Mets Minors Weekly Report: Jose Butto, Nick Zwack Dominate

Jose Butto held the Portland Sea Dogs to a run over seven innings while Nick Zwack shut out the Daytona Tortugas over six. Here’s a closer look at their performances and other standouts throughout the Mets’ system this week.

Triple-A Syracuse

Syracuse took five of seven from the Buffalo Bison as they improve to 37-47 on the year.

It was an unlikely power source in Gosuke Katoh who lead the Mets this week. The 27-year-old infielder went 8-for-20 in the series with three home runs, two doubles, and six RBIs. Katoh is now slashing .224/.347/.459 in 85 at-bats this season and .382/.462/.912 since the start of July.

#Mets infielder Gosuke Katoh has been named the International League Player of the Week.

In 7 games with Syracuse, he hit .435 (10-23) with 3 doubles, 4 homers and 8 RBI. pic.twitter.com/OTZpYeQpFr

— Jacob Resnick (@Jacob_Resnick) July 11, 2022

Travis Blankenhorn kept up his hot streak as well going 4-for-10 with two home runs.

Mark Vientos had six hits, including a home run, in 20 at-bats though he struck out eight times. Francisco Álvarez had just one hit–a double–in 13 at-bats in his Triple-A debut week.

Tim Adleman earned the win in Thursday’s start allowing two runs on four hits over five innings while striking out six. Connor Grey also struck out six over five innings, allowing just a run on three hits and three walks.

Yoan Lopez had an impressive series out of the bullpen issuing just a walk and a hit over four innings while picking up six strikeouts.

Double-A Binghamton

It was a rough week in Binghamton as the Rumble Ponies were swept by the Portland Sea Dogs in six games.

Zach Ashford provided a silver lining in the series as we went 8-for-18 with a double. Ashford, a sixth-round pick in 2019, has been on fire so far in July slashing .379/.406/.586 with a home run and three doubles in 29 at-bats.

Luke Ritter also had a strong week, going 6-for-19 with a double, triple, and home run. Brett Baty, Brandon McIlwain, and Wyatt Young also add a home run apiece in the series.

.@baty_brett goes oppo!

Baty launched his 11th homer of the season last night for @RumbleponiesBB. pic.twitter.com/vu1So8R8I6

— Mets Farm Report (@MetsFarmReport) July 9, 2022

The Rumble Ponies got a couple of solid starting pitching performances despite allowing 60 runs in the series. Jose Butto pitched seven innings allowing just a run on three hits and a walk while striking out eight, lowering his ERA to 3.95. Jose Chacin also went seven innings and allowed two runs on four hits with eight strikeouts.

The rest of the Binghamton pitching staff did not fare as well. Most notable was Alec Kisena, who allowed seven runs on five hits (two home runs) and two walks while only recording a single out.

High-A Brooklyn

The Cyclones dropped four of six to the Aberdeen IronBirds as they fall to 37-44 on the year.

Nic Gaddis highlighted Brooklyn’s offense going 7-for-19 with two doubles and two home runs. The 25-year-0ld third baseman is batting .290/.421/.548 through 31 at-bats in June.

Nic Gaddis hits his third home run in his last 9 games to get Brooklyn within two.

It's 4-2 as we head to the 9th on Coney Island. #amazinstartshere pic.twitter.com/62PiENQA7w

— Brooklyn Cyclones (@BKCyclones) July 9, 2022

Alex Ramirez also had an encouraging series as he had five hits, including three doubles and a triple, in 19 at-bats. The 19-year-old outfielder is now 5-for-24 to start his tenure in Brooklyn after he slashed .284/.359/.443 in St. Lucie.

Alex Ramirez with a double off the left field wall in the bottom of the first – the @TDBank_US Double of the Game – and the Cyclones are in business early on.

P.S – he looks pretty good in orange and blue.#amazinstartshere pic.twitter.com/I258JEy4JR

— Brooklyn Cyclones (@BKCyclones) July 9, 2022

Nick Zwack earned the lone win amongst Cyclone’s starters thanks to another dominant outing. The 23-year-old southpaw allowed just two hits and a walk over six scoreless innings while punching out 10. Zwack has now gone 23 innings without allowing a run. His ERA improves to a sparkling 1.37 with a 0.85 WHIP and 9.78 K/9.

Low-A St. Lucie

The St. Lucie Mets took four of six from the Daytona Tortugas improving to 48-32 on the year (with some help from a Jacob deGrom rehab appearance).

Raul Beracierta had a huge week, going 8-for-14 with two home runs and a double. The 23-year-old Beracierta is now slashing .393/.433/.786 with three home runs in July to improve his overall line to .295/.354/.452. Omar De Los Santos also added a home run and three stolen bases in the series. He leads the Mets’ organization and the Florida State League with 47 stolen bases while slashing .272/.338/.481 with 10 home runs.

Jeffrey Colon earned a win on the mound, holding Daytona to one run on one hit (a solo home run) and one walk over five innings while striking out eight. Colon, a 2018 signee from the Dominican Republic, improved his ERA to 2.93 this season with a 1.04 WHIP and a K/9 of 11.74.

Javier Atencio also delivered an impressive performance allowing a run on two hits and two walks over five innings while striking out 11. The lefthander now has an 11.76 K/9 with a 2.14 ERA in 33.2 innings this year.

Dominican Summer League

Simon Juan went 4-for-29 in the DSL with two doubles, a triple, and three stolen bases. Willy Fanas has been sidelined since July 5 with an injury.

Florida Complex League

Hector Rodriguez went 4-for-15 with a double, a home run, and five stolen bases. The 18-year-old is now slashing .367/.400/.544 through 79 at-bats while adding 11 stolen bases.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

AVG –Alex Ramirez (SLU/BRK) – .278

OPS – Francisco Álvarez (BNG) – .894

HR – Francisco Álvarez (SYR) – 18

SB – Omar De Los Santos (SLU) – 47

Pitching (min. 20 innings)

ERA – Nathan Lavender (BRK) – 0.65

SO – Jose Butto (BNG) – 83

WHIP – Stephen Nogosek (SYR) – 0.84

Players of the Week

Offensive – Gosuke Katoh, IF Syracuse

Katoh picked up five extra-base hits this week, including three home runs, improving his slash line to .224/.347/.459.

Katoh was originally drafted in the second round by the Yankees in 2013. He hasn’t had a ton of extended success in the minors, slashing .257/.358/.389 in 10 seasons with four organizations. He was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays in early May before he was claimed by the Mets to provide some organizational depth in Syracuse. If he can keep some of his momentum from this recent power surge, Katoh could eventually prove to be a bench option for the Mets as we get deeper into the summer.

Pitching – Nick Zwack, LHP Brooklyn

Zwack continued to turn heads in the organization with a 10-strikeout performance over six scoreless innings. He’s thrown 23 consecutive scoreless innings while holding opponents to a run or less in his last six starts.

Zwack throws a mid-90s two-seam fastball complemented by a slider and a changeup.  A 17th-round pick in 2021, Zwack has already shown accelerated development and should continue to rise in organizational rankings. A move to Binghamton shouldn’t be too far off.

After allowing just one run in 25.0 innings for the month of June, LHP Nick Zwack was named the South Atlantic League’s Pitcher of the Month. #amazinstartshere #milb pic.twitter.com/Ti0NvK2WWX

— Brooklyn Cyclones (@BKCyclones) July 7, 2022

Upcoming Schedule: July 12-17

AAA Syracuse: vs. Jacksonville

AA Binghamton: @ Erie

High-A Brooklyn: vs. Greensboro

Low-A St. Lucie: vs. Dunedin

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