Jose Azocar
Week: 6 G, 22 AB, .409/.458/.636, 9 H, 2 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 2 BB, 5 K, 2/2 SB (Triple-A)
2025 Season: 60 G, 244 AB, .237/.309/.352, 52 H, 11 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 19 BB, 51 K, 14/20 SB, .291 BABIP (Triple-A) / 12 G, 18 AB, .278/.350/.278, 5 H, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 BB, 1 K, 1/1 SB, .278 BABIP (MLB)
This week presented something of a challenge for me. Really, not a single player had a legitimate stand out week on any of the Mets’ four active minor league teams. There were players who had solid weeks, sure, but
nobody had a week that was heads-and-shoulders above the rest. Those are the worst weeks. How many singles does it take before we are in “more meaningful than a few extra base hits” territory? How much does walk to strikeout ratio really matter? How many stolen bases does it take to go from “good” to “impressive”- and is that pure stolen bases, or stolen base success ratio? At the end of the day, weighing everything, Jose Azocar is the Player of the Week.
The outfielder was signed by the Detroit Tigers all the way back in October 2012, a relatively unheralded rookie from Venezuela. He began his professional career in the now-defunct Venezuelan Summer League and slowly but surely climbed up the Detroit minor league ladder. After a solid showing in Double-A in 2019, he seemed poised to crack the major league roster sooner than later, but a lot of things changed as the winter of 2019 morphed into 2020, and Azucar’s potential promotion was a casualty. Thanks to the cancellation of the 2020 minor league season and abbreviated major league season, Azucar spent his last season as a Detroit Tiger doing nothing. After the 2020 season ended, he elected free agency and was signed by the San Diego Padres a few weeks later.
He spent the entire 2021 season in their minor league system, but in 2022, his time finally came. The outfielder appeared in 98 games for the Padres as a part-time player and hit .257/.298/.332. While he didn’t exactly run away with the opportunity, he played well enough to stay in the role for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. At the end of the 2024 season, he was designated for assignment and was claimed by the Mets, who sent him to Syracuse for the last few weeks of the season.
He began the 2025 season in Triple-A but was called up to the Mets in April. Appearing in 12 games, he hit .278/.350/.278, eventually getting sent back down to Triple-A. He cleared waivers, elected free agency, and signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves. He was promoted to the big league club for a short period and then sent to Triple-A, once again clearing waivers and electing free agency. He re-signed with the Mets in late June and has remained in Triple-A Syracuse since.
Brandon Waddell
Week: 1 G (1 GS), 6.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K (Triple-A)
2025 Season: 16 G (12 GS), 61.1 IP, 65 H, 39 R, 33 ER (4.84 ERA), 22 BB, 51 K, .308 (Triple-A) / 11 G (1 GS), 31.1 IP, 29 H, 12 R, 12 ER (3.45 ERA), 11 BB, 22 K, .260 BABIP (MLB)
Brandon Waddell was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fifth round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of the University of Virginia and rose up through their minor league system over the next few years, making his MLB debut on August 14, 2020. Waddell was eventually exposed to waivers and this began a journey of many thousands of miles over the next handful of years. Between 2021 and 2024, he played for the Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, Norfolk Tides (Triple-A), St. Louis Cardinals, Memphis Red Birds (Triple-A), Doosan Bears (KBO), Rakuten Monkeys (CPBL), and the Doosan Bears once more before finally signing a minor league contract with the Mets in December 2024.
The 31-year-old Waddell has been part of the bullpen churn this season, posting a 3.45 ERA in 31.1 innings over 11 games for the Mets. As a starter for Syracuse, he has been less successful, posting a 4.84 ERA in 61.1 innings over 16 games- 12 starts- with more than a hit per nine inning, an acceptable 3.2 walks per nine innings, and a subpar 7.5 strikeouts per nine innings. His start this week was his second “quality start”, the last coming back on April 10- coincidentally also against Buffalo.
