Mets Minors Weekly Report: Luisangel Acuña Rakes for Syracuse - Metsmerized Online (2024)

Each of the Mets’ affiliates won their series this week except for the St. Lucie Mets, a story that has been far too common this year. Despite St. Lucie’s struggles, it’s been great to see excellent performances both team-wide and individually out of Syracuse, Binghamton, and Brooklyn.

This past week, Nick Lorusso andFelipe De La Cruz were brilliant for the Brooklyn Cyclones, carrying the team to a 4-2 series win. Luisangel Acuña also got his season non the right track. They weren’t the only notable players this week, though. For more on the individual stats and team performances from this past week, let’s get into the latest Mets Minors Weekly Report.

Triple-A Syracuse

The Syracuse Mets had a rare seven-game series due to a makeup of a previously postponed game. Because of the odd number of games played, the Mets were able to win the series 4-3. They fell down 2-1 and 3-2 but picked up the last two games to secure the series win. Syracuse now sits at 31-19 and in second place in the International League East division.

Jose Iglesias was the Mets’ best batter this week, recording a 1.084 OPS in six games. He recorded 10 hits, including three doubles and a home run to raise his OPS to .810 on the year.

Luke Ritter paced the Mets hitters in terms of power this week, recording three home runs and ten RBIs in seven games played. He also recorded two doubles and a stolen base to raise his OPS on the year to .884.

Rylan Bannon had a great week in terms of eye discipline, drawing 11 walks in seven games. He recorded just three hits, though two were home runs. His ability to get on base and hit for power raised his season. OPS to .897.

Maybe the best performance of the week to see, though, wasLuisangel Acuña, who had 11 hits, a 2:1 BB/K ratio, and three stolen bases in seven games. Following a rough start to the season, Acuña appears to be fully comfortable, though he’s still lacking pop at the plate. His season OPS is now .654.

As the Mets look for backup middle infield help at the MLB level, Iglesias, Ritter, Bannon and Acuña are all potential candidates to eventually get the call this year.

By far the most productive Syracuse pitcher this week wasJosé Buttó, who made two starts and threw 11 scoreless innings. He’s also allowed just six baserunners and has 11 strikeouts in that span. Buttó was recently sent down after a start in the majors where he lacked control, but he has been impeccable through two starts since. His ERA through three Triple-A starts is 1.13.

The best non-starter of the week wasEric Orze, who did allow an earned run in just 2 2/3 innings, but he struck out six batters. On the year, Orze now has 33 punchouts in 24 1/3 innings. His ERA for a reliever is on the higher side at 3.70, but he’s only allowing a .179 batting average.

Double-A Binghamton

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies played a six-game series this week and then started a series with the Harrisburg Senators on Monday. In the seven total games, Binghamton went 4-3. They split their series in Reading, dropping the last two games of the series, before putting together a 7-3 victory in the next series opener on Monday. Binghamton is now 24-20 and in first place in the Eastern League Northeast division.

Jeremiah Jackson had a relatively rough week at the plate, only recording four hits and a .709 OPS in six games played, but he led the team by hitting three home runs, all of which were solo shots and the only runs he drove in this week. Two of his home runs came in Sunday’s game. Despite the overall poor week, Jackson’s season OPS actually raised to .572.

Wyatt Young was Binghamton’s best hitter this week, recording seven total hits including two home runs and a triple in six games played. Young has been great for Binghamton this year, and he’s now raised his season OPS to .854.

Kevin Parada is also looking good after a dreadful start to the year. He recorded nine hits in six games this week, including a home run, a triple, and six RBIs. He continues to raise his season OPS, which now sits at .682.

Brandon Sproat was the only Binghamton starter to make two starts this week, and he made the most of his performances. He threw a combined 14 innings and allowed three earned runs with 14 strikeouts and three walks. All of Sproat’s earned runs were given up via three separate solo home runs. Sproat has been brilliant between Brooklyn and Binghamton this year, and he now possesses a 1.42 ERA on the year between the two clubs.

Justin Jarvis had his best start in the Mets organization, throwing 5 1/3 scoreless innings while striking out 10. Jarvis hasn’t been particularly effective since coming over in a midseason trade for Mark Canha a year ago, especially when pitching in Triple-A, but he now holds a 3.14 ERA on the year with Binghamton.

Joining the group of fantastic starts this week wasTyler Stuart, who only pitched five innings, but he struck out nine and allowed just one earned run. Stuart continues to lower his season ERA, which now sits at 3.61.

High-A Brooklyn

The Brooklyn Cyclones defeated the Hudson Valley Renegades, 4-2, in a six-game series this week. Brooklyn won the first two games by a score of 10-2 before dropping the third game of the series 16-3, and then won the next two games of the series by a combined score of 14-4 before dropping the final game, 4-2. Brooklyn is now 24-21 and in third place in the South Atlantic League North division.

Nick Lorusso has quietly been one of the best hitters in the Mets system this year, and he added on to his reputation by going 7-for-14 with three home runs, a triple, and having a 2:1 BB/K ratio. His OPS on the week was a whopping 1.874, and on the season it’s now .938.

Stanley Consuegra also had a fantastic week at the plate. He only recorded three hits, but two of them were home runs and he also added four walks. His OPS on the week sits above 1.000, but on the season it’s a much lower .682.

WhileWilliam Lugo also struggled from a contact perspective, he recorded six walks in six games to give him an .846 OPS on the week. On the season, that number has raised to .599.

Felipe De La Cruz had a phenomenal start this week, throwing six shutout innings and striking out 13 in a thoroughly dominating performance. He allowed just two hits and a walk in the outing. De La Cruz now has a 50:16 K:BB ratio this year and has dropped his ERA to 2.68.

Jonah Tong has also settled in nicely in Brooklyn, as he made two starts and struck out 11 in 8 2/3 innings. He gave up just one earned run, and actually raised his ERA on the season to 0.90.

Kade Morris (6 IP, 1 ER, 7 K) andDouglas Orellana (4 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 5 K) were two other pitchers who looked comfortable this week for Binghamton. For Morris, it was a successful first start in Double-A this year, while Orellana now has a 1.06 ERA on the year.

Low-A St. Lucie

The St. Lucie Mets continue to be dreadful this year, and that showed up in a 5-1 series loss this week to the Clearwater Threshers. St. Lucie won the first game of the series by one run before dropping the next five in a row by a combined score of 44-19. The team continues to be in dead last in the Florida State League East division at 14-31.

Willy Fanas had a productive first week in Low-A ball after starting the year in the FCL. In four games, he recorded six hits including a triple and a home run, and he also tacked on two RBIs. His OPS through those four games is 1.036.

The only other productive batter for the week who played in the majority of games was Colin Houck, who had five hits including three doubles in four games played. Houck has struggled mightily, and his season OPS is now .557.

As the performance of the team suggests, there were very few pitching performances to sing home about either.Ryan Ammons andAndinson Ferrer each had over three scoreless innings out of the bullpen this week, while pretty much the entire rotation struggled to put together positive performances.

Florida Complex League Mets

The FCL Mets went 3-1 this past week, putting their season record at 9-6. The team is currently sitting in second place in the Florida Complex League East division.

The most productive FCL Mets hitters this past week wereJulio Zayas(1.271 OPS) andYonatan Henriquez (1.018 OPS).A.J. Ewing (.651 OPS) andJeremy Rodriguez (.737 OPS) also added home runs.

The best pitching performances this week came fromYoljeldriz Diaz(5 1/3 IP, ER, 8 K),Jesus Palacios (5 1/3 IP, ER, 8 K), Rafael Gonzalez (4 1/3 IP, ER, 8 K),Hansel Rosario (6 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 8 K), andTrevor Harrison (5 IP, 0 ER, 7 K). The FCL team continues to get production from a handful of different players, leading to their strong start to the season so far.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

AVG –Nick Morabito(STL/BRK) – .356

OPS –Ben Gamel (SYR) – .962

HR –Trayce Thompson (SYR) – 13

SB –Omar De Los Santos (BRK) – 25

Pitching

(Among Qualified Players)

ERA – Jonah Tong (STL/BRK) – 0.90

SO – Jonah Tong (STL/BRK) – 62

WHIP – Jonah Tong (STL/BRK) – 0.95

Players of the Week

Offense – Nick Lorusso, 1B/3B Brooklyn

The players of the week are a pair of Cyclones who are well beyond deserving. Nick Lorusso continues to hit at an extremely high level and has been one of the more under-the-radar Mets prospects because of that. His .938 OPS proves that he’s been Brooklyn’s best hitter this year, and it might not be before long that the 23-year-old is in Binghamton.

Pitching – Felipe De La Cruz, P Brooklyn

This one was more of a no-brainer, as no pitcher was as dominant as De La Cruz was this week. A six-inning, 13-strikeout appearance while allowing just three baserunners is an amazing feat. De La Cruz has been another under-the-radar player in the Mets minor leagues this year, but his pitching so far this season and as of late is certainly putting his name out there more.

Upcoming Schedule – May 28 – June 2

Triple-A Syracuse: vs. Buffalo

Double-A Binghamton: vs. Harrisburg

High-A Brooklyn: @ Jersey Shore

Low-A St. Lucie: @ Dunedin