Mets Minors Recap: Vientos Crushes 17th Homer Of Season
Mark Vientos, Photo by Richard Nelson
With the Mets’ lack of production at designated hitter, Mark Vientos‘ name has frequently been thrown out as a possible internal option for the position. He reinforced claims that he is ready for the next level by crushing a long home run to dead center on Sunday afternoon. It was his 17th home run of the season, a total which places him in the top 10 of the International League.
AAA: Worcester Red Sox (48-45) 10, Syracuse Mets (42-51) 8 Box Score
- Mark Vientos DH: 1-for-5, R, HR, RBI, 2 K, .261/.341/.510
- Nic Gaddis C: 2-for-2, 2 R, 2 2B, 3 BB, 1.000/1.000/2.000
- Nick Plummer RF: 1-for-4, R, 3 RBI, BB, K, .222/.301/.392
The Mets jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the second inning of Sunday’s game on the strength of Plummer’s three RBIs in his first two at bats and Vientos’ 17th home run of the season, but the offense bogged down after that. With that home run, Vientos entered the top 10 in the International League in home runs (he’s in a six-way tie for seventh inning the league). Gaddis made the big – and likely temporary – jump from High-A Brooklyn to Triple-A and managed to put together his best game of the season in his debut at the level. For only the second time in his career, Gaddis reached base five times in a single game, and his two hits both went for extra bases.
Mark Vientos has a three-run homer for Triple-A Syracuse today.
His 17th of the season.
— Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) July 24, 2022
- LHP Thomas Szapucki (2-6, 3.48 ERA) 3.0 IP, 3 H, ER, 3 BB, 4 K
- LHP Locke St. John (1-2, 3.81 ERA) 2.0 IP, 2 BB, 2 K
- LHP Alex Claudio (L, 2-2, 4.33 ERA) 0.2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, BB
Szapucki was very wild in Sunday’s start and was pulled from the game after throwing 59 pitches in just three innings. He threw 31 pitches in that third inning, which is likely the reason for the quick hook. It was his shortest start since his ill-fated major league start at the end of May. St. John has not allowed a run in 5 2/3 July innings.
AA: Hartford Yard Goats (56-33) 10, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (33-56) 6 Box Score
- Brett Baty 3B: 2-for-5, R, 2B, K, .292/.387/.491
- Ronny Mauricio SS: 1-for-4, RBI, BB, K, .247/.282/.468
- Zach Ashford CF: 2-for-5, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, K, .252/.324/.385
With 12 hits and seven walks, the Rumble Ponies had tons of opportunities to score in this game. Although they capitalized some of the time, their 5-for-19 performance with runners in scoring position and eleven men left on base indicate that they let plenty of those opportunities go to waste as well. Baty continues to show that he has little left to prove in Double-A: he extended his hitting streak to eight games and is hitting .329/.405/.614 in July. Over the last month, Baty is sixth in the Eastern League in OPS. After showing slightly better plate discipline in June, this was just Mauricio’s second walk so far in July. Ashford extended his own hitting streak to six games and is hitting .350/.394/.550 in July.
- RHP Jose Butto (6-5, 3.76 ERA) 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 2 HBP
- RHP Trevor May (0-0, 0.00 ERA) 1.0 IP, H, K
- RHP Grant Hartwig (0-0, 0.00 ERA) 1.0 IP, 2 K
Butto struggled with control on Sunday, as he threw just over half his pitches for strikes (42 of 77 pitches) and was removed after the fourth inning because of his high pitch count. May came into the game in his relief and gave up just one hit in his first rehab appearance since going on the injured list in early May. Hartwig has tossed five scoreless innings to begin his Double-A career and has not given up a run since June 15.
A+: Brooklyn Cyclones (44-46) 6, Jersey Shore BlueClaws (31-58) 4 Box Score
- Alex Ramirez RF: 2-for-3, R, BB, HBP, 2 CS, .298/.355/.509
- Joe Suozzi DH; 3-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, HBP, .217/.318/.375
- Gregory Guerrero 2B: 1-for-2, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB, .500/.750/1.000
The Cyclones’ seven hits and five walks do not initially jump off the page as an exceptional offensive performance, but the Cyclones did channel the energy of the major league team by getting hit by five pitches during the game. Ramirez continues to break out at his new level, and he now has multiple hits in each of his last five games. Most impressively, Ramirez has actually decreased his strikeouts by a considerable margin in High-A: he is striking out just 19.2% of the time with Brooklyn. If there’s one complaint you can have about Ramirez, it would be his baserunning, as he is just 2-for-6 in stolen base attempts since his promotion. Guerrero reached base four times in his High-A debut.
- LHP Nick Zwack (W, 5-1, 1.52 ERA) 5.0 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 7 K
- RHP Brendan Hardy (1-0, 3.94 ERA) 1.0 IP, 2 BB, 2 K, HBP
- RHP Sammy Tavarez (2-0, 2.84 ERA) 0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, K
Zwack has been the best pitcher in the Mets organization this season by a considerable margin, and he continued his dominance on Sunday afternoon. Since allowing eight runs over his first two appearances of the season, Zwack has made 15 appearances (14 starts) and has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of them. His peripheral stats have been equally impressive, as he has a 5.7 K:BB ratio this year and has given up just three home runs in 72 innings pitched. Tavarez has struck out 13.5 batters per nine innings this season. This was his first appearance in which he allowed more than one run this season.
A: St. Lucie Mets (52-37) 8, Jupiter Hammerheads (46-42) 3 Box Score
- Warren Saunders 1B: 3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, K, .310/.383/.500
- William Lugo 3B: 1-for-3, 2 BB, .255/.348/.395
- Justin Guerrera DH: 1-for-4, R, HR, 3 RBI, 2 K, .202/.306/.352
The Mets were held without a run for the first three innings of Sunday’s game, but Guerrera gave them a three-run lead that they would not surrender with one swing of the bat. That home run was just Guerrera’s eighth of the season, and hitting for power is one of the things he has done consistently well this season. Two of Saunders’ three hits were left the bat with an exit velocity of over 105 MPH.
- RHP Tony Dibrell (0-0, 0.00 ERA) 2.0 IP, H, 3 K
- LHP Keyshawn Askew (W, 3-0, 2.21 ERA) 3.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
- LHP Daniel Juarez (2-1, 2.35 ERA) 1.0 IP, 2 K
Dibrell was almost perfect in his third rehab start – and his first in nearly three weeks – in his return from Tommy John surgery. His fastball averaged 91.7 MPH and topped out at 92.7 MPH, which only a bit below where he sat prior to his surgery. He mixed in his three secondary pitches and recorded whiffs on 66% of the swings against his secondary pitches. Askew was quite wild in his three innings of work (he threw just 27 of 50 pitches for strikes), but he did manage to have a 50% whiff rate on his slider. He has a 12.39 K/9 for the season.
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