It’s time for the first Mets Minors Weekly Report of the season. The first week saw some really impressive pitching performances that outshined lackluster offenses. The poor offensive performances led to each Mets minor league affiliate losing their first series of the season. Let’s take a look at the biggest news.

Triple-A Syracuse

The Syracuse Mets lost their first three-game series of the season, followed by a 3-2 series victory over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Then on Monday, the team was shutout and recorded just one hit in the opening game of a series with the Worcester Red Sox.

Mark Vientos has been red hot to start the year, as is expected of him in Triple-A. After an opening series in which he went 3-for-9 with a home run, he went 7-for-22 with a home run and five RBIs against the RailRiders. His OPS through the first nine games of the season sits at .955.

Ben Gamel is also having a roaring start to the season, as he went 7-for-16 with two home runs and four RBIs against the RailRiders. Through eight games, the veteran has an outstanding 1.292 OPS.

Joey Lucchesi is off to a solid start for the Syracuse Mets this year, having a 2.00 ERA through two starts. He’s struck out nine and allowed five hits through nine total innings, though he walked six to worsen his WHIP to 1.22.

Dedniel Núñez has been great out of the pen in the early going. He’s pitched three scoreless outings for a total of 3 1/3 innings, striking out five and allowing one hit and one walk. Núñez struggled in 29 games with Syracuse in 2023, so his strong start is a great sign that he can have a much better season.

Double-A Binghamton

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies lost two games of a three-game series against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats to begin the season. After dropping the first game but winning the second, they were defeated in the rubber match in a game where Alex Ramírez and Jett Williams recorded the only hits.

Joander Suarez finished the 2023 season on an extremely high note, and he continued that momentum into his first start of the 2024 season. He threw five shutout innings and allowed just four baserunners while striking out six.

The Rumble Ponies got several scoreless outings out of the pen in the season’s first series. Wilkin Ramos and Junior Santos both threw three shutout innings with Santos not allowing a hit. Additionally, Nolan Clenney and Trey McLoughlin both had scoreless outings, with Clenney recording all four of the outs he recorded via the strikeout.

Alex Ramírez has been the offensive highlight of the young season for the Rumble Ponies. He has five hits and four stolen bases in just 11 plate appearances. He’s off to an unexpectedly good start, with a 1.356 OPS through the season’s first three games.

High-A Brooklyn

Brooklyn was swept in a three-game series by the Wilmington Blue Rocks to begin the season. In the three games, Brooklyn pitchers allowed just eight runs but the offense scored three in a dreadful start to the year.

Calvin Ziegler was sensational in his 2024 debut, tossing four perfect innings and striking out nine batters. At one point, he had struck out eight in a row. The 2021 draft pick pitched just one inning in 2023 after battling injuries, and he is hoping 2024 is a breakthrough year for him. He’s certainly off to that kind of start.

Felipe De La Cruz tossed four shutout innings in a start for Brooklyn, allowing just one hit and one walk and striking out two. The southpaw finished strong down the stretch for Brooklyn in 2023, and he is already off to a great start to 2024.

Dakota Hawkins and Douglas Orellana both tossed an outing of three scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Joshua Cornielly also pitched two scoreless innings out of the bullpen in which he struck out four. Josh Hejka, Diosmerky Taveras, and Victor Castaneda all had scoreless outings in what was a great first series for the Brooklyn pitching staff.

Stanley Consuegra is the only Brooklyn batter of note to be off to a solid start. In 12 at-bats he has recorded a .917 OPS and a stolen base. Unfortunately, the rest of the offense besides Consuegra struggled mightily in what turned out to be a three-game opening series sweep against the Blue Rocks.

Low-A St. Lucie

The St. Lucie Mets lost two games of a three-game set to the Daytona Tortugas after taking the first game of the series and dropping the next two. Like Brooklyn, this was another instance where strong pitching performances were spoiled by a dissapointing offense.

Jonah Tong was fantastic in his first outing of the season, striking out 11 batters over 4 1/3 scoreless innings. He allowed four baserunners and limited opposing batters to a .133 batting average against. The 2022 draft pick has not yet had a great year in the Mets system, and he could very well be on his way to achieving that this year.

Wyatt Hudepohl, a 2023 Mets draft pick, was also great in his 2024 debut, striking out six over three scoreless innings. It was his first pro outing since being drafted, and it was a massive success. Jawilme Ramirez also struck out six over three scoreless innings, but he did so out of the pen. Ramirez struggled in 2023, but he’s a prospect many people are high on, and he showed why in his first outing of the season. Alan Perdomo, Max Kranick, and Wilson Lopez all had shutout appearances as well.

Nick Morabito is off to a fast start on the offensive side of things, as he recorded a home run and a stolen base in 10 at-bats in the first series of the season. Entering Tuesday, he sits at a 1.017 OPS.

Ronald Hernandez is also off to a great start as he has a 1.000 OPS in 10 at-bats. The former Marlins prospect has shined since his trade to the Mets, and if he continues to swing a hot bat, he could force himself into conversations concerning the Mets’ long-term plans.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

AVG – Alex Ramírez (BNG) – .455 (5-for-11)

OPS – Alex Ramírez (BNG) – 1.356

HR – Ben Gamel, Mark Vientos (SYR) – 2

SB – Alex Ramírez (BNG) – 4

Pitching

Will start tracking next week once pitchers accumulate more innings.

Players of the Week

Offense – Alex Ramírez, OF Binghamton

Ramírez is the clear offensive player of the week after a scorching hot start to the 2024 season that’s seen him demonstrate both power and speed. The once-top prospect fell off a cliff in 2023 after a brutal stint in High-A Brooklyn, so that’s why it’s unexpected to see him succeeding so early on a level up in Binghamton.

Of course, the sample size this early in the season is tiny. Still, though, Ramírez has shown in the past that he has the ability to be a really good baseball player. If he can finally put it together at the Double-A level, it would do wonders for his prospects as a future major league player. The hope is that he can sustain a high level of play for a large portion of the season and not have a repeat of last year.

Pitching – Calvin Ziegler, P Brooklyn

This one is a toss-up between Ziegler and Tong. Tong definitely could’ve gotten the nod, given he struck out two more batters in 1/3 of an inning more of work. However, Ziegler gets the edge simply because he didn’t allow a baserunner and had an extended streak of strikeouts. The 21-year-old from Canada has had a tumultuous start to his Mets career, but 2024 is a prime chance to reverse his fortunes.

One of Ziegler’s areas needing improvement in the past has been control, so it’s a great sign to see him not only not allow any hits through four innings, but also not allow any walks. He has a fantastic fastball and curveball which are his main weapons, and if he can stay healthy, there’s no reason he won’t be able to develop and climb further up the Mets’ prospect rankings this season.