Minors Weekly Report: Nolan McLean Named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week

Another affiliate’s season has come to an end, with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies finishing 2024 on a high note. Not only did they win their series, but they received exemplary performances from Nolan McLean, who was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week, and Ryan Clifford, whose OPS for the week was over 1.200.

Syracuse is now the lone affiliate whose season is still ongoing, and they have just one week remaining. It’s been a struggle for the Mets, who lost their most recent series and now own the worst record in the International League East over the second half of the season.

Triple-A

The Syracuse Mets lost their penultimate series of the season, dropping five of seven games to the Worcester Red Sox. Syracuse’s two wins, however, were utterly dominant as they won 11-0 on Friday before topping that with a 19-3 victory Saturday. With six games remaining, the Syracuse Mets are 28-41 in the second half and 74-69 overall.

José Azocar led the Mets with seven hits in the seven-game series, going 7-for-23—all singles. Still, he scored five runs and drove in three while walking once and stealing two bases. In his brief tenure with Syracuse, Azocar owns a .300 batting average but a .677 OPS. In total, he has a .721 OPS in Triple-A this year.

Yolmer Sánchez followed Azocar with six hits, going 6-for-20 with two doubles, a triple, and a home run. Sánchez also scored five runs, drove in six, walked three times, and stole a base. Sánchez owns a .720 OPS in 106 games for Syracuse this year.

Carlos Cortes did not hit much, going 4-for-23 in the series, but two of his hits were home runs which led the team. Cortes now has an .806 OPS on the year, and he has been red hot lately. Six of his 15 total home runs have come in the last 14 games, and he owns a .930 OPS in that time span.

Blade Tidwell pitched well in the final game, going five scoreless innings, but not before he allowed six runs in four innings earlier in the series. That gave him a 6.00 ERA for the week, which actually lowered his Triple-A ERA to 6.15.

Dom Hamel also had an outing of five scoreless innings, striking out four in the effort. Hamel has actually been worse than Tidwell this year, still owning an abysmal 6.92 ERA.

Jonathan Pintaro shined in his Triple-A debut, throwing four scoreless innings and striking out six. Between High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A this year, Pintaro owns a 2.68 ERA in 17 appearances.

Eric Orze, Max Kranick, and Matt Gage each tossed three scoreless innings, with Orze striking out seven and looking the most impressive out of the group. Orze now possesses a 2.95 Triple-A ERA, while Kranick owns a 3.60 ERA and Gage owns a 3.86 ERA in Syracuse.

Double-A

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies finished their season with a series win over the Portland Sea Dogs, taking four of the six games in the series. That means Binghamton ends the year with a 34-35 second-half record, finishing 69-67 overall. The team did not make the postseason after contending for the Eastern League championship a year ago.

Ryan Clifford had a phenomenal week to end his season, going 7-for-23 with five walks, three doubles, two homers, and eight RBIs. It’s been an up-and-down year for Clifford, but he’s been mostly magnificent since his promotion to Binghamton. He ends the year with 18 home runs, 58 RBIs, and an .815 OPS in 98 games with the Rumble Ponies.

Kevin Parada also had a great final week of what was an otherwise disappointing season. The former first-rounder went 6-for-18 with a team-leading three home runs for the week. Parada ends the year with a .663 OPS, but an .837 OPS in his final 12 games.

Jeremiah Jackson finished his year with a solid series, going 7-for-23 with two doubles and a home run. Despite ending the year with a team-leading 19 home runs and 61 RBIs, Jackson was not a very strong hitter, owning a .618 OPS with 123 strikeouts to 23 walks.

Nolan McLean was fantastic in his final start of the year on his way to earning Eastern League Pitcher of the Week honors. He tossed six scoreless innings and struck out six in his effort, lowering his Double-A ERA to 4.19. McLean looked increasingly better as the season went on, earning a 2.35 ERA in his final six starts.

Luis Moreno also looked great, too, tossing eight innings across two starts and giving up just one unearned run. Moreno struck out seven and lowered his season ERA to 4.27.

Jordany Ventura, TJ Shook, and Joshua Cornielly all shined out of the bullpen. Ventura tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings while Shook and Cornielly both threw three scoreless innings. Shook’s outings were especially impressive, as he allowed just one hit and struck out six. Ventura finishes the season with a 0.00 ERA in five Binghamton appearances and a 2.96 ERA overall. Shook finishes 2024 with a 3.92 ERA and Cornielly with a 1.13 ERA as Rumble Ponies.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

(Among Qualified Players)

AVG – Nick Morabito (STL/BRK) – .312

OPS – Luke Ritter (SYR) – .867

HR – Luke Ritter (SYR) – 26

SB – Nick Morabito (STL/BRK) – 59

Pitching

(Among Qualified Players)

ERA – Jonah Tong (STL/BRK/BNG) – 3.03

SO – Jonah Tong (STL/BRK/BNG) – 160

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

Players of the Week

Offense – Ryan Clifford, 1B/OF Binghamton

As soon as Ryan Clifford was promoted to the Binghamton Mets, he automatically became the best offensive player on the team. Clifford’s eye discipline and power will be the reason he becomes a major leaguer sooner than later, and he demonstrated both of those abilities with ease this past week. Still just 21 years old, the sky is the limit for Clifford in 2025.

Pitching – Nolan McLean, P Binghamton

Nolan McLean has taken massive strides since he started to focus solely on pitching. He struggled earlier in the year when he was first promoted, but McLean ends the season on the highest of notes with six scoreless innings. McLean is 23 years old and should figure to be an important pitching prospect for the Mets in 2025.

Upcoming Schedule – September 17-22

Triple-A Syracuse: vs. Charlotte

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