Innholdsfortegnelse for Friday, October 23, 2015 i Baseball America

JULY 26 2009 IN THIS ISSUE: Miguel Sano tops July 2 international class: “I’ve never seen in a young kid that kind of swing,” a scout said. » ALSO: Freshman All-America Team features future big leaguers like Anthony Rendon, George Springer and Jackie Bradley. By winning Major League Player of the Year honors, Bryce Harper has fulfilled expectations that began when we named him High School Player of the Year—as a sophomore at Las Vegas High. No junior has ever won the award, much less a sophomore, so Harper continues to go where no player has gone before. As we found out after the fact, Harper’s sophomore season at Las Vegas High was effectively his senior year because he has enrolled at the CC of Southern Nevada and will pursue…

Baseball Writer, ESPN.com PHILADELPHIA Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta routinely summoned magic this summer with the flick of a wrist. As a surprise bonus, the prelude to the show was frequently as riveting as the show itself. The anticipation mounts when Arrieta stares in for the catcher’s sign, with a look of grim foreboding. As his eyes blaze beneath a cap brim flatter than the Texas plains, you half expect a tumbleweed to go rolling across the infield. On the 1-10 rugged-hero stoicism scale, think Clint Eastwood in “Unforgiven.” Jim Richardson, the Orioles’ scout who signed Arrieta out of Texas Christian eight years ago, saw that relentless focus on display long before Arrieta grew a beard and embraced the “late bloomer” tag at age 28. Richardson has driven past a lot…

MLB HONORS BAT BOY CARLILE In coordination with the Major League Baseball Clubhouse Managers Association, bat boys across the major leagues wore black wristbands on the final day of the regular season to remember 9-year-old Kaiser Carlile, who died after being struck by a player’s swing in August. Carlile, the bat boy for the Liberal (Kan.) Bee Jays summer team, was struck in the head during the NBC World Series as a player took practice swings. Carlile was wearing a helmet. BRYANT ALSO WINS MOST POPULAR JERSEY Cubs rookie Kris Bryant had the most popular player jersey in major league baseball in 2015, the first rookie and the youngest player to have that distinction since jersey sales rankings began being made public in 2010. The list is based on sales…

Editor in Chief Baseball America johnmanuel @baseba llamerica.com If you grew up watching Peter Gammons deliver Diamond Notes on ESPN in the 1980s and ’90s like I did, you remember the Hall of Famer writer and broadcaster rhapsodizing about the talent spike that came through Tampa to the major leagues in that era. Tampa was one of baseball’s great hotbeds at that time. It’s not like it hadn’t produced talent before, but in that period, hearing Gammons link together players from the area—from Dwight Gooden and Floyd Youmans to Gary Sheffield, Fred McGriff and Wade Boggs—stood out as incredible. Of course, the other hotbed in that era was San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic, home of seemingly half the world’s shortstops. How did all those great players come…

Completing Baseball America’s All-Rookie Team puzzle each fall often involves playing a few pieces that don’t quite fit with the others. That wasn’t the case this year. Baseball America readers know that this year’s rookie class offers no shortage of depth or paucity of impact players. Nine players who ranked among our preseason Top 100 Prospects not only reached the majors in 2015 but also contributed in grand fashion: Kris Bryant (No. 1), Addison Russell (No. 3), Carlos Correa (No. 4), Joc Pederson (No. 8), Francisco Lindor (No. 9), Noah Syndergaard (No. 11), Carlos Rodon (No. 15), Kyle Schwarber (No. 19) and Eduardo Rodriguez (No. 59). The rookie options are so vast that Twins third baseman Miguel Sano (No. 13) got squeezed out to make room for a trio of…

BALTIMORE Christian Walker wasn’t the most publicized first baseman in the Orioles system this summer, but his strong second half enhanced his stock with club officials. It didn’t hurt him to take a back seat. Walker was overshadowed at times by Double-A Bowie’s Trey Mancini, the Eastern League batting titlist and an easy choice as organization’s minor league player of the year. For his part, Walker batted .257/.324/.423 with 18 home runs and 74 RBIs in 138 games at Triple-A Norfolk. He ranked fourth in the International League with 33 doubles and 52 extra-base hits. The Orioles recalled Walker in September after rosters expanded, giving him another chance to impress. “I think Christian was very deserving,” big league manager Buck Showalter said. “His second half of the season (.856 OPS),…

TORONTO At age 30 and with eight pro seasons under his belt, Matt Hague is long past the prospect stage of his career. But a monster season at Triple-A Buffalo may open doors for the corner infielder as he heads into 2016 out of minor league options. Hague won the International League MVP award after hitting .338/.416/.468 with 11 homers and 92 RBIs. He led the circuit in average and on-base percentage. “Honestly, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about what this year might do for me next year,” said Hague, a September callup, “but it’s something I don’t really worry about,” “I really have the mentality of, ‘We’ll see what happens.’ My job right now is to play some baseball and have some fun. You hear…

NEW YORK Righthander Mickey Jannis began the season pitching in the independent Atlantic League. The knuckleballer will finish the year in the Arizona Fall League. After Jannis produced a 1.18 ERA in 84 innings with Long Island, the Mets signed the 27-year-old on July 3 and assigned him to high Class A St. Lucie. Originally selected by the Rays in the 44th round of the 2010 draft out of Cal State Bakersfield, Jannis initially reached the Florida State League—as a conventional pitcher—in 2011, only to be released by Tampa Bay that October. He spent parts of the past four seasons reinventing himself in independent ball. “Once I got released, R.A. Dickey had a lot of success with the Mets,” Jannis said. “I was kind of looking at that. As a…

For statistics, organization reports, prospect lists and recent drafts, check out: baseballamerica.com/t/organization-reports/ CLEVELAND The Indians have changed what was previously their winter development program into a fall development program for some of their top minor league prospects. One of the participants was first baseman Bobby Bradley, who finished the season at high Class A Carolina as a teenager. The 19-year-old lefthanded hitter has had no problem making the transition to pro ball since the Indians selected him out of a Mississippi high school in the third round of the 2014 draft. Consider Bradley’s numbers since being drafted. In 564 minor league at-bats, he has hit .291/.375/.555 with 35 home runs and 142 RBIs. That includes winning the triple crown and MVP honors in the Rookie-level Arizona League last year, hitting…

KANSAS CITY Lefthander Jonathan Dziedzic was the Royals’ 13th-round pick in the 2013 draft. That could turn out to be lucky pick. “I wore No. 13 at Lamar,” Dziedzic said. Dziedzic, who finished as Lamar’s all-time strikeout leader with 317, is not a strikeout pitcher in the minors, but he impressed this season while going 10-6, 3.12 with 93 strikeouts and 35 walks for Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He was named to the Texas League postseason all-star team after being a Carolina League all-star the previous year. Dziedzic finished strong, going 4-0, 1.29 August. “He’s a strike thrower, very good command, moves the ball in and out,” Royals assistant general manager J.J. Picollo said. “He’s very composed on the mound. He’s a polished pitcher.” Dziedzic, 24, has a plus-changeup, which he…

CHICAGO If the Cubs farm system produces its center fielder of the future within the next year or two, it might have a current catcher to thank for a player-development assist. Albert Almora, the No. 6 overall pick in 2012, was hovering around .240 during an uninspiring Double-A season when Miguel Montero got to Tennessee for a four-game injury rehab assignment in early August. “I know Miggy had some good talks with him, and from that time, Albert kind of caught fire,” said Jason McLeod, the Cubs’ top player development executive. “Pretty much what I said is just, ‘Take your head out of (the ground) and go play,’ ” Montero said . Montero said he’s seen it before, and was motivated to keep Almora from keeping himself from succeeding. His…

ST. LOUIS Randy Flores already had an important role in a historic evening for the Cardinals. Now they’re asking him to have a hand directing their future. In a move that even the Cardinals acknowledged was a surprise in baseball circles, the team appointed its former lefthanded reliever, Flores, as its new scouting director. Flores, 40, pitched eight seasons in the major leagues and was the winning pitcher for the Cardinals in Game Seven of the 2006 National League Championship Series against the Mets. Since throwing his last pitch in the majors in 2010, Flores coached for his alma mater Southern California, returned to school and earned a master’s degree, and broadcasted college games. What he didn’t do is anything official with a major league team. “New leadership from the…

ANAHEIM Being 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds has its advantages for Jett Bandy, who can leverage a ball a little better than most, as his 11 homers, 21 doubles and 60 RBIs in just 87 games at Triple-A Salt Lake this season attest. As a catcher though? Not so much. “The taller you get, the more complicated your release becomes,” said Angels manager Mike Scioscia, the former Dodgers catcher. “There are some advantages to it offensively, but there’s a huge emphasis on timing because it’s a more complicated release, and blocking the ball takes a little more effort.” Bandy, 25, acknowledges the challenges he faces in becoming a big league catcher, but he doesn’t see his size as an impediment. He’s been catching since he was in Little League, and he’s…

For statistics, organization reports, prospect lists and recent drafts, check out: baseballamerica.com/t/organization-reports/ LOS ANGELES An element of insecurity comes with being a 26th-round draft pick out of Des Moines Area CC, not exactly an established source of professional baseball talent. Add in a front-office overhaul and a .198 average six weeks into his debut at Triple-A Oklahoma City and corner outfielder Scott Schebler was unsure where he stood in the Dodgers’ plans. Then he had a talk with farm director Gabe Kapler during a late-May series in Las Vegas. Kapler told Schebler to stop worrying about his batting average because the Dodgers’ decision-makers weren’t concerned. The new front office relied on more sophisticated statistical analysis to evaluate players. They were more impressed with the exit velocity of Schebler’s contact and…

SAN DIEGO Casey Kelly was a highly-touted Padres prospect, until his right elbow gave out in spring training two years ago. Following Tommy John surgery in 2013, Kelly took a few detours because of injuries before his luck turned this year. Unencumbered by elbow issues, the 26-yearold worked nearly 100 innings between Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A El Paso. Then came a September callup. Kelly finally reached his goal, seven years after being drafted 30th overall by the Red Sox in 2008. He experienced a few positive moments in the majors, despite a 7.94 ERA and .365 opponent average in 11 innings. For example, Kelly, working in relief at Coors Field, struck out slugger Nolan Arenado on three curveballs. Or, in his first major league start in three years, he…

Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin stayed true to Nashville’s musical roots to describe his coaching staff ’s division of labor on recruiting. While Corbin is a significant part of the process, the bulk of the responsibility for putting the class of newcomers together each year lies with Travis Jewett, the Commodores recruiting coordinator, and pitching coach Scott Brown. “They’re the songwriters,” Corbin said. “I’m probably the guy that sings the song, but I didn’t write it. So give them credit.” Jewett and Brown, both entering their fourth seasons at Vanderbilt, cranked out another hit for Corbin this year. With a 13-man recruiting class that includes righthander Donny Everett, the highest-ranked high school player from Baseball America’s predraft player rankings to make it to college, and five other players from the BA…

Baseball’s velocity revolution can be felt at all levels in the game. Where 90 mph used to be an average major league fastball less than 10 years ago, now it’s up to 92 mph, with the trend continuing to push upward. The velocity spikes can be felt all the way down to the lowest levels of the minor leagues. In the 2002 Prospect Handbook, there were just two pitchers who could touch 100 mph: Bobby Jenks of the White Sox and Erick Threets of the Giants. This year, between the Rookie-level and short-season leagues alone, there were 11 pitchers who reached 100 mph or higher. Of those 11 pitchers, 10 were signed out of Latin America, with Royals righthander Josh Staumont the lone exception. Four of those pitchers ranked among…

When Scott Bradley took over as coach at Princeton in the late 1990s, his team rarely played in front of scouts. There was an assumption that Ivy League players would not be interested in the minor league grind on a salary that would represent a small fraction of what they could make in other fields. And so in 1998, Bradley sat down with Mike Hazen, a senior who stood out not just for his performance but also for his baseball instincts and leadership abilities. Bradley, a veteran of nine big league seasons, saw in Hazen someone for whom there was a professional future in the game—if he wanted it. “I said, ‘Look, before I really go to bat here, you need to look me in the eye and tell me…

Jerry Dipoto spent time during his introductory press conference as the new Mariners general manager defending his tenure with the Angels and debunking some of the reports about his strained relationship with Angels manager Mike Scioscia. “Like many managers and general managers, we had disagreements in certain areas, and we agreed on a lot of things along the way as well,” Dipoto told reporters after he was hired in late September. “And we had some success. We grew together, we learned together. Every day I’m in this seat, I’m learning something new. And I hope that’s true of the people around me.” The hiring of Dipoto as Mariners GM almost three months after he resigned from the same post with the Angels, and about a month after the Mariners ended…

Columnist, MLB Network BOSTON What was significant about the announcement that Mike Hazen had been promoted to Red Sox general manager is what it says about Dave Dombrowski. When the news broke that Dombrowski had been hired as president of baseball operations and that sitting GM Ben Cherington chose not to remain, the public assumption was that Dombrowski would blow up the organization. Names were thrown into the breezes, anyone and everyone who once worked for or with Dombrowski going back into the 1980s in Montreal or ’90s in Florida. And all the while, Dombrowski holed up in his Yawkey Way office, interviewing, discussing, and examining an organization he hardly knew. He made it clear to the amateur scouting folks that he had nothing but respect for them. He wanted…

BOSTON In the process that led to his signing with the Red Sox in 2013, third baseman Rafael Devers distinguished himself as a potentially rare offensive talent. As a 16-year-old, he did something in workouts that Dominican Republic area scout Manny Nanita had never seen. “I saw him hit a home run over the left-field wall (at the Red Sox academy). I’d never seen a lefthanded hitter do that,” Nanita said. “His bat definitely stood out the first time you saw him. The ball was jumping off his bat. I liked the sound of the bat when he hit, how aggressive he was at the plate.” That sound off Devers’ bat has become familiar to a growing audience. After a spectacular pro debut in the Dominican Summer League and Rookie-level…

For statistics, organization reports, prospect lists and recent drafts, check out: baseballamerica.com/t/organization-reports/ MIAMI While Marcell Ozuna, Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich combine to form the Marlins’ outfield of the future, the club’s infield picture is not nearly so clear. That’s where Avery Romero might become a factor. Romero played second base this season at high Class A Jupiter, but he also has pro experience at third base, and he might be capable at either position. At 5-foot-8, 190 pounds, Romero does not offer the power potential to project as a first-division corner infielder. Nor is he a basestealer. Here’s what he does have: possibly the quickest bat in the organization. Romero has shown the ability to turn on fastballs. He hit .320 at two Class A stops in 2014. At…

PHILADELPHIA Three weeks after joining the Phillies in the Cole Hamels trade, righthander Jerad Eickhoff pitched six shutout innings against the Marlins in his major league debut. “So far, that’s a real good trade,” manager Pete Mackanin quipped afterward. While Hamels helped fortify the Rangers’ surge in the American League West over the final weeks of the season, Eickhoff led Phillies officials to project the 25-year-old as a solid piece of the 2016 rotation. “He’s shown us that he’s very capable of pitching at the big league level,” big league pitching coach Bob McClure said. “The last month of the season is not always the best judgment time, but I don’t care who you’re playing against, he’s able to command the baseball and that’s not going to change. “This guy…

CHICAGO Micah Johnson is getting a second chance with the White Sox. After opening the season as the big league regular at second base, Johnson was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on May 15. His bat was not the issue (he hit .270/.333/.297) in 27 games. The glove was the problem, and the 24-year-old infielder worked hard on his defensive game before rejoining Chicago on Sept. 8. “You don’t ever want to get sent down,” Johnson said. “You don’t want to hear you never did a good enough job. It’s tough to hear, but at the same time you understand what you need to work on. ” Carlos Sanchez took over as the starting second baseman after Johnson was demoted in May. While he is much better defensively, Sanchez hit just…

MINNEAPOLIS The draft is a game, that includes some guesswork after the first few rounds, so there’s no shame when a draft pick doesn’t work out the way scouts thought. And the Twins admit: They were wrong about LaMonte Wade. “I wasn’t sure he could play center field, and didn’t think he’d show much power,” said Mike Radcliff, the Twins’ vice president for player personnel. “But LaMonte has outplayed his stock a little bit, no question. You love kids like this.” Drafted in the ninth round after his junior year at Maryland, the 21-year-old outfielder settled into the third spot in Rookie-level Elizabethton’s lineup, and provided steady offense all season long. He hit eight doubles, five triples and nine home runs—more power than the Twins expected—while posting a .312/.428/.506 average…

CINCINNATI To say Adam Duvall hadn’t played left field before this season wouldn’t quite be accurate. Since being drafted by the Giants in 2010, Duvall played in one game in left field—in the Venezuelan League. He played 10 more for Triple-A Sacramento before he was traded from the Giants to the Reds last July as part of the Mike Leake deal, and since then he’s mostly played left. And he’s looked fine doing it. “He’s handled himself well,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “He had one ball over his head where he got turned around, but you’ll see really experienced players in the outfield get turned around on that ball that’s directly at them but over their head. I think he’s handled himself well. He hasn’t been apprehensive going after…

For statistics, organization reports, prospect lists and recent drafts, check out: baseballamerica.com/t/organization-reports/ ARLINGTON Asked about his 2015 season, Joey Gallo talked as if he had batted .100 with no homers and 300 strikeouts. He spoke of the highs and lows and the struggles he experienced at higher levels, and summed up the campaign as a learning experience. “It’s obviously not the kind of season you want to have, but for me it’s something you have to go through and kind of the growing pains of getting to the higher levels,” Gallo said. “I wish I’d dominated and done great, but hopefully next year I can come back and take what I learned and apply it.” Gallo, the 39th overall pick in 2012 out of Bishop Gorman High in Las Vegas,…

OAKLAND There will be no imaginary arrows shot into the air when Ryan Dull finishes an inning on the mound. No fist pumps or theatrics. Just a steely glare on a face that looks far too young to be pitching in the major leagues. “He doesn’t look like the most intimidating guy in the world,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “All he does is throw strikes and get people out. And, he looks like he expects to.” Dull, 26, is a pitcher who defies expectations. At 5-foot-10, 175 pounds, he’s too small, too thin and does not throw hard enough to convince anyone he belongs under the bright lights. Yet he had a magical season. He began at Double-A Midland, where he put up a 3-1, 0.60 record with 12…

PHOENIX Righthander Silvino Bracho has a certainty about attacking hitters—if his first pitch is not a strike, his second surely will be. Armed with a fastball that plays higher than its typical 93 mph, Bracho followed that approach all the way to the majors this season. The Diamondbacks called him up from Double-A Mobile the last week of August and used him in several high-leverage situations in order to get a good read. They have been pleased. In a late-August game against the Rockies, Bracho entered with runners on first and third and one out in the eighth inning of a tie game and got five outs—the last two on strikeouts. “We let him pitch in a big spot, and we’re going to let him do that some more down…

SAN FRANCISCO Righthander Cody Hall was making his major league debut, and he couldn’t resist. He entered a 9-3 game in the seventh inning against the Rockies on Sept. 3, shook off the catcher’s sign for a fastball and had the boldness to make his first major league pitch a curveball at Coors Field. It broke perfectly for a strike. “It’s only having fun out there,” said Hall, 27, with a grin. He couldn’t help but have fun with his debut. He wasn’t a first-rounder preordained for greatness. He was a 19th-rounder in 2011 who quit baseball as a high school junior in Louisiana because he got tired of riding the bench as a freshman and sophomore. He never lost the itch to play, though, and going to support his…

The lineups of independent league teams are filled with damaged goods. At some point, every player in indy ball has been rejected, told he wasn’t good enough to be drafted or that he no longer fit into an organization’s plans. Whether it was during a phone call or a meeting with the farm director or manager, the player was told, “Sorry, you’re not good enough.” In a sport where confidence can sometimes be the difference between a successful, aggressive stroke and a late, defensive swing, indy ball is often a last chance at restoration. Most hitters in the independent leagues are never going anywhere else. Even many of the better indy ball hitters have a fatal flaw that dooms them to never fulfilling their major league dream. For those hitters,…

Baseball America’s recruiting class rankings, compiled by national writer Teddy Cahill, are based on many conversations with college coaches and pro scouts across the country this fall, as well as countless more calls during our information-gathering for the 2015 draft during the spring. The RANK column in the charts below indicates players who ranked among the BA 500 (which included college players) for the 2015 draft. Draft references are for 2015 unless otherwise noted. The rankings do not consider transfers from four-year schools. The full Top 25 is avaliable at BaseballAmerica.com. 1. VANDERBILT Recruiting coordinator: Travis Jewett. Total recruits: 13 (13 freshmen). While Vanderbilt took big hits in the draft, with three commits picked on the first day, it still ended up with six players from the BA 500 on…

KENOSHA, WIS. The uncle and the nephew sit across each other at a conference table in the athletic offices of Division III Carthage College, on a picturesque August afternoon, a clear view of athletes preparing for the fall season on the football field and the surrounding track out the window below them. The uncle, Augie Schmidt, is 54. He looks fit and trim, muscular even, the obvious physique of an athlete. But his gravelly voice comes off as weary, and if you know who Augie Schmidt is, you know that he’s a man who’s been put through baseball’s wringer. The nephew, Gavin Lux, is 17. He’s confident and enthusiastic, and if you don’t know who he is now, well, he hopes that you will soon. He’s one of the most…

Baseball Analyst, Senior Writer ESPN.com PHILADELPHIA This just in. Another stupendous baseball regular season has wrapped. So we interrupt your other important plans to announce that the time has arrived for our annual end-of-the-season awards. I certainly endorse BA cover boys Bryce Harper (my NL MVP) and Kris Bryant (my NL Rookie of the Year), so let’s tackle a few categories sure to create debate. AL MVP: Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays Not everything about picking an MVP is rational. Or quantifiable. Can we all agree on that? OK, we can’t, I guess, since some people think everything is quantifiable. But when I went about trying to decide who the real AL MVP was—Josh Donaldson or Mike Trout—I plead guilty to concluding, in the end, that there was more to this…

DOUGLAS WILLMORE, EL SEGUNDO When the Rangers stacked their 2013 Hickory club with one of the toolsiest groups of prospects the minors have seen in years, there was an understanding that some would make the leap to potential stardom and others would fall apart. It was a high-risk, high-reward group, as we wrote at the time. Texas has done a good job so far of turning tools into skills. Keone Kela, Carl Edwards, Ryan Rua, Alex Claudio, Joey Gallo and Andrew Faulkner have gone from the 2013 Crawdads to the majors. More should join them on a team that included Nomar Mazara, the since-traded Nick Williams, since-traded Jorge Alfaro, Jose LeClerc and Ronald Guzman. Brinson, Hickory’s first 20-20 player, was as well-rounded a prospect as anyone on that team, but…

Columnist, MLB.com SEATTLE Two years ago, it was the Pirates putting to rest a record-setting two decades of losing seasons, and, at the same time, advancing to the postseason for the first time since 1992. A year ago, the Royals ended a 29-year postseason drought, claimed the American League pennant, advancing to a World Series that the Giants won in seven games. This year, not only have the Blue Jays assured themselves of ending the longest current postseason drought, dating back to backto-back World Series titles in 1992-93, but the Astros also clinched their first postseason berth in a decade, after a four-year stretch in which they lost 416 games. Enter the Mariners. A team that was a spring training favorite of many to win the AL West and return…

CHICAGO Just before the Cubs made their final decision on the franchise’s highest draft pick in more than a decade—what had the chance to be the most significant pick in Theo Epstein’s organizational overhaul— Cubs executives flew to California for another meeting with Kris Bryant. “We asked him if he ever struggled,” Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said of the San Diego slugger who earned College Player of the Year in 2013. “He said, ‘Yeah, I struggled in the Cape (Cod) League.’ But he really talked about it like he understood the concept of why we were asking the question. It showed a lot of self-awareness.” Then they drafted him. Then they pushed him. Then they started wondering what “struggling” even means to the 6-foot-5 third baseman, who has been…

For statistics, organization reports, prospect lists and recent drafts, check out: baseballamerica.com/t/organization-reports/ ST. PETERSBURG Coming to Tropicana Field in mid-September to be honored as the MVP at Triple-A Durham was a mixed experience for Taylor Motter. He appreciated the honor, which was a just reward for a season in which he ranked among the International League leaders in a handful of offensive categories, played six different positions and earned all-star honors. But he was disappointed to be in street clothes and not be taking the field with the other September callups. “You come in and look at the stadium and that’s awesome,” said Motter, 26. “I could be driving to the field every day to play these last few weeks. So watching them taking batting practice was bittersweet. “But you’ve…

NEW YORK Just because Ben Gamel wasn’t on the list of untouchables at the trade deadline and not promoted when rosters expanded in September doesn’t mean the Yankees think less of the lefthanded-hitting outfielder. “He is a legitimate prospect,” general manager Brian Cashman said of the 10thround pick in 2010 out of high school in Jacksonville. “He plays the game all around.’’ Gamel, whose brother Mat played with the Brewers and was briefly Yankees property this season, doesn’t knock scouts over with raw power or breathtaking speed, but put the whole package together and the Yankees are impressed. “He is not a burner speed-wise,” Cashman siad, “and you are not going to give him a 60 (on the 20-80 scouting scale) power-wise, but across the board he is above-average.’’ At…

ATLANTA Special assistant to the general manager Gordon Blakeley has made a noticeable impact on the organization since his arrival last fall. From early October 2014 to mid-February, the Braves signed 16 international players. The last one to sign, center fielder Randy Ventura, may be the most intriguing. The 5-foot-9 switch-hitter from the Dominican Republic put together an impressive pro debut. Batting leadoff in the Dominican Summer League, Ventura stole 55 bases in 64 tries to lead the circuit by 20 swipes over his closest rival. The 18-year-old batted .329/.421/.394 in 58 games with 35 walks and 27 strikeouts. Signed on Feb. 13, Ventura lacks physical strength at 165 pounds, though he has quick hands and generates above-average bat speed that led to 13 extra-base hits. “We saw him play…

WASHINGTON Low Class A Hagerstown manager Patrick Anderson was impressed with Andrew Stevenson before the center fielder even joined the Nationals organization. On a trip to Louisiana State in February with his wife Larissa, the softball coach at Hofstra, Anderson had enough spare time to watch the Tigers play two baseball games against Kansas. A scouting friend told him to keep an eye on shortstop Alex Bregman, whom the Astros later took with the No. 2 overall pick in the draft. “I loved the center fielder, too,” Anderson said. “When we drafted him, I couldn’t have been more excited to have him here.” That standout was Stevenson. Washington took him in the second round at No. 58 overall with its first selection. He signed for $750,000 and finished the season…

DETROIT Righthander Austin Kubitza made a big leap from low Class A West Michigan in 2014 to Double-A Erie in 2015. His numbers fell off a cliff. Kubitza, who saw his hits-per-nine-innings ratio climb from 6.7 in 2014 to 12.9 in 2015, is headed to the Arizona Fall League to get some more work in. “It’s a big jump from West Michigan to Double-A and I think he realized that,” Tigers assistant general manager David Chadd said. “It’s more about him throwing strikes and throwing his secondary pitches when he has to. But he finished strong, so we’re excited about that. He just needs to go down there (to the AFL) and face those type of hitters and continue to develop.” Kubitza, 23, was selected in the fourth round pick…

For statistics, organization reports, prospect lists and recent drafts, check out: baseballamerica.com/t/organization-reports/ MILWAUKEE How many players make the jump all the way from Class A ball to the major leagues in one season, switching organizations along the way? The answer is not many, but that didn’t stop righthander Adrian Houser from following that path during the 2015 season. Houser, 22, was one of four minor league prospects acquired by the Brewers from the Astros in late July in exchange for center fielder Carlos Gomez and righthander Mike Fiers. A second-round draft pick by the Astros in 2011 out of high school in Locust Grove, Okla., Houser began the season at high Class A Lancaster, where he went 2-2, 4.35 with 55 strikeouts and 22 walks in 50 innings. He was…

PITTSBURGH The Jung Ho Kang experiment proved to be a success, even though his rookie season ended with a major injury. The 28-year-old infielder became the first native South Korean position player to jump from the Korean major league to the U.S. majors after signing a four-year, $11 million contract in January. The Pirates also paid Kang’s Korean team, the Nexen Heroes, a $5,020.15 posting fee for the right to sign him. Kang wound up hitting .287/.355./461 with 15 home runs in 126 games and 467 plate appearances while splitting time between third base and shortstop. He sustained a torn medial collateral ligament and cartilage in his left knee and a broken left leg on Sept 17 when the Cubs’ Chris Coghlan slid into him at second base attempting to…

HOUSTON If not for the groin strain that hampered him in July and cut his season short in August, hard-throwing righthander Joe Musgrove might have been the fourth Double-A Corpus Christi pitcher to jump straight to the majors this season. Nonetheless, he captured the Astros’ front office’s attention this year. “Joe exhibited excellent control of his threepitch mix and mastery of pounding the strike zone with his arsenal, as documented by his phenomenal strikeout-to-walk ratio,” Astros farm director Quinton McCracken said. Musgrove, 22, led the minors with 12.38 strikeouts per nine innings while combining for a 12-1, 1.88 record between low Class A Quad Cities, high Class A Lancaster and Corpus Christi this year. The 6-foot-5, 255-pounder gave up just 21 earned runs over 101 innings this season. He was…

SEATTLE Of the five players standing on the field in suits, perhaps pitching prospect Edwin Diaz summed it up best. “The next time I come here, I want to be in a uniform not a suit,” the young righthander said. Before the penultimate game of the 2015 major league season, Seattle followed its annual tradition of inviting its organizational award winners to Safeco Field to be honored for their accomplishments. Jesus Montero and slugging outfielder Tyler O’Neill of high Class A Bakersfield shared player of the year honors. O’Neill, 21, was the surprise, hitting .260/.316/.558 with and 32 homers and 87 RBIs . It also earned him an invite to the Arizona Fall League. “This is what I really wanted to do coming into this year,” O’Neill said. “I wanted…

DENVER Catcher Tom Murphy found himself in the big leagues and gleaning knowledge from a veteran when the Rockies summoned him on Sept. 11 after Nick Hundley suffered a season-ending neck injury. “I try to sit by (Hundley) for at least the first five innings of the game when I’m not playing,” said Murphy, 24, “and just riddle him with whatever question I can come up with. His experience is invaluable to learn from.” Murphy began the season at Double-A New Britain, where he hit .249/.320/.468 with 13 homers and 44 RBIs in 72 games. He spent three weeks playing for Team USA in the Pan Am Games and then went to Triple-A Albuquerque, hitting .274/.301/.535 with seven homers and 19 RBIs in 33 games. A third-round pick in 2012…

We put the final bow on the 2015 draft with our annual team-by-team review of all the selections and how the players’ professional careers have started. As instructional leagues closed, editor-in-chief John Manuel, managing editor J.J. Cooper and assistant editor Hudson Belinsky spoke with scouting directors, as well as other scouting and player-development personnel, from all 30 clubs to break down each team’s draft classes. For most categories, we consider only players who signed professional contracts. Notable exceptions include Most Intriguing Background and of course The One Who Got Away. Best Late-Round Pick applies to selections from the 11th round or later. Numbers in parentheses indicate the round in which a player was chosen. Best Draft 1. Astros 2. Cubs 3. Brewers 4. Diamondbacks 5. Rockies Best Pure Hitter 1.…