Innehållsförteckning för March/April 2024 från Baseball America

After losing 115 games in 2018, the Orioles had unquestionably hit rock bottom. A 47-win season combined with a dormant international department and a thin farm system left little reason for hope. But that was a blessing in disguise. When the Orioles hired Astros assistant GM Mike Elias as head of baseball operations in November 2018, he was freed from any preconceived notions, entrenched power bases or sacred cows. The Orioles were going to do things drastically differently. They had to. “(Owner) John Angelos was very consistent with me (throughout) the hiring process,” Elias said. “He said, ‘We’re gonna let you go to town here and change our organization. We need it.’ ” Five seasons later, the turnaround arrived ahead of schedule. The Orioles improved by 49 wins from 2021…

With the advancement in pitch development and with a greater understanding of what works, certain pitch types—primarily curveballs—have been pushed aside in favor of a variety of different slider and cutter shapes. The lists included here are not a strict ordinal ranking. It’s more a view at some special pitches thrown by pitchers inside the Top 100 Prospects that performed well because of outlier traits. This year is a great example of how the idea of a truly great fastball is evolving. While induced vertical break (IVB) has become a popular catchall, understanding how velocity and release traits play together to make a great fastball is evident here. Only Athletics righthander Mason Miller lacks truly outlier release traits. It certainly helps that he sits near 99 mph on his four-seamer.…

The Dodgers spent more than $1 billion on free agents in the offseason. Now they’re putting all that money up on the (MLB.TV) screen. Los Angeles signed reigning American League MVP Shohei Ohtani for $700 million and Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto for $325 million. The former is the best two-way player in history, while the latter is the finest NPB ace to come to MLB in a decade. The Dodgers didn’t stop there. They signed free agents Teoscar Hernandez, James Paxton and other complementary players to short-term deals. Los Angeles added Tyler Glasnow in a trade with the Rays, helping to fortify a rotation that fell flat late last season and led to a Division Series sweep at the hands of the Diamondbacks. The Dodgers spent money last winter like…

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING We asked scouts and executives to weigh in on a number of topics. They were granted anonymity to speak freely. Quotes are lightly edited for clarity. BEST OFFSEASON “The Dodgers got Shohei Ohtani and reshaped their rotation. They didn’t block out any of their nearly major league-ready pieces.” Note: the Dodgers were a popular response, with more than a dozen mentions. MOST DISAPPOINTING OFFSEASON “Jung-Hoo Lee, Jorge Soler and Matt Chapman are a nice trio, but (Giants head) Farhan Zaidi has spent the last two winters hunting Aaron Judge, Trea Turner, Carlos Correa and Shohei Ohtani. And while fans were worrying about whether San Francisco could land a star hitter, all of a sudden their rotation is one of the least proven in baseball, with injuries continuing…

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING We asked scouts and executives to weigh in on a number of topics. They were granted anonymity to speak freely. Quotes are lightly edited for clarity. BIGGEST SURPRISE “I think the Twins will have the division wrapped up by the all-star break. They have a lot of good stuff coming and a lot of good players as it is. They’re pretty deep and they’re sharp. They’ve got a chance to run roughshod over that division.” “I don’t really consider the Royals to be a ‘good’ team, and I think their lineup is weak, but it appears they hit a home run by trading for Cole Ragans, they signed a couple viable starters in Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, and the division is really bad. I think they’ll…

MAKING SENSE OF TRENDS IN BASEBALL AT ALL LEVELS The No. 1 prospect in baseball is Jackson Holliday. No. 2 is Jackson Chourio. This is the first time in Top 100 Prospects history that the top two prospects have the same first name, but it’s part of a bigger trend. The Jacksons are coming to take over baseball. Two other Jacksons rank among the top 20: Merrill at No. 17 and Jobe at No. 20. In the 2024 Prospect Handbook, another six Jacksons rank among organizations’ top 30 prospects: Baumeister (Orioles), Cox (Rockies), Ferris (Cubs, now Dodgers), Humphries (Guardians), Rutledge (Nationals) and Wolf (Pirates). Of the 900 prospects who appear in the Handbook, 10 are named Jackson. That’s 1.1% of all prospects, tying Jackson with Luis and Michael for the…

2018 OCT. 3 Orioles fire president of baseball operations Dan Duquette following a 115-loss season. He led Baltimore to three postseason appearances, but trades of Manny Machado, Zack Britton, Kevin Gausman and Jonathan Schoop that summer signaled a looming rebuild. NOV. 16 Orioles hire Mike Elias as executive vice president and GM. He previously worked as scouting director and assistant GM for the Astros. Elias inherits a few key players, including Austin Hays, John Means, Cedric Mullins II, Anthony Santander and prospects Grayson Rodriguez, Ryan Mountcastle and DL Hall. DEC. 14 Elias hires Cubs bench coach Brandon Hyde as manager. Hyde endures four seasons of constant losing before breaking through in 2022, when he is named the Baseball America MLB Manager of the Year. 2019 JUNE 3 Elias leads off…

Digging his foot into the pitching rubber one morning early in spring training, Padres righthander Yu Darvish lifted his leg and hissed a pitch toward the catcher. Twelve years earlier, when Darvish signed with the Rangers as the latest phenom out of Japan, a bullpen session like this would have drawn a sizable crowd. Now, the 37-year-old Darvish is long-established in the majors, both the oldest and longest tenured of any active player from Japan. Only a handful of reporters and coaches paid much attention. The media throng is elsewhere: 10 miles south at Dodgers camp. There, smartphone cameras crane to catch a glimpse of righthander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the hot new thing out of Nippon Professional Baseball. What Darvish was then—25 years old, uber-talented and hotly pursued by MLB clubs—Yamamoto…

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING We asked scouts and executives to weigh in on a number of topics. They were granted anonymity to speak freely. Quotes are lightly edited for clarity. BEST OFFSEASON “The Braves added four potential impact players—Chris Sale, Jarred Kelenic, Reynaldo Lopez and Aaron Bummer—but with none of the long-term risk of megadeals that teams like the Dodgers and Phillies just added to their books.” BREAKOUT PITCHER “Marlins lefthander Jesus Luzardo has Cy Young stuff, and if he’s healthy I can see him helping carry the Marlins to a wild card.” BREAKOUT HITTER “Expect more consistent contact from the Nationals’ CJ Abrams. He’s talented with game-changing speed and flashes great defensive ability at shortstop.” MOST DISAPPOINTING OFFSEASON “The Marlins have a new regime, but no clear direction yet. They…

The Yankees ranked next-to-last in the American League in home runs hit by lefthanded hitters last season. That is an astonishing feat for a team that plays half its games in Yankee Stadium. New York struck early last offseason to address this lineup imbalance. The Yankees’ signature move was the acquisition of Juan Soto from the Padres for a package of five players that included three big league-ready starting pitchers plus top prospect Drew Thorpe. The Yankees also picked up Gold Glove center fielder Trent Grisham in the Soto deal and added line-drive machine Alex Verdugo in a trade with the Red Sox. Both are lefthanded hitters, as is rookie catcher Austin Wells and prime rebound candidate Anthony Rizzo. If the Yankees don’t have one of the more productive cohorts…

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING We asked scouts and executives to weigh in on a number of topics. They were granted anonymity to speak freely. Quotes are lightly edited for clarity. BIGGEST SURPRISE “The Mariners will make it to the World Series because of their pitching.” “It’s hard to pick surprises these days, but I will guess the Angels. I do not love their talent, but I do have belief in Ron Washington holding them accountable and making them pesky.” BREAKOUT PITCHER “It sounds like A’s righthander Joe Boyle is still throwing strikes in spring training. He’s going to get a lot of runway there and in a good pitcher’s park. It just seems like he’s figured it out, and sometimes it takes guys with that type of stuff and that type…

Baseball America kicks off fantasy season with its second annual dynasty startup draft, featuring many of the biggest names in the industry. Our league is 12 teams with standard 5x5 roto scoring and positions, but with a BA twist: Each team must draft at least five prospects (marked in red). Turn the page for strategy and analysis from each manager. SCAN THE QR CODE FOR BA’S FANTASY COVERAGE ALL YEAR LONG! Participants in the second annual Baseball America dynasty startup mock draft shared their thoughts on 12-team roto strategy and provided analysis of notable picks. Draft position refers to selection order in the first round. This was a serpentine draft in which the order reversed in even-numbered rounds. Each manager’s first six picks are listed—encompassing the first 72 picks of…

FORMER BALLPLAYERS REFLECT ON PRO SUCCESS AND FAILURE When he reflects on his career, there’s a lot that should make lefthander Jeremy Affeldt proud. He debuted at age 22 in 2002. He won three World Series with the Giants in 2010, 2012 and 2014. He earned tens of millions of dollars in 14 seasons. He was a team nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award. He received an MVP vote in 2009. While his career was ultimately a success, Affeldt’s professional baseball journey required time, patience and finding the right path. Drafted by the Royals in the third round in 1997 out of high school in Spokane, Affeldt had spent his prep days dominating lesser Eastern Washington competition. Facing pro hitters in Rookie ball wasn’t just the first time he had…

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING We asked scouts and executives to weigh in on a number of topics. They were granted anonymity to speak freely. Quotes are lightly edited for clarity. SURPRISE TEAM “I’ll go with the Cardinals since they have a good chance of making the playoffs—admittedly in a very crowded and uncertain NL Central—and they’ll be motivated to upgrade in-season and have the pieces to do so. I think the bubble for the NL wild card got softer this offseason as several teams that have been playoff contenders in recent years—Padres, Brewers, Marlins—saw their 2024 competitive outlook dim over the winter.” “The Cardinals had an unlucky 2023 and still have quality talent. It appears the Reds and Cubs are getting all the attention in the Central.” BREAKOUT HITTER “Ke’Bryan Hayes…

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING We asked scouts and executives to weigh in on a number of topics. They were granted anonymity to speak freely. Quotes are lightly edited for clarity. BEST OFFSEASON “The Orioles were able to add big-time starter Corbin Burnes and still keep a wealth of prospects in the system.” SURPRISE TEAM “The Orioles and Yankees rightfully have garnered the offseason attention for their splashy acquisitions, but the Rays are still a threat in the AL East with an elite bullpen, endless position player depth and the next wave of star young talent coming in Junior Caminero and Carson Williams.” MOST DISAPPOINTING OFFSEASON “I actually think the Red Sox’s current roster—and farm system—are better than they are being given credit for, but that only makes their lack of aggressiveness…

Baseball America writers convened in mid February to rate the best rookie bets for 2024, accounting for both talent and opportunity. The resulting ranking of top 20 rookies was developed before Cactus and Grapefruit league action began. Rookies have taken on more prominence since the introduction of the Prospect Promotion Incentive in the 2022 Collective Bargaining Agreement. Gunnar Henderson and Corbin Carroll ranked No. 1 and 2 on our top 20 rookies list last year, and each won a Rookie of the Year award while meeting the service time requirement. Thus each netted a PPI draft pick for his club after the first round of the 2024 draft. The same was true of the Mariners and Julio Rodriguez, the No. 2 rookie on our ranking in 2022. Seattle used the…

There will be 450 fewer roster spots in the domestic minor leagues in 2024 than there were a year ago. It will be easy to miss the change. Teams will still field five U.S. minor league teams, one Rookie complex affiliate and four full-season clubs. The change means that teams will go from having 36 to 33 rosterable players per team. Since Triple-A and Double-A teams are limited to 28 active players and Class A clubs are limited to 30, how big of a deal is it to have the number of non-active players reduced? For a lot of coaches and front office officials, it’s huge. “All 30 farm directors, the first thing and last thing we do each day is (figure out) ‘do we have enough bodies?’ This is…