All eyes were again on the farm system this week, and the Mets’ top prospects surely came to play. Here are the biggest developments throughout the organization, including an electric no-hit bid from Mike Vasil and an impressive display of power from Ronny Mauricio.
Triple-A Syracuse
The Syracuse Mets lost four of six games away at the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Syracuse has a 46-66 record on the year.
Ronny Mauricio went 8-for-27 with three homers, two doubles, five RBI, and five runs scored. He got at least one hit in all six games of the series while alternating between second base, shortstop, and third base when playing in the field.
Brett Baty went 4-for-16 with two homers in his first game action at the Triple-A level since April. He has a 1.263 OPS and seven home runs in 13 games with Syracuse this season.
Mike Vasil took a no-hit bid into the ninth inning during his start on Tuesday, losing the bid on the first batter of the inning. He finished the night with eight scoreless innings, striking out seven batters and walking two. He did not fare as well in his start on Sunday, allowing three runs in 5 2/3 innings and picking up a loss.
Double-A Binghamton
The Rumble Ponies split their six-game series away at the Somerset Patriots. Binghamton is currently sitting with a 54-53 record.
Drew Gilbert went 6-for-22 with three RBI, recording multi-hit performances in each of his last two games played. He is hitting .294 with a .702 OPS as a member of the Rumble Ponies.
Luisangel Acuña went 2-for-19 with one double and five stolen bases. He is hitting just .163 since joining Binghamton but he has six steals to push his season total up to 48.
Jeremiah Jackson went 4-for-20 with two homers and six RBI. He has 17 home runs on the season after crushing his first two for Binghamton.
Dominic Hamel allowed four runs across six innings of work on Tuesday to pick up his sixth win of the campaign. He followed that up with 3 2/3 innings of two-run ball on Sunday.
Christian Scott was sensational in his start on Saturday, allowing just one hit across 6 1/3 scoreless innings and striking out five. He has a 2.67 ERA through his first 10 career Double-A starts.
Blade Tidwell picked up his first win for Binghamton after allowing two runs across 7 2/3 innings of work on Wednesday. He has 121 strikeouts in 93 1/3 innings on the mound this season.
Tyler Stuart allowed seven runs (5 ER) in just one inning on Thursday. It was his first time allowing more than three earned runs in any start this season. This start also brought his season ERA up to 2.12, the first time all year that it has been above a 2.00 mark.
High-A Brooklyn
The Cyclones won four of six games at home against the Aberdeen IronBirds. Brooklyn has a 54-53 record on the year and are leading their division with a 26-16 record in the second half.
Jett Williams went 5-for-21 with one home run, two doubles, two stolen bases, and five walks. He has a .263 average and an .883 OPS since making the jump to High-A.
Ryan Clifford went 6-for-19 with one home run, two doubles, and four RBI. He has 20 homers on the season and has an .892 OPS since joining Brooklyn.
Alex Ramírez went 2-for-24 with a triple. He has an underwhelming .669 OPS this season.
Jordany Ventura struck out 10 batters in 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball on Wednesday, picking up his third win in five starts for Brooklyn. He has set a new career high for strikeouts in consecutive appearances and has a 2.73 ERA in those five starts.
Joey Lucchesi made two rehab starts, allowing one run across eight innings and recording eight strikeouts. He will in all likelihood get a few starts in the majors before the season is over.
Joander Suarez racked up 11 strikeouts in his start on Friday, allowing no runs across six innings of work. This was just the second time in his five-year professional career that he reached double-digit strikeouts and the first since 2019.
Low-A St. Lucie
The St. Lucie Mets lost four of six games at home against the Palm Beach Cardinals. St. Lucie has a 37-70 record this season.
Nick Morabito went 4-for-17 with one triple, one double, and two runs scored. He is hitting .289 with a .772 OPS since being called up to Low-A.
Layonel Ovalles allowed two runs across 5 1/3 innings and struck out six batters in his start on Sunday. He has a 5.08 ERA on the year.
Florida Complex League Mets
The FCL Mets went 3-2 this week to improve to 28-17 this season.
Ronald Hernandez went 4-for-12 with three doubles, six RBI, and six walks. Marco Vargas went 3-for-17 with one double, three runs scored, and three walks. Colin Houck had an excellent game on Monday, going 1-for-3 with three RBI, two runs scored, and three walks.
Organizational Leaders
Batting
AVG – Ronny Mauricio (SYR) – .289
OPS – Jett Williams (BRK) – .838
HR – Luke Ritter (SYR) – 23
SB – Jett Williams – 37
Pitching
(Among qualified players)
ERA – Tyler Stuart (BNG) – 2.12
SO – Dominic Hamel (BNG) – 125
WHIP – Christian Scott (BNG) – 0.86
Players of the Week
Offense – Ronny Mauricio, UTIL Syracuse
Mauricio has had a rather unorthodox season to date, but at least for one week it appears that everything clicked for him. He collected a hit in all six games that Syracuse played this week, all while making starts at every infield position except first base. Mauricio has made at least 25 starts at shortstop, second base, and left field this season, with the Mets determined to improve his positional flexibility despite arriving at that conclusion far too late in his development.
Mauricio’s walk rate is still not near where the Mets would want it to be, but his ability to adapt to a variety of different positions after almost exclusively playing shortstop throughout his career should be commended. He is still considered a top prospect in baseball and will have the rest of this season to showcase what he can offer to the big-league club in 2024.
Honorable mentions go to Brett Baty for hitting homers in each of his first two games back with Syracuse and Ryan Clifford for reaching the 20-homer mark.
Pitching – Mike Vasil, P Syracuse
Vasil makes it a clean sweep for Syracuse with the weekly awards after his impressive turn on the mound on Tuesday. He was three outs away from a no-hitter, and although he did not get it done, he still had easily the best start of his young career.
Vasil started the season on an extraordinary run of form and earned a roster spot in the 2023 Futures Game as a result. He had been far less successful since getting the call to Syracuse, but his performance on Tuesday night was nothing short of special. Vasil could conceivably get a shot in the majors by the end of the season, and he will be a name to monitor as a fourth or fifth starter in the 2024 rotation by the time spring training rolls around.
Honorable mentions go to Christian Scott for yet another scoreless outing, as well as to Jordany Ventura and Joander Suarez for setting new career highs in strikeouts.
Upcoming Schedule – August 15-20
Triple-A Syracuse – vs. Columbus
Double-A Binghamton – vs. Portland
High-A Brooklyn – vs. Hudson Valley
Low-A St. Lucie – vs. Jupiter
