I had mentioned heading into the season that I was looking forward to seeing Tomas Nido this year in Binghamton and, after rainouts on my first three visits to Rumbletown, I finally was able to see him play twice last week. Nido, who has been a bit banged up of late, has done a lot of DHing in recent days, but did catch for one game that I saw. In that game, he flashed a plus arm, easily nabbing Dorssys Paulino on a stolen base attempt. Nido, who has a reputation of being a plus framer, did little to disprove that notion on Wednesday. He has all the makings of being a solid or better major league catcher defensively, which is the main reason why he is on the Mets’ 40-man roster and the top catching prospect in the organization.

Offensively, Nido possesses 60 raw power that, to this point, has not fully transferred into game power. That, however, wasn’t that case for one at-bat this week, in which he crushed a homer off the batter’s eye to straightaway center field. Nido, who doesn’t walk often, was carried by a high contact rate and league-leading .320 batting average to a plus offensive season in the Florida State League last season. The backstop employs a bit of a bat wrap pre-pitch, reminiscent of one previously usedby Travis d’Arnaud, and holds his hands close to his shoulders with his hands directly on top of each other, pointing the bat straight up. Overall, Nido has the ability to be a fine offensive player, especially for a catcher. While I’d chalk up his early season struggles at the plate to being banged up, he eventually needs to start posting results this year, especially now that he’s on the 40-man roster.

LHP Alberto Baldonado

Baldonado, who is amazingly a leftover from Omar Minaya’s regime, is the most notable prospect in the Rumble Ponies’ bullpen so far. The 24-year-old left-hander has a deceptive delivery, including a pause in his windup that does a good job of throwing off the timing of opposing hitters. Baldonado, who has yet to allow an earned run through 13.2 innings pitched this season, sat 91-94 mph with his fastball in two outings against Akron last week. His best weapon was a changeup that he had excellent feel for in both outings, sitting between 82-84 mph, that allows him to get out both left-handed and right-handed hitters; he’s actually fared better against opposite-side hitters across his minor league career. Baldonado also has a mid 70s mph sweeping curveball that breaks away from the left-handed hitters. If he is able to keep commanding all of his pitches and limit the number of walks he surrenders, as he has done so far this season, he has a chance to be a full-inning major league middle reliever in the not-too-distant future.

RHP Corey Oswalt

In what is overall a rather boring Double-A rotation for the Rumble Ponies, Oswalt stuck out perhaps as someone at least worth not completely ignoring (*Editor’s note: Here at BP Mets, we like to hedge our bets). And while he has posted decent results so far at the level, he hasn’t shown much yet in the way of stuff to justify the $475,000 signing bonus he received from the Mets in 2012. The converted third baseman has an ideal pitcher’s frame (listed at 6’5, 245 lbs.) and has a relatively clean delivery. However, his staff has not yet developed to an encouraging enough level. Oswalt throws a heavy diet of fastballs, mostly clocking in between 87 and 91 mph, and topping out at 92 mph in his most recent start. While, as our own Jeffrey Paternostro mentioned recently, Oswalt has thrown a bit harder than that in previous starts where the weather wasn’t in the high 40s, he doesn’t have great life on the pitch, regardless of velocity. Neither of his breaking pitches, an 84-86 mph slider and 77-80 mph curveball, stick out as plus pitches, although the slider is around average or slightly better. Despite the great frame, it’s hard to see a hittable high 80s to low 90s fastball, decent slider, and below average curveball playing well at a higher level. While Oswalt is still just 23, it’s hard to keep talking about him as a legitimate prospect, barring a velocity spike or other significant change to his repertoire.

RHP Corey Taylor

Taylor, a 7th round senior sign by the Mets in 2015, has risen quickly through the minor league ranks despite relatively low strikeout rates for a relief pitcher. Taylor, who Corey Oswalt does not have a great frame (listed at 5’11, 245 lbs.), features a fastball that was 91-94 mph in my looks and an above-average slider at 81-83 mph. The fastball appeared to be two different pitches: a four-seamer and a two-seamer that had some sink on it. The four-seamer, however, came in at quite flat and, in the low-mid 90s, is not really a pitch that you can expect to yield great results at the highest levels of baseball. As a sinker-slider reliever, Taylor has a chance to reach the majors as a relief pitcher. With his current stuff, he may not figure to be all that much more than an up-and-down guy, but even that is a strong return for a guy to whom the Mets handed only a $20,000 signing bonus.

Photo credit: Steve Mitchell – USA Today Sports

(statistics from games played through 4/12/17)

Las Vegas 51s (AAA)

Amed Rosario, SS: 11-28, 1 BB, 3 K

Now we have about 20 weeks of these to get through, and I can’t just write up Rosario and Smith every week for the 51s. But hey, when you hit .400 your first week in Triple-A as a 21-year-old, that is going to the get the attention of this column. Smith did the same, but as long as Lucas Duda is healthy and hitting balls over the batter’s eye in Philly, the Vegas first baseman may be waiting until September for a call-up. I mentioned in our 51s preview that Rosario might be best the major league option if Cabrera has to miss any extended time later this year, but the Mets have a bit of an elephant in the room at the hot corner right now as Jose Reyes continues to struggle at the plate. This may just be a protracted slump, but Reyes has been late on fastballs and looked completely flummoxed by anything spinning. The Mets have been very conservative when calling up their better prospects—Super 2 deadline should be around June 20, but who’s counting—and would likely run through Wilmer Flores and TJ Rivera before calling up Rosario and bumping Cabrera over to the 5. But what could you expect from Rosario in the majors right now?

Rosario has toned down what was a very complicated hand path in the low minors and has the wrists to handle major league velocity. He’s an aggressive hitter, and I think major league arms will be able to exploit that. The power is probably a few years away from really manifesting in games, but it’s potentially average. The shortstop glove is ready, although he is more athlete than polish in the field. This sounds a lot to me like Alcides Escobar which is a comp that has come up on him as a downside from those that like him, and a likely from those a bit lower. It’s also a comp likely to elicit eye rolls from Mets fans, but Esky had several seasons as a good regular at shortstop; for Rosario to be that now—as a 21-year-old with fewer than 300 PA above A-ball—is a huge endorsement. From the Mets point of view though, it might not be an argument to start his clock early.

Binghamton…sigh…Rumble Ponies (AA)

Corey Taylor, RHP: 2.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Now we have about 20 weeks of these to get through, and I can’t just write up, uh…Nido….and…Guillorme? every week for the Rumble Ponies. I did get my first look at Corey Taylor as a pro last week, so let’s go with him. He’s a bit better than your run-of-the-mill “91-95 with a slider” guy who generally characterizes the “better dudes” in Double-A bullpens. He was 93-96 with a slider! The slider was just okay last weekend, but fall reports on the pitch were strong. And Taylor was the last arm into a five-and-a-half hour doubleheader in sub-40-degree temperatures, so if he could even feel his fingers, he was streets ahead of me at that point. The command profile is rough as he has a high-effort, uphill delivery, but it’s a major-league-quality arm. How much more refinement happens will be the difference between being up to snuff as a middle reliever and big league bats leaving him tattered and torn.

St. Lucie Mets (A+)

Wuilmer Becerra, OF?: 8-20, 2 2B, 2 BB, 6 K

When I filed the BP 101 last Christmas I mentioned to Craig a few days later that there were seven rankings I already hated. We are up to 14 rankings I hate now—and that doesn’t include Alex Reyes tearing his UCL the day after we published the list on the site, plus three guys I really regret not having on the list. I’m still pretty happy with our Mets Top 10, but if there is one ranking I could take back, it would be Becerra at #10. He shouldn’t be that much lower—and 10 prospects is an arbitrary cutoff anyway—but I’d feel better on April 14 if it was Tomas Nido, or Luis Carpio, or even Ali Sanchez at the back of the list. You can count 2016 as a lost year for Becerra. He struggled with back and shoulder issues all season, and couldn’t play the field or hit for any power. Yet I still got positive reports on the hit tool before he was shut down for labrum surgery. Well it’s 2017 now and he still can’t play the field, he still hasn’t shown corner outfield pop since the first half of 2015, and and the reports I’ve gotten are much worse. He’s a bit thicker, a bit slower, inexorably a year older. Twenty-two in the Florida State League isn’t old for the level, but it isn’t young either. I’ll once again cite noted prospect evaluator Haruki Murakami: “Unfortunately, the clock is ticking, the hours are going by. The past increases, the future recedes. Possibilities decreasing, regrets mounting.” The likely outcome here was always a fourth outfielder with some platoon pop. Now that looks like a good outcome.

Columbia Fireflies (A)

Colin Holderman, RHP: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11 K

Every year at the mothership we give out “The Vogelsong Awards” for the best players that didn’t even get a mention in that year’s BP Annual. I may need to institute my own version of that for the best Mets prospect that we didn’t bother to include in our preseason affiliate previews. It may end up getting named the Holderman Award. In my defense, Columbia had by far the most dudes to write about, and the rotation is especially crowded with prospecty arms. And I did consider writing about Holderman, who was projected to go much higher than ninth round before the stuff evaporated due to some arm issues last spring. The Mets gave him $400,000 to keep him from transferring to Mississippi State with the hope that some workload management and pro instruction might get the fastball up to 96 again. That might be aspirational, but Holderman did look too good for the South Atlantic League in his first outing. He’s toned down the Arroyo leg kick part of his Arroyo-cum-Addison-Reed mechanics, and a pretty good Hickory lineup was overmatched by his fastball/breaking ball combo. The Mets usually keep guys in the A-ball levels for a full first half, but Holderman may test their resolve here. At a minimum, he probably will get a blurb in our 2018 Binghamton…sigh…Rumble Ponies preview.

Photo Credit: Steve Mitchell – USA Today Sports

On the surface, a light-hitting infielder with one career home run and average speed doesn’t sound all that entertaining to watch and follow as a prospect. Yet, “entertaining” is pretty much the best way to describe the Rumble Ponies’ shortstop, Luis Guillorme. Guillorme—a Spring Training celebrity after catching a flying bat in the dugout—brings one of the best defensive games in all of professional baseball to the table. He has impressively quick hands and excellent reaction times that allow him to dazzle defensively without exceptional speed or athleticism. The biggest question for Guillorme in 2017 and going forward remains his bat, which is the final obstacle standing between the former 10th round pick and Queens. While he will never be confused for a power hitter, Guillorme’s .052 ISO in St. Lucie in 2016 would have ranked as the lowest such figure in the major leagues for any player with greater than 150 plate appearances last year. Improving his gap power while maintaining a respectably high on-base clip will be essential for Guillorme to stay on track for a major league role. And even just a passable bat could give Guillorme a real shot at having a long major league career as a defensive-minded infielder.

Although he is currently on the shelf as he recovers from a recent knee operation, Tommy John survivor Chris Flexen is among the best pitching prospects in the Mets system and perhaps the “ace” of the 2017 Rumble Ponies. Flexen, who was added to the Mets 40-man roster this winter, boasts a fastball that has touched as high as 97, and a full four-pitch repertoire that makes him an intriguing starting pitching prospect. While he is risky even by pitching prospect standards, having already undergone Tommy John Surgery and now knee surgery by the age of 22, Flexen’s current profile is not all to far off from former Mets pitching prospects, such as Robert Gsellman and Michael Fulmer, as they entered the upper minors. While Flexen has not yet consistently missed bats at a high clip, posting only a 16.6% K-rate in 134 innings for St. Lucie last season, his stuff suggests that could improve in a hurry (see: Gsellman, Robert). With his option clock now running, 2017 will be an important year for Flexen if he looks to establish himself as an emerging option in the Mets’ suddenly less crowded starting pitching situation. Given his injury history and relatively high effort mechanics, it is quite possible that Flexen’s quickest and most likely path to the major leagues will come as a short reliever. Consistency, health, and breaking ball development—well, he’s in the right org for that one— will be essential for Flexen as he looks to make an impression this season in Western New York.

Short Hops

2015 4th round pick and ACC home run champion David Thompson figures to be the everyday third baseman for Binghamton in 2017. While Thompson’s defense has been better than advertised to this point in his professional career, he must hit for more power in Binghamton if he is to continue to rise through the ranks…Northern Irish southpaw P.J. Conlon will look to continue his improbable rise to the major leagues with a stop in Binghamton to open the 2017 season. Conlon, a soft-tossing lefty with a good change, posted an incredible 1.79 ERA split between Columbia and St. Lucie in his first full professional season. Double-A is always a test for this profile…yet another fast rising member of the Mets’ 2015 draft class, Corey Taylor, joins the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. Like Conlon, Taylor has had little issue yet with professional hitters, posting a 1.87 ERA out of the bullpen for the St. Lucie Mets. Taylor’s stuff showed well in the Arizona Fall League, flashing a fastball that could bump the upper-90s and a plus slider. In an admittedly small sample size—though a very tough pitching environment— he missed bats at a higher clip (17 strikeouts in 14 innings) than he had previously in the minor leagues. If Taylor is able to keep up his stellar results and maintain his fall bump in stuff and strikeouts, he might not be long for Binghamton and could have a real shot to pitch out of the Mets’ bullpen sometime this season…center fielder Champ Stuart might be the fastest player in the Mets system and he’s a plus center fielder to boot, but he’s never shown the ability to hit offspeed and might never be more than a late-inning pinch-runner and defensive caddy. He’s ready for that role right now though and the 2017 Mets sure could use that.

Photo Credit: Steve Mitchell- USA Today Sports

Chasen Bradford: Bradford, like the majority of invitees, is a pitcher whose presence suggests the Mets are looking to bulk up the bullpen. Originally drafted in 2011, Bradford has been with the 51s since 2015. Though his ERA spiked to 4.80 in 2016, his career overall of 3.42 is stronger, and he’s shown time and again that he can handle the pressure, earning five of six saves in 2016, and 36 of a possible 48 across his career thus far.

Xorge Carrillo: The only non-roster catcher to attend spring training, Carrillo was also a 2011 Mets’ draft pick. He began in Brooklyn, and spent 2016 in Binghamton and Las Vegas, where he batted .333 and .269, respectively, slashing .257/.328/.354 over his career.

P.J. Conlon: A 23-year-old Northern Ireland-native, Conlon is an intriguing prospect beyond his heritage. The lefty was the Mets’ 13th-round draft pick in 2015, and has already played with the Cyclones, St. Lucie Mets, and Columbia Fireflies. At 5’11,” Conlon is the shortest of the pitching invitees, but so far his performance suggests he’ll be a force to be reckoned with: he’s gone 12-3 with one save and an ERA of 1.47 across 41 games.

Phillip Evans: A 24-year-old infielder, Evans was drafted out of high school in 2011, and had his best season yet in 2016 split between Binghamton and St. Lucie, slashing .321/.366/.460 with eight of his 19 career home runs. Over his five-year career, Evans has hit .255/.318/.344.

Luis Guillorme*: A 10th-round draft pick in 2013, the infielder started in the Gulf Coast League and spent 2016 with the St. Lucie Mets, where he hit his first professional home run. Guillorme hit .285/.355/.326 across his career, with 34 stolen bases.

( * – Editor’s Note: Please email Jeff Paternostro with any and all questions about Guillorme.)

Kevin McGowan: The tallest invitee on the list, 25-year-old McGowan fits neatly between other leggy pitchers Syndergaard (6’6″) and deGrom (6’4″) at 6’5”.  A 13th-round draft pick in 2013, the righty spent 2016 moving between Las Vegas, Binghamton and St. Lucie, going 5-1 with two saves and an ERA of 2.35, the best of his career so far.

David Roseboom: This lefty was a 2014 draft pick and spent 2016 in Binghamton, where he managed 14 saves (in 15 opportunities) with an ERA of 1.87 across 52 games. Over his career, he’s gone 5-3 with 26 saves and an ERA of 2.26.

Ben Rowen: Originally a 2010 Texas draft pick, the 28-year-old made his major-league debut in 2014, in an eight-game run with the Rangers. He was called up for four games by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2016. Though both his stints in the majors have been middling (and short), his minor-league stats are impressive: 25-10 with 43 saves and an ERA of 1.85. Here’s hoping a spring training invite allows Rowen time to shake loose the nerves and show the majors some of his good stuff.

Paul Sewald: This righty pitcher was a 10th-round draft pick for the Mets in 2010, and spent 2016 in Las Vegas, where he went 5-3 with 19 saves and an ERA of 3.29. Over his time with Mets affiliates, he’s gone 16-8 with 66 saves and an ERA of 2.20.

Dominic Smith: Smith is the youngest of this year’s invitees—he’ll be 21 upon his arrival in Port St. Lucie. The infielder was drafted from his California high school by the Mets in 2013, their first round pick, and just finished off a great season in Binghamton, where he hit .302/.367/.457 with 14 home runs. I’ll be excited to see how this slugger holds up when he faces off against some major-league arms.

Champ Stuart: With a name like “Champ,” he’s gotta be good! Also an early draft pick from 2013 (the Mets’ sixth-round choice), this outfielder—given name “Jervis”—split time between Binghamton and the St. Lucie Mets in 2016. He hit .240/.314/.349 with eight home runs across the two teams, and he’s lightning fast; he’s managed 40 stolen bases in 114 games.

Corey Taylor: This 24-year-old righty pitcher was a seventh-round draft pick in 2015, and has done well in his time with the Cyclones and St. Lucie Mets. Over his two-year, 63-game career, he’s gone 5-6 with an ERA of 1.77 and 20 saves.

Logan Taylor: No relation to the aforementioned Taylor above, this 25-year-old, also a right-handed pitcher, was drafted by the Mets in 2012. He went 4-2 in Binghamton in 2016 and has a career ERA of 3.26 across 99 games.

Travis Taijeron: A 2011 draft pick for the Mets, this left fielder has spent the past two years in Las Vegas, where he hit 25 home runs in 2015, and 19 in 2016, batting slightly above his career average of .269/.370/.512. This slugger’s got power, and 110 career MiLB home runs to prove it; fingers crossed his swing is just as deadly in the big leagues.

Adam Wilk: At 29, Wilk is the oldest invitee on the list. (And yet still slightly younger than I am. Sigh.). Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, he’s already got his feet wet in the majors—he had runs in 2011 and 2012 with the Tigers, and two innings with the Angels in 2015. 2016 was not his best year—he went 2-8 with the Triple-A Durham Bulls, but I’ll indulge the Mets pitching staff here in the hope he can combine the mojo from his earlier days with his major-league experience and put his best arm forward for 2017. Wilk has a career ERA 3.59 across 153 games.

Photo Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA Today Sports