Last week I had the chance to catch the Binghamton Rumble Ponies when they were in my neck of the woods to play the Portland Sea Dogs.

The first game I watched was on April 9 when the Rumble Ponies allowed three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to lost 6-5. Right-hander Corey Taylor continued his season long struggles by allowing three runs on four hits and a walk in that inning. Champ Stuart, Luis Guillorme, Matt Oberste and Kevin Kaczmarski each had two hits in the game.

Binghamton got redemption in the second game on April 10 thanks to an eighth inning sac fly by Luis Guillorme that gave the Rumble Ponies a 6-5 lead that held up. Guillorme reached base four times in the game.

Here are some observations from the two days –

Luis Guillorme SS/2B: The talented defender played one game at short and one at second, pretty typical for him this year with Amed Rosario as the Mets shortstop of the near future. He’s an above average defender at both spots with some of the quickest hands I’ve seen on an infielder in the minors. Combines that with a strong arm, good reactions and solid range. Has the tools to play third as well and is ready right now defensively at all three spots.

Onto the offense for Guillorme which is going to be the deciding factor on how his MLB career ends up. He has bulked up a little which has led to seven doubles already. However, all those doubles are to left field and he has yet to show pull side power in-game (did in BP). His knowledge of the strike zone is plus, as is his bat control. He has average speed which holds back his slap hitting profile.

Don’t get me wrong on Guillorme, I think his floor is a major league utility guy, but he needs to develop a little more extra base power before I would list him as a possible starter. Also should note, that he’s one of the hardest working players I’ve seen during the season and the off-season.

Alberto Baldonado LHP: The day after I got to see the Binghamton closer he finally got his promotion to the Las Vegas 51s. He didn’t allow a run in 16.2 innings for the Rumble Ponies and struck out 25 in that span. Baldy threw two scoreless innings with four strikeouts to get the save in the second game.

He topped out at 94 MPH with his fastball and sat 91-93. He used his changeup (77-79 MPH) in any count and got a fair amount of whiffs with that pitch. Flashed his third pitch, a curveball, at 82 MPH.

Baldy has shown better control of his stuff this year and for me looks to be major league ready. The effectiveness of his changeup makes him tough on righties and lefties, he also hides the ball well from a 3/4 delivery.

Tomas Nido C: The young catcher coming off a breakout season has struggled at the plate this year and actually was the designated hitter in both games. Mets minor league catching coordinator Bob Natal was at both games working before the game with the catchers and mostly with Nido.

Offensively Nido went 2 for 8 in the series without driving the ball with authority at all. He was swinging early and often in the count. He did go the other way well when pitched outside. I had been hearing rumors of a sore right shoulder for Nido as far back as the end of the 2016 season. Since April 25, he has been the DH nine times and caught only eight times. Something to keep an eye on.

The offense has picked up for Nido over the last ten games, he has hit .359 in that span with four walks.

Champ Stuart OF: The 24-year old speedster has lowered his strikeout % from 36% to 32.1% this season in Double-A. His walk rate from his stint in Binghamton last year was just 6.9% and is up to 10.7% in 2017.

During batting practice, Stuart made an extra effort to work on his push bunting to the right side and bunting in general which is a great idea given his 80 grade speed. The lower (still high though) strikeout numbers made sense with Champ’s improved two strike approach. However, he still has trouble laying off good breaking balls and his swing gets long at times.

Stuart went 2 for 5 with a lone strikeout in the game I saw (sat out second game). He also reached on a fielding error in the game when the shortstop forgot how fast Stuart was and had to rush his throw at the last second. On defense, Stuart makes it look effortless in center and has a solid arm as well.

Corey Taylor RHP: Before the season and after watching Corey pitch in big league camp I was certain we would see him in the majors at some point this season, that outlook is now much murkier. The walks numbers won’t show you it (four in 16 innings), but Taylor has struggled with the command of his fastball and slider all year.

When I saw him (IP, 4 H, 3 ER) he was leaving his fastball up in the zone and wasn’t confident enough in his slider to throw it unless he got ahead in the count. Velocity on the fastball was there however, sitting 93/94 MPH and topped out at 96 MPH.

David Thompson 3B: The 2015 fourth round has struggled mightily to start this year at the dish hitting only .202/.262/.294 at the end of the series I watched (even after going 6 for 11 in last series). Thompson was one of the few players on the Binghamton team to show off power in BP, but has yet to show much of it in games this year. He looked impatient in the at-bats I saw, swinging at balls out of the zone and the swing gets very long at times.

On the defensive side, Thompson looked smooth and actually slightly above average at third which is quite a bit different then the reports coming out of the draft. His arm will never be mistaken as plus, though it is enough to stay at third long-term. He comes in on the ball well and makes accurate throws on the run.

Thompson has begun to heat up hitting .286/.333/.464 in the eight games since I saw him.

Other player notes –

Lefty Kyle Regnault (1.10 ERA, 19 K in 16.1 IP) showed off a plus breaking ball and a fastball in the high 80’s. Another lefty with a good breaking ball is Kelly Secrest, he was in the 88-91 range with his fastball.

Outfielder Kevin Kaczmarski has a nice line drive swing with a good approach at the plate, but showed virtually no power in the game or BP.

Infield/outfielder Kevin Taylor is another guy with that showed great knowledge of the strike zone and pounds line drives all over the field.