Chris Suero

Week: 5 G, 19 AB, .474/.545/.947, 9 H, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 2 BB, 2 K, 1/2 SB (High-A)

2025 Season: 58 G, 190 AB, .253/.390/.468, 48 H, 9 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 30 BB, 67 K, 21/28 SB, .330 BABIP (High-A)

Born on January 27, 2004 in the Dominican Republic, Chris Suero’s family emigrated to the United States when he was a child and settled down in the Bronx. He initially attended All Hallows High School, an all-boys Catholic high school in the shadow of Yankee Stadium, but took advantage of his Dominican heritage when he turned 15 and moved back to the DR to train at the Carlos Paulino Academy. It was not a decision that was made lightly, but by moving back to the Dominican Republic, Suero only would not only just receive more baseball-specific training than he would be as a Gaels at All Hallows and increase his chances of going pro, but he would also be considered an undrafted international free agent instead of a domestic amateur, opening up additional doors to be signed by a professional team.

Things did not exactly turn out as Suero would have wanted, as teams showed little interest. Not considered a premium talent to begin with, the COVID-19 pandemic spreading across the world led to fewer workouts in front of MLB scouts and evaluators. The Mets did eventually sign him, inking him to a contract in March 2022 for a $10,000 signing bonus, but even the joy and elation in that, too, was quickly dampened, as his older sister died in a tragic car accident in the Bronx not too long after in July 2023, leaving behind two boys.

After spending the 2022 season in the Dominican Summer League and the 2023 season in the Florida Complex League, Suero was assigned to the St. Lucie Mets to begin the 2024 season. The 20-year-old backstop appeared in 25 games for them, hitting .265/.390/.434 with 6 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 5 stolen bases in 10 attempts, and 10 walks to 15 strikeouts. He was promoted to the Brooklyn Cyclones in early May and spent the rest of the year in Coney Island. Appearing in 87 games, he hit .228/.353/.350 with 11 doubles, 2 triples, 7 home runs, 15 stolen bases in 21 attempts, and 52 walks to 82 strikeouts. Altogether, Suero hit a combined .236/.361/.369 in 112 games for both A-ball teams, slugging 17 doubles, 3 triples, 9 home runs, stealing 20 bases in 31 attempts, and drawing 62 walks to 101 strikeouts. The backstop just missed out on making Amazin’ Avenue’s 2025 Mets Top 25 Prospects list, receiving vote shares from Steve and Lukas to find himself the odd-man out, ranked 26th.

Suero remained in Brooklyn to begin the season, and in addition to catching, has played a bit of left field as well as first base, the organization juggling him and Ronald Hernandez’s time behind the dish. In a star-studded lineup featuring numerous other Mets top prospects, Suero has more than held his own, hitting .253/.390/.468 in 58 games with 9 doubles, 1 triple, a team-leading 10 home runs, 30 walks to 67 strikeouts, and 21 stolen bases in 28 attempts.

The 5’10”, 205-pound right-hander stands square at the dish, generally crowding the plate. Holding his hands about shoulder height and wrapping his bat behind his head at roughly 2:00, Suero swings with a toe tap or small leg lick, with a bat path designed to lift the ball. He does not have much of a load or weight transfer, generating power from the torque in the rotation of his upper half and some natural bat speed. The right-hander is tapping into his average in-game power, and while his uppercutty, pull-heavy approach is helping him do so, it comes at a price, as it leaves Suero vulnerable to strikeouts and weak contact, especially against breaking pitches where he has to adjust his swing path. He has a strong enough eye and draws enough walks to make up for the high strikeouts and low batting average, but as he climbs the minor league ladder and pitchers improve, those walk rates will likely decrease, putting pressure on Suero’s hit-tool to improve.

Atypical for a catcher, Suero has average-to-above-average speed, at times flashing plus times out of the box. In 2024, his 20 stolen bases were fifth most in all of Minor League Baseball among catchers, and his 21 this season are currently ninth in the South Atlantic League and most by any catcher in all of Minor League Baseball by a wide margin- Lake Elsinore Storm catcher Lamar King Jr. and Sugar Land Space Cowboy catcher Bryan Lavastida are next on the list with 12 each.

Taking advantage of his speed, the organization has been giving him playing time in the outfield. The Bronx native has 107.0 innings in left field this season and accumulated 228.0 last season. Suero has a quick first step and dynamic speed, but because of his inexperience in the outfield, he still needs to work on his reads of the ball off the bat and his routes. His arm is average for a catcher and average-to-above-average for a left fielder, but he needs to work on his accuracy at both positions. Behind the dish, where it matters more, Suero is 13 for 57, a 23% success rate, and was 16 for 100, a 16% success rate. The issue is more so the accuracy of his throws and his ability to pop-up and catch-and-release quickly rather than the strength of his arm itself.

In addition to his skill on the field, Cyclones manager Gilbert Gomez considers Suero THE Cyclones team leader. Bilingual and fluent in Spanish and English, and familiar and at home with both Latin American/Caribbean and American cultures, he serves as a translator and cultural ambassador for teammates on both sides of the language and cultural divide. Having lost his older sister, who had an big hand in raising him in their single-parent household, Suero is also a lot more mature than the average 21-year-old.

Wellington Aracena

Week: 1 G, (1 GS), 5.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K (Single-A)

2025 Season: 13 G (5 GS), 47.0 IP, 29 H, 21 R, 15 ER (2.87 ERA), 28 BB, 60 K, .289 BABIP (Single-A)

A few weeks ago, when Wellington Aracena was Pitcher of the Week, he had a game very similar to this past week’s against the Palm Beach Cardinals. In fact, that game was against…you guessed it! The Palm Beach Cardinals. The right-hander blanked them on May 27 for five innings, allowing one hit, walking two, and striking out a season and career-high ten.

The organization has used the right-hander as a starter and a reliever this season, alternating between one and the other, and the results have really been night and day. On the season, Aracena has a 2.87 ERA in 47.0 innings with 29 hits allowed, 29 walks, 60 strikeouts, and a .173/.289/.226 batting line against him. As a starter, he has a 1.57 ERA in 23.0 innings with 7 hits allowed, 11 walks, 28 strikeouts, and a .092/.207/.132 batting line against him. As a reliever, he has a 4.13 ERA in 24.0 innings with 22 hits allowed, 17 walks, 32 strikeouts, and a .239/.355/.304 batting line against him.

Analyzing his pitch mix over the course of the last month- which includes three relief outings and three starts, four of which we have pitch tracking information for- Aracena has been using his fastball more as a reliever than his cutter. In his two starts during this period, he threw 80 cutters, 46 four-seam fastballs, 21 sliders, and a negligible number of other pitches. In his two relief outings during this period, he threw 63 four-seam fastballs, 51 cutters, 10 sliders, and a negligible number of other pitches.

His cutter is a more effective pitch than his four-seam fastball; he is able to command it better and he gets more whiffs both in the zone and outside the zone with the pitch. His slider, though not used much, has been an effective pitch against Florida State League batters. As a starter, he uses the pitch sparingly, and as a reliever, he has thrown significantly fewer of them. Though his relief outings are all multiple innings, and he generally throws about as many pitches as a reliever per game as he does a starter as a result, he is using his arsenal in ratios that have not been conducive to getting the most out of his pitches.

Players of the Week 2025

Week One/Two (March 28-April 6): Joey Meneses/Zach Thornton

Week Three (April 8-April 13): A.J. Ewing/Zach Thornton

Week Four (April 15-April 20): A.J. Ewing/Zach Thornton

Week Five (April 22-April 27): Jon Singleton/Jonah Tong

Week Six (April 29-May 5): Jacob Reimer: Felipe De La Cruz

Week Seven (May 6-May 11): Ryan Clifford/Jonah Tong

Week Eight (May 13-May 18): A.J. Ewing/Jonah Tong

Week Nine (May 20-May 25): Jesus Baez/Zach Thornton

Week Ten (May 27-June 1): Colin Houck/Wellington Aracena

Week Eleven (June 3-June 8): D’Andre Smith/Jonah Tong

Week Twelve (June 10-June 15): Jett Williams/Brendan Girton