Week In Review

The Las Vegas 51s (15-23, fourth in the Pacific Coast League Pacific Southern division) have won four of their last seven games despite losing David Thompson, Bryce Brentz, and Gavin Cecchini to injuries and Dominic Smith and Luis Guillorme to the major leagues.

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies (17-17, fourth in the Eastern League Eastern division) sport seven players with a .300 or better wOBA in May, but they’ve only managed a 6-7 record in the season’s second month.

The St. Lucie Mets (15-19, sixth in the Florida State League South division) scored a season-high 11 runs on Friday, thanks to three-hit efforts from Desmond Lindsay, Anthony Dimino, Luis Carpio, and Ian Strom. Seven of the runs were knocked in by Lindsay and Carpio.

The Columbia Fireflies (19-17, third in the South Atlantic League Southern division), the organization’s lone squad with a winning record, were 1-2 in one-run games this week.

Mets Minors News & Buzz

Rumble Ponies infielder Jeff McNeil hit for the cycle on Sunday in Portland. He became only the second player in team history to accomplish the feat, joining Josh Satin (June 24, 2011).

The Mets signed former Cincinnati Reds outfielder Patrick Kivlehan on Wednesday and assigned him to Las Vegas. The 28-year-old Nyack, NY native is 4-16 with a pair of doubles to begin his tenure in the organization.

The signing of Kivlehan was necessitated by the foot injury to Bryce Brentz, which was revealed to be a broken bone. He is expected to remain out of action for four to six weeks.

Right-handed pitcher Bryce Hutchinson continues to progress well in his rehab from elbow tendonitis. He was the Mets’ 12th-round selection in last year’s draft.

Infielder Andrew Ely underwent an MRI on Thursday in New York for a shoulder strain. Ely, a minor league Rule 5 pick, played in 13 games with Binghamton before the injury.

Who’s Hot, Who’s Not

Who’s hot: 

When he’s been healthy, Jeff McNeil has been very good. Unfortunately for him, the 26-year-old has rarely been able to say that he’s injury-free.

McNeil played 51 games over the 2016 and 2017 seasons, and, after first reaching High-A St. Lucie in 2014, he’s finally secured a full-time job in Binghamton. Through 27 games, McNeil is hitting .307/1.080, the latter number being the second-best rate in the organization.

The cycle on Sunday was the cherry on top of an all-around solid week. McNeil hit safely in all seven contests, posting a .370 average with six extra-base hits, seven RBI, and four walks to two strikeouts.

McNeil is walking more than he’s K’ing for the first time since his debut season and hitting the ball in the air far more often (and turning them into more home runs). He’s likely to see Las Vegas by midseason, where a major league future can more accurately be assessed.

Who’s not: 

After hitting .333 through the season’s first two weeks, St. Lucie outfielder Ian Strom is hitting .191 since April 24. He also drilled a foul ball off of his ankle and has been out of commission since Friday.

Organizational Leaders

AVG — Peter Alonso .355 (BNG), Scott Manea .319 (COL), Jeremy Vasquez .311 (COL), Jeff McNeil .307 (BNG), Gene Cone .299 (STL)

OPS — Alonso 1.119, McNeil 1.080, Manea 1.012, Vasquez .916, Bryce Brentz .878 (LVG)

HR — Alonso 9, Zach Borenstein 7 (LVG), Brentz 7, Phillip Evans 7 (LVG), McNeil 7

RBI — Alonso 30, Quinn Brodey 27 (COL), Borenstein 25, Ty Kelly 23 (LVG), Vasquez 22

SB — Andres Gimenez 9 (STL), Ian Strom 8 (STL), Anthony Dimino 6 (STL), Champ Stuart 6 (BNG), Jacob Zanon 6 (STL)

STARTER ERA — Justin Dunn 2.13 (STL), Joe Cavallaro 2.41 (COL), Nabil Crismatt 3.00 (BNG), Scott Copeland 3.31 (LVG/BNG), Harol Gonzalez 3.48 (STL)

RELIEVER ERA — Joseph Zanghi 0.53 (STL), Buddy Baumann 0.79 (LVG), Matt Pobereyko 1.13 (STL), Carlos Hernandez 1.17 (COL), Tyler Bashlor 1.17 (BNG)

SO — Drew Gagnon 46 (LVG/BNG), Tony Dibrell 45 (COL), Crismatt 37, Chris Viall 36 (COL), Cavallaro 35

SV — Bashlor 5, Trey Cobb 4 (COL), Eric Hanhold 4 (BNG), Tim Peterson 3 (LVG), Stephen Villines 3 (COL)

WHIP — Hernandez 0.72, Stephen Nogosek 0.77 (STL), Pobereyko 1.00, Ryder Ryan 1.00 (STL_, Bashlor 1.05

Transaction Report

5/7

Brandon Brosher placed on St. Lucie’s disabled list….J.J. Franco transferred from Extended Spring Training to St. Lucie….Bryce Brentz placed on Las Vegas’ disabled list….Matt Purke activated from Las Vegas’ temporarily inactive list.

5/8

Corey Oswalt recalled from Las Vegas….P.J. Conlon optioned to Las Vegas….Kevin McGowan activated from Las Vegas’ disabled list.

5/9

Tomas Nido optioned to Las Vegas….Luis Guillorme recalled from Las Vegas….Patrick Kivlehan signed as a minor league free agent; assigned to Las Vegas.

5/10

Jake Simon placed on Columbia’s disabled list….Jay Jabs transferred from Extended Spring Training to Columbia….Corey Taylor transferred from Las Vegas to Binghamton….Scott Copeland transferred from Binghamton to Las Vegas.

5/11

Buddy Baumann recalled from Las Vegas….Dominic Smith recalled from Las Vegas….Andrew Church activated from Binghamton’s disabled list….Johnny Magliozzi placed on Binghamton’s disabled list….P.J. Conlon added to Las Vegas’ active roster.

5/12

Yeizo Campos transferred from Extended Spring Training to Columbia….Taylor Henry transferred from Extended Spring Training to Columbia….Chris Viall placed on Columbia’s disabled list….Carlos Hernandez placed on Columbia’s disabled list….Dale Burdick transferred from St. Lucie to Las Vegas….Kevin Kaczmarski activated from Las Vegas’ disabled list; transferred to St. Lucie.

5/13

Buddy Baumann optioned to Las Vegas….Joshua Payne placed on Columbia’s disabled list….Nicolas Debora transferred from Extended Spring Training to Columbia.

Upcoming Schedules

Las Vegas: Alburquerque (5/14-15), OFF (16), @ Tacoma (17-20)

Binghamton: Erie (5/14-16), @ New Hampshire (17-20)

St. Lucie: @ Florida (5/14-17), @ Fort Myers (18-20)

Columbia: Delmarva (5/14-15), OFF (16), @ Charleston (17-20)

As a reminder, all 51s, Rumble Ponies, and select Fireflies games can be seen on MiLB.tv.