middle of the lineup. The 24-year-old, who started at third base during the Mets’ first series after the All-Star break before reinforcements arrived from Savannah, had his seven-game hitting streak halted Sunday against Bradenton. During that stretch, he produced a slash line of .379/.400/.724 with two doubles, a triple and two homers.
Surging on the mound: Reliever T.J. Chism. After hitting a rough patch during the month of May (4.32 ERA, .361 batting average against), Chism has been sharp in the closer role lately. The 24-year-old lefty has collected a save in four out of his past five appearances and permitted just six base runners in that span. He is also carrying an eight-game scoreless streak (9.2 innings) to shave his overall ERA to 1.95.
Number to remember: 2. The meteoric rise of Matt Harvey from Single-A pitcher in 2011 to superstar in the majors just two years later will likely be the standard for how top pitching prospects are regarded in the Mets’ farm system. With Zack Wheeler already in Flushing, that spotlight now falls on Noah Syndergaard. And he proved he can move quickly as the Texas native actually advanced to Double-A Binghamton with two fewer starts under his belt at St. Lucie than Harvey.
Granted, Syndergaard also spent all of the 2012 season in the Single-A Midwest League, but some of the two players’ key stats in the FSL were strikingly similar. In 14 starts (76 innings) with the Mets, Harvey posted a 2.37 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 3.83 K/BB ratio. Syndergaard, meanwhile, registered a 3.11 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 4.00 K/BB ratio over 12 games (63.2 innings).