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MMN Players Of the Week: Walker And Ginn Promoted As Maurico Breaks Out

By Joseph Langan

July 21, 2021 No comments

Khalil Lee, Photo by James Farrance

After the 2021 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, the New York Mets have added a plethora of prospects to their system. With starting pitcher Kumar Rocker highlighting the Mets draft day, he enters an organization filled with other top talents on display last week. 

Triple-A Syracuse Mets

After starting their season on a terrible note, the Syracuse Mets have gained momentum in the second half of the season, winning two consecutive series. One significant reason for their elevated play is because of number eight prospect Khalil Lee. Over the past six games, Lee has slashed a team-best .417/.650/.917 with an OPS of 1.567 and two round-trippers. Over his 20 plate appearances, Lee was able to work seven walks and possessed an incredible BABIP of .750. Since rejoining the Triple-A squad, Lee has seemed to find his game in a big way, turning into the top prospect that scouts have always had on their radar. Over the past month, Lee has been one of Syracuse’s best players, slashing .333/.539/.588 with an OPS of 1.128 and three home runs.

Another player on this Syracuse team who had some time with the big league squad this season is pitcher Robert Stock. This week Stock threw seven innings of one-run ball, only allowing one walk and striking out nine Rockville batters. Even at his worst, Stock has been one of the most solid pitchers in the minors, putting up a career record of 23-and-14 with an ERA of 3.73 and 348 strikeouts. He’s only been with the organization for this 2021 season, but Stock seems to make a significant impact on the depth he brings to the club. Stock was called back up to start for the New York Mets on Tuesday against the Cincinnati Reds. However, he lasted just one inning before leaving with an injury. 

Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies

With Brett Baty getting promoted to Double-A, the Rumble Ponies now have two of the hottest Mets prospects in the same line-up, along with counterpart Mark Vientos. The two ultimately play the same third base position but have split time in the outfield to get them the playtime they deserve. With Baty still getting adjusted, Vientos has continued his power surge by smashing three homers over his past six games. The 21-year-old slashed a modest .263/.391/.789 with an OPS of 1.181 and five RBIs throughout his past six games. He did have an injury scare in the middle of the week after being hit with a pitch on the hand; he was immediately taken out but was in the line-up the very next day. Vientos has cooled down a bit since his crazy month of June but continues to drive balls over the fence and limit his strikeouts, a trend scouts should be excited about.

 

Yet again, Josh Walker finds himself on the Players Of the Week list after another solid outing against the Altoona Curve. Walker tossed five innings of scoreless ball, only allowing two hits and striking out three on his way to his fifth win of the season. On the year, he’s 8-and-1 with a 2.62 ERA with 65 strikeouts over 65.1 innings pitched. Walker has made one of the most significant improvements since 2019, and he’s finally starting to get noticed. In fact, Walker has gotten the attention of enough front office executives to get promoted to the Triple-A Syracuse squad.

High-A Brooklyn Cyclones

Mets’ number two prospect Ronny Mauricio has struggled a bit in the first half of the season, primarily due in part to his inability to hit at home. This week his issues seemed to disappear as he slashed .391/.440/.565 with an OPS of 1.005 and six RBIs. Mauricio put the ball in play more this week as his recorded BABIP was .444, a significant improvement from his .280 average. In July, Maurico’s numbers are on the rise as he’s hit .283/.327/.457 with an OPS of .783 and two homers throughout 12 games. Hopefully, this is an excellent sign for Ronny to get going in the right direction and continue developing as one of the Mets’ top prospects. 

After a rocky start his last time out, Brooklyn starter Justin Lasko was lights out this week, tossing six scoreless innings in a win against the Jersey Shore Blue Claws. Since getting promoted to High-A, Lasko has been one of Brooklyn’s most solid starters, accumulating 46 innings pitched, recording an ERA of 3.33, and striking out 44 batters. He’s held opponents batting averages to .223, but has run into some trouble with the long ball, giving up six homers. With more time against elevated hitters, Lasko will get better at limiting mistake pitches and continue to drive opponent’s batting averages down. He’ll most likely finish his season out in Brooklyn but has the potential to work his way up the ranks soon.

Low-A St. Lucie Mets 

Jaylen Palmer was a force to be reckoned with against the Palm Beach Cardinals this past week, slashing .350/.381/.550 with an OPS of .931 and four doubles. Palmer made headlines after the series finale against the Cardinals when he recorded three doubles and two RBIs, boosting St. Lucie to a 9 to 1 victory. Palmer has been an extra-base hit machine this year, recording 12 doubles and four triples, but is still searching for his first round-tripper. The 20-year-old has a lot of swing and miss in his swing but has serious potential to be a dual power and average threat as he develops more in this Mets system.  

Coming off the best game of his professional career, J.T. Ginn followed up this week with another solid start for the St. Lucie Mets. The Mets’ second-round pick back in 2019 tossed six innings of two-run ball and struck out four in a no-decision against the Palm Beach Cardinals. Since joining the Low-A squad, Ginn has appeared in eight games and accumulated a record of 2-1 with an ERA of 2.56. Ginn has impressed enough scouts during his time with the St. Lucie that they felt a promotion to the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones was needed. This will be a huge step for the 22-year-old who will make his first start on Saturday.

https://twitter.com/BKCyclones/status/1417549445940531205?s=20

Along with Stock, Walker, and Ginn, Brooklyn’s Jose Butto was promoted to the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies as well.

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Written by josephlangan

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