New York Mets Minor League Report: Smith Shrugging Off Draft Position; Gordon Shoves, Tong Shelled

John Smith III is out to show that draft position shouldn’t mean much when the players get between the lines.

Smith is off to a hot start with Single-A St. Lucie after being taken in the 19th round (570th overall) of this year’s MLB Draft out of the University of Central Florida. Through his first four pro games, he has a .294/.350/.706 slash line ((1.056 OPS) and two home runs. On Wednesday, he made his latest statement as he delivered ta game-winning, two-run single in a wild 11-10, 10-inning victory over Daytona in the second game of a doubleheader. His hit capped the fourth comeback in as many innings by the Mets.

Smith sat out Game 1, but he went 2-for-5 with three RBIs in Game 2. He doubled in the first inning and hit a sacrifice fly in the second, to go with his game-winner.

WALK OFF WIN! pic.twitter.com/1gFUvDUfOj

— St. Lucie Mets (@stluciemets) August 6, 2026

That's really good production from a guy who settled for a $50,000 signing bonus as a college senior, or a third of what the players drafted just after him reportedly got.

The win gave St. Lucie a split of the doubleheader, which included the makeup of a rainout from June 20. The Mets lost the opener 8-4.

Elsewhere in the organization:

Syracuse lost to Columbus 8-4. Jonah Tong allowed five home runs in five innings as he took a step back from a recent string of solid outings.

Binghamton got six strong innings from R.J. Gordon and a two-run home run from Kevin Parada as it defeated Hartford 3-1. Gordon allowed one run and struck out 10.

Brooklyn scored six runs in the top of the ninth, with the final three coming on a two-out home run by Yonatan Henriquez, to defeat Wilmington 10-8.

The DSL Mets clubs (Blue and Orange) were off.

New York Mets Transactions

• No Roster Moves

Home Run Barrage Buries Tong, Syracuse

Tong's night went from bad to worse when he served up back-to-back-to-back homers in the fourth inning and put his team in a hole. All six of the runs he allowed Wednesday came via the long ball The clunker ended an encouraging run of starts that had Tong' once more looking like a No. 1 prospect.

Zack Short homered, drove in three of Syracuse's four runs, and scored the other one. His two-run shot in the seventh produced the final margin. He drove in a run with a fielder's choice grounder in the third and scored on a fielder's choice in the sixth.

Newly acquired catcher Shawn Ross had two hits and a walk.

Austin Warren allowed a pair of runs in an inning after taking over for Tong. The right-hander is still working his way back from a forearm strain.

Gordon Fires Binghamton Past Hartford

R.J. Gordon was nails as he earned his second win of the season. He had baserunners in four of his six innings, but the only run he allowed came on a solo home run in the fourth. He was economical with his pitches, needing just 82 (55 strikes) in his 10-K performance. 

R.J. Gordon is up to a career-high 10 strikeouts ?

Gordon is grooving with 10 strikeouts over 6.0 innings of one-run ball.

? x #DefendOurHome x @MetsPlayerDev pic.twitter.com/6DqvhvYRUY

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

Binghamton got off to quick start with a run in the bottom of the first. Marco Vargas led off with a single, stole second, and scored Émilien Pitre's single to right.

The Ponies made it 3-0 in the second when Parada launched his first homer of the year for Binghamton (he hit one for Triple-A Syracuse), scoring Corey Collins ahead of him.

Gordon and three relievers made those early runs stand up. Carlos Guzman, Brendan Girton and Saul Garcia each worked a scoreless frame, with Garcia notching his third save of the season.

Jefferson Rojas, the standout prospect obtained fron the Chicago Cubs for Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor at the trade deadline Monday, went 0-for-4 as the designated hitter in his Binghamton debut.

Brooklyn Stuns Wilmington With Last-Gasp Rally

The Cyclones were down to their final out when Henriquez drove a 1-0 pitch the opposite way, over the wall in deep left-center field.

YONATAN HENRÍQUEZ, ARE YOU KIDDING ME ⁉️

Go-ahead three-run BLAST to cap a SIX run 9th inning as we pull off the comeback, 10-8!#AmazinStartsHere #LGM pic.twitter.com/gQ2DlSCVQO

— Brooklyn Cyclones (@BKCyclones) August 6, 2026

Brooklyn entered the ninth trailing 8-4. The first three batters --- Carter Dierdorf, Antonio Jimenez, and Sammy Stafura --- walked to load the bases. Aidan Smith hit a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 8-5. Trey Snyder walked to reload the bases, and then Jamari Baylor delivered a two-run single to make it 8-7. After a flyout, Henriquez went deep for the lead.  

Josh Blum worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth for his first save.

Stafura, the prospect acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Luke Weaver at the trade deadline, doubled and scored in the first as Brooklyn took a 3-0 lead. An RBI single by Henriquez brought home the third run of the inning.

Smith homered in the fifth to break a 3-3 tie. Wilmington scored one in the sixth ,one in the seventh and three in the eighth to seemingly take control.

St. Lucie Drops Sloppy Opener

The Mets committed three errors, issued five walks and threw a run-scoring wild pitch in the Game 1 defeat.

Throwing errors by center fielder Bohan Adderley and catcher Yovanny Rodriguez  gave Daytona a 2-0 lead in the first inning. A two-run throwing error by shortstop Elian Peña contributed to Daytona scoring four in the fourth and taking a 6-1 lead. Four of the eight runs allowed by Mets pitchers were unearned.

Peña had two hits and drove in two runs. He singled home a run in the fourth and doubled in a run in the sixth.

Smith Walks It Off In Nightcap

St. Lucie trailed 6-3 in the seventh, 7-6 in the eighth, 9-7 in the ninth and 10-9 in the 10th, only to answer each time. Smith had the final word courtesy of his walk-off hit.  

In the 10th, Vladi Gomez led off with a bunt single that moved zombie runner Wyatt Vincent to third, Gomez stole second to take away the force play (and put the winning run in scoring position). After a strikeout, Peña was intentionally walked to load the bases. Smith lined a 1-2 pitch to right, bringing home Vincent and Gomez.

The Mets forced extras with three runs in the bottom of the seventh when they were down to their final strike. Gomez's two-out, bases-loaded looper to left fell in and then was misplayed by Daytona's center fielder, clearing the bases. A wild pitch brought home the tying run in the eighth, and Julio Zayas' two-run homer tied  the game in the ninth.

Peña' had two more hits in the nightcap, giving him four for the doubleheader.

Owen Woodward's two scoreless innings to open the game were long forgotten by the time the Mets won at exactly 10 p.m., some five hours and 58 minutes after the first pitch of Game 1.

Top-20 Prospect Performance

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

Interested in learning more about the New York Mets' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!