Rumble Ponies Unveil 2026 Opening Day Roster

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – In conjunction with the New York Mets, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, the Double-A affiliate of the Mets, announced their preliminary 2026 Opening Day roster on Wednesday.

Led by first-year manager Michael Collins, who joins the Mets organization after spending the last seven seasons as the Houston Astros major league catching coach, Binghamton’s roster features 18 returners from last year’s Eastern League Championship squad and eight newcomers.

This year’s roster is headlined by four of the top 10 Mets prospects, according to MLB Pipeline: OF A.J. Ewing (Mets No. 3), 3B Jacob Reimer (No. 5), LHP Jonathan Santucci (No. 9), and RHP Will Watson (No. 10). Ewing is also ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 94 overall prospect.

Ewing soared through the Mets minor league system last season. He began the season with Single-A St. Lucie and finished with Double-A Binghamton, climbing three levels. The 21-year-old produced a .339 AVG and .801 OPS in 28 regular season games with Binghamton. He finished the season with the fifth-most stolen bases (75 across three levels) in Minor League Baseball.

Reimer, who ranks as MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 third baseman prospect, returns to Binghamton after playing the second half of last season with the Ponies. Reimer produced a .279 AVG, .853 OPS, 9 HR, and 38 RBI across 61 games with Binghamton last year. He crushed a go-ahead home run in the sixth inning of the winner-take-all Game Three of the Eastern League Championship at Erie on September 24.

Santucci, who ranks as the Mets’ No. 3 pitching prospect and top left-handed pitching prospect, returns to Binghamton after finishing the 2025 campaign with the Ponies. The 23-year-old made 10 regular-season starts for Binghamton last season and went 4-0 with a 2.52 ERA, .189 BAA, 1.02 WHIP, and 63 strikeouts in 50.0 innings in his first professional season.

Watson, who ranks as the Mets’ No. 4 pitching prospect, returns to the Rumble Ponies after finishing the 2025 season with Binghamton. The 23-year-old began the 2025 season with Single-A St. Lucie and finished with Binghamton, after climbing three levels. In four appearances (two starts) in the regular season for Binghamton, Watson went 2-2 with a 3.44 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 18.1 innings.

Seven of the Mets top 15 prospects and nine of the top 30 Mets prospects will start the season with Binghamton. OF Eli Serrano III (No. 13), LHP Zach Thornton (No. 14), C/LF/1B Chris Suero (No. 15), INF Marco Vargas (No. 20), and RHP Brendan Girton (No. 29) are also on the break camp roster.

Binghamton’s starting pitching rotation is expected to be headlined by four of the Mets top 30 prospects: Santucci, Watson, Thornton, and Girton.

Please see the full roster below:

PITCHERS (14)

Felipe De La Cruz, Saul Garcia, Brendan Girton, Kevin Gowdy, Carlos Guzman, Douglas Orellana, Zach Peek, Gabriel Rodriguez, Jonathan Santucci, Ben Simon, Zach Thornton, Matt Turner, Will Watson, Jefry Yan

CATCHERS (2)

Kevin Parada, Chris Suero

INFIELDERS (5)

Nick Lorusso, Jacob Reimer, JT Schwartz, Marco Vargas, Wyatt Young

OUTFIELDERS (5)

A.J. Ewing, Jose Ramos, Matt Rudick, Eli Serrano III, D’Andre Smith

COACHING STAFF

Michael Collins (Manager), Matt Carasiti (Pitching Coach), Rachel Folden (Hitting Coach), Mariano Duncan (Bench Coach), Jake Hager (Assistant Hitting Coach/Infield Coach), Joe Parrillo (Athletic Trainer), Trent McMaster (Performance Coach), Will Dolan (Baseball Technology and Video Associate), Emily French (Athletic Training Associate), Mike Vavalle (Clubhouse Manager).

The Rumble Ponies open the 2026 season on the road on April 3 against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The home opener is on Tuesday, April 7 against the Somerset Patriots at 6:07 p.m. Season Tickets, Ballpark Passes, Flex Tickets, and Individual Game Tickets for the 2026 season are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting Mirabito Stadium, on the phone at (607)-722-FUNN (3866), or online at www.bingrp.com.