throw a no-hitter individually. It marked Binghamton’s first in- dividual no-hitter since Miguel Pinango did it on July 23, 2006, at Portland. For his mastery, Suarez was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week in back-to-back weeks. He was one of seven Rumble Ponies players to earn East- ern League recognition during the season. OF Agustin Ruiz and Stuart swept the weekly EL awards for the week of August 21-27. RHP Luis Moreno was named EL Pitcher of the Week for the week of June 19-25. RHP Mike Vasil was named the EL Pitcher of the Month for May, IF José Peroza was named EL Player of the Week for May 8-14, and IF Luke Ritter was named EL Play- er of the Week for June 5-11. Vasil was the leader of the pitch- ing staff over the first two months of the season he spent with Bing- hamton. Over a stretch of three starts in May, he allowed only one run over 21 innings, going at least six innings in each outing. A highlight of the season was Vasil’s May 11th start against Hartford, in which he surrendered just one run over eight innings with no walks and seven strikeouts. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound right-hander was the Mets’ eighth-round pick in 2021 out of the University of Virginia. Hamel, the Mets 2022 Minor League Pitcher of the Year, made great strides in his first year at the Double-A level. He set a career-high with 11 strikeouts in three different starts and finished the year second in the Eastern League in strikeouts (160), third in opponents’ batting average (.230), and fifth in WHIP (1.27) and ERA (3.85). The right-hander was selected by the Mets in the third round of the 2021 draft out of Dallas Baptist. Moreno over four starts in June pitched to just a 1.23 ERA and a 28-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
On June 15, Moreno allowed two runs on four hits over six innings, striking out 10 in a win at home over Portland. On June 20, More- no did not allow a hit at Akron over five scoreless frames with one walk and nine strikeouts. Much of the pitching staff’s suc- cess is a credit to Mets Minor League Staff Member of the Year and Rumble Ponies Pitching Coach AJ Sager. In his first sea- son with Binghamton and second in the Mets’ organization, Sager’s staff set a Binghamton franchise record with 15 shutouts. Ponies’ pitchers also had a trust- worthy backstop in Platinum Gold Glove Award winner Hayden Senger. The Hamilton, Ohio, native led all Mets Minor League catchers in caught stealing rate (30.5%) and logged a career-high 597.2 innings behind the plate in the regular season. Well-deserved recognition A staple of Brignac’s teams has always been defense. Late-sea- son call-up Rhylan Thomas was honored by the organization as the Mets Gold Glove outfielder. Thomas appeared at all three outfield spots across three levels of the organization. In 91 games, the 2022 11th -round pick out of USC committed just one error this season and has only two er- rors over the first two seasons of his professional career. Thomas also impressed with the bat, ending the season on a 17- game hitting streak. The 23-year- old USC product adjusted to the Double-A level seamlessly, hitting .353 with 27 RBIs in 20 games with Binghamton. The Rumble Ponies were also well-represented in the Arizona Fall League with eight players selected to represent the Mets. Pitchers included RHP Nolan Clenney, RHP Jordan Geber, and RHP T rey McLoughlin. Para- da, Schwartz, and versatile IF/OF
Rowdey Jordan also were on the Glendale Desert Dogs. Additionally, the Rumble Po- nies coaching, and support staff played an integral role in their historic season. Development coach Jeremy Cologna and ath- letic trainer Austin Dayton were selected to be on the prestigious AFL coaching staff. Performance coach Ryan Orr was named the Eastern League Strength Coach of the Year, which is voted on by the strength coaches around the league. Looking ahead While the Rumble Ponies may have fallen short in the Champi- onship Series to Erie, 2023 was an incredible year for the fran- chise filled with individual and team accomplishments. Mets fans have a lot to be excited about on what’s happening up in Bingham- ton!
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