Mets Minors Weekly Report: Trayce Thompson Mashes Six Homers

The past week in the Mets minor leagues was a disappointing one for everyone except the Syracuse Mets. Syracuse was the only affiliate to win their series, and it was in large part because of Trayce Thompson hitting a flurry of home runs (six to be exact).

Although the other affiliates lost their series, there were plenty of promising pitching performances in the lower minors, and Kade Morris and his seven scoreless innings in St. Lucie stand out the most.

For more individual and team performances from this past week, let’s dive into the Mets Minors Weekly Report.

Triple-A Syracuse

The Syracuse Mets had a fantastic week against the Iowa Cubs, defeating them in five games of the six-game series. Despite the lopsided results, it was a closer series than it seems, with four of Iowa’s five losses coming in one- or two-run games. Syracuse is now 12-5 in the month of May and 27-16 overall, good for second place in the International League East division,

By far the best week of any Mets minor leaguer belongs to Trayce Thompson, who played at a ridiculous level against the Cubs. In six games, Thompson went 9-for-22 with six home runs, nine RBIs, nine runs, and two stolen bases. In those six games, he slugged 1.273 and had an OPS of 1.731. His OPS for the full season is now .901.

Mike Brosseau also played in all six games and eclipsed a 1.000 OPS for the week. His week was highlighted by a three-home run game, which helped him slug 1.063 for the week. On the year, his OPS is .987.

Rylan Bannon continues to be excellent for Syracuse, and he performed to the tune of a .988 OPS against Iowa to raise his season number to .887. In six games, he recorded seven hits including two doubles and a home run. He also stole two bases as well.

Despite the fantastic week from Syracuse, the starting pitchers didn’t have particularly notable performances. The best one came from David Peterson, who allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings pitched in a rehab start.

Mike Vasil was also close to a quality start, as he allowed three earned runs in five innings. Vasil continues to look better than earlier in the year, but he still has an 8.49 ERA.

Double-A Binghamton

The Rumble Ponies had been on a roll in May, sporting an 8-3 record on the month before their series with the Bowie Baysox. Binghamton’s roll was halted as they dropped four games of the six-game set. Still, Binghamton holds a share of first place in the Eastern League Northeast division with a 20-17 record.

It was a very poor offensive week for Binghamton, whose best batter in the series was Jaylen Palmer. He only had nine at-bats. He did club a home run, though, as he is just getting his season underway after missing the early portion of it due to injury.

Rhylan Thomas had a pretty good week, recording six hits including two doubles in five games. Thomas was rewarded during the week with a promotion to Triple-A Syracuse, so Binghamton’s scuffling offense loses one of its most productive bats.

On the other hand, Binghamton’s pitchers were fantastic this week. Arguably the best performance came from Brandon Sproat in his Double-A debut. Sproat threw five scoreless innings and allowed just three hits while striking out six. His season ERA is now a fantastic 0.89.

Blade Tidwell also had a really impressive start, and, like Thomas, was rewarded with a promotion to Triple-A. In his final start for Binghamton, Tidwell threw six innings of one-run ball, allowing four hits and striking out six batters. He has a 2.41 ERA on the year.

Tyler Stuart put together one of his better starts of the year with seven innings of three-run ball. He also struck out nine batters. Stuart trails only Tidwell in strikeouts on the season for Binghamton, and he has a 3.86 ERA.

David Peterson and Joander Suarez also pitched well for Binghamton this week, while reliever Wilkin Ramos extended his scoreless streak to start the year to 14 innings.

High-A Brooklyn

Brooklyn had a poor week against the Bowling Green Hot Rods, dropping the first four games of the series before salvaging the final two games. Two of Brooklyn’s losses were by one run, but they did also suffer a couple of blowouts. Because of their underperforming week, the Cyclones are tied for last place in the South Atlantic League North division, even with a winning record at 20-19.

Junior Tilien was one of the Cyclones’ best batters this week. He played in all six games and slashed .316/.440/.632/1.072 with a home run, four RBIs, and four runs. He also added four walks. Tilien has not been good at all this year, as he now holds just a .601 OPS.

The same can be said for Stanley Consuegra, who possesses a .639 OPS after a week in which he recorded a 1.103 OPS. He knocked two home runs and two doubles and also scored four runs.

Nolan McLean only went 1-for-10 at the plate this week, but his one hit was a home run. He also walked three times. McLean, who has been fantastic as a two-way player, was called up to Double-A Binghamton this past week where he will continue to pitch as well as bat.

McLean fared better on the mound this past week, as he tossed four scoreless innings in which he struck out nine. That brought his season ERA down to 2.57, and he also has an impressive 36 strikeouts in 28 innings.

Douglas Orellana and Felipe De La Cruz had very similar outings this past week as they both allowed one run in five innings pitched. Both pitchers have been great this year, but Orellana has really stood out with a 1.23 ERA. De La Cruz currently has a 3.15 ERA.

Low-A St. Lucie

The beginning of the year has been a disaster for St. Lucie, who currently has a 13-26 record. That standing was worsened by a week in which the team lost five of six to the Palm Beach Cardinals. St. Lucie was outscored 45-25 in the six games, allowing nine runs per game, and they currently sit in dead last in the Florida State League East division.

Ronald Hernandez started the season off slowly, but he looks like he’s finally getting his swing back. In five games played, Hernandez recorded 10 hits and seven RBIs. That gave him a 1.274 OPS on the week which raised his season number to .728.

Jesus Baez continues to be one of St. Lucie’s most consistent hitters, as he went 6-for-23 with a double and a home run this past week. He also walked four times. His performance for the week raised his season OPS to .805.

Kade Morris made far and away the best pitching performance of the week for St. Lucie and, arguably, for all of the Mets’ minor league affiliates. He threw seven shutout innings and allowed five hits and no walks while striking out six. Morris lowered his season ERA to 3.63 and was also rewarded with a promotion to High-A Binghamton.

Florida Complex League Mets

The FCL Mets went 3-2 this past week, improving their season record to 6-5. They currently sit in third place in the Florida Complex League East division.

Two of the top hitters on the week for the Mets were Jeremy Rodriguez and Willy Fanas. Rodriguez went 7-for-19 with three RBIs, three walks, and a stolen base. His OPS on the week was .823 and his season OPS is .948. Given how aggressive the Mets have been with their prospects, he could reach St. Lucie sometime this summer.

Fanas went 4-for-13 with three doubles, also recording two RBIs and three walks. Fanas’ season OPS is now .909.

The best pitching performance of the week came from Jeremy Peguero, who pitched four innings of relief and struck out eight batters. He didn’t allow a hit and walked just two. His ERA on the season is now 1.29

Organizational Leaders

Batting

AVG – Nick Morabito (STL/BRK) – .383

OPS – Nick Morabito (STL/BRK) – .997

HR – Trayce Thompson (SYR) – 13

SB – Omar De Los Santos (BRK) – 25

Pitching

(Among Qualified Players)

ERA – Jonah Tong (STL/BRK) – 0.86

SO – Jonah Tong (STL/BRK) – 51

WHIP – Joander Suarez (BNG) – 0.93

Players of the Week

Offense – Trayce Thompson, OF Syracuse

For what seems like the first time this season, there’s an offensive player of the week with little to no competition. Trayce Thompson absolutely destroyed baseballs this week, recording six home runs in six games. Thompson started the season off pretty slow, but his current .901 OPS indicates that he’s been turning it on as of late, and this previous week was the apex of that.

Thompson is a quality depth piece to have in case of an injury at the major league level. At the very least, you know he can hit the ball and he can hit it far. Unless an injury arises, expect Thompson to continue mashing at the Triple-A level.

Pitching – Kade Morris, P St. Lucie

Kade Morris had a phenomenal start this past week of seven shutout innings. The 2023 third rounder was in a rut where he pitched poorly and recorded the loss three starts in a row, but he broke out of that rut emphatically.

Morris delivered his best start of the season and his third scoreless outing overall. He will now head to Binghamton where the Mets hope he can build off of this start and keep the momentum going.

Upcoming Schedule – May 21-26

Triple-A Syracuse: @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

Double-A Binghamton: @ Reading

High-A Brooklyn: vs. Hudson Valley

Low-A St. Lucie: vs. Clearwater

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