Innholdsfortegnelse for February 23, 2018 i Baseball America

HAVE A QUESTION? @jjcoop36 askba@baseballamerica.com Q I enjoyed the “just missed the Top 100 Prospects” list, but this junkie wants more. Can you share the roster of names who made at least two Baseball America editors’ personal top 150 rankings? —JOSEPH GRUNDLE, MILWAUKEE A Our process to compile the Top 100 Prospects remains the same. Staffers put together their own top 150, and then we combine the ballots (this year there were five). At that point, we gather in a room and talk through the list from No. 1 to No. 100. We agonize over each and every spot, with special emphasis placed on how we line up the top and who gets on and who gets left off the back of the list. This year, Padres righthander Anderson Espinoza,…

No one would ever accuse Alex Anthopoulos of timidity When he was the Blue Jays general manager, Anthopoulos was aggressive at making trades to rebuild the long-struggling club. He made trades both good (acquiring Josh Donaldson and Marco Estrada at a very low cost) and bad (Noah Syndergaard to the Mets for R.A. Dickey). But since taking over the Braves in November, Anthopoulos’ front office has been quiet. Atlanta has not signed a major league free agent in the three months since the new regime took over. The Braves’ only significant trade (Matt Kemp to the Dodgers) was more about clearing salary than acquiring talent. It’s a dramatic difference from Anthopoulos’ first stint as GM, which saw him trade staff ace Roy Halladay soon after taking over. The Braves have…

The 2018 high school class is one of the strongest in recent years. Despite only one player representing the typically strong state of California (shortstop Brice Turang), scouts see potential impact talent all over the field. This class has one of the most naturally gifted defensive prep catchers in Will Banfield, powerful and polished bats at the corners in Triston Casas and Nolan Gorman as well as high-end stuff and command on the mound with righthanders Ethan Hankins and Kumar Rocker and southpaw Matthew Liberatore. Three players were unanimously selected to the first team: outfielder Jarred Kelenic, along with Gorman and Hankins. C WILL BANFIELD BROOKWOOD HIGH, SNELLVILLE, GA. The most talented defensive catcher in the class, Banfield brings a plus arm to the table that some scouts have labeled…

Beyond his eight seasons in the major leagues, including three with the Red Sox, Sam Horn has made quite a name for himself in the Boston area. Horn first operated the Around the Horn Sports Center for three years, then served as a studio host for Red Sox games on the New England Sports Network during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. His much-acclaimed run to become the first president of Red Sox Nation fell short in 2007, and now he enters his second season as host for the weekly TV talk show “What is Your Pre-Game?” “It’s something that I’m very passionate about,” Horn said about the show that airs Saturday mornings during the baseball season on NBC Sports Boston. The show features interviews conducted by Horn with Boston area…

Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna, Angels righthander Shohei Ohtani and Blue Jays third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. engaged in one of the most contested battles ever for the top spot on our Top 100 Prospects ranking. All three elite prospects had their backers from BA’s staff of talent evaluators. Ben Badler and J.J. Cooper supported Ohtani for No. 1. Kyle Glaser and Josh Norris backed Acuna, while Matt Eddy sided with Guerrero. In the end, we chose Acuna, our reigning Minor League Player of the Year who starred at Triple-A and in the Arizona Fall League last year and stands poised to impact Atlanta in 2018. Here we will make the case for each member of the trio. BADLER MAKES THE CASE FOR OHTANI: The historical track record for hitters who…

Growing up in Southern California in the 1990s, Billy Eppler watched as the Angels debuted Tim Salmon, Jim Edmonds, Troy Percival, Garret Anderson and Darin Erstad in consecutive seasons, laying the foundation for the franchise’s first World Series title. As a Rockies scout living in Laguna Beach in the early 2000s, Eppler saw the Angels produce Francisco Rodriguez, Bengie Molina, Ervin Santana and Ramon Ortiz out of a fruitful Latin American program. And as a Yankees front office executive in the late 2000s, Eppler watched as the Angels put together arguably the best draft of the 21st century in 2009 when they selected Mike Trout, Garrett Richards, Patrick Corbin, Tyler Skaggs and Randal Grichuk with five of their first six picks. So, when Eppler interviewed for the Angels’ general manager…

Each year, Baseball America polls scouting directors to select preseason High School All-America teams. The first team, in particular, has been an accurate predictor of both the first round of the draft and future major league success. Last year, seven members of the first team were selected in the first round, including top two picks Royce Lewis and Hunter Greene. This year’s high school crop is deeper than the 2017 class, particularly at the top…

BOB BAILEY, who played third base, left field and first base for the Pirates, Dodgers, Montreal Expos, Reds and Red Sox from 1962-78, died Jan. 9 in Las Vegas. He was 75. Bailey was a member of the 1976 World Series-winning Reds and finished his career with more than 1,500 hits and 750 RBIs. He also coached in the Expos organization after his playing career. COLLIER BLACK, a minor league righthander in the Cardinals organization in 1972 and ’73, died Jan. 4 in Jacksonville. He was 65. RICHARD “DICK” CESARIN, a righthander who pitched in the California League in 1951, died Dec. 31, 2017, in San Carlos, Calif. He was 87. CLIFFORD “CLIFF” CHIPPENDALE, a minor league righthander in the Florida State League in 1951, died Jan. 3 in Newcastle,…

@BaseballAmerica @BaseballAmerica BaseballAmericaMag ReadBA WHERE IN THE WORLD ... ... IS BEN BADLER? ANSWER: Cartagena, Colombia. In late January, Major League Baseball hosted a national showcase for Venezuelan prospects eligible to sign in 2018. The event was held in neighboring Colombia due to safety concerns in Venezuela. TOP 100 PROSPECTS We published our annual Top 100 Prospects ranking at BaseballAmerica.com on Jan. 22, which is the earliest date ever for us. We hope you used the time wisely to plot domination in your fantasy league! THE PROSPECT HANDBOOK IS HERE! The 2018 Prospect Handbook began arriving in mailboxes across the U.S. the week of Feb. 5, and readers took to Twitter to express their joy. Forget Punxsutawney Phil. The arrival of the Handbook can mean only one thing: spring is just…

TURMOIL ENGULFED THE BRAVES ORGANIZATION AFTER THE 2017 SEASON, WHEN THE CLUB’S GENERAL MANAGER AND SPECIAL ASSISTANT WERE FIRED FOR INTERNATIONAL SIGNINGS INFRACTIONS. NOT EVEN THAT COULD SLOW THE MOMENTUM OF A BEVY OF PITCHING AND POSITION PROSPECTS MARCHING TOWARDS ATLANTA 01. ATLANTA BRAVES 2017 RANK: 1. 2016 RANK: 3. RECENT TRENDS: The Braves have long had one of the strongest farm systems in baseball, but it bottomed out not long ago. They ranked as low as 29th in 2015, but the new front office inherits a farm system that has ranked No. 1 in back-to-back seasons. TOP 100 PROSPECTS: Eight, led by OF Ronald Acuna (No. 1). THE SKINNY: The Braves still have more pitching than position prospects, but Acuna, the Minor League Player of the Year, 3B Austin…

@JCRASNICK As major league teams loaded up the equipment trucks and players prepared to head to the Cactus and Grapefruit leagues for spring training, the casualties of a lost winter continued to plug away with no end in sight. At a facility in Florida, several unemployed free agents compared notes about offers that never materialized and the rampant, seemingly endless stagnation on the open market. “It’s definitely the time of year when everybody is excited to get going with baseball rather than sitting in a weight room,’’ said one unsigned free agent. “Some of the players at our place were joking about it. One guy said, ‘Hey, why don’t we just start a spring training of our own?’” In the absence of a camp to report to, gallows humor and…

Every aspect of a Nokona glove gets the personal touch when they are individually cut, stamped, stitched, laced and embroidered in the company’s Texas facility. It has been that way since 1934 and the company hasn’t shown any desire to change that level of personal care. Instead, it’s only adding to the individual handcrafting with fresh ways to create custom designs. Because each glove is individually handcrafted, we have always been able to respond to players’ unique preferences and needs,” Nokona sales director Chip Sivak said. “Today, though, through our online custom-glove builder, players can see their personal designs while they are building their gloves.” With the multiplicity of options, ranging from patterns and web types to leather, laces and colors, Sivak says the level of detail adds to the…