St. Lucie Mets 2024 Season Review

Editors note: We have a couple season reviews from the minors that we waited to post on MMO until after the Mets’ playoff run ended. The first one is from St. Lucie.

The 2024 season for the St. Lucie Mets was one to forget, as they finished 38 games under .500 and last place in the Florida State League East. This season the team really couldn’t put it together. During the first half they put up a dreadful 22-44 record, and the second half was the same story as the ball club posted a 23-40 record, with an overall run differential of -93. The last two years have been major down years for a team that won the FSL back in 2022.

Struggles for the team this year were based off various factors. Hitting was one of those factors, as the team posted a .647 OPS (9th of 10 in the FSL). Pitching was also an issue this year as the staff posted a 4.57 ERA (9th). Main players like Colin Houck and Marco Vargas struggled most of the year with Houck posting a .610 OPS in 408 ABs. And while Vargas was injured for a majority of the year, he posted a .607 OPS in 130 ABs.

There also were some nice improvements from players this season.

Nick Morabito, Jesus Baez, Boston Baro, and Jonah Tong were the stars of this years team, and Morabito, Baez, and Tong were all promoted up a level before July. Baro played with St. Lucie until late August, then was promoted to Brooklyn.

Mets 2024 draft picks also saw action with the St. Lucie Mets.

Carson Benge, the Mets’ first round draft pick played in 15 games and posted .857 OPS, while Eli Serrano (fourth round) played in 17 and put up a solid .777 OPS. Trey Synder, Corey Collins, and others all got experience in August and September with St. Lucie, too.  

Coaching staff

• Manager:  Yucarybert De La Cruz
• Pitching coach: Jordan Kraus
• Hitting coach: Alejandro Diaz
• Bench coach: Jeremy Cologna
• Development coach: Bree Nasti
• Baseball analytics: Benji Seashore-Hobson
• Player development associate: Jessica Edelman
• Trainer: Adam Devery

MMO/MMN Top Prospects (Played Majority of Season with St. Lucie)

• 16. Boston Baro, IF
• 18. Colin Houck, IF
• 22. Ronald Hernandez, C
• 32. AJ Ewing, OF
• 36. Joel Diaz, RHP

Team Batting Leaders

• G: Yohairo Cuevas  113
• AB: Colin Houck 408
• R: Boston Baro 46
• H: Ronald Hernandez 95
• 2B: Yohairo Cuevas 27
• 3B: Colin Houck 5
• HR:  Jesus Baez 10
• RBI: Colin Houck 51
• SB: Yohairo Cuevas 20
• TB: Boston Baro 129
• BB: Yohairo Cuevas  65
• BA: Boston Baro .288
• OBP: Boston Baro .368
• SLG: Boston Baro .399
• OPS: Boston Baro .767

Team Pitching Leaders (Min 15 IP)

• W: Gregori Louis: 4
• ERA: Jonah Tong 1.82
• IP: Franklin Gomez 82.0
• K: Ernesto Mercedes 89
• WHIP: Jonah Tong 0.64     

Standouts

Boston Baro was undoubtedly the St. Lucie Mets best hitter this year, posting a .767 OPS with real solid infield defense, which led to him being promoted to the Brooklyn Cyclones in late August. Baro, 23, 2023 Mets draft pick is a player that could have a major breakout in 2025, would expect him to start in Brooklyn. His ETA will likely be 2026-2027.

Franklin Gomez was the closest St.Lucie Mets pitcher to being qualified with 82 innings this year, and he had a solid year being a “bulldog” at only 18 years of age. It’s rare to see a prospect that young throw that many innings in a season, but Gomez started 16 games and posted a 4.42 ERA while punching out 83 batters. The southpaw’s stuff is solid, throwing five different pitches.

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