Ryan Clifford cracked two homers to bring his Eastern League-leading total to 23 in Double-A Binghamton’s 6-1 victory over Somerset. The 22-year-old, acquired from the Astros in 2023 when the Mets traded Justin Verlander, entered Wednesday second in the league in RBIs and fifth in OPS.
Triple-A Syracuse RHP Brandon Sproat was named International League Pitcher of the Month for July on Wednesday after going 2-0 with a 0.67 ERA in 27 innings pitched last month. Binghamton outfielder Carson Benge (.397/.482/.726, seven homers) earned Eastern League Player of the Month honors.
Ryan Clifford. Photo by Steven Wojtowicz of MMO
Triple-A
Charlotte Knights (52-57) 6, Syracuse Mets (58-52) 0, 5 innings
Acuña is slashing .283/.333/.358 in 61 plate appearances for Syracuse. It’s a small sample, but it is up from last year when in 587 PAs at Triple-A, he hit .258/.299/.355. The game was shortened to five innings because of rain. The Mets are asking for submissions to rename the team. I like Sycamores.
Carson Benge. Photo by Steven Wojtowicz of MMO
Double-A
Binghamton Rumble Ponies (69-33) 6, Somerset Patriots (56-48) 1
1B Ryan Clifford, 2-for-5, 2 HR (23), RBI (72), K (.866 OPS)
SS Jett Williams, 2-for-4, 2B, R, BB (.873 OPS)
LF Carson Benge, 1-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI (23), 2 K (1.070 OPS)
3B Nick Lorusso, 2-for-4, SB (7) (.768 OPS)
C Kevin Parada, 2-for-3, 2B, R, BB (.731 OPS)
Williams hit his league-leading 29th double. He also leads the league in OPS. Another day, another Benge highlight. This time it was a three-run double.
Simon, 23, made his first appearance for Binghamton since being promoted from Brooklyn, where he pitched to a 3.86 ERA and struck out 40 in 37 1/3 innings.
High-A
Brooklyn Cyclones (61-43) 7, Hudson Valley Renegades (62-39) 4
DH Eli Serrano III, 3-for-5, 2B, RBI (40), SB (7), R (.720 OPS)
C Vincent Perozo, 3-for-4, 2B, 2 R (1.071 OPS)
3B Colin Houck, 1-for-5, HR (2), RBI (10), 4 K (.488 OPS)
CF A.J. Ewing, 1-for-5, 2B, RBI (24), R, K (.787 OPS)
SS Boston Baro, 1-for-5, 2 RBI (34), R (.630 OPS)
Houck homered for the second-straight game. Serrano, 24, drafted in the fourth round last year out of North Carolina State, ranked No. 12 in Mets Merized Online’s midseason top 50 prospect list.
RHP Will Watson (2.17 ERA) 4 1/3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, HR
Watson has struck out 59 in 49 2/3 innings since his promotion to Brooklyn. The 22-year-old was selected in the seventh round of the draft last year from the University of Southern California.
Low-A
St. Lucie Mets (61-42) 6, Tampa Tarpons (48-52) 4
3B Jeremy Rodriguez, 1-for-3, 3 SB (26), R, BB (.561 OPS)
DH Mitch Voit, 0-for-3, SB (1), R, 2 BB (.327 OPS)
LF Kevin Villavicencio, 2-for-3, 2B, RBI (27), 2 SB (17), R, BB (.638 OPS)
1B Trace Willhoite, 1-for-4, 2 RBI (64), SB (11) (.857 OPS)
Voit, picked in the first round of the Draft last month from the University of Michigan, is off to a 1-for-13 start. The 20-year-old hit 14 homers, stole 14 bases and posted a 1.140 OPS in 56 games for the Wolverines this year.
Arnaud, 22, of the Dominican Republic, has struck out 44 in 38 1/3 innings. His ERA is down significantly from last year when it was 4.02 in 40 1/3 innings pitched for St. Lucie.
