Innholdsfortegnelse for Monday, February 13, 2017 i Baseball America

DECEMBER 7, 2003 » IN THIS ISSUE: Andy Marte tops a Braves Top 10 Prospects list that also includes Adam Wainwright and Brian McCann. » ALSO: Delmon Young gets off to a hot start as an 18-year-old in the Arizona Fall League. The sky is a bright azure as he strides to the batter’s box, steps to the side and stares up toward the heavens. The public address announcer, sounding something like a video game, bellows his name, but he is somewhere else. He unleashes a huge cut, swinging upward and kicking his left leg as high as it will go, as if Japan’s Sadaharu Oh was trapped in a young Dominican third baseman’s body. Welcome to the Braves’ future at the hot corner. Welcome to the world of Andy…

Baseball Writer, ESPN.com jerrycrasnick @baseballamerica.com PHILADELPHIA The news of Yordano Ventura’s death spread quickly and pierced the veneer of a sports world focused on football playoffs and Australian Open tennis. And with each new expression of grief or tweet of confirmation, we all experienced the same sequence of emotions: Shock and disbelief, followed by a grudging sense of acceptance and an emptiness that words can’t convey. The timing—on a Sunday morning in late January, so soon after the death of Jose Fernandez—created a symmetry that made the news even harder to bear. Nearly four months after Fernandez died in a boat accident off the south Florida coast— leaving a void in the Marlins’ clubhouse and eliciting a sense of disbelief among fans in his native Cuba—another dynamic young pitcher has…

The Memphis Redbirds are taking it back to Beale Street. That was the message delivered in mid-January at the team’s press conference announcing its new, reimagined logos for 2017. The team’s owner, Peter Freund, introduced the new artwork and merchandise on the concourse of AutoZone Park. “Upon purchasing the Redbirds, our first priority was to reconnect as a local business operating in downtown Memphis,” said Freund, who bought the team from the Cardinals in 2016. “In doing so, we felt we needed an authentic brand that represented not only the storied history of Memphis, but the heart of the city itself.” Freund is also a minority owner of the Yankees, and his group, Trinity Baseball Holdings, also owns the Charleston RiverDogs and Williamsport CrossCutters. Along with the new primary logo,…

Columnist, MLB.com DENVER In the hours leading up to the 1982 draft, the Mets debated which Tampa prep righthander to select with the fifth overall pick: Dwight Gooden or Rich Monteleone? Finally, veteran scout Harry Minor spoke up. “Do you realize this other guy is 19 and Dwight is 17?” said Minor, a national cross-checker for the Mets at the time. “When Dwight is 19, he’ll be pitching in the major leagues. I was being facetious, but sure enough, he was.” The Mets selected Gooden, and he proved Minor right. Gooden broke camp with the big league team at the age of 19 in 1984 and claimed the National League Rookie of the Year Award that year and the NL Cy Young Award the next. At age 20 in 1985…

After Jake Burger’s freshman season, when he was one of the most productive hitters on a team that bashed its way to a top-10 ranking and a super regional berth, his coaches still had an important question. How could they get him to hit more fly balls? That came up when three of Missouri State’s coaches—head coach Keith Guttin, hitting coach Nate Thompson and graduate manager Matt Lawson—were driving to Nashville last January for the American Baseball Coaches Association Convention. What would happen if all the hard, ringing contact Burger made on ground balls and liners had more air under it? They got their answer in 2016. As a sophomore, Burger hit .349/.420/.689 with 21 home runs, the second most in the country. It was one of the best offensive…

POWERED BY ATLANTIC COAST Baseball Members (First Year): Atlantic Division—Boston College (2006), Clemson (1954), FSU (1992), Louisville (2015), NCSU (1954), Notre Dame (2014). Coastal Division—(Duke (1954), Georgia Tech (1980), Miami (2005), UNC (1954), Pittsburgh (2014), Virginia (195), Virginia Tech (1954). Checking out: None. TEAM TO BEAT Florida State The Seminoles bring back almost every player from last year's super regional squad—including the entire rotation. TOURNAMENT: 12 teams, May 23–28 at Louisville PLAYER OF THE YEAR Brendan McKay 1b/lhp, Louisville McKay has been the top two-way player in the game for two seasons now. Scouts are divided on whether he's a pitcher or a hitter at the next level. PITCHER OF THE YEAR J.B. Bukauskas rhp, North Carolina An electric junior righthander with a mid-90s fastball and a devastating slider, Bukauskas…

DIVISION II HOW THEY WILL FINISH 2017 TOP DRAFT PROSPECTS 1. Garrett Cave, rhp, Tampa 2. Garett King, rhp, California Baptist 3. Brady Miller, rhp, Western Oregon 4. Matt Minnick, lhp, Mercyhurst (Pa.) 5. Matt Shannon, rhp, Angelo State (Texas) 6. Dan Jagiello, rhp, C.W. Post (N.Y.) 7. Dylan File, rhp, Dixie State (Utah) 9. Michael Hernandez, c, Nova Southeastern (Fla.) 10. Kyle Dohy, lhp, Cal Poly Pomona D-II NOTES n For years, Tampa has dominated Division II. Tampa has four titles in the 21st century while only one other school (Southern Indiana) has more than one. And Tampa should once again be in the middle of the fight for the 2017 title thanks to 2B Laz Rivera, hard-throwing RHP Garrett Cave and a slew of talented incoming freshmen and…

BOSTON When first baseman Sam Travis was reassigned from big league camp to Triple-A Pawtucket last March, it seemed hard to imagine that anything could keep him from making his big league debut by the end of the year. A powerful, direct swing that produced hard contact appeared ready for the big leagues. That changed on May 31, when Travis blew out the ACL in his left knee in a rundown play. Just as he had been commencing a power surge with four homers in 12 games, the 23-year-old’s season was finished. Travis batted .272/.332/.434 in 47 games, and the subsequent months of rehab from the surgical repair—and the inability to swing a bat—made him uneasy. “You’re going to have dreams about (hitting), but you’ve got to adjust,” Travis said.…

ATLANTA | Braves For statistics, organization reports, prospect lists and recent drafts, check out: baseballamerica.com/t/organization-reports/ ATLANTA The Braves continued to cling to the adage that there is no such thing as too much pitching when they acquired lefthanders Luiz Gohara and Thomas Burrows from the Mariners for outfielder Mallex Smith and reliever Shae Simmons. The 20-year-old Gohara ranked as Seattle’s top pitching prospect this offseason, while the Mariners selected Burrows, a reliever, in the fourth round out of Alabama. “We’ve made no secret of our desire to trade for and draft lefthanded pitching prospects,” general manager John Coppolella said. “We feel it’s one of the most difficult things to find, and it has been a point of emphasis for us since John Hart and I took leadership of this organization…

PHILADELPHIA As a youngster on Canada’s west coast, Nick Pivetta made sure to be in front of the TV whenever his favorite pitcher was on the mound for the Blue Jays. “Roy Halladay was my idol,” Pivetta said. “I grew up watching him. When I got home from school at 4:00 they’d be starting their games and I’d watch all of them.” Pivetta, a big righthander like Halladay, recently attended the Phillies’ prospect education seminar at Citizens Bank Park. By chance, he was assigned the locker that Halladay used during his four seasons in Philadelphia after his trade from Toronto in December 2009. “It’s surreal,” said Pivetta, 24. A native of Victoria, B.C., Pivetta spent two years at New Mexico JC before the Nationals made him a 2013 fourth-round pick.…

CHICAGO The White Sox clearly shifted into rebuild mode during the Winter Meetings by trading ace Chris Sale to the Red Sox and top outfielder Adam Eaton to the Nationals for seven promising prospects. Chicago started its youth movement last July, acquiring minor league center fielder Charlie Tilson from the Cardinals in a trade for lefthanded reliever Zach Duke. Tilson made his major league debut with the White Sox on Aug. 2, and he singled in his first at-bat in Detroit. Two innings later, Tilson was playing center field and he tore his left hamstring while diving for a line drive hit by Miguel Cabrera. The 24-year-old Chicago area native had season-ending surgery, but Tilson was back on his feet in early January and he participated in the organization’s hitting…

MINNEAPOLIS Rookie-level baseball is designed to teach young players proper technique, professional habits and attention to detail. And in some cases, how to forget. That last one was important for lefthander Taylor Clemensia, who was almost unhittable as a 19-year-old in the Gulf Coast League in 2016. He held batters to a .176 average and allowed no home runs in his 11 appearances. Clemensia recorded an impressive 2.47 ERA in 43.2 innings, but that number obscures the 12 unearned runs he allowed. His rate of runs allowed per nine innings balloons to 4.95. “That’s just typical GCL some days,” vice president for player personnel Mike Radcliff said. “The ball ends up on the ground a lot. It’s like some kids forget how to play, and the pitchers just have to…

CINCINNATI Lefthander Seth Varner knows he has a tendency to let things snowball when they’re not going his way, so his Triple-A Louisville debut last July couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start. He allowed his first batter to reach after committing an error. “He bunted, it skipped and ate me up and from there I never got comfortable,” said Varner, 25. “They piled on.” Varner then threw a wild pitch, walked a batter, allowed four singles, then a double before being pulled without recording an out. He was charged with five runs (four earned) and took the loss. “When outings start getting off the wrong way, I start worrying about results and start blaming things instead of worrying about myself and making sure I’m making a quality pitch…

OAKLAND | Athletics For statistics, organization reports, prospect lists and recent drafts, check out: baseballamerica.com/t/organization-reports/ OAKLAND Growing up, Sean Murphy was just too small for most sports. He could never do much in football or basketball, so he spent most of his time working hard to become a decent catcher. Murphy entered his junior year of high school in Dayton, Ohio, at 5-foot-6 and 125 pounds, but then he added five inches in a year and hit .537 to earn all-state honors. Wright State coach Greg Lovelady invited Murphy to walk on to the team, and he responded not just by earning the starting job but by being named the Horizon League freshman of the year. Three years later, Murphy had grown from the runt of the team to a…

SEATTLE Righthander Andrew Moore will take command over radar-gun readings and outs over intimidation. It’s a mentality that carried him to success at Oregon State, then into the Mariners system and now to the verge of the big leagues. Moore won the organization’s pitcher of the year award in 2016, when he made 28 starts at high Class A Bakersfield and Double-A Jackson. He went 12-4, 2.65 while striking out 7.3 and walking 1.7 per nine innings. He capped his season with two excellent starts in the Southern League playoffs in which he recorded a 1.20 ERA and allowed seven hits and no walks in 15 innings. The Mariners invited Moore to big league camp this spring and expect him to begin the season at Triple-A Tacoma. A supplemental second-round…

PHOENIX In less than a year, Sergio Alcantara went from a player whose career seemed to be moving backward to someone opening eyes in Latin America. The 20-year-old shortstop had a solid showing for Licey in the Dominican League, where he earned praise for his defense and for holding his own at the plate. “He was the talk of winter ball,” farm director Mike Bell said. “I kept hearing from different people who were down there. ‘You should have seen this play. You should have seen this at-bat, or he’s the leader of this team.’ They said just his presence made a difference on the team, which is crazy for a 20-year-old.” Alcantara signed out of the Dominican Republic for $700,000 in July 2012 and was sent to low Class…

SAN FRANCISCO Years from now, Matt Krook could personify the classic riches-to-rags-toriches story. At the moment, he has gotten merely through Act II. The Giants selected Krook, a 6-foot-4, 195- pound lefthander from Oregon, in the fourth round last year. Three years earlier, the Marlins had chosen Krook considerably higher. They made him the 35th overall pick out of San Francisco’s St. Ignatius’ High but withdrew their contract offer after Krook failed his physical. Krook instead went to Oregon. He was dominant his freshman season with a 1.79 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 45.1 innings before leaving the mound because of arm stiffness during a game in early April. Soon thereafter, Krook had Tommy John surgery, forcing him to miss the rest of the 2014 season and all of 2015.…

Transactions Transactions involving minor league players, i.e. those not on 40-man rosters, covering the period Jan. 6-20. ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: Signed RHPs Rubby de la Rosa and J.J. Hoover, LHP Marlon Arias and OF Gregor Blanco. Re-signed 3B Carlos Rivero. ATLANTA BRAVES: Signed OF Xavier Avery. Traded RHP Shae Simmons and OF Mallex Smith to Mariners for LHPs Thomas Burrows and Luiz Gohara. BALTIMORE ORIOLES: Signed RHPs Mario Alcantara, Cody Satterwhite and Zach Stewart; LHP Tim Berry and 1B Jesus Montero. Re-signed RHP Bobby Bundy and 2B Sharlon Schoop. BOSTON RED SOX: Signed RHPs Erik Cordier and Kyle Kendrick and LHP Cesar Cabral. CHICAGO CUBS: Signed RHP Fernando Rodriguez and C Carlos Corporan. CHICAGO WHITE SOX: Signed LHP Cory Luebke, Cs Carson Blair and Geovany Soto and SS Everth Cabrera. Re-signed…

STAFF REPORT Royals righthander Yordano Ventura and former big league third baseman Andy Marte each died in separate auto accidents in their home country of the Dominican Republic. Ventura was 25, Marte was 33. “Our prayers right now are with Yordano’s family as we mourn this young man’s passing,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said in a statement. “He was so young and so talented, full of youthful exuberance and always brought a smile to everyone he interacted with. We will get through this as an organization, but right now is a time to mourn and celebrate the life of Yordano.” Ventura was laid to rest on Jan. 24 in the Dominican Republic. The ceremony was attended by many Royals players and front-office employees, and Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano…

Two players suspected of using performance- enhancing drugs and a third who admitted to cocaine use in the 1980s were voted into the Hall of Fame earlier this month. Former Astros slugger Jeff Bagwell, Expos, White Sox and Yankees leadoff man Tim Raines and longtime catcher Ivan Rodriguez all were voted in, with Raines gaining induction in his final year of eligibility. For entrance to the Hall, candidates must be listed on 75 percent of the ballots of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Bagwell got 86.2 percent of the vote from the BBWAA after amassing 55.7 percent of the vote in 2016. Originally drafted by the Red Sox in 1989, Bagwell was traded by Boston to Houston in an infamous deal for righthanded reliever Larry Anderson in 1990 and…

South Florida prep first baseman Triston Casas intends to reclassify as a member of the draft class of 2018, making the hulking slugger one of the top targets for that draft class. Casas, 17, plays for American Heritage High and was the lone sophomore on USA Baseball’s 18U national team, which won another gold medal in the fall in Mexico. At 6-foot-3, 241 pounds, Casas was the biggest position player on the team and its primary power hitter, hitting two homers out of the seven hit in the event (six by Team USA). After he returned from Mexico, Casas said, his father approached him with the idea of reclassifying. Now being homeschooled while playing for American Heritage, Casas and his tutor began an accelerated course load in January. “It definitely…

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. Inside the Mike Loynd Tradition Room in Dick Howser Stadium, Florida State celebrates its rich history. There are trophy cases and walls covered with important moments from the program’s past. A garnet leather couch, situated beneath one particularly intimidating spot in the room, is where junior infielders Dylan Busby and Taylor Walls choose to sit on an early January day. Over their shoulders is a mural listing all of the Seminoles’ College World Series appearances—all 21 of them. The looming shadow of the CWS is inescapable. As the 2017 season approaches, the CWS is again a focus for the Seminoles. FSU has not been to Omaha since 2012, the third-longest drought of coach Mike Martin’s storied career. Booking a return trip has presented challenges, and Florida State has…

Editor in Chief Baseball America johnmanuel @baseballamerica.com When Oregon State coach Pat Casey wants to compliment a player, particularly for his leadership, he invokes Darwin Barney. If you’re going over the short list of most important players in Oregon State history, it begins with Barney, the shortstop on Casey’s back-to-back national championship teams in 2006-07. Nearly 3,000 miles across the country, Casey’s old foil from those championship years, North Carolina coach Mike Fox, has his own ways to honor the Tar Heels’ storied past. Those two seasons kicked off a string of six CWS trips for UNC in an eight-year span. Last year, the Tar Heels retired the number of 2006 College Player of the Year Andrew Miller. This year, the Heels are retiring Dustin Ackley’s No. 13. Ackley was…

SOUTHEASTERN Baseball Members (First Year): East—Florida (1933), Georgia (1933), Kentucky (1933), Missouri (2013), South Carolina (1992), Tennessee (1933), Vanderbilt (1933). West—Alabama (1933), Arkansas (1992), Auburn (1933), Louisiana State (1933), Mississippi (1933), Mississippi State (1933), Texas A&M (2013). Checking out: none. TEAM TO BEAT Florida The Gators have an abundance of talent on their roster, which features six Preseason All-Americans. TOURNAMENT: 12 teams, May 23–28 at Hoover, Ala. PLAYER OF THE YEAR Jeren Kendall of, Vanderbilt Kendall is one of the most electric players in the country and impacts the game in a variety of ways with his power-speed combination. PITCHER OF THE YEAR Alex Faedo rhp, Florida Faedo ranked third in the country in strikeouts last year, and he should again pile up whiffs this spring with his devastating fastballslider…

TAMPA BAY | Rays For statistics, organization reports, prospect lists and recent drafts, check out: baseballamerica.com/t/organization-reports/ ST. PETERSBURG Shortstop Willy Adames got a head start on his first big league spring training thanks to a hand from ace Chris Archer. Impressed since meeting Adames last spring, Archer arranged for Adames to fly in a week before the team’s annual winter-development camp and spend five days training with him at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. “I met Willy last (spring) when he got called up for a day to play in a game and I could just see something in him, like in his eyes,” Archer said. “And when you get to know him, you can see it too, just this love and passion for the game. And I feel…

NEW YORK General manager Brian Cashman announced in early January that the big league roster was set and no major additions were planned. That meant 25-year-old Mason Williams’ slim chances of making the team out of spring training became miniscule. Had Cashman traded left fielder Brett Gardner it would have created, at worst, an opening for the fourth-outfielder spot if Aaron Hicks had replaced Gardner. Barring injury to an outfielder, Williams will open the season as the starting center fielder at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre because he has one minor league option remaining. Clint Frazier, whom New York acquired from the Indians in the Andrew Miller deal last July, will play a corner-outfield post. Williams has been overshadowed by other young position players in the system, foremost among them Gary Sanchez, the…

MIAMI Added to the 40-man roster in November, righthander Drew Steckenrider may be close to the majors, but nobody can accuse him of big-timing things. For instance, when he turned 26 in January, he still got his throwing done in the morning, then kept his birthday celebration humble by taking his mother and his wife out for $1 tacos. Steckenrider, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound reliever, is keeping his eyes on the prize, which is a spot in the big league bullpen. A native of Atlanta, Steckenrider originally had dreams of making it to the majors as a hitter. He batted .488 as a high school senior and earned a scholarship to Tennessee. But when pitching injuries hit the Volunteers’ staff, a teammate suggested that Steckenrider throw a few innings. When Steckenrider…

WASHINGTON Speedy outfielder Rafael Bautista began 2017 by playing in intense postseason games for Escogido in the Dominican League. Farm director Mark Scialabba believes that experience can only be good for Bautista. “The winter leagues, especially the playoffs, provides Rafael with a challenging environment where he is expected to perform at a high level regularly in meaningful games,” Scialabba said. Bautista did just that by going 6-for-21 (.286) with four stolen bases through nine games. The 23-year-old played mostly right field for Esocgido after splitting the second half of 2016 at Double-A Harrisburg between center and right field. Bautista played center field exclusively in the first half before Andrew Stevenson was promoted from high Class A Potomac. “Defensively his arm strength has improved, and he continues to improve his jumps,…

DETROIT The Tigers hope they will see the same Kevin Ziomek they saw in the past. But the 25-year-old lefthander is coming off a season that was all but lost following surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome in his throwing shoulder. Ziomek says he is ready to go. “I’m feeling great,” said Ziomek, a secondround pick out of Vanderbilt in 2013. “I’m excited to see how it all translates, and I’m glad to have the rehab process behind me.” Ziomek was roughed up in his lone appearance in 2016 while pitching at high Class A Lakeland. He had shoulder trouble during spring training and stayed in extended spring training while trying to work through it. He returned for one start in May before having season-ending surgery in June. Ziomek ranked…

MILWAUKEE | Brewers For statistics, organization reports, prospect lists and recent drafts, check out: baseballamerica.com/t/organization-reports/ MILWAUKEE Jorge Lopez knows how to turn the page on a difficult season. Things didn’t go as expected for the 23-yearold righthander in 2016 at Triple-A Colorado Springs, a notoriously tough place for pitchers. Lopez got off to a bad start and never recovered. He went 1-7, 6.81 in 17 games and recorded rates of 7.5 strikeouts and 6.2 walks per nine innings. Things got so bad that the Brewers in mid-July sent Lopez to their training facility in Maryvale, Ariz., to regroup. They then demoted him to Double-A Biloxi, where he was the Southern League pitcher of the year in 2015, and he got headed in the right direction by posting a 3.97 ERA…

PITTSBURGH Third baseman Eric Wood was not upset when he found out at the end of spring training last year that he was headed back to Double-A Altoona for a second straight season. Any frustration Wood might have felt he took out on Eastern League pitchers. The 24-year-old hit .249/.339/.443 with 16 home runs in 118 games. While the numbers were not gaudy, it was a step forward for the 2012 sixth-round pick from Blinn (Texas) JC, who grew up in Ajax, Ontario. “I didn’t really think about repeating Double-A a whole lot, I just looked at it as another opportunity,” Wood said. “That’s kind of what the game is to me. As long as you’re playing, you have a shot. It doesn’t really matter where you are, because as…

HOUSTON Righthanded reliever Jandel Gustave experienced his first taste of the big leagues late last season when the Astros summoned him from Triple-A Fresno for a few appearances in August and again in September when rosters expanded. Coming into spring training this year, Gustave has a legitimate chance to make the Opening Day roster. The 24-year-old from the Dominican Republic complements a high-90s fastball with a power slider and has shown he can handle multi-inning outings. “I think he’s right in the mix to make our bullpen,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said, “because of improvements that he’s made in the last couple of seasons but also his first impression in the big leagues. He has an elite fastball and a developing breaking ball.” Gustave began last season at Fresno, where…

ARLINGTON When the Rangers doled out their minor league awards for 2016, they had a few tough choices for reliever of the year. Righthander Matt Bush began the season at Double-A Frisco before breaking through in Texas and making the postseason roster—but he pitched just 17 minor league innings. Lefthander Joe Filomeno advanced to Frisco and recorded a 1.75 ERA over 56.2 innings at two levels. Righthander Nick Gardewine succeeded at hitter-friendly high Class A High Desert by striking out 60 and walking 14 in 54.2 innings. The Rangers, though, chose to honor righthander John Fasola as the system’s top reliever after he excelled at three levels and then the Arizona Fall League. He could vault into the major league picture in 2017. “It’s what I signed up for,” said…

LOS ANGELES Looking back on his experience with Tommy John surgery, righthander Ross Stripling said one of the saddest days of his life came when he was left behind at extending spring training to rehab while everyone else left for minor league teams. Righthander Walker Buehler can relate. The 2015 first-round pick out of Vanderbilt had Tommy John surgery almost immediately following the draft and spent his first year as a professional pitcher not actually pitching. “Especially when you get taken where I was taken, and you meet everyone and everyone meets you, and you get to know everyone— and then they leave,” Buehler said. “It’s tough because you get drafted and you want to get momentum going and kind of jump out of the chute, but you’re down for…

Lewis or moniak? If you had one pick of the top high school outfielders in ’16 and ’17 drafts would you take Royce Lewis/Jordon Adell or Mickey Moniak? BLAINE BEATY, INDIANAPOLIS Great question and one that requires a caveat. Understand that a lot can and will change from now until the draft arrives in June. At this time last year, we had Blake Rutherford ranked ahead of Moniak on our Baseball America preseason draft rankings. Moniak climbed up draft boards with an excellent senior season that ended with him winning High School Player of the Year honors. That by itself may not have been enough to help him ascend to the top pick in the 2016 draft, but Moniak’s climb coincided with the struggles of the top college pitchers in…

Columnist, MLB Network BOSTON Tim Raines signs “HOF” after his name. He is the second greatest leadoff hitter in history and a man who reached base more often than Tony Gwynn or Roberto Clemente. So does Jeff Bagwell, who statistically is one of the six best first basemen ever, second only to Albert Pujols since World War II. And so does Ivan Rodriguez, one of the best catchers who ever played. And Trevor Hoffman and Vladimir Guerrero are virtually certain to enter the Hall of Fame in 2018, along with Chipper Jones and, likely, Jim Thome. Still, much of the conversation when this year’s Hall class was announced centered on steroids and performanceenhancing drugs—especially now that Mike Piazza, Bagwell and Rodriguez have been enshrined. In fact, before celebrating the exploits…

Mark Marquess has been at Stanford for nearly his entire adult life. And it's been a charmed existence. He arrived as a freshman in Palo Alto in the fall of 1965 as a baseball and football recruit, assigned to room with Mitt Romney. He was a three-year starter on the baseball team, twice earning all-American honors. After a brief stint in the minor leagues, he returned to Stanford in 1972 as an assistant coach and was promoted to head coach in 1977. He has held that job ever since, winning 1,585 games and two national championships. Marquess, 69, is the second-longest tenured head coach in Division I and a titan in college baseball. He has become so much of a fixture at Stanford that he is often referred to simply…

College baseball’s 64-team era, dating from 1999, has been defined by its lack of dynasties. Oregon State (2006-07) and South Carolina (2010-11) won back-to-back College World Series titles, but no one conference or section of the country has ruled in Omaha. The last four seasons have produced four first-time national champions, from nouveau riche programs UCLA (2013) and Vanderbilt (’14) to Atlantic Coast Conference drought-ending Virginia (’15). No champion was more unlikely than Coastal Carolina (’16), whose title stands behind only Fresno State in 2008 as the most unlikely in college baseball’s modern era. When it comes to winning, college baseball shares the wealth. But scouts with major league clubs looking for future big leaguers say they have narrowed their focus, concentrating their firepower on the Power Five conferences for…

2016 Record (Ranking): 49-18 (3). RPI: 6. Coach (Record at school): Jim Schlossnagle (565-254, 13 years). Postseason History: 14 regionals (active streak: 3), 4 CWS trips (active streak: 3), 0 national titles. No sooner had Texas Christian’s players stepped off the bus after getting back from last year’s College World Series than head coach Jim Schlossnagle gathered them in the Lupton Stadium locker room in Fort Worth. That Omaha trip, the program’s third straight, had been unexpected. Schlossnagle knew the external expectations would have a different feel in 2017 and wanted to give his players a sense of what awaited them. “In 2011, coming off the College World Series in 2010 (TCU’s first Omaha appearance), I think we were in the top three in every poll,” Schlossnagle said, “and we…

BIG 12 Baseball Members (First Year): Baylor (1997), Kansas (1997), Kansas State (1997), Oklahoma (1997), Oklahoma State (1997), Texas (1997), Texas Christian (2013), Texas Tech (1997), West Virginia (2013). Checking out: None. TEAM TO BEAT Texas Christian The Horned Frogs are national title favorites thanks to their deep and talented lineup and pitching staff. TOURNAMENT: 8 teams May 24–28 at Oklahoma City PLAYER OF THE YEAR Luken Baker 1b, Texas Christian No longer pitching, Baker remains the anchor of TCU’s lineup thanks to his advanced feel for hitting to go with his light-tower power. PITCHER OF THE YEAR Tyler Buffett rhp, Oklahoma State Buffett starred in OSU’s run to Omaha last year and should move to the front of the rotation full-time as a senior this spring. FRESHMAN OF THE…

BRADENTON, FLA. On a sun-splashed afternoon, State JC of Florida sophomore lefthander Brendon Little talked about last season’s dark clouds. “It was a bumpy, bumpy road,” Little said. It almost seemed like a different life. Little, the top-rated player in North Carolina’s 16th-ranked recruiting class, couldn’t throw strikes. His confidence wavered. He worked four total innings out of the bullpen and didn’t travel on most road trips. “I had always been a name to watch, then I became ‘Brendon who?’ “ Little said. “I didn’t know what the heck was happening.” And now? After a dynamic summer in the Cape Cod League—39 strikeouts in 27 innings for Bourne and a spot on the league’s all-star team—Little already was mentioned as a potential first-round pick before throwing his first meaningful junior-college…

BALTIMORE The most anticipated bullpen session at minicamp in January belonged to righthander Branden Kline, the 2012 second-round pick who is recovering from Tommy John surgery on his elbow. Kline has not pitched in a game since May 20, 2015, at Double-A Bowie. He had the procedure five months later after being shut down again in instructional league. Kline remains on a throwing program, which carried him to the Ed Smith Stadium complex in Sarasota, Fla., and set him under the watchful eyes of Orioles manager Buck Showalter, new pitching coach Roger McDowell and new bullpen coach Alan Mills, among others. “It’s been interesting,” said Kline, 25. “I’m definitely learning how to be extremely patient and listen to my body. That’s probably been the biggest thing. There are certain days…

TORONTO The Blue Jays invited a small group of upper-level prospects to their rookie development program in January, aiming to familiarize them with he big league experience. First baseman Rowdy Tellez, center fielder Anthony Alford, shortstop Richard Urena and righthanders Conner Greene and Sean Reid-Foley were among those at Rogers Centre for the camp, which included preparatory sessions with coaches, executives and staffers from across the organization. “The main objective is to acclimate the players to what life would be like as a major league baseball player with the Blue Jays,” farm director Gil Kim said. “We acclimate players to the faces they’ll see, the facilities they’ll use, the city of Toronto, the day-to-day schedule . . . The more comfortable they can feel with everything going on, the higher…

NEW YORK The Mets selected P.J. Conlon as the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year in 2016. Now, they have invited the Irelandborn lefthander to big league camp. General manager Sandy Alderson indicated Conlon at least nominally will receive consideration for a big league bullpen role out of spring training. With Jerry Blevins still an unsigned free agent, the Mets’ primary lefthanded relief options are Josh Edgin and Josh Smoker. They also have invited to camp prospect David Roseboom, who participated in the Arizona Fall League, and 29-year-old minor league free agent import Adam Wilk. The 23-year-old Conlon claimed the minor league ERA title last year when he went 12-2, 1.65 in 24 games (23 starts) at low Class A Columbia and high Class A St. Lucie. He struck…

CLEVELAND | Indians For statistics, organization reports, prospect lists and recent drafts, check out: baseballamerica.com/t/organization-reports/ CLEVELAND The question isn’t whether Yandy Diaz can hit. He can. The question is his future position? Answer: to be determined. The righthanded-hitting Cuban native signed in September 2013 and began his career in the Indians system in 2014 as a third baseman. In 2016 he also played second base and the corner outfield. In the Venezuelan League this offseason, Diaz played only outfield. Wherever he has played, the 25-year-old has hit. In his three minor league seasons he has hit .307/.403/.410 with more walks (198) than strikeouts (191). “Yandy continues to show that his bat can play at the highest levels,” assistant general manager Carter Hawkins said. “Yandy continues to show that his bat…

KANSAS CITY, MO. Miguel Almonte remains an enigma for the Royals The 23-year-old righthander from the Dominican Republic has an above-average fastball, a tantalizing changeup and an improving curveball. In a dozen starts last year at Triple-A Omaha, he averaged 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings. But after making his major league debut as a September callup in 2015, Almonte took a step backwards in 2016. He began the season in the Storm Chasers rotation but finished it in the Double-A Northwest Arkansas bullpen. “He just struggled with the strike zone with us,” Omaha manager Brian Poldberg said. “He was pitching behind. It’s just one of those things you keep trying to figure out.” Almonte’s final start was June 28, when he walked six in three innings. The Royals dispatched him…

CHICAGO Stan Zielinski was the area scout who saw something special in a college hitter without a position who nevertheless quickly became a World Series hero. He was the scout who signed a Notre Dame football player who last year signed a $90 million free agent deal with the Giants. In addition to recommending Kyle Schwarber and Jeff Samardzija for the Cubs, Zielinski also helped identify Cliff Floyd and Kirk Rueter when he scouted for the Montreal Expos in the 1990s. The Cubs leaned on Zielinski for countless trade evaluations. For example, he insisted Chicago receive low Class A righthander Chris Archer from the Indians in the Mark DeRosa trade in 2008. So when Zielinski died suddenly in early January at 64, he left a hole in the organization that…

ST. LOUIS Never tell righthander Mitch Harris the odds. When he made his big league debut in 2015 he became the first Navy product to do so in nearly a century. Now the 31-year-old reliever strives to join an even smaller group. Harris suffered a ligament tear in his right elbow, but when he emerged from surgery he learned that he did not need Tommy John surgery. A relatively new procedure, one that has been used on just three professional pitchers to date, repaired the tear and offered Harris a chance at an accelerated return. The procedure, called “primary repair,” was performed by St. Louis-based orthopedic surgery Dr. George Paletta. “I had nothing to lose,” Harris said, repeating a phrase he has used before in his career. “If I would…

ANAHEIM Michael Hermosillo will be in big league camp this spring. While he has no shot of making the team, the fact that he’ll be shagging fly balls next to Mike Trout and taking batting-practice swings with Albert Pujols is a testament to the 22-year-old outfielder’s steady progress. “A lot of organizations wouldn’t bring him to big league camp at this stage of his career,” farm director Mike LaCassa said. “But given the strides he’s made on and off the field— with his baseball fundamentals, strength, conditioning and development—we felt he earned it.” The Angels made the 5-foot-11, 190-pound Hermosillo a 28th-round pick in 2013 out of Ottawa (Ill.) High, where he may have been a better football than baseball player. After so-so seasons at Rookie-level Orem in 2014 and…

COLORADO | Rockies For statistics, organization reports, prospect lists and recent drafts, check out: baseballamerica.com/t/organization-reports/ DENVER Talk readily turns to the likes of Jeff Hoffman, German Marquez, Kyle Freeland, Ryan Castellani and Riley Pint when Rockies pitching prospects are mentioned. Antonio Senzatela? “Because he was hurt, he’s kind of got lost in the shuffle,” farm director Zach Wilson said, “but he shouldn’t.” Senzatela, a 2011 international signee out of Venezuela, is 30-16, 2.81 in 60 career starts since leaving the Dominican Summer League. Last year, he was limited to seven starts at Double-A Hartford, none after June 15, because of recurring shoulder inflammation. Senzatela completed his rehab around Nov. 1. Wilson said that “he’ll be full go from day one” of spring training. The 22-year-old Senzatela will likely open 2017…

SAN DIEGO Center fielder Franchy Cordero, no longer challenged by having to play shortstop, produced a career-best season last year that restored some lost luster to his profile. Cordero originally signed for $175,000 as a 17-year old out of the Dominican Republic in 2011. He ranked among the system’s top prospects as a power hitting yet error prone infielder, but his bat initially fell flat in fullseason ball. Cordero restored his prospect status in a big way in 2016 by batting .290/.344/.450 with 11 home runs in 137 games between high Class A Lake Elsinore, Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A El Paso. The 22-year-old appeared in the Double-A Texas League for the first time and compiled an .834 OPS in 59 games. Early in his career, Cordero had flashed a…

Jameson Taillon and Dylan Bundy both missed large swaths of mound time as minor leaguers, including two fully inactive years for Taillon. Still, in 2016 they got fully healthy and made an impact in the majors —Taillon for the first time, and Bundy for the first time in four long years. Many other top prospects are in a similar boat as they head into 2017 trying to regain their form and their health after a largely lost 2016. Here is a look at 10 such players and where they stand with spring training just around the corner. Braxton Garrett LHP, MARLINS INJURY: None 2016 STATS: None The Marlins drafted Garrett seventh overall in the 2016 draft but he did not pitch for them during the season after signing late. Combined…

Baseball Analyst, Senior Writer ESPN.com PHILADELPHIA It was one of the most historic Hall of Fame elections of all time. And there’s an excellent chance that no one has ever told you why. The funny thing is, this history had nothing to do with the men who got elected in the 2017 Hall extravaganza, with all due respect to Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Pudge Rodriguez. No, the history here is that this was the end of an era that dates back to the first Hall of Fame vote ever cast. And it’s about time. You probably didn’t get the memo that this was the last Hall of Fame election ever in which voters could hide in the shadows, free to vote (or not vote) anonymously for whomever they please…