Innehållsförteckning för December 7, 2018 från Baseball America

HAVE A QUESTION? @jjcoop36 askba@baseballamerica.com Q How many major leauge hitting coaches are there who never played for an MLB organization? —JASON OCHART, @JASONOCHART A Jason is asking because the Cardinals hired Jeff Albert as their hitting coach. The entirety of Albert’s pro playing career is 11 games in independent leagues. That’s not as uncommon as you might expect. Albert is one of two current head hitting coaches who lacks any affiliated professional experience. The Pirates’ Rick Eckstein’s playing career ended at the college level. The Mets’ recently dismissed hitting coach, Pat Roessler, also had zero pro playing experience. Two other major league hitting coaches never reached Double-A as a player: the Twins’ James Rowson and the Phillies’ John Mallee. There were six open hitting coach jobs when we went…

1. JO ADELL, OF BORN: April 8, 1999. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-3 W: 208. DRAFTED: HS—Louisville, 2017 (1st). SIGNED BY: John Burden. TRACK RECORD: The 10th overall pick in 2017, Adell dominated two Rookie-level leagues after signing for just under $4.4 million, then spent less than two months at low Class A Burlington in 2018 before being promoted twice during the season. He joined high Class A Inland Empire on May 20 and Double-A Mobile on July 31, making an impressive jump for a 19-year-old one year removed from high school. Adell was the only Angels prospect in the 2018 Futures Game, and he doubled and scored the winning run despite being one of the game’s youngest players. His meteoric rise through the system was slowed by a jammed right…

1. HANS CROUSE, RHP BORN: Sept. 15, 1998. B-T: L-R. HT: 6-4. WT: 185. DRAFTED: HS—Dana Point, Calif., 2017 (2). SIGNED BY: Steve Flores. TRACK RECORD: Pitching for USA Baseball’s 18U national team as a high school senior in 2016, Crouse fired seven scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts in Team USA’s gold-medal game victory against Cuba in the COPABE Pan American Championship in Mexico. It was the beginning of a dominant senior campaign for Crouse, whom the Rangers drafted in the second round of the 2017 draft and signed for $1.45 million. Soon after signing, Crouse quickly looked more like a first-round pick when he reported to the Rookie-level Arizona League and picked apart hitters. The Rangers handle their high school pitching prospects with extreme caution, so Crouse opened 2018…

Drew Saylor long promised his wife that when his playing career ended, he would get a “real” job. So after the former Kent State infielder and Marlins draft pick played his final game in 2010, he returned home and worked at an Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Parma, Ohio. Saylor dutifully kept his promise, even becoming part of Enterprise’s management trainee program. But after a year and a half on the job, it was clear to his wife Amanda—Saylor’s high school sweetheart since their days at Wadsworth (Ohio) High—that he wasn’t being fulfilled. “Right around August (2011), Amanda said, ‘You should try to get into coaching,’ ” Saylor said. “She encouraged me to get back into baseball. She encouraged me to get back into something I’m passionate about. She said, ‘I feel…

If it weren’t for Ralph Nelson’s wife, Lisa, the Rocket City Trash Pandas might not exist. The Angels’ Double-A team would still be headed for Madison, Ala., in 2020, of course, but it wouldn’t be reemerging with the name that’s taking the sport by storm. When the name was first pitched, Nelson, the CEO of Ballcorps, which owns the Madison franchise, had never heard the words “trash” and “panda” used consecutively, and he certainly didn’t know that the term was a nickname for a raccoon. Naturally, he was a little confused at how popular the suggestion was among the other people helping whittle the list of 900 unique suggestions down to the five finalists. “We had the focus groups, and then our group met at a restaurant in Huntsville,” Nelson…

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 HOUSTON ASTROS NOTABLE GRADUATIONS: 3B/1B J.D. Davis (11), 1B A.J. Reed (22), C Max Stassi (NR) TRENDING: ◂▸ Even though young players like Kyle Tucker, Josh James and Framber Valdez made their big league debuts in 2018, all of the Astros’ top young talent retains prospect eligibility for 2019. LOS ANGELES ANGELS NOTABLE GRADUATIONS: RHP/DH Shohei Ohtani (1), RHP Jaime Barria (6), 3B Taylor Ward (19), 2B/3B David Fletcher (27), RHP Felix Pena (NR), RHP Justin Anderson (NR) TRENDING: ▴ Rookie of the Year Ohtani highlights a deep first-year class in…

1. JESUS LUZARDO, LHP BORN: Sept. 30, 1997. B-T: L-L. HT: 6-1. WT: 205. DRAFTED: HS—Parkland, Fla., 2016 (3rd). SIGNED BY: Alex Morales (Nationals). TRACK RECORD: Born in Peru to Venezuelan parents, Luzardo will become the first ever Peruvian-born major leaguer when he debuts. The quality of his stuff ensures that he will be remembered as more than the answer to a trivia question. Luzardo moved with his family to Florida when he was 1 year old and went on to attend Stoneman Douglas High, the BA High School Team of the Year in 2016, his senior season. Luzardo was sidelined for much of that season after having Tommy John surgery in March. He still ranked as the No. 50 prospect for the 2016 draft, when the Nationals selected him…

While Larry King and Mary Hart were rooting for the Dodgers from their front-row seats at Chavez Ravine and a big swath of the American sports public was either ambivalent or asleep, dozens of major league scouts joined millions of sports fans in New England and quietly pulled for the Red Sox in the 2018 World Series. In part, that show of support reflected a healthy regard for David Dombrowski, Boston’s president of baseball operations, as the personification of everything that talent evaluators hold dear. Dombrowski’s 42-year tenure in baseball has heightened his sensitivity to the role of scouts and their contribution to roster construction and organizational culture. At 62, Dombrowski has been around long enough to remember when personnel men would pound the table in support of a player…

When Robert Murphy took control of the Dayton Dragons nearly 20 years ago, the club was an idea. The ballpark hadn’t been built. But Murphy was confident that his Midwest League club would adhere to a few core principles. The Dragons would offer great family entertainment. TheDragonswouldofferaffordable products. The Dragons would have unsurpassed customer service. TheDragonswouldimpactthe community TheDragonswouldcreateimpactful sponsorships for corporate sponsors. “When you look at what we decided 20 years ago would be our guiding lights, it has stayed exactly the same,” said Murphy, the team’s president. The Dragons opened their gates for the first time in April 2000. The Reds’ low Class A affiliate has sold out every game since. There is nothing about Murphy’s mission statement that would seem out of place for any…

■ ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS: After reassurance from Brandiose, the team’s ownership allowed Trash Pandas to stand as a name-the-team finalist. Early sales numbers indicate the decision was wise. ■ SYRACUSE METS: Instead of jumping on the trend of keeping parent club and affiliate separate, Syracuse went the other direction and ditched Chiefs in favor of Mets. The logos were created in-house. ■ FAYETTEVILLE WOODPECKERS: After two years at Buies Creek, the Astros’ high Class A affiliate is moving to its permanent home. With the move came a new name and logos, which were designed by the club. ■ AMARILLO SOD POODLES: The Padres’ new Texas League club went through the Brandiose process and emerged with a nickname for prairie dogs, which are common in the grasslands.…

@STEVERUSHIN The greatest of all baseball awards is surely the Platinum Glove, presented by Rawlings to the best fielder in each league, and designed, it would seem, to make mere Gold Glovers feel inadequate. The same principle applies to the way the American Express platinum card shames lowly gold card-holders, or the Platinum status of some Delta frequent flyers belittles passengers with Gold or Silver bag tags. Delta has a higher status than Platinum even, called Diamond, and baseball ought to bestow a single trophy on its very best fielder, called a Diamond Glove. Likewise, let there be a Cy Younger—awarded to the better of the two Cy Young-winners—and an MVMVP, given to the More Valuable Most Valuable Player. The trouble with baseball awards is there aren’t enough of them.…

@BaseballAmerica @BaseballAmerica BaseballAmericaMag ReadBA EXCLUSIVE WEB CONTENT FOR SUBSCRIBERS Baseball America online subscribers received a windfall of Web-only content in November. DRAFT REPORT CARDS We cover all 30 clubs’ draft classes, going way beyond first-round picks to bring you standouts for best power, best fastball, best pro debut and nine other relevant categories. It’s never too early to prepare for your dynasty draft. Search 2018 MLB Draft Report Cards at BaseballAmerica.com MINOR LEAGUE FREE AGENTS All 520 players granted minor league free agency on Nov. 2. BaseballAmerica.com/stories/minor-league-free-agents-2018 BEST HANDS IN BASEBALL Brewers shortstop prospect Antonio Pinero showed off his hand-eye coordination in a series of offseason drills, as Ben Badler pointed out on Instagram. Ben’s IG post received 88,000 views was picked up by the accounts for Major League Baseball…

1. FORREST WHITLEY, RHP BORN: Sept. 15, 1997. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-7. WT: 207. DRAFTED: HS—San Antonio, 2016 (1st). SIGNED BY: Noel Gonzales-Luna. TRACK RECORD: After being one of the fastest-moving prep pitchers in recent history in his first full pro season in 2017, Whitley’s climb to the majors slowed to a crawl in 2018. A 50-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug held him out until June. Upon returning to Double-A Corpus Christi, he was pulled from an early July start with an oblique injury that forced him to miss the Futures Game. He missed more than a month and then was shut down again in late August with a late muscle injury. He made an impressive return in the Arizona Fall League (in one outing, he…

1. EVAN WHITE, 1B BORN: April 26, 1996. B-T: R-L. HT: 6-3. WT: 205. DRAFTED: Kentucky, 2017 (1st). SIGNED BY: Jackson Laumann. TRACK RECORD: White grew up outside of Columbus, Ohio, and was a big Reds fan, especially admiring first baseman Joey Votto. The All-Ohio player of the year in 2014, White comes by his athleticism naturally. Both his father and grandfather played minor league baseball, and his parents were both college basketball players. Undrafted out of high school, White earned second team All-America honors as a Kentucky junior in 2017. A career .356 hitter for the Wildcats, he also played with USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team in the summer before his junior year. White is the rare five-tool player at first base, with a plus arm and above-average speed…

The Tony Gwynn Award is a lifetime achievement award Baseball America gives annually for lasting contributions to the game. The award is named after Gwynn, who not only had a Hall of Fame playing career but was also a successful coach at his alma mater of San Diego State. Here is a look at previous winners. 2015: Cal Ripken Jr. Owner of the record for most consecutive games played and a Hall of Fame shortstop, Ripken has stayed in the game after retiring as a player. He is the owner of several minor league teams and also works in helping players develop through the Ripken Baseball Camps, Ripken tournaments and Ripken Summer Collegiate League. 2016: Augie Garrido. Garrido retired in 2016 with the most wins in college baseball history (1,975).…

EDWARD “ED” BORILLO, a minor leaguer who played in the North Atlantic League for the Bloomingdale Troopers in 1946, died July 22 in Willamsburg, Va. He was 96. EZIO BONETTI, a minor leaguer who played in the Middle Atlantic and Western Carolina leagues for the Pirates organization from 1948-50, died July 20 in Torrington, Conn. He was 94. LESTER “ELWOOD” BRINGLE, a righthander in the St. Louis Browns organization who pitched in the North Carolina State League from 1948-50 and the Tri-State League in 1951, died July 24 in Salisbury, N.C. He was 91. LOUIS “LOU” ERTLE, a minor league infielder who played for the Dodgers and Pirates organization from 1960-66, died July 20 in Whittier, Calif. He was 78. Ertle peaked in the Double-A Southern League in 1964. WILLIAM…