Innehållsförteckning för November 16, 2018 från Baseball America

WAR stands for wins above replacement, according to Baseball-Reference.com. DNS indicates a draft pick who did not sign. Round number is included in parentheses for top draft picks selected after the first round. ORGANIZATION TALENT RANKINGS Last Three Years WHITE SOX NOTABLE GRADUATIONS: RHP Carson Fulmer (13), LHP Jace Fry (NR), OF Daniel Palka (NR) TRENDING: ◀▶ The system will truly begin bearing fruit in 2019, when Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease are on pace to debut in the big leagues. INDIANS NOTABLE GRADUATIONS: RHP Shane Bieber (5), OF Greg Allen (8), SS Erik Gonzalez (11) TRENDING: ◀▶ Cleveland traded top-prospect catcher Francisco Mejia to improve its bullpen, but the organization saw several low-level prospects emerge. TIGERS NOTABLE GRADUATIONS: RHP Joe Jimenez (15), OF Victor Reyes (25), 2B Niko Goodrum…

Projected Future Grades On 20-80 Scouting Scale FB: 70. SPLIT: 70. SL: 55. CUTTER: 55. CTL: 60. 1. CASEY MIZE, RHP BORN: May 1, 1997. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-3. WT: 220. DRAFTED: Auburn, 2018 (1st). SIGNED BY: Justin Henry. TRACK RECORD: The Tigers had not picked first overall since 1997, when they selected Rice closer Matt Anderson. They hope that picking a college righthander works out better this time. Mize signed for $7.5 million, which set a bonus record for any player since the current draft format was adopted in 2012. Mize came into his junior season at Auburn facing questions about his durability. He had missed time as a sophomore with a flexor strain and did not pitch that summer. But he had no problems fronting Auburn’s rotation in…

HAVE A QUESTION? @jjcoop36 askba@baseballamerica.com Q How good was Patrick Mahomes’ arm when he was scouted in baseball? —PATRICK MOLLETTE, @PATRICKMOLLETTE A Before he became an NFL star as the quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes Jr. was a top baseball prospect who had the option of following in the footsteps of his father, Pat Mahomes, himself a top baseball prospect who ranked No. 25 overall in 1992. Coming out of high school, Mahomes Jr. ranked No. 419 among draft prospects in 2014. The Tigers picked him in the 37th round, but his draft ranking and his draft selection were heavily influenced by the fact that he was going to focus on football at Texas Tech. Our draft report on Mahomes from when he was a Whitehouse (Texas)…

Projected Future Grades On 20-80 Scouting Scale HIT: 60. POWER: 70. SPEED: 40. FIELD: 45. ARM: 40. 1. ELOY JIMENEZ, OF BORN: Nov. 27, 1996. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-4. WT: 205. DRAFTED: Dominican Republic, 2013. SIGNED BY: Jose Serra/Carlos Reyes (Cubs). TRACK RECORD: Baseball America ranked Jimenez as the No. 1 prospect in the 2013 international class, and the Cubs signed both him and No. 2 prospect Gleyber Torres. The Cubs dealt Jimenez to the White Sox along with righthander Dylan Cease as part of the four-player package for Jose Quintana in July 2017. Jimenez missed two weeks early in 2018 with a strained left pectoral muscle, and then two more weeks at midseason with a strained left adductor muscle. He spent the summer tearing apart the upper levels and…

Projected Future Grades On 20-80 Scouting Scale FASTBALL: 60. SLIDER: 60. CHANGE: 50. CONTROL: 55. 1. BRADY SINGER, RHP BORN: Aug. 4, 1996. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-5. WT: 210. DRAFTED: Florida, 2018 (1st). SIGNED BY: Jim Buckley. TRACK RECORD: Singer was another in the long line of highly-acclaimed starting pitchers coming out of the University of Florida. But the righthander’s pedigree goes further back then his time in Gainesville. He was a Blue Jays second-round pick out of high school who opted not to sign. The decision to skip pro ball the first time around turned out to be a wise choice by Singer. He was a key member of the Gators’ rotation as a sophomore and junior and was the Baseball America College Player of the Year in 2018.…

All but two players on World Series rosters previously appeared in the BA Prospect Handbook. Search Red Sox Dodgers Pedigree at Baseball America.com @JCRASNICK Before the start of spring training—so long ago, even the Orioles had reason to believe they might field a representative team—Manny Machado embraced the challenge of his free agent walk year. Baltimore had recently granted his request to move from third base back to his first love at shortstop, and Machado went to great lengths to prepare for the toll that all those forays in the hole and up the middle would take on his body. Machado went on a health kick, revamped his diet and added strength and definition to his body over the winter. Among his personal sacrifices were eliminating pizza and chicken nuggets…

Baseball America traveled to Jupiter for the PG World Championship and delivered daily scouting notebooks from the biggest tournament of the year. Visit BaseballAmerica.com/draft Most of the major league scouting community traveled to Jupiter, Fla., to see the 2018 edition of the Perfect Game World Wood Bat Association World Championship, the biggest high school travel-ball tournament in the country. While there, area scouts, crosscheckers and scouting directors were able to see additional at-bats from many of the top hitters in the 2019 class, while a few high-profile arms like No. 4 high school prospect Brennan Malone and No. 27 Jack Kochanowicz uncharacteristically have yet to shut things down. The WWBA also provided a preview of some of the top 2020 draft prospects, which is shaping up to have a deep…

@BaseballAmerica @BaseballAmerica BaseballAmericaMag ReadBA THE OFFSEASON IS BOOK SEASON AT BA It’s the most wonderful time of the year—when we’re hard at work creating the best baseball reference books on the market. Our first has already gone to press, and we’re busy on the second. It’s not always glamorous, though we always have fun. If you want a peek behind the scenes at BA HQ, follow our social channels. To order your own copies of the books we’re busy creating, go to: BaseballAmerica.com/store An added bonus: Book pre-orders will get their copies first—hot off the presses—for that fantasy league advantage! WIN PRIZES EVERY WEEKDAY, ALL MONTH LONG Visit our Web site and all of our social media channels throughout the month of November to win great prizes! BaseballAmerica.com/30days CORRECTION: Orioles righthander…

Projected Future Grades On 20-80 Scouting Scale FASTBALL: 60. CURVE: 60. CHANGE: 55. CONTROL: 60. 1. TRISTON McKENZIE, RHP BORN: Aug. 2, 1997. B-T: R-R. HT.: 6-5. WT.: 165. DRAFTED: HS—Royal Palm Beach, Fla., 2015 (1st supp). SIGNED BY: Juan Alvarez. TRACK RECORD: In the spring of 2015, McKenzie presented scouts with a difficult assignment. He had an excellent amateur track record and impressive present stuff, but he was listed at a rail-thin 6-foot-5, 165 pounds. While some questioned how much weight his frame will ever carry, the Indians drafted McKenzie 42nd overall and have been rewarded for the decision. He has built an impressive track record of success in pro ball. In 2017 alone, he pitched in the Futures Game, was named Carolina League pitcher of the year and…

Projected Future Grades On 20-80 Scouting Scale HIT: 70. POWER: 55. SPEED: 60. FIELD: 60. ARM: 55. 1. ROYCE LEWIS, SS BORN: June 5, 1999. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-2. WT: 188. DRAFTED: HS—San Juan Capistrano, Calif., 2017 (1st). SIGNED BY: John Leavitt. TRACK RECORD: Picking No. 1 overall in 2017 for just the third time in club history, the Twins passed on advanced college pitchers Brendan McKay (Louisville) and Kyle Wright (Vanderbilt) as well as elite high school arms Hunter Greene and MacKenzie Gore. Instead they ignored predraft concerns about Lewis’ hit tool and opted for him after falling in love with his five-tool potential, outstanding makeup and franchise-level charisma. Lewis accepted a club-record draft bonus of $6.725 million that was nearly a full million below slot value. He shined…

@TRACYRINGOLSBY The World Series championship pennants from 1985 and 2015 fly with pride at Kauffman Stadium, visual memories of those memorable moments in Royals franchise history. Dayton Moore remembers them well. In 1985, he was a college student, who, along with a couple of buddies, pulled off on the easement on Interstate 70, which runs above the right field wall at the ballpark, and watched Game 7 as best they could from an obstructed view that left him with an indelible memory. In 2015, he was the general manager of the team that was his team growing up, enjoying every moment of the Royals ending their 30-year championship drought with a roster he had created and fine-tuned. Three years later, the memories burn, but a major rebuild has been undertaken.…

ROBERT “BOB” ANDERLIK, a minor leaguer who played for the Cubs and Reds organizations from 1948-52, died July 6 in Spokane, Wash. He was 90. RALPH BROCKERT, a minor leaguer who played for the Cubs organization in 1950 and ’53, died July 11 in Wisconsin Dells, Wis. He was 88. LEON “BUDDY” CARTER, a third baseman who played in the Yankees, Kansas City Athletics, White Sox, Dodgers and Reds organizations from 1949-52 and 1954-59, died July 12 in Penney Farms, Fla. He was 86. ROBERT “BOB” CARTER, a lefthander who pitched in the Gulf Coast League for the Royals in 1973, died July 9 in Anderson, S.C. He was 65. ROSARIO CIATTO, a minor league catcher who played for the Tigers and Indians organizations from 1954-57, died July 10 in…