Mets Minor League Players of the Month: April 2026

Can you believe the baseball season is already a month in? That means only one thing; time for the Mets minor league players of the month.

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets

Hitter of the Month: Cristian Pache

Statistics: 23 G, .309/.349/.494/.843, 2 HR, 5 2B, 2 3B, 11 RBI, 5 BB, 23 SO

Can A.J. Ewing be the Triple-A player of the month with just three games played? For this exercise we opted to go with someone with a bit more of a sample size at the level. That gives the crown to Cristian Pache, who carried over his torrid pace from spring training into the regular season. The former top prospect of the Atlanta Braves has had a tough go in the big leagues throughout his career, but has slugged for the Mets down in Triple-A to begin 2026.

Pache might not have had the best slash line of anyone on Syracuse, but it was still great. That, coupled with him playing some of the most of any player and trailing just Ryan Clifford in extra-base hits, gave him the edge over other contenders. With all the Mets’ troubles offensively this season as well, Pache is making a strong case to get a shot. He’s always been highly touted for his glove in center field, but he could never hit enough. If he can even hit close to this level in the big leagues, he’ll be good enough to at least be a bench player on an MLB roster.

Pitcher of the Month: Jack Wenninger

Statistics: 5 G (5 GS), 22 1/3 IP, 16 H, 5 R (4 ER), 26 SO, 12 BB, 1.61 ERA, 1.25 WHIP

Has Jack Wenninger pitched his final game in Triple-A? Probably not. But the Mets have a glaring issue with one of the spots in their rotation, and Wenninger is carving in Syracuse.

He’s still not a finished product. Wenninger’s in-zone percentage and general control is still a work in progress, but it’s good enough to be an upgrade over what the Mets currently have in the rotation. Everything else is ready. His arsenal is solid, headlined by his double-plus splitter, and he’s fully built up to handle a starter’s regular workload. He’s a major-league pitcher, the only question is when.

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies

Hitter of the Month: A.J. Ewing

Statistics: 18 G, .349/.481/.571/1.052, 2 HR, 6 2B, 1 3B, 7 RBI, 17 BB, 15 SO, 12 SB (1 CS)

Is Ewing playing himself into a major-league call-up already? There’s a reason he made a case for Triple-A player of the month in just three games. He does everything well. He makes a ton of contact with a good approach, he plays great defense (at two positions to boot), and he’s showing serious growth in what was his one shortcoming: power. He’s hitting the ball with authority, and while it’ll never be upper-echelon power, it might be good! He’s played himself into being the Mets’ best prospect and is making a strong case to join the big league club.

Pitcher of the Month: Gabriel Rodriguez

Statistics: 7 G (0 GS), 8 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0ER), 14 SO, 5 BB, 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP

The Mets have many interesting starting pitching prospects in Double-A, but all of them were, at best, inconsistent in April. Gabriel Rodriguez, a 27-year-old reliever, was the opposite of inconsistent. He gave up one hit in eight innings, struck out a huge percentage of the batters he faced, and was overall dominant. For someone signed as a free agent in February who last pitched in affiliated ball in 2023, and never above Single-A, Rodriguez is looking like a find. Considering his age, Syracuse (Triple-A) could be close on the horizon, and if things go well, Queens not far after. It doesn’t hurt that he’s a lefty, either.

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones

Hitter of the Month: John Bay

Statistics: 20 G, .234/.410/.422/.832, 2 HR, 4 2B, 1 3B, 10 RBI, 11 BB, 23 SO, 6 SB (1 CS)

It hasn’t been a great start to the season for the Cyclones, and the lineup hasn’t had many standouts. Really, the only one has been John Bay, a 24-year-old outfielder signed as an undrafted free agent last season. Bay’s showing both strong power and on-base skills, and has been playing more center field this season than ever before. That might be more because of need; Brooklyn doesn’t have much on the roster in terms of outfield options, but he’s handled it well, regardless. It’s going to take a lot for Bay to appear on prospect radars, but this is a great start.

Pitcher of the Month: Irving Cota

Statistics: 5 G (3 GS), 18 2/3 IP, 12 H, 2 R (2 ER), 11 SO, 5 BB, 0.96 ERA, 0.91 WHIP

Brooklyn’s pitching staff has been a little better than the bats, but many of the bigger names like Noah Hall and Joel Díaz have struggled. Irving Cota, while he hasn’t been overwhelming, has done a great job of both keeping hitters off the bases and keeping runs off the board. The 22-year-old righty has impressed at every stop of his minor league career, and he’s making another strong impression to begin 2026.

Single-A: St. Lucie Mets

Hitter of the Month: Elian Peńa

Statistics: 22 G, .353/.467/.482/.949, 1 HR, 8 2B, 11 RBI, 17 BB, 16 SO

Who else but Elian Peña? If not for Ewing, Peña would easily be the Mets prospect attracting the most attention. Even with Ewing stealing the show, Peña is still demanding plenty of eyeballs. Contact, power, speed, he’s showing it all. It will be a shock if Peña is not a universal top-100 prospect by the midseason update. Randy Guzman and AJ Salgado deserve shoutouts, both with several home runs already this year (five in April), but it was always going to be Peña here.

Pitcher of the Month: Nicolas Carreno

Statistics: 5 G (3 GS), 16 IP, 9 H, 5 R (4 ER), 18 SO, 7 BB, 2.25 ERA, 0.88 WHIP

Nicolas Carreno might be the next breakout to come out of the Mets’ pitching development system. The ERA and WHIP are obviously great, but the strikeouts really stand out. In 16 innings, 25 strikeouts is a fantastic mark. He has both a four-seam and a sinker and throws each of them hard, but the star is his slider. It’s his most used pitch, and hitters can’t lay off, chasing it 44.2% of the time so far this season and whiffing at it even more. Still just 19 years old, Carreno is a name to watch.

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