Somerset Patriots Series Recap Vs Binghamton Rumble Ponies 5/11 - 5/17

Bobby Santoro
May 19
6 min read

The Somerset Patriots did not finish the week cleanly, but they did enough damage before Sunday to make the larger point.

This was another series where Somerset’s offense looked less like a streaky Double-A lineup and more like one of the most dangerous power groups in the minors. The Patriots took four of six from the Binghamton Rumble Ponies at TD Bank Ballpark, climbing back to .500 on Saturday for the first time since April 17 before dropping Sunday’s finale, 10-7.

Even with the late stumble, the week belonged to Somerset’s bats, a pitching staff that continued to miss bats at an elite clip, and a group of Yankees prospects forcing their way into louder conversations.

The Patriots opened the series Tuesday with a 3-0 shutout, then responded from a midweek

loss by winning three straight from Thursday through Saturday. By the time the series was decided, Somerset had extended its extra-base-hit streak to 39 games, continued to lead

Double-A in home runs, and became the only team in Minor League Baseball with four players already in double digits in homers: Garrett Martin, Jace Avina, Tyler Hardman, and Marco Luciano.

Avina’s Turnaround

Jace Avina looked like a hitter searching for answers in mid-April. A month later, he looks like one of the most dangerous bats in the Eastern League.

Avina came into the Binghamton series already riding a heater, and he only kept building. He opened the week by going 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI, and a run scored in Somerset’s 3-0 win Tuesday night. By the end of that game, his on-base streak had stretched to 12 games, a run that had already lifted his slash line from .155/.242/.310 to .244/.304/.537.

On Thursday, Avina launched his 10th home run of the season and pushed the streak to 14 games. On Friday, he put together one of his loudest offensive performances of the year, going 3-for-4 with a homer, two doubles, a walk, and three runs scored. The home run was his 11th, matching his 2025 total despite coming in 65 fewer games.

By Sunday, Avina’s on-base streak had reached 17 games, the second-longest active run in the Eastern League. More importantly, his OPS had climbed from .629 to .893 during the surge, turning what looked like a buried season into one of Somerset’s biggest offensive developments.

The swing-and-miss concerns have not disappeared. But this version of Avina changes the math for Somerset’s lineup. He is not just ambushing mistakes anymore. He is doing damage consistently enough that opposing pitchers have to treat him like a legitimate middle-of-the-order threat.

Garrett Martin Keeps Driving the Power Conversation

If Avina has been Somerset’s biggest turnaround, Garrett Martin has been its most dangerous power source.

Martin delivered the swing of the week Friday night, launching a grand slam that broke open Somerset's 7-3 win over Binghamton. It was his 12th home run of the season and the Patriots’ fourth grand slam of the year, another reminder of how quickly his bat can tilt a game.

He followed it up a night later with another home run, pushing his Eastern League-leading total to 13. Through Saturday, Martin also led the Yankees’ minor league system in homers and ranked second among all Double-A hitters.

This has not been just a short homer binge, either. By Sunday, Martin had extended his on-base streak to 12 games, slashing .327/.397/.673 during that stretch while raising his OPS from .813 to .905. That matters because Martin’s raw power has never been difficult to spot. The question has always been how consistently he could access it.

Right now, he is answering that question. Martin is getting to his power often enough to look like one of the defining hitters in the Eastern League, and his presence has changed the feel of Somerset’s lineup.

Hardman and Morales Providing The Muscle

Hardman opened the scoring Tuesday with a 106 mph RBI single, giving him an Eastern League-leading 30 RBI at the time. He added multi-hit games Thursday and Saturday, then

homered Sunday in his first professional game at shortstop. That last part came with a strange little footnote: it was Hardman’s 471st professional game, and his first appearance at short since 2017 summer ball.

By the end of the series, Hardman had pushed his RBI total to 33, tied for first in the Eastern League and tied for second among all Double-A hitters. Coby Morales met him there.

Morales went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored Sunday, moving him to 33 RBI on the year as well. Together, Morales and Hardman have driven in 66 runs, the most by any Somerset duo through the first 39 games of a season in franchise history.

Martin and Avina may be carrying the biggest power storylines, but Hardman and Morales have kept Somerset’s offense from becoming too top-heavy. They have given the Patriots length, reliability and run production behind the big swings, which is why this lineup has started to look deeper than a simple hot streak.

The Grand Slams Are Getting Absurd

Somerset hit no grand slams in 2025.This year, the Patriots already have five, and they came from five different players: Morales, Owen Cobb, Hardman, Martin and Miguel Palma.

Palma’s came Saturday in a 12-3 win, one night after Martin’s grand slam helped beat Binghamton on Friday. Through Saturday, Somerset’s five grand slams were the most in Minor League Baseball and even more than the MLB-leading Baltimore Orioles had at the time. That is partly a fun stat, but it also says something real about the lineup. Somerset is creating traffic, and when pitchers miss, the Patriots are not settling for one run.

Saturday was the best example. All nine Somerset hitters recorded a hit and scored a run.

Six different players drove in at least one run. Palma homered. DJ Gladney homered. Martin homered. Morales doubled in two. Hardman had another multi-hit night. It was not subtle, and it did not need to be.

The Pitching Staff Kept Shoving

The bats carried the week, but the pitching was not a passenger.

Somerset opened the series with a two-hit shutout Tuesday, with Trent Sellers throwing five scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out seven. Across his last two home starts, Sellers has allowed no runs with 17 strikeouts and three walks in 9.2 innings.

Thursday brought another strong pitching storyline. Ben Hess returned from the injured list, but Xavier Rivas did the heavy lifting behind him. Rivas set Double-A career highs with 5.1 innings and 10 strikeouts, giving Somerset a major bridge in a 5-3 win.

Friday belonged to Jack Cebert, who allowed one run over 5.2 innings with seven strikeouts and no walks. Through three Double-A starts, Cebert has 20 strikeouts and four walks in 16 innings.

Across Somerset and Hudson Valley, he owns a 2.36 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 37 strikeouts against seven walks.

Even Sunday’s loss came with 16 strikeouts from the pitching staff, the fourth time this season Somerset has punched out at least 15 hitters. The Patriots’ 11.2 K/9 led Double-A and ranked sixth in full-season Minor League Baseball at the time of Sunday’s game.

The issue is that the staff also showed how thin the margin can get when the ball leaves the yard the other way. Binghamton hit three homers Sunday, including Jacob Reimer’s go-ahead three-run shot in the sixth, and Somerset’s own three-homer day was not enough.

A Series Win, But Not a Finished Product

That is probably the honest read on Somerset right now.

The Patriots are dangerous. They can bury teams with one inning. They can miss bats in bunches. They have multiple hitters producing at or near the top of the Eastern Leagueleaderboards. They have enough power that almost every game feels like it can flip with one swing. They are also still 19-20 after Sunday’s loss.

That record matters because it keeps the week from being framed as some flawless arrival.

Somerset won the series, secured its second series victory of the season, and got back to .500 before slipping back below it again. The Patriots are trending in the right direction, but the next step is turning the loud stretches into something more stable.

Still, this week was a good one for the Yankees’ Double-A affiliate. Avina looks like a different hitter than he did a month ago. Martin is making his power impossible to ignore.

Hardman and Morales are driving in runs at a historic pace for Somerset. Palma added a late-week thunderbolt. Gladney continues to hit. Cebert, Sellers, Rivas, and Carr all gave the staff something to build on.

Every Prospect. Every Level. Every Day.