Early Season Mets Minor League Notes: Syracuse Edition
Now that all four of the New York Mets’ full-season affiliates have at least a month under their belts, let’s look at players who have stood out to start the season and others who might be struggling.
We will kick it up at the top of the farm system with the Triple-A Syracuse Mets. They’ve started the season 19-14 despite having a ton of arms go up to the minors or traded for cash after being designated for assignment.
Ben Gamel, Photo by James Farrance
The Good
Ben Gamel has undoubtedly been the Syracuse Mets’ best player throughout the season, posting a team-high 174 wRC+. The 31-year-old has 20 walks, six home runs and 17 RBIs in 28 games while playing all three outfield spots.
Top 5 Syracuse hitters by wRC+
- Gamel 174
- INF Rylan Bannon 138
- INF Mark Vientos 131
- UT Luke Ritter 113
- INF Jose Iglesias 112
On the pitching side, Christian Scott (3.20 ERA, 28.3 K%) has been the obvious player to stand out the most, and he certainly did in his big league debut, pitching 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball. Veteran lefty Joey Lucchesi has been good, too, posting a 2.58 ERA over his first seven starts of the season.
Top 5 Syracuse Pitchers by ERA (10 IP min.)
- LHP Tyler Jay 1.15
- RHP Yacksel Ríos 2.45
- LHP Lucchesi 2.58
- LHP Josh Walker 2.70
- RHP Grant Hartwig 2.92
To give you an idea of how good the International League is for hitters, the league ERA is 4.91 to start the year.
The Not So Good
There’s no way around it: Luisangel Acuña has struggled for the Mets since coming over in the trade for Max Scherzer. The 22-year-old posted a 76 wRC+ in 37 games last season for Double-A Binghamton following the trade. This year, his wRC+ is down to 54 and he’s only walking 6.4% of the time.
Right-handed pitching prospects Dom Hamel (6.78 ERA) and Mike Vasil (10.80 ERA) have struggled to start the 2024 season. The good news for Hamel is his strikeout rate is currently at 26.4%, but Vasil’s is only 16.7%.
The Injured
Drew Gilbert has been out since being replaced by a pinch runner on April 6. He was later placed on the injured list with a hamstring strain. The Mets hope Gilbert will be back in action later this month or early June. Gilbert, another player acquired at the deadline last year, was off to a slow start (.681 OPS) in seven games.
Jiman Choi had struggled to start his Syracuse career, but he hit two home runs in a game on April 23. Unfortunately, that is the last game the veteran first baseman played. He decided not to opt-out of his Mets deal on May 1, likely because of the injury keeping him sidelined.
The injury that most immediately impacts the Mets is left-hander Nate Lavender. With Brooks Raley injured, it would be a great time for Lavender to get his chance in the Mets bullpen finally. However, he has ligament damage in his left elbow and is likely headed for Tommy John surgery.
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