Innehållsförteckning för December 2021 från Baseball America

1. TYLER FREEMAN, SS/2B AGE: 23. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-0. WT: 170. DRAFTED: HS—Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., 2017 (2nd rd supp). SIGNED BY: Mike Bradford. TRACK RECORD: Since being drafted 71st overall in 2017 and signed away from his commitment to Texas Christian, Freeman has been the system’s most consistent hitter. In 2018, he led the New York-Penn League in a host of offensive categories, including batting (.352) and slugging (.511), as a 19-year-old. He followed that up with an impressive 2019, earning a promotion to High-A Lynchburg in his first taste of full-season ball. Despite being one of the youngest players in the Carolina League, he more than held his own after his promotion to Lynchburg and is a lifetime .319/.379/.441 hitter as a professional. He was hitting .323 for…

1. AUSTIN MARTIN, OF/SS AGE: 23. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-0. WT: 185. DRAFTED: Vanderbilt, 2020 (1st round). SIGNED BY: Nate Murrie (Blue Jays). TRACK RECORD: A standout collegian and All-American at Vanderbilt, Martin was in the conversation to be the No. 1 over-all pick in the 2020 draft. The Blue Jays were excited to see him fall to No. 5 overall, where they signed him for $7,000,825—the second-biggest bonus of the class. The Blue Jays traded Martin plus righthander Simeon Woods Richardson to the Twins for righthander Jose Berrios near the 2021 trade deadline. Martin made his pro debut at Double-A and showed excellent on-base ability, albeit while slugging just .382 in 92 games. He also faces questions about his future defensive home. SCOUTING REPORT: Martin developed a reputation as…

1. AARON ASHBY, LHP AGE: 24. B-T: R-L. HT: 6-2. WT: 181. DRAFTED: Crowder (Mo.) JC, 2018 (4th round). SIGNED BY: Drew Anderson. TRACK RECORD: A nephew of former all-star righthander Andy Ashby, Aaron showed up at Crowder (Mo.) JC throwing in the mid 80s with a solid breaking ball, but he walked 56 batters in 66 innings split between starting and relieving as a freshman in 2017. The next year, Ashby’s stuff ticked up, going from 88-91 mph early in the season to 90-94 mph later on. He struck out 156 batters in 74.2 innings that year, then signed with the Brewers for $520,000 as their fourth-round pick. In his first full season in 2019, Ashby won the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year award, then in 2020…

The Giants won 77 games in 2019 and 107 in 2021. Much of that improvement came from a dramatically improved lineup. The Giants improved from 14th in the National League in runs scored in 2019 to second in 2021. What’s remarkable is how the Giants made that improvement without turning over the lineup. There were nine Giants players who received 100 or more plate appearances in both 2019 and 2021. They accounted for 55% of the team’s total PAs in 2019 and 56% of the share in 2021. But even though that group increased in age from an average of 29.6 in 2019 to 31. in 2021, almost without fail, they were significantly more productive this year. They hit for a higher average, got on base more and hit for…

Everywhere around the country, minor league teams received an unexpected status check in 2020. With no season and uncertainty over what the reorganized minors would look like in 2021, minor league operators had to reach out to their longtime supporters and ask for help. And they didn’t know what the response would be. Would everyone ask for their money back, or would supporters help out the teams by leaving their money with the club? When the Hillsboro Hops reached out to their sponsors to inform them that they wouldn’t have a 2020 season, not one of the sponsors asked for their money back. Instead, every one of them just pushed their sponsorships to 2021. Maybe even more impressively, 94% of the Hops’ season-ticket holders rolled their money over into 2021…

1. RILEY GREENE, OF AGE: 21. B-T: L-L. HT: 6-3. WT: 200. DRAFTED: HS—Oviedo, Fla., 2019 (1st round). SIGNED BY: RJ Burgess. TRACK RECORD: Greene has yet to lose any momentum since being selected fifth overall in 2019. He signed for $6.18 million and hit the ground running in 2019, ascending three levels and hitting a combined .271/.347/.403 as he rose to Low-A West Michigan. Following the canceled 2020 minor league season, the Tigers challenged Greene once again in 2021 with an assignment to Double-A Erie. Once again, Greene excelled, hitting .298/.381/.525 and joining Spencer Torkelson as the Tigers’ representatives at the Futures Game in Denver. The Tigers tested Greene again in August with a promotion to Triple-A Toledo, where Greene exceeded expectations both offensively and defensively. Over 40 games…

1. BRENNEN DAVIS, OF AGE: 22. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-4. WT: 210. DRAFTED: HS—Chandler, Ariz., 2018 (2nd round). SIGNED BY: Steve McFarland. TRACK RECORD: Davis is the son of former NBA point guard Reggie Theus, but his father is not a part of his life. He was raised by his mother Jakki, a former standout long jumper at Washington, on a ranch in Arizona, where he tended to goats, llamas and other animals. Davis grew into a multi-sport standout and helped Basha High win the Arizona 6A state basketball championship as a junior while being named his region’s defensive player of the year, but he dropped basketball as a senior to focus on baseball full-time. The decision paid off when the Cubs drafted him in the second round in 2018…

1. ONEIL CRUZ, SS AGE: 23. B-T: L-R. HT: 6-7. WT: 210. SIGNED: Dominican Republic, 2015. SIGNED BY: Patrick Guerrero/Franklin Taveras/Bob Engle (Dodgers). TRACK RECORD: Cruz tests the imagination of evaluators and scouts alike. He’s something of a baseball unicorn as a 6-foot-7 shortstop, inviting annual skepticism that a position change is necessary. Yet the immensely talented Cruz continues to stave off such a decision. He spent most of 2021 manning shortstop at Double-A Altoona, where his .530 slugging percentage ranked ninth-best among all hitters in his league with 200 or more plate appearances. Cruz missed nearly seven weeks with a forearm injury, but made a brief stop in Triple-A upon returning before his big league debut. SCOUTING REPORT: Cruz boasts a treasure trove of plus power, speed and throwing…

BALTIMORE ORIOLES The Orioles shut down 23-year-old out-fielder Kyle Stowers after three games in the Arizona Fall League with a lower back injury. The club described it as “minor” and said the move was precautionary. Stowers probably earned a rest anyway. The 2019 second-rounder out of Stanford played for three affiliates this season and popped an organization-leading 27 home runs while batting .278/.383/.514 in 124 games. The Orioles chose Stowers as their co-minor league player of the year with catcher Adley Rutschman. Stowers went 2-for-10 with a double for Mesa before the Orioles sent him home to provide a longer stretch of time off and a more normal timeline for his offseason program in preparation for spring training. Stowers began the 2021 season at…

On the international market, most of the top players in Latin America sign when they’re 16 years old. Occasionally, they sign at 17. By the time they’re 18, they are considered older. Any older than that, the players are considered ancient and are largely ignored by teams. The Astros went against that conventional thinking in the middle of the last decade. They saw older international pitchers as an undervalued demographic and made a concerted effort to scout and sign them. The Astros reaped the rewards of that approach in 2021. Houston won its third American League pennant in five years by defeating the White Sox and Red Sox in the AL playoffs, then falling to the Braves in a six-game World Series. The Astros opened the World Series with lefthander…

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT TONY GWYNN AWARD Mike Brito Los Angeles Dodgers TRAILBLAZER AWARD Kim Ng Miami Marlins MAJORS ORGANIZATION OF THE YEAR Tampa Bay Rays PLAYER OF THE YEAR Shohei Ohtani RHP/DH, Angels ROOKIE OF THE YEAR Jonathan India 2B, Reds EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR Farhan Zaidi San Francisco Giants MANAGER OF THE YEAR Dusty Baker Houston Astros COACH OF THE YEAR Donnie Ecker San Francisco Giants MINORS PLAYER OF THE YEAR Bobby Witt Jr. SS, Royals MANAGER OF THE YEAR Chris Widger High-A Quad Cities (Royals) TEAM OF THE YEAR Durham Bulls Triple-A affiliate Tampa Bay Rays EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR K.L. Wombacher President, Hillsboro Hops MLB PARTNER LEAGUES PLAYER OF THE YEAR Adam Brett Walker OF, Milwaukee Milkmen (American Association) COLLEGE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Kumar Rocker RHP, Vanderbilt…

Astros owner Jim Crane called Dusty Baker during his franchise’s darkest days. Baker refused to accept the retirement so many assumed he embraced. For two years, he sat in wait for one more opportunity to complete “unfinished business.” Major League Baseball’s findings during the electronic sign-stealing investigation that concluded in early 2020 prompted Crane to dismiss A.J. Hinch and Jeff Luhnow, the best manager and general manager in franchise history. Pitchers and catchers reported to spring training within a month, forcing Crane into a frenzied search for two shepherds of his shaken team. He interviewed “four or five” managerial candidates before bringing Baker to Houston. The two men went to lunch. “We talked for about two hours and talked about a whole lot of stuff,” Crane said recently. “He’s just…

When the Greensboro Grasshoppers received the go-ahead that the 2021 minor league season would happen, it came without the off-field equivalent of a full spring training. So president and general manager Donald Moore and vice president of baseball operations Katie Dannemiller relied on a foundation they had developed for more than a decade to pull it all together. “It has been a strange couple of years,” Moore said. “I think a lot of it was perseverance and hoping for the best. It was better than my wildest dreams.” By summer, First National Bank Field was hopping again with excitement. As a bonus, the High-A East affiliate of the Pirates was stocked with prospects, including first-round picks Quinn Priester, Nick Gonzales and, briefly, Henry Davis. But the off-field successes might have…

1. COLSON MONTGOMERY, SS AGE: 20. B-T: L-R. HT: 6-4. WT: 205. DRAFTED: HS—Huntingburg, Ind., 2021 (1st round). SIGNED BY: Justin Wechsler. TRACK RECORD: Montgomery was an old school three-sport athlete in high school, excelling not just in baseball but also on the basketball court and football field as a star quarterback. While his basketball and football schedule limited his participation in many of the high school baseball showcases and tournaments, Montgomery took the time to attend the 2020 Perfect Game WWBA World Championship where he was named to the all-tournament team, as well as the PG National Showcases and Area Code Games earlier that summer. Montgomery was committed to Indiana for baseball before the White Sox grabbed the 19-year-old prep star with the 22nd overall pick in 2021. That…

1. BOBBY WITT JR., SS AGE: 22. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-1. WT: 185. DRAFTED: HS—Colleyville, Texas, 2019 (1st round). SIGNED BY: Chad Lee. TRACK RECORD: The second overall pick in the 2019 draft has met every challenge thrown his way since signing for a full slot bonus of $7,789,000 and debuting that summer in the Arizona League. Witt handled the advanced pitching at the alternate training site in 2020 and was challenged in 2021 with an assignment to Double-A for his first full season. Expectations have been high for the son of 18-year major league veteran Bobby Witt. The younger Witt has been successful at every level, going back to youth baseball and continuing through his high school career at Colleyville Heritage High, when he was named BA High School…

1. JOSE BARRERO, SS AGE: 24. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-2. WT: 175. SIGNED: Cuba, 2017. SIGNED BY: Chris Buckley/Tony Arias/Miguel Machado/Jim Stockel/Bob Engle/Hector Otero. TRACK RECORD: For a team that rarely spends big on free agents, the Reds were always willing to spend on Cuban international free agents under the old format, where bonuses weren’t strictly limited. The signings of Aroldis Chapman and Raisel Iglesias gave a big payoff. Vladimir Gutierrez and Barrero should give the Reds a couple more potentially valuable additions. Barrero signed for $5 million in 2017. A second baseman in Cuba, Barrero quickly took to shortstop in the U.S. A shoulder injury slowed his U.S. debut in 2018, but he had an excellent 2019 season at High-A. On the heels of that, the Reds aggressively promoted…

1. JORDAN WALKER, 3B AGE: 20. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-5. WT: 220. DRAFTED: HS—Decatur, Ga., 2020 (1st round). SIGNED BY: Charles Peterson. TRACK RECORD: Walker used an impressive start to the 2020 spring before the coronavirus pandemic shut down the season to vault himself forward on draft boards, resulting with a selection by the Cardinals with the 21st pick in the draft. He signed for a below-slot deal of $2.9 million to forego a commitment to Duke. He then had one of the best pro debuts of any 2020 draftee, hitting his way out of Low-A Palm Beach after 27 games and ranking as the No. 2 prospect in Low-A Southeast. He continued to hit well at High-A Peoria, where he ranked as the No. 3 prospect in High-A Central.…

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS High-A Hillsboro hitting coach K.C. Judge remembers the text arriving on his phone one night in late June. It was from outfielder Dominic Canzone. He was ready to make changes to his swing. The way Canzone explains it, he was hitting balls hard, but too much of his good contact was on a line or on the ground. He also couldn’t pull the ball in the air. “A couple of swing adjustments were really big for me,” Canzone said. “Once I was able to get a higher finish, I started to do a little better and get some of those harder hits in the air.” The results speak for themselves in what turned into a breakout season. Canzone hit .302/.375/.522 with 14…

TUCK ASBURY, who played in the minor leagues in 1948, died Nov. 9. He was 96. NORMAN AYERS, who pitched in the minor leagues in 1948 and from 1952-53, died Nov. 9. He was 93. CAL BURLESON, a longtime minor league executive who spent more than 40 years in the front office of the Indianapolis Indians and was twice named International League executive of the year, died Nov. 7. He was 71. EZELL CARTER, who played in the minor leagues from 1965-72, died Oct. 23. He was 77. BOB CAVALLI, a righthander who pitched in the minor leagues in 1966 and ’67, died Nov. 9 in La Quinta, Calif. He was 76. PEDRO FELICIANO, a durable lefthanded reliever who pitched in the major leagues for nine seasons with the Mets…

@JJCOOP36 When Pitch Smart guidelines were released a few years ago, it was a big step forward in providing the resources for players, coaches and parents to understand how they can best keep young pitchers safe while allowing them to pitch and develop. The guidelines themselves are quite simple. They set a maximum number of pitches a pitcher should ever throw at different ages, as well as guidelines for how long they should rest before pitching again after an appearance. Within just a couple of years, those Pitch Smart guidelines led to a revamping of high school rules. Across the country, pitch count limits and days of rest were adopted by almost every state high school association. It was a dramatic and significant change. A little over a decade ago,…