Indholdsfortegnelse for March 2021 i Baseball America

Quinn Priester’s mom is going to text him about this article. The Pirates’ top pitching prospect left scouts who saw him at instructional league raving about the progress he made during the 2020 season. The 20-year-old righthander was getting his fastball up to 98 mph, with more conviction in his pitching. That has made him a trendy breakout pick for when baseball returns. Priester has tried to ignore the attention that has come with those reports, but he receives texts from his mother every time there is a new article or prospect list featuring him. “It’s awesome, we appreciate all of it,” Priester said. “It’s definitely an honor to be talked about highly by places like Baseball America. So it’s definitely really cool. But definitely keep working, keep getting better,…

The Blue Jays hoped for a boost when they called up catcher Alejandro Kirk last Sept. 11. Precisely 10 days later, the catching phenom from Tijuana, Mexico, delivered one. A mere 21 years old at the time, appearing in his sixth big league game despite never before playing above Class A, he was the driving force in a pivotal 11-5 win against the Yankees, strengthening Toronto’s hold on a postseason berth. From the eighth spot in the batting order, Kirk singled and scored in a pivotal five-run third inning, doubled and scored in a pour-it-on, four-run fourth, singled again in the fifth and went to the opposite field for his first career homer in the seventh. The Yankees had no idea what hit them. “Definitely tonight was my most productive…

Injuries beset former Top 100 Prospects AJ Puk (Athletics) and Brendan McKay (Rays). The Padres’ MacKenzie Gore and the Royals’ Daniel Lynch didn’t quite pitch their way to the big leagues in 2020. Tarik Skubal of the Tigers did but ran up a 5.63 ERA in 32 innings. Still, we bet the over on this group, which includes a dozen southpaws with power stuff, none all that far away from the big leagues. TOP 2021 ROOKIES Look for Gore, Skubal and Lynch to make their marks in 2021. Garrett Crochet (White Sox), Adrian Morejon (Padres), Shane McClanahan (Rays) and Puk could do the same, though whether that’s as starters or relievers hasn’t been determined. THE BREAKOUT The Padres’ Ryan Weathers made history in 2020, becoming the second pitcher ever to…

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington and his baseball operations team are playing the long game. In fact, they are playing the longest game that’s been attempted in some time in Pittsburgh. The Pirates last undertook a rebuilding effort with a distant time horizon a decade ago, when Jameson Taillon and Gerrit Cole were selected with top two overall picks in the 2010 and 2011 drafts. Taillon and Cole headlined an historic expenditure of draft capital on pitchers. During spring training in the early 2010s, surrounded by the orange groves and citrus farms of Bradenton, Fla., the Pirates’ backfields were growing a seemingly endless crop of projectable, 6-foot-4 or taller pitchers. In three drafts from 2009 to 2011, the Pirates allocated 22 of their first 30 picks to pitchers, with the…

BALTIMORE ORIOLES With one trade on Feb. 2, the Orioles satisfied their need for infield depth and moved a veteran starting pitcher who didn’t fit in their rebuild plans. The Orioles acquired 23-year-old Jahmai Jones from the Angels for Alex Cobb, agreeing to absorb most of the $15 million remaining on the veteran’s contract. Jones, a 2015 second-rounder from Wesleyan High in Norcross, Ga., at one point ranked as a Top 100 Prospect. An infielder-turned-outfielder in high school, the 6-foot, 204-pound Jones made the switch back to second base in 2018. He hasn’t played shortstop or third base professionally, but the Orioles could allow him to compete for a utility job in camp, while making Freddy Galvis the starting shortstop and Yolmer Sanchez the primary second baseman. Otherwise, Jones, whose…

Each January, major league scouting departments hunker down for preseason meetings to prepare for the upcoming amateur season. This year could be more chaotic for scouts than ever before thanks to challenges the coronavirus pandemic caused during last year’s evaluation period—particularly for the college class. Scouts have fewer looks at players entering this season than ever before. Teams that place heavier weight on models and statistics don’t have nearly the same amount of information baked into their projections. But time marches on, and the draft will take place on July 11. As ever, our draft rankings and reports are compiled with feedback from major league scouts and evaluators. They reflect future promise more than present production. Vanderbilt righthander Kumar Rocker leads the way in the 2021 class, followed by Texas…

TOM ACKER, a righthander who pitched in the major leagues from 1956-59 with the Reds, posting a 19-13, 4.12 mark with 256 strikeouts in 380.1 innings, died Jan. 4 in Narvon, Pa. He was 90. FRANK BAUMANN, a lefthander who pitched in the major leagues for 11 seasons with the Red Sox, White Sox and Cubs from 1955-65, won 45 games and took home the American League ERA title (2.67) in 1960, died Dec. 13. He was 87. BING BENNETT, a righthander who pitched in the minor leagues in 1955 and ’57, died Feb. 9. He was 88. DAVID BRASIER, who played in the minor leagues from 1965-66, died Feb. 11. He was 72. ROYCE CHANDLER, a righthander who pitched in the minor leagues from 1949-52, died Feb. 10. He…

1. WANDER FRANCO RAYS, SS ETA: 2021 | AGE: 20 HIT: 80 | POW: 60 | RUN: 50 | FLD: 50 | ARM: 55 TOP 100 HISTORY: #96 in 2018 | #4 in 2019 | #1 in 2020 The precocious switch-hitter has potential batting titles in his future and a chance to reach the majors as a 20-year-old. 2. ADLEY RUTSCHMAN ORIOLES, C ETA: 2022 AGE: 23 HIT: 70 | POW: 70 | RUN: 40 | FLD: 60 | ARM: 70 TOP 100 HISTORY: #5 in 2020 The face of the Orioles’ rebuild is primed to be the rare catcher who is an offensive force while providing Gold Glove-caliber defense. 3. JULIO RODRIGUEZ MARINERS, OF ETA: 2022 AGE: 20 HIT: 60 | POW: 70 | RUN: 45 | FLD: 55…

At first glance, it’s easy to forget that catcher Francisco Alvarez is still just a kid who longs to be near his parents. With big hands, bulging forearms and a powerful physique, the Mets’ No. 1 prospect has been such an imposing figure that children in his native Venezuela began calling him “Troll” early in his teens. But even a powerful 5-foot-11, 220-pound 19-year-old needs the warmth of his parents while stuck in a foreign land during the coronavirus pandemic. Baseball brought Alvarez to the United States, but he was stuck last season in America when Major League Baseball shut down all minor league facilities and spring training sites last March at the outset of the pandemic. Even worse, he couldn’t go back home to Venezuela. All prospects from Venezuela…

Want to make a bet? Looking at the history of Baseball America Top 100 Prospects rankings, one can feel relatively confident the top five prospects will outperform the prospects ranked from 10 to 20. The difference between ranking No. 1 and No. 20 on this list is relatively substantial. But when you get to the back end of the list, the difference between the prospect ranked 80th and the prospect ranked 100th is a much smaller gap than that at the top of the list. It’s still 20 spots, but those 20 spots mean much less the further down the list one goes. There is nothing linear about a Top 100 Prospects ranking. The difference between ranking 90th and 91st is often infinitesimal. In fact, the gap between No. 1…

Each year since 1984, Baseball America has ranked the farm systems of every organization. This year’s edition of the Organization Talent Rankings sees the Rays repeat at No. 1, while the surging Mariners move into the No. 2 position, three years after ranking dead last. The Tigers’ system ranks fourth, the highest Detroit has placed since the first Organization Talent Rankings. Most of the categories are self-explanatory. The Last five displays teams’ average standing from 2016 to 2020. 1. TAMPA BAY RAYS Last year rank: #1. Last five: #6. Top 100 Prospects (5): SS Wander Franco #1, OF Randy Arozarena #17, RHP Luis Patiño #23, 2B/SS Vidal Brujan #56, LHP Shane McClanahan #100. The Rays can match any organization in top-tier prospects, but it’s the club’s exceptional depth, especially in…

What makes a player a prospect? At its core, the answer to the question is simple: A prospect is someone who projects to play in the major leagues. For 40 years, every ranking Baseball America has compiled—from the Top 100 Prospects to Minor League Top 20s to draft rankings—has been an effort to identify those future major leaguers and rank them in order of their projected impact at baseball’s highest level. While every team and fanbase dreams of their prospects becoming major leaguers, relatively few ever do. In the 152-year history of Major League Baseball, fewer than 20,000 players have reached the major leagues, even for a day. Far fewer have had sustained careers. A major component of identifying prospects is understanding how many of them realistically exist. In conjunction…

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS When he was in college and almost entirely new to pitching, righthander Conor Grammes would have a simple approach on the mound. “It was basically,” Grammes said, “throw it as hard as I can over the middle and let’s hope my velocity beats them.” Grammes still might not earn plus grades for his control or command, but the hard-throwing prospect has made big strides in a relatively short amount of time. He has gone from walking more than six batters per nine innings his junior year at Xavier to someone who mostly filled up the zone during instructional league last fall Considering the weapons at his disposal—starting with a fastball that sits in the mid-to-upper 90s and touches 100 mph—Grammes’ ceiling is enormous if he learns to further…

Prospect analysis is at the core of what Baseball America does, and BA has analyzed many great prospects in its 40 years. To put those great prospects in perspective, we asked the three most qualified individuals we know to rank their top 40 prospects of 40 years of Baseball America. Founding editor Allan Simpson invented the way we consume prospect coverage—and the draft—when he launched Baseball America in 1981. Former executive editor Jim Callis helped to elevate BA in the 1990s and invented the Prospect Handbook in 2001. Former editor-in-chief John Manuel demonstrated such an expansive knowledge of prospects, the draft and the major leagues that the Twins hired him as a scout in 2018. In the ranking below, “peak” refers to each player’s highest position on a Top 100…

Jasson Dominguez celebrated his 18th birthday on Feb. 7 with his family in the Dominican Republic. Less than 24 hours later, the center fielder was on a plane headed back to the United States. It was time for the Yankees’ top prospect to get back to work. I was really excited for my first year as a pro and I still feel that hype for Opening Day,” Dominguez said. “I’m tired of waiting. I’m desperate to get out there already.” The Yankees have also been waiting for nearly two years to see Dominguez in game action in the U.S., something the coronavirus pandemic prevented from happening in 2020. The Yankees signed Dominguez for $5.1 million in 2019, awarding him the highest bonus they have ever paid to an international amateur.…

The catcher position is absolutely loaded. The Orioles’ Adley Rutschman is a generational talent. He, Francisco Alvarez (Mets), Keibert Ruiz (Dodgers) and Tyler Soderstrom (Athletics) all rank as No. 1 prospects for their organizations. TOP 2021 ROOKIES The Twins’ Ryan Jeffers is poised to see regular playing time after an encouraging 2020 debut, while Luis Campusano (Padres), Joey Bart (Giants), Daulton Varsho (D-backs), Alejandro Kirk (Blue Jays) and Sam Huff (Rangers) could see large shares of playing time as rookies. So could the Reds’ Tyler Stephenson, who is not listed among the top 10 below. THE BREAKOUT The Athletics snagged Tyler Soderstrom with the 26th overall pick in 2020 out of a NorCal high school. He impressed club officials with his feel to hit, power and patience as an 18-year-old…

It is the best of times for catching prospects. It is the worst of times for corner infielders, particularly first basemen. That is especially true beyond Spencer Torkelson (Tigers) and Andrew Vaughn (White Sox), who were top-of-the-board picks in the past two drafts and have middle-ofthe-order potential. That duo has a chance to elevate this group, which lacks for proximity value. TOP 2021 ROOKIES Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes was one of the best hitters in baseball last September, when he made his big league debut. He is a sneaky five-tool talent who has multiple Gold Gloves in his future for the rebuilding Pirates. Other rookies who should take the field frequently are Josh Jung (Rangers), Ryan Mountcastle (Orioles) and Bobby Dalbec (Red Sox). THE BREAKOUT Rece Hinds stood out…

At a time when there were no games to be played, Diamondbacks outfielder Kristian Robinson would close his eyes and imagine them. Sometimes he would picture himself standing in the outfield, his mind in a peaceful state. Other times he would pick up a bat, incorporating a physical rep with an imaginary situation. For Robinson, visualization is something he will take from baseball’s lost pandemic year. It is not the only thing. There was a readjusting of his priorities, a sense of humility and the joy of fatherhood. It all helped the 20-year-old salvage what was, in some ways, a lost year for development. But that is not the way Robinson would describe last year. There might not have been minor league games to play—and Robinson might perfectly represent the…

Baseball America studied the 15-year period from 1998 to 2012 to determine the average number of future major leaguers, future major league regulars and future major league all-stars in a farm system at a given time. Farm systems were assessed at the beginning of a season and count only prospect-eligible players. To qualify for Majors below, a player must appear in one major league game. A Regular is defined as a player who accrues at least 1,500 at-bats, 450 innings or 150 appearances in his career. An All-Star made at least one all-star team. Organizations are sorted by average number of major leaguers. It’s no surprise to see the Yankees and Braves in the top spots given those teams’ dominance in the 1990s and early 2000s. Not only were New…

Baseball today is an international game. Major league players hail from all over the globe, from the United States and Canada to Latin America to the Pacific Rim. Even Europe can count Didi Gregorius and Max Kepler. But when Baseball America published its first issue in 1981, the game was not as international. The share of playing time accounted for by players from Latin America, where some countries had played baseball for 100 years, was less than 10% of all big league plate appearances and innings. But things were about to change. In 1982, the Dominican Republic overtook Cuba as the No. 1 supplier of international talent to the major leagues—and it has never looked back. The Latin influence on Major League Baseball has continued to grow in the last…