Innehållsförteckning för January 11, 2019 från Baseball America

HAVE A QUESTION? @jjcoop36 askba@baseballamerica.com Q What has been the biggest catalyst for the Cubs’ inability to produce homegrown pitching talent and depth? —DAVE N @JR4151947 A I don’t think there is one easy answer, but there are a multitude of contributing factors for the Cubs’dearth of homegrown pitching. The first is a deliberate decision to emphasize bats at the top of the draft. The Cubs had top 10 picks in five straight drafts and picked hitters every time. The Cubs went 5-for-5 with Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Ian Happ, Kyle Schwarber and Albert Almora Jr. all regulars. The Cubs are also adept at evaluating international bats—see: Gleyber Torres and Eloy Jimenez. Over the past eight drafts, the Cubs have picked 26 pitchers in the top five rounds. They’ve struggled to develop…

1. BRENDAN RODGERS, SS/2B BORN: Aug. 9, 1996. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-0. WT.: 185. DRAFTED: HS—Lake Mary, Fla., 2015 (1st). SIGNED BY: John Cedarburg TRACK RECORD: Just what the Rockies think of Rodgers is as obvious as the franchise-record $5.5 million bonus he received after being selected third overall in the 2015 draft, behind shortstops Dansby Swanson and Alex Bregman. Those two came out of college and have made the big leagues. Rodgers, a high school sign, is now on the verge of getting his own opportunity at the highest level. Selected to play in the Futures Game in 2018, he was promoted late in the season to Triple-A Albuquerque. He struggled there not only with shoulder tightness, but also a slight hamstring issue, which led to the Rockies deciding…

1. JOEY BART, C BORN: Dec. 15, 1996. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-3. WT: 220. DRAFTED: Georgia Tech, 2018 (1st). SIGNED BY: Luke Murton. TRACK RECORD: Coming out of Buford (Ga.) High in 2015, Bart ranked No. 183 on the BA 500 but fell to the Rays in the 27th round in large part because of his strong commitment to Georgia Tech. In college, Bart followed in the footsteps of former Yellow Jackets backstops and first-round picks Jason Varitek and Matt Wieters. A career .321/.407/.544 hitter, Bart led the Atlantic Coast Conference in hitting (.359) as a junior in 2018, when he was named the ACC’s player of the year and selected as a first-team All-American. He became the highest draft pick in Georgia Tech history when the Giants selected him…

@JOE_SHEEHAN A year ago at this time, Juan Soto was just a couple of months past his 19th birthday and a veteran of 83 professional games, none of them above the South Atlantic League. He had played in just 32 contests in 2017, losing most of his season to ankle and hamate injuries. Despite the limited track record, Baseball America ranked him as the 56th-best prospect in the game. No one, it seems fair to say, saw Soto putting up the best hitting season by any teenager in baseball history. Reaching the majors on May 20 after a biblical spate of injuries to Nationals outfielders, Soto hit .292/.406/.517, making him the only teenager ever to have a .400 on-base percentage, and one of just three to ever slug .500. He…

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. ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS NOTABLE GRADUATIONS: OF Socrates Brito (19), RHP Yoshihisa Hirano (NR), RHP Matt Koch (NR) TRENDING: tu A veteran D-backs club challenged for a playoff spot but fell short. A promising group of international prospects makes the future a bit brighter even though first-round pick Matt McLain didn’t sign. COLORADO ROCKIES NOTABLE GRADUATIONS: 1B/3B Ryan McMahon (2), C Tom Murphy (12) TRENDING: The future looks bright in Denver, where the Rockies are coming off back-to-back postseason appearances and boast depth of position prospects, particularly infielders. LOS ANGELES DODGERS NOTABLE GRADUATIONS: RHP Walker Buehler (1) TRENDING: tu…

1. KEIBERT RUIZ, C BORN: July 20, 1998. B-T: B-R. HT: 6-0. WT: 200. SIGNED: Venezuela, 2014. SIGNED BY: Francisco Cartaya/Pedro Avila. TRACK RECORD: Ruiz mainly attracted teams with his defense as an amateur in Venezuela, training at the academy run by former major league shortstop Carlos Guillen. Almost immediately after signing with the Dodgers for $140,000, Ruiz began holding his own against older players. At age 17 he moved to the Rookie-level Pioneer League and hit .354 as the league’s youngest player. At 18 he jumped to full-season ball and hit .316 with an .813 OPS between low Class A and high Class A. And in his age-19 season, as the rare teenaged catcher in the upper levels, Ruiz had the lowest strikeout rate of any hitter in Double-A,…

@BaseballAmerica @BaseballAmerica BaseballAmericaMag ReadBA PROSPECT HANDBOOK Fernando Tatis Jr. graces the cover of the 2019 Prospect Handbook. He joins Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Corey Seager, Kris Bryant and Mike Trout as Handbook cover subjects. ASK BEN BADLER National writer Ben Badler held a chat on Instagram to answer questions from followers. Ben’s feed updates you on prospects you need to know. @ben.badler MAJOR LEAGUE TRADE CENTRAL We aren’t satisfied to learn that a major league star has been traded for “three minor leaguers,” and you don’t have to be either. Our Trade Central provides full scouting reports for all minor league prosepcts as well as major league players who have been swapped this hot stove season. BaseballAmerica.com/majors…

1. JAZZ CHISHOLM, SS BORN: Feb. 1, 1998. B-T: L-R. HT: 5-11. WT: 165. SIGNED: Bahamas, 2015. SIGNED BY: Craig Shipley. TRACK RECORD: At a showcase for Lucius Fox in the Bahamas in February 2015, D-backs scout Craig Shipley was as intrigued by Fox at shortstop as he was by Chisholm, who was playing second base. Shipley saw Chisholm again a few weeks later, this time at short, and, impressed by Chisholm’s actions and athleticism, wound up signing him for $200,000 that July. He has quickly turned himself into a bargain. After an impressive debut in Rookie-level Missoula, where he hit .281 with nine homers in 249 at-bats, Chisholm played in just 29 games in 2017 before a torn meniscus ended his season. He made up for lost time in…

1. FERNANDO TATIS JR., SS BORN: Jan. 2, 1999. B-T: R-R. HT.: 6-3. WT.: 185. SIGNED: Dominican Republic, 2015. SIGNED BY: Miguel Peguero (White Sox) TRACK RECORD: Fernando Tatis had a quality decade-long major league career, but his son Fernando Jr. projects to be even better. The younger Tatis was lightly regarded as an international amateur in the Dominican Republic and wasn’t even invited to MLB’s international showcase when he was 16. The White Sox went against the consensus and signed him for $700,000. Shortly after signing, Tatis grew two inches and filled out, developing newfound leverage and power. The Padres scouted Tatis heavily and, before he ever played a pro game, acquired him and righthander Erik Johnson from the White Sox for James Shields in June 2016. He quickly…

@JCRASNICK Nothing beats a bad Hall of Fame call to stoke outrage and generate spirited debate, so let’s just dispense with the niceties and get straight to the point: How in good conscience could the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame welcome seven new members to its class of 2019 and exclude Todd Rundgren? It was enough of travesty to make you want to retire to a dark room and, well, bang on a drum all day. While that injustice was playing out, the Baseball Hall of Fame was dealing with a misstep of its own. His name is Harold Baines, and he’s attracting more attention as an accidental baseball immortal than he ever could as a consummate professional and serial hit collector. The surprise came via an email announcement…

WILLIAM “BILL” BAUERNFEIND, a righthander who pitched in the Cubs, New York Giants and Kansas City Athletics organizations in 1951 and from 1956-57, died Aug. 21 in Stevensville, Mich. He was 86. DONALD “DON” BOYER, a minor leaguer who played in the Big State, Carolina and Northern leagues for the Reds organization in 1956, died Aug. 19 in Aiken, S.C. He was 84. LLOYD BOYNTON, a minor leaguer who played in the Provincial League for the St. Louis Browns organization in 1953, died Aug. 4 in Sherbrooke, Quebec. He was 93. FRANK CHRISTIE, a righthander who pitched in the Georgia State League from 1949-52, died Aug. 19 in Tallahassee, Fla. He was 96. CONRAD “CONNIE” CUNIC, a minor league reliever who pitched in the Florida State League for the Indians…