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MMN Players Of the Week: Alvarez and Vientos Bring the Power

By Joseph Langan

August 3, 2021 No comments

Photo by Ed Delany. MMN

The New York Mets were able to add the electric bat of Javier Baez at the trade deadline. Despite the excitement about Baez in Queens, the trade cost the Mets Pete Crow-Armstrong, their first-round selection in 2020. While Armstrong was a significant prospect in this Mets farm system, the system remains in high stature across the league. In this edition of Players Of the Week, the Mets find two of their top ten prospects featured on the list, while other top 30 prospects make appearances on the list as well.

Triple-A Syracuse Mets
Albert Almora Jr. was sent to Triple-A to find his swing with the Syracuse Mets after dealing injuries and inconsistent play on the big league squad. The move seems to be paying dividends for the 27-year-old, who is getting another shot in Queens after Miguel Castro was placed on the COVID-19 injury list. This week, Almora played in four games for Syracuse, going 7-for-18, while driving in four runs. His slash line for the week was .389/.400/.444, good for an OPS of .844. He also had no strikeouts. It seems as if Almora is coming around and could play a pivotal role off the bench for the Mets as the season starts to wind down.

Arguably having the best season amongst pitchers this year, Josh Walker continues to mow down opponents every time he steps on the mound. In his start against Scranton Wilkes-Barre, Walker tossed eight innings of scoreless ball, allowing just one hit. His first start at the Triple-A level didn’t go his way last week, allowing eight runs in four innings against the Buffalo Bisons. With a huge comeback game, Walker seems to be right back on track and ready to make a push for a September call-up with the big league squad.

https://twitter.com/MetsFarmReport/status/1421166792794382338?s=20

Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies
It seems to be a recurring theme that Mets number seven prospect Mark Vientos has multiple homers during a Rumble Ponies weekly series. Vientos slashed an incredible .391/.417/.870 with a sky-high OPS of 1.286 and three round-trippers, bringing his season total to 20 home runs. Vientos had a dreadful start to the 2021 season. Critics questioned his top 10 status in the organization. Since batting .231/.279/.410 in May, his season totals have risen to a fantastic .280/.351/.603, leading to an excellent OPS of .955. Vientos has seen his walk numbers tick up, while his strikeouts numbers have declined, a very good sign for the 21-year-old power threat.

In 2021, Mitch Ragan has gone under the radar for this Mets organization. He has posted a 1.09 ERA in over 20 games out of the bullpen. This week, the 24-year-old made two appearances, tossing six innings of no-run ball, only allowing four hits. Ragan also does an excellent job limiting walks, only allowing one this week. He also struck out six batters. He seems to be making a significant impact on the Double-A squad; these were his first two appearances since getting promoted from High-A Brooklyn last week.

High-A Brooklyn Cyclones
Mets number one prospect Francisco Alvarez had himself a week for the Brooklyn Cyclones, slashing .389/.429/.778 with an OPS of 1.206. He also added a multi-homer game. Alvarez struggled in July, only hitting .189, to go along with a 32% strikeout rate. Hopefully, with his fantastic week to cap off the month, Alvarez can find his swing going into August. Between the two levels, Alvarez finds himself hitting a modest .276/.399/.528, with 13 home runs and 46 RBIs.

Justin Lasko is another pitcher in this Mets system who dominates every time he takes the mound. This week, Lasko tossed five and 2/3 innings of scoreless ball, only allowing five hits and striking out seven batters. After another great start, Lasko is now 3-0 over his last three games with a 0.00 ERA over 18 and 2/3 innings pitched. He’s accumulated 23 strikeouts and five walks, while opponents are hitting just .159 against him. It’s pretty easy to say that there isn’t a hotter pitcher in this organization over the past three weeks.

https://twitter.com/MetsFarmReport/status/1421575989612748803?s=20

Low-A St. Lucie Mets
While there weren’t many fantastic pitching performances for the St. Lucie Mets this week, Jose Peroza managed to find his way on the list once again. The 21-year-old Venezuelan slashed a respectable .263/.300/.684 with an OPS of .984 and two homers. Peroza seemingly has come out of nowhere this season for the Mets after signing as an international free agent in 2016. Peroza has tapped into his power potential on the year, roping 23 extra-base hits (seven homers) and driving in 47 runs over 64 games played. With Peroza’s great play, he was promoted to the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones along with teammate Jaylen Palmer.

On Thursday, Oscar Rojas had a solid outing for the St. Lucie Mets, tossing five innings of one-run ball in a win over the Daytona Tortugas. Rojas hasn’t been the stand-out pitcher the Mets were hoping for after being signed back in 2017; nevertheless, he’s been solid. He has totalled a minor league stat line of 7-11 and a career ERA of 4.04 over 31 games played. Rojas needs more starts like this one to make some headway moving up within the Mets farm system.

All of the New York Mets Minor League Baseball affiliates are back in action on Tuesday. Congratulations to all the players that were honored this week.