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Mets Daily Prospect Report, 8/16/18: You get a win, and you get a win! Everybody gets a win!

Catch up on all the Mets prospects in yesterday’s minor league action here!

By Matthew Mackenzie
Harol Gonzalez
Chris McShane

*All results from games played on Wednesday, August 15th, 2018

Triple-A: Las Vegas 51s: (61-61)

LAS VEGAS 9, FRESNO 6 (BOX)

The 51s made it back to .500 on Wednesday night, overcoming an early four-run deficit, and rallying late to beat Fresno in a typical Pacific Coast League slugfest.

Cody Martin got the ball for Las Vegas, and as has been a theme for the Gonzaga product this season, he struggled early on. He walked two batters to open the game, the next batter followed with a single to load the bases, and he was able to get AJ Reed to hit into a fielder’s choice, but Luis Guillorme allowed two runs to score when he threw the ball away. The next batter, JD Davis, went deep to center, and in the blink of an eye, it was 4-0 Grizzlies. Martin has posted only two quality starts in the last two months, he allowed three earned runs in both such starts, and his ERA was an ugly 6.93 mark entering this game. It appeared that Wednesday night would provide more of the same. Unlike in his previous outings, however, Martin would concede only a single hit over the next four innings, and the Vegas offense would reward him for his efforts.

The 51s would get rolling with one out in the second, as Bryce Brentz doubled to right, and Zach Borenstein followed with a walk. Three pitches later, Patrick Kivlehan hit one out of sight to center field, and just like that it was a one-run game. Then in the sixth, Dom Smith worked out a one-out walk, and motored all the way around from first to score the tying run when Borenstein came through with a double.

After Las Vegas went quietly in the seventh, Peter Alonso came up with one out in the eighth, and saw to it that the fireworks show was not over for the night. The big slugger blasted a line drive over the fence in left, giving his team the lead. What followed was almost identical to the above-mentioned run-scoring sequence from the second. Brentz and Borenstein each got on base, setting the stage for Kivlehan, who came through with his second three-run blast of the night, this time to left center.

Gerson Bautista, who had been lights-out in relief over the last month, found the going rather rough in this game, but Kivlehan’s insurance policy kept the game out of reach for Fresno. With Alonso’s eighth-inning bomb, he now has fifteen home runs with the 51s, good for 21st in the PCL despite playing just fifty games at Triple-A this season.

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (56-65)

GAME ONE

BINGHAMTON 5, AKRON 4/ 7 (BOX)

After Central New York was hit hard by torrential rains and flash flooding on Tuesday, the Rumble Ponies and RubberDucks treated the fans to a doubleheader at soggy NYSEG Stadium on Wednesday.

In the first game, newly minted Mets farmhand Matt Gage struggled in his second start with the team. He allowed nine hits and four runs in just under six innings, although he did strike out seven Akron hitters. The Rumble Ponies, however, were able to muster up just enough small-ball offense, scoring five runs with only one extra-base hit, and winning a one-run see-saw thriller.

After each team managed just a single hit in the first two innings, Li-Jen Chu got the scoring started in the third. After the RubberDucks loaded the bases with no one out, Chu grounded a single through the right side of the infield, scoring Nellie Rodriguez and Tyler Krieger. Binghamton answered right back in the bottom of the inning. After Patrick Biondi singled to lead off the frame, three of the next four hitters walked, ultimately forcing in a run. Will Toffey followed with a two-run single, and it was 3-2 Rumble Ponies.

That lead would be short-lived, of course. Sam Haggerty doubled with two outs in the fourth for Akron, and came around to score on the next pitch, when Ernie Clement lined a soft single into right. True to the see-saw nature of this game, though, the home team would have an answer. Patrick Mazeika drew a walk to lead off the bottom of the fourth, and Andrew Ely would bring him around with a two-out double. Then, Andres Gimenez would make the RubberDucks pay for their control issues, bringing in an insurance run after a walk to Kevin Taylor.

Akron would draw within a run yet again in the fifth, but Gage held them off the board after that, and Joshua Torres would finish out the shortened game with some dominant work in relief. Torres now has an absurd 1.12 ERA in just over forty innings with Binghamton; he is nearly a lock to start 2019 in Syracuse, and may see some time with the Mets this September.

GAME TWO

AKRON 3, BINGHAMTON 0/ 7 (BOX)

Harol Gonzalez pitched his best game as a member of the Rumble Ponies, but the offense managed just two singles against Matt Whitehouse and Rob Kaminsky, and Binghamton was forced to settle for a split of Wednesday’s doubleheader. Gonzalez struck out just three RubberDucks in six innings of work, but nonetheless managed to post a quality start, working out of some jams along the way.

With his two most recent starts looking more promising after being roughed up in his first four outings for the Rumble Ponies, one might wonder if Gonzalez is finally settling in to life in the Eastern League. Still, the low strikeout rates are concerning, as always, for those following the Mets’ Top 25 Prospect List.

Also of note: after his rocky beginning in Binghamton, combined with run support during his time in St. Lucie that even Jacob deGrom would shake his head at, Gonzalez now has an unsightly 1-13 record on the season.

Advanced-A: St. Lucie Mets (27-40/22-29)

Jay Bruce started at first base in the second game of his rehab assignment, playing seven innings and picking up two hits, while David Wright went 0-for-3 in his third Florida State League game. The Mets’ captain is still looking for his first hit of the season in St. Lucie. Their minor league teammates, meanwhile, put up a much more impressive showing. Dale Burdick and Desmond Lindsay each went deep, and Gabriel Llanes pitched seven solid innings in a win over the last-place Florida Fire Frogs.

Llanes struck out only two Florida hitters, but he induced a lot of weak contact from the punchless Fire Frogs’ lineup, who mustered only six hits and two runs against the right-hander. The Downey, California product has now posted eight quality starts in his last nine outings for St. Lucie. Seth Davis also looks to have settled down after a rough two-week stretch near the beginning of the month, as the lefthander finished out the game with two scoreless innings of relief, marking his third consecutive appearance without yielding a run.

Low-A: Columbia Fireflies (34-33/21-29)

COLUMBIA 5, WEST VIRGINIA 2 (BOX)

The Fireflies scored the first four runs of the game, and Zac Grotz kept the West Virginia bats in check for seven solid innings, as Columbia pulled out a 5-2 win on Wednesday.

Hansel Moreno got the scoring started in the second inning: Jose Brizuela and Rigoberto Terrazas each singled to right, and Moreno came through with a single of his own, plating Brizuela. Terrazas would make it 2-0 on the very next pitch, when he scored on yet another base hit, this one coming from David Miranda. The Colaflies’ third baseman would come through again in the fourth, this time driving in Giofanny Alfonzo and helping his team add a run.

Scott Manea and Edgardo Fermin each went deep for solo home runs to put the finishing touches on a five-run night for the Columbia offense, and aside from a brief hiccup in the fifth, Grotz was on top of his game.

Outside of the one rocky inning, the Embry-Riddle product allowed just two hits, fanning six West Virginia batters without a walk. He was relieved by Joshua Payne, who finished the game with two scoreless innings, earning his first save of the season.

ROSTER ALERT: RHP Ronald Sanchez assigned to Columbia Fireflies from Brooklyn Cyclones.

Short-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (31-25)

BROOKLYN 4, VERMONT 1 (BOX)

Jose Butto conceded just an unearned run in six excellent innings on the mound, and the Cyclones scored three runs in the first two innings, never looking back en route to a comfortable win over Vermont.

The newly-crowned MVP of the New York Penn League All-Star Game, Ross Adolph, got the game started with a walk, and promptly stole second, moving over to third on a fielder’s choice. Walter Rasquin brought him in with another groundout, and it was 1-0 Brooklyn. The second inning followed a similar theme. This time it was Brian Sharp who drew a leadoff walk and swiped second, and he came in to score on a double by Hayden Senger. Two batters later, Adolph was at it again, plating Senger with a single, and that was more than enough support for Butto.

The twenty year-old Venezuelan now has a 2.57 ERA in nine games between Kingsport and Brooklyn this season. He will be an interesting player to watch as he and Jaison Vilera headline the Columbia rotation in 2019.

With the win, the Cyclones are just two games behind first-place Hudson Valley in the McNamara Division. Also of note: Brooklyn stole seven bases in the win, with Adolph, Jose Miguel Medina, and Brian Sharp swiping two bags each.

Rookie: Kingsport Mets (28-25)

NO GAME (SCHEDULE)

Rookie: GCL Mets (22-26)

NO GAME (SCHEDULE)

Star of the Night

3B Patrick Kivlehan

Goat of the Night

SS Luis Guillorme

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