Minors Weekly Report: Jonah Tong Near Perfect in Binghamton Debut

This past week marked the end of the season for the Brooklyn Cyclones and St. Lucie Mets. While both teams missed out on postseason play, Brooklyn finished the year at .500 while St. Lucie had a much rougher go of it.

The season continues for Syracuse and Binghamton, who both lost their series this past week. Binghamton’s series loss was at no fault of Jonah Tong, who didn’t allow a hit or a walk in six innings in his Double-A debut.

Triple-A

The Syracuse Mets’ second-half freefall continued in their series against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, as they dropped five of six games including an unbelievable 19-0 loss on Saturday. In the six games, Syracuse allowed 60 runs for an average of 10 allowed per game while scoring 32 runs of their own. The Mets are now 26-36 in the second half of the season and 72-64 overall.

Despite getting embarrassed in this series, Syracuse still had some positive individual performances at the plate. Luke Ritter was phenomenal, going 8-for-21 with two doubles, a home run, five walks, and a stolen base. Ritter’s home run was his 26th of the year, and he also extended his International League RBI lead by recording four to give him 88 on the year. His OPS as the season comes to an end sits at .881.

Carlos Cortes led the team with three home runs in the series, with four of his seven hits going for extra bases. Cortes also stole a base and drove in four runs, while also leading the team with five runs scored. The 27-year-old owns an .814 OPS on the season.

JT Schwartz recorded four hits in the series including a double and a home run. He also walked three times and stole a base in what was one of his better weeks in Syracuse. The first baseman owns a .637 OPS with the Mets and a .766 OPS on the entire season between Binghamton and Syracuse.

Many of Syracuse’s regular starters struggled mightily in this series, with the one positive start coming from Paul Blackburn on a rehab assignment. He tossed 6.2 innings of one-run ball, striking out six in the process. It was expected to be Blackburn’s first and only rehab start before getting called back up to the majors, but he did not make his expected start in Toronto on Monday night.

The other starts of the week, all of which were not good whatsoever, came from Dom Hamel (4.1 IP, 9 ER), Mike Vasil (3.1 IP, 7 ER), Brandon Sproat (4 IP, 5 ER), Joander Suarez (5 IP, 8 ER), and Blade Tidwell (1.2 IP, 7 ER).

Shintaro Fujinami shined out of the bullpen, striking out four in 3 2/3 perfect innings. Fujinami, who was so wild and inconsistent earlier in the year, has been untouchable lately. The flamethrower has not allowed a run in his last eight appearances, striking out 15 and walking two over 11 2/3 innings in that span. Perhaps even more impressive is his slash line against during this span of .027/.100/.027/.127. He could be a late-season call up for the Mets if they need bullpen help.

Justin Jarvis also looked solid out of the bullpen, allowing two runs over 5.1 innings across two appearances. The righty, who was acquired a year ago for Mark Canha, has a 5.40 ERA in 16 appearances in Triple-A, but a 4.15 ERA overall between Binghamton and Syracuse.

Double-A

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies and Somerset Patriots played a seven-game set as the two teams made up a previously postponed game. It was a rough series for Binghamton, as they dropped five of the seven games and were outscored 32-20, averaging under three runs per game. Binghamton is now 30-33 in the second half of the season and an even 65-65 overall.

Depite the lack of offense, two players stood out:

• Jaylen Palmer played both corner infield positions and center field while going 6-for-17 with two doubles and two home runs. With his effort, Palmer increased his season OPS to .763.
• Jeremiah Jackson also had a good series, matching Palmer with two home runs of his own. Jackson now has 18 home runs on the year, tied for second in the Eastern League. He also stole two bases against Somerset to give him 11 on the year. While he’s shown off decent power this year, it’s been a struggle otherwise for Jackson who has a .608 OPS.

Jonah Tong was untouchable—literally—in his Double-A debut. He would have tossed six perfect innings if not for a throwing error. Instead, he’ll have to settle for six hitless innings with no walks and nine strikeouts. Tong, who started the year in Low-A, has raised his stock about as much as anyone this season. Between St. Lucie, Brooklyn, and Binghamton, he owns a 2.87 ERA with an incredible 12.7 SO/9.

Jonathan Pintaro also tossed six scoreless innings, though he did give up two hits, a walk, and a hit batsman. Pintaro struck out seven in the effort as he continues to just shine in the Mets organization. He has a 3.18 ERA in seven starts in Binghamton and a 2.83 ERA overall. Pretty good for a guy who was in independent ball as recently as this year.

Nolan McLean also continues to get better and better. The former two-way player allowed one run in five innings of work, striking out five. McLean now owns a 4.52 ERA in Binghamton and a 3.99 ERA overall on the year. He’s allowed one run or fewer in four of his last five outings.

Cam Robinson and Wilkin Ramos were incredible out of the bullpen for the Rumble Ponies. Robinson struck out seven in three scoreless innings, though he did allow an unearned run. Meanwhile, Ramos struck out five in four scoreless innings. Robinson owns a 3.29 ERA in 27 appearances, while Ramos has a 1.71 ERA in 22 appearances with Binghamton this year.

High-A

The Brooklyn Cyclones finished their season with a series against the Wilmington Blue Rocks, taking the series by winning four of six games. It was a disappointing year for the Cyclones, who finished 32-34 in the second half and 65-67 overall. They were the fifth-place team out of six teams in the South Atlantic League North division.

Christopher Suero finished his season on a high note, going 8-for-19 with a double, two home runs, five RBIs, a walk, and two stolen bases. The 20-year-old played catcher, first base, and left field in the series. In 87 games with Brooklyn, he owned a .703 OPS but had a .730 OPS overall between St. Lucie and Brooklyn.

Boston Baro was tied for the team lead with four extra-base hits, three of which came in the series finale. Baro went 7-for-24 with three doubles, a triple, four RBIs, three walks, and a stolen base. Despite the strong finish, Baro recorded a .604 OPS in 11 games with Brooklyn, but he had a .767 OPS in 84 games for most of the season in St. Lucie.

Nick Morabito matched Baro with three doubles and a triple, though he walked just twice and didn’t record an RBI or a stolen base. Morabito finished with the most for a player in a season with the Brooklyn Cyclones, an amazing feat considering he spent 24 games early in the year with St. Lucie. Morabito finishes the year with a .747 OPS in Brooklyn and an .801 OPS overall.

Jefrey De Los Santos also had a notable week, going 5-for-14 with two doubles, three RBIs, and a walk. De Los Santos finished on a strong note despite ending the season with a .613 OPS.

Jack Wenninger was absolutely phenomenal in his start, striking out 10 and allowing just one run on one hit and two walks in six innings. The 2023 sixth-round pick ends the year with a 3.12 ERA in 10 appearances with Brooklyn, though a rough stint in St. Lucie earlier in the year has his overall ERA at 4.30.

Saul Garcia tossed five scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and a walk while striking out seven. It was his first start for Brooklyn after recording a measly 5.43 ERA in 23 appearances with St. Lucie.

Gregori Louis continued his phenomenal season out of the bullpen, tossing 2.2 hitless innings with five strikeouts. The 21-year-old was didn’t allow a single home run in 54.1 innings across 28 appearances between the FCL, Low-A, and High-A. His ERA in Brooklyn across six appearances was 1.08 and his overall ERA in his 28 appearances was 1.33.

Low-A

The St. Lucie Mets also finished their season this week, and they dropped three games of a rain-shortened five-game series. The Mets end their season with a 23-40 record in the second half and a 45-84 record overall.

There was very little to be excited about on the offensive side of things this week, as the team didn’t record a single home run. Carson Benge played in four games, going 3-for-14 with two doubles and three walks while striking out just once. Benge lowered his OPS to .856 through 15 games in his first taste of pro ball.

Corey Collins only had two hits in 11 at-bats, both singles, but he did walk six times. Collins owns an .805 OPS with more walks than strikeouts in nine games.

Nick Roselli led the team with four hits, going 4-for-16 with two doubles, two RBIs, two walks, and a stolen base. Roselli ends the year with an .869 OPS.

Eli Serrano III only recorded nine at-bats, but he went 3-for-9 with a triple, also walking once. He ends with a .777 OPS.

Christian Rodriguez was St. Lucie’s most impressive pitcher, tossing four scoreless innings and recording a save in his lone appearance of the week. That lowered the 19-year-old’s ERA to 1.69 through four games in St. Lucie, and he owns a 3.16 ERA overall in 17 appearances between rookie ball and Low-A.

Irving Cota, who also started the year in rookie ball, threw three perfect innings without striking anyone out. The 20-year-old owns a 2.08 ERA in seven appearances with St. Lucie and a 2.96 ERA in 17 appearances overall.

The St. Lucie season can be put to rest.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

(Among Qualified Players)

AVG – Nick Morabito (STL/BRK) – .312

OPS – Luke Ritter (SYR) – .881

HR – Luke Ritter (SYR) – 26

SB – Nick Morabito (STL/BRK) – 59

Pitching

(Among Qualified Players)

ERA – Jonah Tong (STL/BRK/BNG) – 2.87

SO – Jonah Tong (STL/BRK/BNG) – 155

WHIP – Brandon Sproat (BRK/BNG/SYR) – 1.08

Players of the Week

Offense – Luke Ritter, IF/OF Syracuse

Luke Ritter has been about as good as you can be for the Syracuse Mets this year. He continued his excellence this past week with three more extra-base hits including his 26th home run of the year. He leads the entire International League in RBIs. The 27-year-old arguably should have been called up by the Mets by now, especially with the rosters expanded in September, but as long as he remains in Syracuse, he’ll continue to keep mashing.

Pitching – Jonah Tong, P Binghamton

Naturally, Jonah Tong is the Mets minor league pitcher of the week after being named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week in his Binghamton Rumble Ponies debut. Tong was sensational through six near-perfect innings, the only baserunner allowed not by his own volition. Like all pitchers do, Tong has experienced ebbs and flows this year, but his flows have been minor and his ebbs have been otherworldly.

The 21-year-old was a seventh-round pick in 2022 and has outperformed that draft slot by a mile. Tong is currently ranked as MMO’s no. 7 prospect in the system.

Upcoming Schedule – September 10-15

• Triple-A Syracuse: @ Worcester
• Double-A Binghamton: @ Portland

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