Minor League Mondays: R.J. Gordon Trying To Regain Momentum After Tough Start To Season

The New York Mets' season hasn't gone according to plan on the field, leading to a trade deadline sale for the first time in three years. Those struggles have extended to the Mets' farm system, which has seen some of its most notable prospects underwhelm early in the campaign. One such pitcher who is trying to right his ship is righty R.J. Gordon, who is the focus of this week's edition of Minor League Mondays.

R.J. Gordon is trying to right his season with AA Binghamton.

Gordon, 25, was the Mets' 13th-round pick in 2024 out of Oregon. The organization assigned him to High-A St. Lucie to begin his pro career last season and he pitched well there, earning a late-season promotion to AA Binghamton. 2025 saw Gordon go 11-3 with a 3.36 ERA in 26 appearances, including 21 starts, striking out 147 batters in 128.2 innings pitched.

The Mets had Gordon repeat the AA level to begin 2026 and he got off to a rough start there, overcoming an early injury and pitching to a 9.49 ERA by June 3. Better health has helped Gordon pitch a bit better since then as he has lowered his ERA by over two and a half runs, ending July with a 6.94 ERA after his finest outing of the season against Reading on Friday night.

Gordon has a solid fastball/changeup, with the kick change being his most effective pitch. There is also a slider and curveball in Gordon's arsenal, but they are clearly inferior options to the other two pitches, meaning Gordon uses them to keep opposing hitters honest.

A closer look at the numbers shows a few concerning trends for Gordon, including a significant jump in opponent's batting average. After limiting opposing hitters to a .232 batting average against him in 2025, Gordon has been hit much harder this season with opponents batting .311 this season. Gordon has also seen a dip in strikeouts, racking up only 56 in 58.1 innings pitched, while seeing his walk rate increase as well. After walking only 46 batters last season, Gordon is already at 27 free passes with much less work.

The Mets will likely leave Gordon down with Binghamton for the rest of this season to see if he can continue improving on his rough start to the year. There is a chance that Gordon has to start 2027 at Binghamton as well and his place in the organization's pitching pipeline will likely dip as the Mets add more prospects in their deadline sale.

There is no clear big league path for Gordon right now, but if he improves and showcases some of the form that made him interesting in 2025 he could be a trade chip for the Mets in the offseason. With owner Steve Cohen hinting that the Mets want to cut back on some spending this winter, utilizing players like Gordon as trade pieces could be an avenue to improve the roster down the line.