Week In Review

The Las Vegas 51s (11-20, fourth in the Pacific Coast League Pacific Southern division) lost Sunday’s scheduled starter P.J. Conlon to the major leagues, so Drew Smith made his first professional start in his 100th career game.

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies (13-13, fourth in the Eastern League Eastern division) were swept in a doubleheader on Saturday, which was the first time such an event occurred under the team’s current moniker. The Ponies played 14 doubleheaders without being swept in 2017.

The St. Lucie Mets (12-16, sixth in the Florida State League South division) scored seven runs on Saturday for the first time since April 14. Their 13 runs allowed on Thursday was the highest total of the season.

The Columbia Fireflies (17-13, third in the South Atlantic League Southern division) have won five straight to jump above .500, thanks in part to six-run innings on Saturday and Sunday.

Mets Minors News & Buzz

Peter Alonso was named as the Eastern League’s Player of the Month for April after the 23-year-old hit an astounding .408/.505/.776 with seven home runs in the period.

The Mets signed veteran third baseman Cody Asche to a minor league contract and assigned him to Las Vegas. In 390 major league games with the Phillies and White Sox, he has hit .234/.293/.376 with 32 home runs.

A major factor in the signing of Asche was a significant injury to Las Vegas third baseman David Thompson, who suffered a hairline fracture in his left hand after a hit-by-pitch. The Mets’ fourth-round draft pick in 2015 had already gotten off to a slow start, hitting .258 with six extra-base hits in 66 at-bats.

Fireflies infielder Walter Rasquin was suspended by Minor League Baseball for 50 games after testing positive for methamphetamines. The 22-year-old was already on the disabled list following a broken finger but had been hitting .298 through 13 games.

Baseball America updated their top 100 prospects list, and Andres Gimenez remained the only player in the Mets’ organization to be represented. However, the shortstop did move up from 91 to 85.

Las Vegas outfielder Bryce Brentz left Sunday’s game after fouling a ball off his foot.

Who’s Hot, Who’s Not

Who’s hot: 

Jeremy Vasquez was drafted to hit, and that’s all he’s done since the Mets took him in the 28th round last June. In 335 professional at-bats, the numbers look like this: .293/.400/.475, 47 extra-base hits, 15% walk rate.

Of course, every team would take any sliver of production from the 28th round, but the 21-year-old has greatly exceeded expectations. Vasquez’s hot start in 2018 has been highlighted by his 29-game on-base streak (32 dating back to last season), which has led to the 15th-best OBP in minor league baseball (.472).

Vasquez has done a great job of getting the ball in the air, using all fields (he’s actually gone the other way more than he’s pulled it), and putting together all-around solid at-bats (his wOBA is currently 125 points above league average). Coupled with solid defense, the Mets have another first base prospect behind Dominic Smith and Peter Alonso developing in the minors. Of course, he really should be in St. Lucie at his age, and until he gets there it’s generally unfair to paint a major league future on him.

Who’s not: 

Zach Borenstein is eight for his last 40 with 16 strikeouts. Gabriel Llanes was shelled for ten runs in 3.1 innings on Wednesday, his sixth outing of eight runs or more in his career.

Organizational Leaders

AVG — Peter Alonso .370 (BNG), Jeremy Vasquez .357 (COL), Blake Tiberi .323 (COL), Ty Kelly .313 (LVG)

OPS — Alonso 1.189, Vasquez 1.053, Jeff McNeil 1.046 (BNG), Kelly 1.002, Scott Manea .893 (COL)

HR — Alonso 8, Zach Borenstein 7 (LVG), Bryce Brentz 7 (LVG), Kelly 6, McNeil 6

RBI — Alonso 23, Quinn Brodey 23 (COL), Borenstein 22, Brentz 21, Kelly 21

SB — Andres Gimenez 9 (STL), Ian Strom 8 (STL), Jacob Zanon 6 (STL), Champ Stuart 5 (BNG), Dale Burdick 4 (STL), Gene Cone 4 (STL)

STARTER ERA — Scott Copeland 1.74 (BNG), Joe Cavallaro 1.93 (COL), Justin Dunn 2.13 (STL), Nabil Crismatt 2.28 (BNG), Anthony Kay 3.42 (COL)

RELIEVER ERA — Joseph Zanghi 0.00 (STL), Joshua Torres 1.00 (BNG), Aaron Ford 1.35 (COL), Carlos Hernandez 1.35 (STL/COL), Stephen Nogosek 1.42 (STL)

SO — Drew Gagnon 40 (LVG/BNG), Tony Dibrell 37 (COL), Chris Viall 36 (COL), Crismatt 32, Cavallaro 28, Dunn 28

SV — Tyler Bashlor 4 (BNG), Trey Cobb 4 (COL), Eric Hanhold 3 (BNG), Stephen Villines 3 (COL), Three tied with 2

WHIP — Ford 0.30, Nogosek 0.79, Hernandez 0.83, Joshua Payne 0.86 (COL), Cavallaro 1.00

Transaction Report

4/30

David Thompson and Kevin McGowan placed on Las Vegas’ disabled list….Corey Oswalt and Jacob Rhame added to Las Vegas’ active roster.

5/1

Andrew Church placed on Binghamton’s disabled list….Marcos Molina added to Binghamton’s active roster.

5/3

Walter Rasquin placed on Columbia’s restricted list….Cody Asche signed as a minor league free agent, assigned to Las Vegas.

5/4

Justin Dunn placed on St. Lucie’s disabled list….Gary Cornish activated from St. Lucie’s disabled list….Cody Asche added to Las Vegas’ active roster….Matt Purke placed on Las Vegas’ temporarily inactive list.

5/5

Hansel Robles recalled from Las Vegas.

5/6

P.J. Conlon selected from Las Vegas….Gerson Bautista transferred from Binghamton to Las Vegas….Johnny Magliozzi activated from Binghamton’s disabled list.

Upcoming Schedules

Las Vegas: @ Salt Lake (5/7), Fresno (8-11), Albuquerque (12-15)

Binghamton: @ Hartford (5/7-9), @ Portland (10-13)

St. Lucie: Florida (5/7-9), Lakeland (10-12), OFF (13)

Columbia: Lakewood (5/7), OFF (8), @ Hickory (9-11), Delmarva (12-15)

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