New York Mets Minor League Report: Antonio Jimenez Wants To Get Out Of South Florida

[Tom Gatto]

Antonio Jimenez is back home this summer, but he'd prefer to be back in New York state.

The third-base prospect started his season at High-A Brooklyn, but the Mets sent him down to Single-A St. Lucie in early May amid a poor start at the plate. More games like the one he played Sunday will get him back up north. Jimenez went 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored in the Mets' 10-5 comeback victory over Tampa. He scored a run and drove in a run during a seven-run, eighth-inning rally.

The 22-year-old Jimenez was born in Hialeah, Fla., and attended the same prep school that produced Nick Castellanos, Alex Avila and Danny Farquhar. He started his collegiate career at Miami (Fla.), but transferred to the University of Central Florida last year. The Mets drafted him in the third round (103rd overall) out of UCF and signed him to a $564,000 bonus. 

He began his pro career at St. Lucie last July, and he earned a preseason promotion to Brooklyn to begin 2026. After slashing .124/.181/.206 in 25 games for the Cyclones, he returned to South Florida, where he has put together better numbers (.216/.356/.355). Jimenez produced well enough to move up one spot, to 17th, in Grand Central Mets' latest top-20 prospect ranking.

As for the rest of the system on Sunday:

Syracuse lost its series finale to Worcester, 7-3. The Woo Sox jumped on starter Jack Weisenburger for five runs in the top of the first. Nick Morabito (new No. 5 on the top-20 list) and rehabbing Jorge Polanco homered.

Binghamton got six strong innings from Jonathan Santucci, but was held to one hit in a 2-0 loss to Chesapeake. Nick Lorusso’s single in the fourth was the Rumble Ponies’ lone safety.

Brooklyn’s game at Frederick was suspended in the bottom of the eighth with the game tied, 2-2, because of rain. Frederick had a runner on third with two out.

The complex-league teams -- FCL Mets, DSL Mets Blue and DSL Mets Orange -- were off Sunday. They will all be back in action Monday. FCL Mets will resume their suspended game from Friday with the Marlins and then play their regularly scheduled game. DSL Mets Blue will play NYY Bombers, and DSL Mets Orange will take on DSL Colorado.

Mets Transactions

• New York Mets optioned RHP Joey Gerber to Syracuse Mets.
• New York Mets selected the contract of RHP Guillo Zuñiga from Syracuse Mets.

Morabito, Polanco Go Deep In Syracuse Loss

The key blow against Weisenburger in the first was a three-run homer by Andrew Knizner that put Worcester up, 5-0. To his credit, Weisenburger kept it at five as he managed to work one batter into the fifth. In all, he gave up six hits, walked two and struck out one.

Morabito got a run back in the bottom half of the first with a leadoff homer, part of a 2-for-3 day at the plate that also included a walk and two runs scored. Polanco provided the other Syracuse highlight with a two-run homer in the eighth that scored Morabito and trimmed the margin to 7-3.

JORGE (j)HOMER! ? pic.twitter.com/QrEg1k8RIC

— Syracuse Mets (@SyracuseMets) July 5, 2026

Nate Lavender had a big day out of the bullpen. He worked a scoreless eighth and ninth inning, with all six outs coming via strikeout. Dan Hammer threw 1 2/3 scoreless frames ahead of Lavender.

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

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Jack Weisenburger	4	6	5	5	2	2	1
Ryan Lambert	1	0	1	1	3	0	0
Joe Jacques	1/3	2	1	1	0	0	0
Dan Hammer	1 2/3	0	0	0	2	0	0
Nate Lavender	2	1	0	0	0	6	0

Santucci Fans Season-High 10 In Gem For Binghamton

The left-hander put together a quality start just as he was moving up one spot, to ninth, in GCM's latest ranking.

Jonathan Santucci (@Mets No. 7 prospect) has recorded a season-high 10 strikeouts ?

6.0 IP | 2 H | 2 ER | 10 K

? x #DefendOurHome x @MetsPlayerDev pic.twitter.com/5BzQPipbDi

— Binghamton Rumble Ponies (@RumblePoniesBB) July 5, 2026

Both runs were of the scratch variety -- the first scored on a wild pitch in the fourth, while the second scored on a sacrifice fly that turned into a double play in the sixth. Santucci allowed four hits and four walks. Binghamton's offense gave him zero support. It managed just a hit, four walks and a hit batsman while striking out 13 times. 

Former New York right-hander Dedniel Núñez threw a scoreless inning in relief. He's coming back from a second Tommy John surgery.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Chris Suero	3	0	0	0	1	1
Jose Ramos	4	0	0	0	0	2
Nick Lorusso	3	0	1	0	1	0
JT Schwartz	4	0	0	0	0	4
Kevin Parada	3	0	0	0	1	2
Matt Rudick	1	0	0	0	1	0
Wyatt Young	3	0	0	0	0	0
Jaylen Palmer	3	0	0	0	0	3
Nick Lucky	3	0	0	0	0	1

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Jonathan Santucci	6	2	2	2	4	10	0
Dedniel Núñez	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Danis Correa	1	0	0	0	1	1	0
Carlos Guzman	1	1	0	0	0	2	0

Voit Plates A Pair For Brooklyn

Mitch Voit drove in both Cyclones runs Sunday before play was halted following a second rain delay. He singled in a run in the fifth and delivered a sacrifice fly in the seventh. The infielder also earned a move up the GCM rankings, from eighth to seventh. 

Sam Biller and Yonatan Henriquez each had two hits for Brooklyn. Former big-leaguer Robert Stock worked the first 2 2/3 innings. He struck out four, but also allowed both Frederick runs. Ryan Dollar, Daviel Hurtado, and Juan Arnaud followed him with scoreless relief, combining for seven strikeouts.

The game will resume sometime during the teams' series in Brooklyn, which will run from Sept. 1-6.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Mitch Voit	3	0	1	2	0	1
Yonatan Henriquez	3	0	2	0	1	1
JT Benson	4	0	0	0	0	2
Ronald Hernandez	4	0	0	0	0	0
Corey Collins	4	0	1	0	0	2
Daiverson Gutierrez	3	0	0	0	1	1
Jamari Baylor	2	1	0	0	1	0
Trace Willhoite	1	0	0	0	2	0
Sam Biller	3	1	2	0	0	0

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Robert Stock	2 2/3	4	2	2	0	5	0
Ryan Dollar	1 1/3	1	0	0	2	0	0
Daviel Hurtado	2	1	0	0	0	3	0
Juan Arnaud	1 2/3	2	0	0	0	4	0

St. Lucie Ends Skid Thanks To Late Rally

Jimenez batted twice in the eighth as the Mets sent 13 batters to the plate. His first time up, he was hit by a pitch and came around to score. His second time up, he singled home a run to put St. Lucie up, 9-5.

St. Lucie trailed, 5-1, after six innings. They scored twice in the seventh to draw closer, and then broke out in the eighth to end the losing streak. Branny De Oleo drove in a run on a fielder's choice to make it 5-4. Francisco Toledo gave the Mets the lead with a two-run book-rule double to left-center.

Francisco Toledo doubles to take the lead! pic.twitter.com/OruQelN3Ib

— St. Lucie Mets (@stluciemets) July 5, 2026

Taylor Darden made it 8-5 with a two-run single. Jimenez followed with his RBI single. A bases-loaded walk capped the rally.

Jimenez homered in the first to tie the game, 1-1. It was his third homer in 31 games with St. Lucie. Starter Emilio Obispo allowed one unearned run over three innings, walking one and striking out one. Ernesto Mercedes earned the win with 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief. He struck out three.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Elian Peña	3	0	0	0	0	0
Jackson Hauge	1	1	0	0	1	0
Trey Snyder	4	1	2	0	1	0
Antonio Jimenez	4	2	3	2	0	1
AJ Salgado	4	0	0	1	1	1
Branny De Oleo	5	2	1	2	0	1
Jeremy Rodriguez	3	2	2	0	0	0
Francisco Toledo	4	1	1	2	0	1
Taylor Darden	3	1	1	2	1	0
Jack Scanlon	4	0	1	1	0	1

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Emilio Obispo	3	1	1	0	1	1	0
Calvin Ziegler	1/3	2	3	3	2	1	0
Joe Scarborough	1 2/3	1	1	1	0	2	1
Caden Wooster	2 1/3	2	0	0	1	4	0
Ernesto Mercedes	1 2/3	1	0	0	0	3	0

Top-20 Prospect Performance

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

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