New York Mets Minor League Report: Steve Cohen Talks 'Regression,' Brooklyn Keeps The Power On

[Tom Gatto]

The New York Mets' minor-league system came in for criticism from owner Steve Cohen on Wednesday. Cohen told Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of the New York Post on their "The Show" podcast that development has gone backward this season, which might harm the club's ability to improve in 2027.

"I think good teams develop players that are pipeline players," Cohen said, "Last year, we were generally feeling pretty good about our farm system. We've had regression in our farm system (in 2026)."

Cohen acknowledged several players who have graduated to the majors, specifically right-hander Nolan McLean and center fielder A.J. Ewing, but he doesn't know who would be next. That's a problem, given the major-league payroll might be $300 million even before the offseason begins, according to Cohen, limiting the club's flexibility to add.

"Do we see other players coming from the farm system to. . . buttress what we already have? Well, you know, maybe, maybe not," he said.

The next wave may include first baseman Ryan Clifford (No. 6 in Grand Central Mets' prospect Top 20), who was selected Wednesday to play in the All-Star Futures Game during All-Star Weekend in Philadelphia. But right-hander Jonah Tong (No. 3) has taken a big step back in 2026, and corner infielder Jacob Reimer (No. 7) has stalled at Double-A. 

On to the product on the field:

Syracuse lost to Worcester, 6-5. Starter Zach Thornton worked into the sixth inning. Rehabbing major-leaguers Luis Robert Jr. and Jorge Polanco had the night off after playing Tuesday.

Binghamton fell behind big early and lost, 8-4, to Chesapeake. Brendan Girton was charged with all eight runs. JT Schwartz homered and doubled.

Brooklyn made it five wins in a row by outslugging Frederick, 13-7.  Trace Willhoite hit a grand slam and Yohairo Cuevas homered twice. Robert Stock and Noah Hall combined for 7 2/3 innings of two-hit pitching.

St. Lucie's hitting slump continued in a 6-0 loss to Tampa. The Mets were held to four hits. 

Mets Orange lost, 7-3, to Blue Jays Red in the Dominican Summer League. Shortstop Wandy Asigen, who signed with the Mets for $3.9 million in January as the No. 2-ranked prospect in his international class, played five innings in his second professional game. 

The FCL Mets blanked the FCL Nationals, 2-0. Eris Albino struck out six over four innings of bulk relief.

Mets Transactions

• New York Mets signed free agent 1B Christopher Morel to a minor-league contract. 

Syracuse Rallies Before Losing Late 

The Mets tied the game in the seventh on Nick Morabito's two-run single, but Worcester pushed across a run in the top of the ninth against Jefry Yan.

Starter Zach Thornton, fresh off his impressive start for the big club last weekend against the Philadelphia Phillies, allowed three hits over 5 2/3 innings but walked four. He also struck out four. Just 49 of his 83 pitches were for strikes (59 percent).  

Thornton's battery-mate, Ben Rortvedt, had three hits and an RBI.

The only thing hotter than the weather right now is Ben Rortvedt! We're all tied up! ? pic.twitter.com/vJTlcO9VBa

— Syracuse Mets (@SyracuseMets) July 1, 2026

Christopher Morel, who was signed to a minor-league contract earlier in the day, went 1-for-5 with a run scored.

The Mets had plenty of chances but stranded 11 runners.

Syracuse Hitting

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Jihwan Bae	5	1	2	0	0	1
Nick Morabito	5	0	1	2	0	4
MJ Melendez	5	0	1	0	0	2
Christopher Morel	5	1	1	0	0	2
Ryan Clifford	4	0	1	0	1	0
Yonny Hernández	3	1	1	0	0	1
Zack Short	2	0	1	0	0	0
Ben Rortvedt	5	0	3	1	0	1
Cristian Pache	4	1	1	1	0	2
Vidal Bruján	2	1	0	1	2	1

Syracuse Pitching

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Zach Thornton	5 2/3	3	3	2	4	4	1
Guillo Zuñiga	1/3	1	2	1	2	1	0
Joe Jacques	1	0	0	0	1	0	0
Ben Simon	1	0	0	0	1	1	0
Jefry Yan	1/3	1	1	1	0	1	0
Dan Hammer	2/3	1	0	0	1	0	0

Early Struggles Sink Binghamton

The Rumble Ponies dug themselves an early hole as starter Brendan Girton struggled. He allowed three home runs and was charged with all eight Chesapeake runs over four innings.

The bullpen gave Binghamton a chance to climb out. Brian Metoyer, Carlos Guzman, and Zach Peek combined for five scoreless frames.

JT Schwartz paced the offense with three hits, including a home run in the eighth. Nick Lorusso homered in the first and added a sacrifice fly. No. 9 hitter Nick Roselli went 3-for-4. Binghamton had opportunities to answer but stranded nine runners.

Binghamton Hitting

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Jose Ramos	4	0	1	0	1	0
Nick Lorusso	4	1	1	2	0	1
JT Schwartz	5	1	3	2	0	1
Kevin Parada	4	0	0	0	1	1
Vincent Perozo	4	0	1	0	0	2
Matt Rudick	4	0	2	0	0	0
Wyatt Young	4	0	1	0	0	1
Jaylen Palmer	4	1	1	0	0	2
Nick Roselli	4	1	3	0	0	0

Binghamton Pitching

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Brendan Girton	4	6	8	8	3	1	3
Brian Metoyer	2	1	0	0	0	2	0
Carlos Guzman	2	0	0	0	0	3	0
Zach Peek	1	0	0	0	0	1	0

Brooklyn Powers Past Frederick

Brooklyn broke this game open in the fifth. After Yohairo Cuevas drew a bases-loaded walk to force in a run, Trace Willhoite cleared the bases with a grand slam to put the Cyclones up 8-1. Willhoite's blast was one of five Brooklyn homers in the game.

HEADS UP ON THE BELT PARKWAY! ??

After a bases-loaded walk to Yohairo Cuevas, Trace Willhoite caps our five-run, two-out rally with a COLOSSAL grand slam to left.

Good guys in front, 8-1, in the bottom of the 5th.#LGM | #AmazinStartsHere | @MetsPlayerDev pic.twitter.com/lamjCoLo97

— Brooklyn Cyclones (@BKCyclones) July 2, 2026

Cuevas went deep for a third straight game, homering in the fourth and ninth. It's an eye-opening development for a player who failed to go deep in his first 47 games this year. 

YO KNOWS!

Yohairo Cuevas does it AGAIN! His second home run of the night — and fourth in his last three games — makes it a seven-run affair in the 9th.#LGM | #AmazinStartsHere | @MetsPlayerDev pic.twitter.com/38mGVAGfZA

— Brooklyn Cyclones (@BKCyclones) July 2, 2026

Yonatan Henriquez and Mitch Voit also went yard.

Noah Hall was effective in bulk relief, allowing one hit and striking out eight over 5 1/3 scoreless innings. He walked four. Hall followed rehabbing veteran Robert Stock, who allowed a hit and a walk over 2 1/3 scoreless frames. 

Brooklyn Hitting

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Mitch Voit	5	2	1	1	1	2
Yonatan Henriquez	5	1	2	2	1	0
Ronald Hernandez	5	0	0	0	0	4
Corey Collins	2	1	1	0	3	0
JT Benson	5	2	2	0	0	1
Colin Houck	3	3	0	0	2	1
Yohairo Cuevas	3	3	2	4	2	0
Trace Willhoite	5	1	2	5	0	0
Sam Biller	5	0	1	0	0	2

Brooklyn Pitching

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Robert Stock	2 1/3	1	1	0	1	2	0
Noah Hall	5 1/3	1	0	0	4	8	0
Josh Blum	1/3	3	4	0	1	0	0
Tanner Witt	1	2	2	2	1	1	1

St. Lucie Blanked Again

The Mets still haven't scored this week after suffering a second consecutive shutout loss to Tampa. They've managed just seven hits and two walks in the 18 innings.

The slump left bulk reliever Jose Guevara with little room for error, and he couldn't match the zeroes. He allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits and a walk over four innings. He struck out five. Joel Diaz opened and worked a scoreless first.

Branny De Oleo collected two of the team's four hits. He has hit safely in four of his last five games, going 8-for-20 (.400) in that stretch.

St. Lucie Hitting

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Antonio Jimenez	4	0	0	0	0	1
Jeremy Rodriguez	4	0	0	0	0	1
Trey Snyder	4	0	1	0	0	1
Julio Zayas	3	0	1	0	1	0
Branny De Oleo	4	0	2	0	0	1
Simon Juan	3	0	0	0	1	0
Jackson Hauge	4	0	0	0	0	2
Jack Scanlon	3	0	0	0	0	2
Francisco Toledo	3	0	0	0	0	1

St. Lucie Pitching

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Joel Díaz	1	1	0	0	2	0	0
Jose Guevara	4	4	3	2	1	5	1
Elwis Mijares	1 2/3	4	3	2	2	4	0
Ernesto Mercedes	1 1/3	1	0	0	1	2	0
Caden Wooster	1	0	0	0	1	1	0

Top-20 Prospect Performance

1. Carson Benge: MLB
2. A.J. Ewing: MLB
3. Jonah Tong: DNP
4. Elian Pena: DNP
5. Jack Wenninger: DNP
6. Ryan Clifford: 1-for-4, BB
7. Jacob Reimer: DNP
8. Nick Morabito: 1-for-5, 4 K
9. Mitch Voit: 1-for-5, HR, BB, 2 K
10. Jonathan Santucci: DNP
11. Chris Suero: DNP
12. Zach Thornton: 5 2/3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, HR
13. Wandy Asigen: 0-for-2, BB, K
14. Will Watson: DNP
15. Eli Serrano III: DNP
16. Randy Guzman: 3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, HR
17. Ryan Lambert: DNP
18. Dylan Ross: DNP
19. Antonio Jimenez: 0-for-4, K
20. R.J. Gordon: DNP

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