Top Mets prospects hit back-to-back HRs and other happenings in AAA

While the New York Mets were only able to muster up a single run on a lone hit on Friday, the Syracuse Mets were able to cross the plate 6 times. The most notable came with the pair of Drew Gilbert and Luisangel Acuna going back-to-back in the fourth inning.

In case you were too busy admiring the home runs to notice in the graphics, they both came against Robert Gsellman. Just a little bit of coincidence to note.

The hype for Gilbert and Acuna didn’t grow much this spring as neither played a whole lot. They never were in consideration to make the Opening Day roster. After one day of play for them and the big league squad, we should expect the fans to get a little louder if things continue the way they began.

How did other Mets players in Triple-A do?

Maybe the most important revelation from this game was Joey Lucchesi. The starter for Syracuse allowed one unearned run in his five innings. Oh, to have a starting pitcher go five. He surrendered two hits, walked one, and struck out five batters. Reed Garrett would toss two clean innings with another four strikeouts. It was a good start for the Mets pitching depth in this one. Those two will be early considerations for a promotion.

Mark Vientos did go hitless but came around to score. He walked once and avoided striking out. Ji-Man Choi and Jose Iglesias, the two most experienced MLB players on the roster, both had a pair of singles. On the disappointment side, Rylan Bannon fanned three times in four at-bats as the DH batting ninth for the team. Trayce Thompson made an error.

One final appearance of note came from reliever Yacksel Rios. He came on for the ninth and managed to get through it around three hits and an earned run. The hard-throwing righty did strike out two. Each of the hits he gave up were only singles so the damage wasn’t so bad. As one of the more intriguing free agent relievers signed this offseason to minor league deals, Rios is someone whose success could lift him up the depth chart. Walks have been one of his biggest problems at all levels. He didn’t give up any in this one but did throw 10 balls in his 23 pitches which is a bit surprising given the results.