The last week of minor league game action before the 2023 MLB Draft saw plenty of players make some noise before the next crop of Mets prospects enter the system. Here are the biggest developments, including continuations of excellent stretches for Blade Tidwell and Rowdey Jordan.
Triple-A Syracuse
The Syracuse Mets lost five of six games away at the Worcester Red Sox. They enter the All-Star break with a 35-50 record on the year.
Ronny Mauricio was lifted from Wednesday’s game for an apparent injury and was held out of the remaining four games of the series. He went 2-for-8 in the games he did play and crushed his 12th home run of the season.
Mark Vientos went 7-for-25 with his 16th home run of the year, one triple, three doubles, and six RBI. Vientos is hitting .311 with a 1.027 OPS at the Triple-A level this year.
Luke Ritter hit two homers this week to give him an even 20 homers on the year, the most among all Mets farmhands. Abraham Almonte hit three homers in the series aided by a two-homer game on Saturday.
Joey Lucchesi struggled for the second consecutive outing in his start on Friday. He allowed six runs on eight hits in four innings of work, seeing his Triple-A ERA climb up to 3.59.
José Quintana encountered similar issues in his rehab start on Saturday. He allowed five runs on four hits in 4 1/3 innings, striking out five batters and issuing three walks.
Mike Vasil did not pitch for Syracuse in the series, but he did make an appearance at the Futures Game on Saturday as the Mets’ lone representative. He pitched just 1/3 of an inning, walking a batter and recording a strikeout.
Double-A Binghamton
The Rumble Ponies lost five of six games away at the Portland Sea Dogs. They are currently riding a four-game losing streak and enter the break with a 38-42 record.
Rowdey Jordan had a great week at the plate. He went 8-for-21 with one home run, two doubles, four RBI, four runs scored, and four steals. Jordan has been tearing the cover off the ball since the start of June and had arguably his most impactful series of the year.
Dominic Hamel put together his best start of the season when he toed the slab on Wednesday. He allowed one run on three hits across six innings of work, recording a career-high 11 strikeouts. Hamel struggled quite a bit in June but has gotten off to a fantastic start in July.
Christian Scott had a rare blow-up week that saw his Double-A ERA balloon from 1.37 to 3.38. He allowed six runs in six innings of work on Tuesday before allowing two runs in 3 2/3 innings on Sunday, picking up a loss in both contests. It was the first real bit of adversity that Scott has faced since making the jump to Binghamton.
High-A Brooklyn
The Cyclones won five of six games away at the Wilmington Blue Rocks. Brooklyn has not lost a series since early June and enter the break with a 39-41 record.
Kevin Parada went 6-for-18 with one double and four runs scored. It was a quieter week in terms of power production for Parada, who has an .804 OPS this season.
Alex Ramírez had a tough series with the bat, going 2-for-26 with one double and scoring four runs. Ramírez did rob a grand slam on a highlight-reel play during Sunday’s game, but he is hitting just .227 with a .657 OPS for Brooklyn this year.
Tyler Stuart improved to 4-0 on the year after picking up the win on Wednesday. He allowed two runs across six innings of work and struck out five batters. His ERA sits at 1.55 entering the break, a mark which still leads all qualified minor league pitchers.
Blade Tidwell was sensational yet again in his start on Thursday. He allowed two runs in six innings, striking out 11 batters for the second consecutive start. He has racked up 51 strikeouts in just 32 2/3 innings since the start of June posting a 1.68 ERA in that span.
Low-A St. Lucie
The St. Lucie Mets lost all six games of their series away at the Lakeland Flying Tigers. They stumble into the break with a 27-52 record.
Jett Williams went 4-for-24 with one triple, one double, four RBI, two runs scored, and three steals. He is up to 25 steals on the year.
Layonel Ovalles made two starts this week, allowing five runs (4 ER) across 4 1/3 innings on Tuesday and pitching a perfect inning in Sunday’s game. He has a 4.50 ERA on the year.
Florida Complex League Mets
The FCL Mets won two of the three games they played this week. Simon Juan went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs in the one game he played. Willy Fanas went 3-for-4 on Friday with two doubles, one RBI, and two runs scored. Jesus Baez had hits in both games he played including a triple in Friday’s contest.
Organizational Leaders
Batting
AVG – Mark Vientos (SYR) – .311
OPS – Mark Vientos – 1.027
HR – Luke Ritter (SYR) – 20
SB – Omar De Los Santos (BRK) – 32
Pitching
(Among qualified players)
ERA – Tyler Stuart (BRK) – 1.55
SO – Blade Tidwell (BRK) – 97
WHIP – Christian Scott (BNG) – 0.91
Players of the Week
Offense – Rowdey Jordan, 2B/OF Binghamton
It’s time to give Rowdey Jordan his flowers. Jordan had a rather unremarkable start to the 2023 season, but he has kicked it into high gear since the start of June. He hit .306 with a .951 OPS in the month of June, and through eight games in July he has a .321 average with a .948 OPS. He has six homers, 20 RBI, and a 17/24 BB/K rate in that span.
The 11th-round pick in the 2021 draft has made significant strides over the course of the last six weeks, and he’ll look to ride that positive momentum into the second half of the year. With nine home runs and 15 steals this year, a 20 HR/30 SB season is not out of the realm of possibility.
Honorable mentions go to Mark Vientos for recording five extra-base hits in his series and to Luke Ritter for being the first Mets farmhand to reach 20 homers in the 2023 season.
Pitching – Blade Tidwell, P Brooklyn
Tidwell needed a few months to find his footing in his second professional season, and he has been arguably the organization’s best pitching prospect since doing so. He recorded his second straight 11-strikeout start this week, and he has a 1.68 ERA across 32 2/3 innings since the start of June. He has racked up 51 strikeouts in just 32 2/3 innings in that span, giving him an organization-leading 97 strikeouts on the season.
Tidwell has more than justified the second-round pick that the Mets used to take him in last year’s draft. His strikeout stuff has proven to be elite, although walks have continued to give him trouble even in this recent stretch of dominance. If he can maintain better control moving forward, the Mets might really have a budding star on their hands.
Honorable mentions go to Dominic Hamel for also racking up 11 strikeouts in his start, as well as to Tyler Stuart for maintaining his minor league-leading 1.55 ERA.
Upcoming Schedule – July 14-16
Triple-A Syracuse – vs. Rochester
Double-A Binghamton – vs. Somerset
High-A Brooklyn – vs. Greensboro
Low-A St. Lucie – vs. Jupiter
