Ronny Mauricio Homers Three Times

If you were watching any game in the Mets organization today I hope it was the Syracuse Mets who dominated across the board today. Multiple players across that roster are making the case that they should be in the majors now and that could be a reality sooner rather than later if things continue as they are for the big league club.

For the rest of the minor league teams the bats were largely silent and while there were standout pitching performances from Jonah Tong, Zach Thornton, Channing Austin and Nicolas Carreno, they weren’t enough to bring their teams a win.

Triple-A

Syracuse Mets (12-9) 12, Worcester (11-10) 3

Box Score

• CF Nick Morabito: 1-for-5, HR, 2R, RBI, BB
• SS Ronny Mauricio: 3-for-4, 3 HR, 3R, 5 RBI, BB
• 1B Ryan Clifford: 2-for-5, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, SB
• 2B Vidal Bruján: 1-for-5, R, SB
• RF Cristian Pache: 4-for-4, 2 RBI

The Syracuse Mets hitters broke out, especially Ronny Mauricio who hit three home runs, Nick Morabito who hit one, and Ryan Clifford who smacked a 107.9 miles per hour grand slam. Ryan Clifford has been on a tear recently and under the hood he has looked strong, adding 10% to his zone contact rate and routinely showing off his plus power metrics. Since April 10, he is running a 96.2% zone contact rate with absolutely elite exit velocities and damage rates.

Morabito is not hitting the ball very hard even with his home run today, and has some issues with velocity, but his overall contact rates are strong. He may be a bit too passive at the plate, but he looks like a light hitting contact over power type hitter that could serve as a fourth outfielder on the major league team in the future. Mauricio meanwhile is taking advantage of his everyday playing time, continuing to refine his skills. He is struggling against velocity, with a whiff rate over 45%, but he has been more selective on what pitches he swings at so far.

• RHP Jonah Tong: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K (W)
• RHP Dan Hammer: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• LHP Anderson Severino: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
• RHP Ofreidy Gomez: 1.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Jonah Tong dominated the Red Sox striking out nine batters. This is the sharpest his fastball has looked, generating a 30% chase rate and 26.3% whiff rate as he commanded it well across the edges of the zone. His new cutter generated a strong 37% chase rate and his curveball performed well, especially against right handed batters with a 50% chase rate and 33.3% whiff rate. Dan Hammer finished the sixth and showed off his six plus pitches. He is making the case that he should be in the majors now.

Double-A

Erie (5-11) 3, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (6-9) 2

Box Score

• 2B A.J. Ewing: 1-for-3, 2 BB, SB
• SS Marco Vargas: 2-for-3, 2B, 2 BB, SB
• 3B Jacob Reimer: 0-for-5, 5 K
• LF Chris Suero: 0-for-5, 2 K
• LF Eli Serrano III: 1-for-2, 3B, 2 BB
• C Kevin Parada: 1-for-4, 1 RBI

The Binghamton offense has struggled across their first 15 games. Only three players on todays roster have an OPS over .593. Only three batters have a batting average over the mendoza line. A.J. Ewing, Eli Serrano III, and Chris Suero have showed up and shown why they aew regarded as some of the best prospects in the Mets system but that is largely it. The only Mets team more desperate for offense than the Rumble Ponies is the New York Mets.

• LHP Zach Thornton: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
• RHP Jordan Geber: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K (L)
• LHP Gabriel Rodriguez: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0ER, 1 BB, 1K
• RHP Ben Simon: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Zach Thornton filled up the zone striking out six and running an impressive 33.3% whiff rate. On the season across his first three starts Thornton has a 2.76 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. Jordan Gerber unfortunately suffered the loss after a throwing error from Marco Vargas extended the inning.

High-A

Hudson Valley (8-7) 5, Brooklyn Cyclones (4-11) 3 

Box Score

• SS Mitch Voit: 1-for-4, BB, SB
• 3B Antonio Jimenez: 1-for-4
• DH Daiverson Gutierrez: 0-for-4, 1 K
• 3B Colin Houck: 0-for-4, 3 K

The Brooklyn Cyclones offense has struggled out of the gate. The hitters that should be leading the team have largely been uneven, and John Bay was the only bat in the lineup today with an OPS over .712. Mitch Voit, who seemed to be surging forward is 3-for-17 over his last week with only one extra base hit. The one positive is that he has been cutting down on his strikeouts and swing and miss. Former first round pick Colin Houck continues to look lost at the plate and so far has shown nothing to help project that he will have his first season where his OPS starts with a number higher than six.

• RHP Channing Austin: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
• RHP Garrett Stratton: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K (H)
• RHP Hunter Hodges: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K (H)
• LHP Hoss Brewer: 0.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 0 K (L)

The Cyclones pitching looked incredible until Hoss Brewer gave up a three run homer to lose the game. Channing Austin dominated across five innings striking out eight with an incredible 47.6% whiff rate. Garret Stratton ran a 53.6% whiff rate and Hunter Hodges ran a 33.3% whiff rate. they combined for 15 strikeouts across eight innings.

Single-A

Palm Beach (12-4) 17, St. Lucie Mets (8-8) 2

Box Score

• SS Elian Peña: 0-for-2, 2 BB
• 1B Randy Guzman: 1-for-3, R, BB

Overall the St. Lucie Mets offense has performed well but tonight was not their night. After knocking out Ethan Young early, they failed to get a single hit against the Cardinals bullpen. Elian Peña continues to perplex with plus contact rates but very poor exit velocities. He has yet to hit a ball over 102.2 miles per hour. Ideally he will see his power improve as he continues to mature. Randy Guzman has yet to hit for consistent power this year, but his 105.7 miles per hour 90% exit velocity is in the 69th percentile and his 85.3% zone contact rate is in the 73rd percentile.

• RHP Omar Victorino: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 7 ER, 4 BB, 1 K, (L)
• RHP Caden Wooster: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• RHP Nicolas Carreno: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
• RHP Jorge De Leon: 0.0 IP 2 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 0 K
• RHP Ryan Dollar: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• Position Player JT Benson: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

It is not a good thing when the position player has the second most strikeouts for your team. Victorino only threw 28.6% of pitches in the zone, and while his “stuff” graded well and generated whiffs, walking four batters in 1.1 innings did him in. He generates good movement and spin with his pitches but he will need to improve his control. As the bulk pitcher generating a 45.5% chase rate and 28% whiff rate Carreno looked very strong across his four innings. His slider looked great and is by far his best pitch.

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