The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

JERVIS “Champ” Stuart has had a standout month of June for the Port St Lucie Mets.

Stuart recently enjoyed an eight-game hit streak, which came to an end Tuesday night, but has been one of the driving forces behind the Mets’  resurgence and 2nd place in the Class A-Advanced Florida State League North.

In his best performance over the course of the streak, Stuart finished 3-5, including a triple, with two runs scored and one stolen base in the Mets’ 10-9 extra innings win over the Dunedin Blue Jays.

In a game that featured several scoring runs, the Mets scored the first three, followed by six from the Blue Jays, while the Mets scored the final seven runs, all with two outs.

Trailing 6-3 with two outs in the eighth, Stuart blasted a two-run triple and plated the game-tying run on a bunt single.

The Blue Jays would later intentionally walk Stuart in the 11th inning before they eventually also walked in the winning run.

His only other multiple hit game of the streak came the following afternoon in a 3-2 win over the Blue  Jays. He blasted his fourth home run of the season and finished 2-4 with one run scored. His solo shot over left center field tied the game at two in the top of the fifth inning. The Mets would eventually win in extra innings.

The streak came to an end Tuesday night when he finished 0-3 in his team’s 2-0 win over the Tampa Yankees.

Stuart leads all players in the New York Mets’ minor league farm system with 18 steals.

Through 55 games in the Florida State League, Stuart is hitting .242 with 17 RBI and four home runs.

He has also totalled an on-base percentage of .329, slugging percentage of .386 and an OPS of .715.

He has already tied his home run total through 97 games last season and is just three stolen bases shy of last year’s mark.

The four year veteran received the highlight of his career when he got the Major League call-up in spring training.

Stuart made an appearance as a pinch runner in the final Grapefruit League game for the Mets in a loss to the Washington Nationals.

In his second season in Class A-Advanced, Stuart started out the season with a promising multiple hits in five of his first eight games.

In 2013, Stuart was selected out of Brevard College by the New York Mets in the sixth round with the 176th pick.

The Class A-Advanced level, is often a second or third promotion for a minor league players, although a few high first-round draftees, particularly those with college experience, begin at this level. These leagues play a complete season like Triple-A and Double-A, April through early September.

The St. Lucie Mets will host a Unity Night on Thursday in support of the Orlando massacre relief efforts. A mobile blood center will be at Tradition Field. The shooter purchased the gun used in the weekend massacre in Port St. Lucie, according to authorities.