Luis Guillorme Draws Raves For His Glove

Luis Guillorme has a penchant for the highlight reel.

In a spring training video that went viral, the Double-A Binghamton shortstop nonchalantly caught with one hand a bat that flew into the Mets dugout after Adeiny Hechavarria was fooled on a pitch in an exhibition game. But on the field the 22-year-old Venezuelan is just as acrobatic.

In an Aug. 6 game for Binghamton, he ranged far to his left to snag a grounder and executed a glove flip—between his legs—to force the runner at second base. It was just the latest defensive gem for Guillorme, a 10th-round pick in 2013 out of Coral Springs (Fla.) High .

But with the organization’s top prospect Amed Rosario promoted to New York and regarded as the franchise’s shortstop of the future, Guillorme may have to begin dabbling at other positions as he moves closer to the major leagues.

“He’s got very good hands—he relies on his hands quite a bit,” said a talent evaluator who has watched Guillorme. “He may feature more as a second baseman, but he can play shortstop, maybe be a utility infielder.”

Another evaluator who has watched Guillorme rated the shortstop as average in terms of range but said he compensates with arm strength and “great” hands.

“He is very steady with ability to make the tough play,” the evaluator said.

A hot stretch at the plate had the lefthanded-batting Guillorme hitting .294/.379/.342 with one home run and 33 RBIs through 108 games.

Guillorme’s best season offensively came at low Class A Savannah in 2015, when he hit .318/.354/.391 and stole 18 bases to win the South Atlantic League MVP award.

“He’s a singles hitter, with not much power and an inside-out swing,” the first evaluator said. “As far as ceiling goes he fits that of a utility-type player. Just a good fielder. His hands are the best tool that he has.”

NEW YORK MINUTES

• First baseman Dominic Smith, the organization’s No. 2 prospect, joined Rosario in New York in August.

• The Mets are expecting to see righthander Jamie Callahan, a reliever acquired from the Red Sox for Addison Reed on July 31, as a September callup.

— Mike Puma covers the Mets for the New York Post

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