Innholdsfortegnelse for Friday, July 01, 2016 i Baseball America

MAY 22, 2006 » IN THIS ISSUE: Tulsa features a truckload of talent, led by Troy Tulowitzki, Ian Stewart and Chris Ianetta. » ALSO: Top prospect Delmon Young gets suspended after a run-in with an umpire in the International League. Terry Francona sat on the Red Sox bench in Fort Myers, Fla., the morning of March 23, 2005, lamenting along with the Boston writers the next day’s two-hour bus ride to Fort Lauderdale for yet another exhibition, this one against the Orioles. But when the manager mentioned the name of the next day’s starting pitchers, he exhibited a glint of excitement. “I’ve never seen this kid,” Francona said, speaking about Jonathan Papelbon, then 24 and a veteran of precisely 37 professional games, none higher than the high Class A Florida…

Cubs have no trouble carrying big burden Baseball Writer, ESPN.com PHILADELPHIA Somewhere between Sloan Stadium in Arizona and Wrigley Field, Cubs manager Joe Maddon swapped his “Embrace the Target’’ T-shirt for a model with the words “Try Not to Suck’’ emblazoned across the front. Beyond that minor fashion statement, not much has changed around the team since the Cactus League. It’s hard to remember a club burdened by more hype than the 2016 Cubs, and they handled the scrutiny with aplomb in the runup to Opening Day. But winning 95 games and a division title is more challenging when everyone expects it, and a lot of teams have gotten tighter when they underperformed and the reality of a long season took hold. The 2015 Mariners and Padres and multiple recent…

Columnist, MLB Network petergammons @baseballamerica.com BOSTON It’s been five years since the 2011 draft, which is approximately the time teams should realistically wait before assessing a draft. That 2011 draft was historically good, as Gerrit Cole was the first pick and Jose Fernandez the 14th and they were— and are—prodigies. The first round included Anthony Rendon, Francisco Lindor, George Springer, Sonny Gray, Joe Ross, Joe Panik and Trevor Bauer, Archie Bradley, Dylan Bundy, Bubba Starling and Javier Baez as we wait to see what they eventually become. Five years later, the Red Sox and Cubs have the most wins in their leagues. Boston lately has been starting a team whose eight position player starters all were self-developed. “Their talent is unbelievable,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss said in June, as Indians…

These are the team-by-team selections for all 40 rounds of the 2016 draft, which totaled 1,216 players. Teams can lose first-, second- or third-round picks for signing qualified free agents. They can gain compensatory picks by three means: losing qualified free agents, failing to sign a protected pick from the 2015 draft or from Major League Baseball’s competitive-balance lottery. ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS 1. (Lost for signing free agent Zack Greinke) 1s. Anfernee Grier, of, Auburn 2. Andy Yerzy, c, York Mills Collegiate Institute, Toronto 3. Jon Duplantier, rhp, Rice 4. Curtis Taylor, rhp, British Columbia 5. Joey Rose, 3b, Toms River (N.J.) North HS 6. Mack Lemieux, lhp, Palm Beach State (Fla.) JC 7. Jordan Watson, lhp, Science and Arts of Oklahoma 8. Ryan January, c, San Jacinto (Texas) JC 9.…

National champions have been decided in the NJCAA Divisions I, II and III as well as the California CC Athletic Association. We’ve got all your championship info. NJCAA DIVISION I Thanks to a 2-run homer by Gavin Johns and a complete game outing by JoJo Romero, Yavapai won the 2016 NJCAA Division I title with a 5-2 win over San Jacinto. The championship is the first for the Roughriders since 1993 and fourth in the program’s history. Romero shone in the tournament, winning three games and striking out 22 batters in 15 innings, including 15 in the championship. Rashaan Kuahaulua was named most outstanding player for the tournament, batting .455 with two home runs and nine runs in the tournament for Yavapai. The Roughriders finished their first championship season in…

For statistics, organization reports, prospect lists and recent drafts, check out: baseballamerica.com/t/organization-reports/ BOSTON As the draft approached, the Red Sox weren’t certain that lefthander Jason Groome would be available to them with the No. 12 pick, but they didn’t want to leave anything to chance. So the team’s scouting department—led by Northeast area scout Ray Fagnant—stayed on him throughout a dominant senior season at Barnegat (N.J.) High in which the 17-yearold allowed one earned run while striking out 81. The Red Sox saw a pitcher who pitched comfortably at 90-94 mph and topped out at 97 with a hammer of a breaking ball and flashes of a changeup he could throw for strikes. As the draft arrived, Groome was, in the words of general manager Mike Hazen, “very high on…

Rays Get Lowe Down ST. PETERSBURG The Rays felt there was a lot to like about Marietta, Ga., prep third baseman Josh Lowe in making him the 13th overall pick in the draft. They liked him enough that, eschewing more advanced options to fill a gap in their system, they will be willing to wait for him to be able to show it. “I really like his athleticism,” general manager Matt Silverman said. “I really like the power. The profile is one that can have success.” Rob Metzler, running his first draft since taking over as scouting director, offered a similar take. “(Lowe) has really good physical attributes,” Metzler said. “He’s a big, strong athlete, with good foot speed and power. We think he has good ingredients to progress through…

Mature Marlin MIAMI One week before the draft, scouting director Stan Meek agreed that the depleted Marlins system could use a college first-rounder who could move quickly to the majors. While the Marlins got an advanced player with the No. 7 overall pick, they found him in the high school ranks. Lefthander Braxton Garrett, an 18-yearold who recently graduated from Florence (Ala.) High, went 6-2, 0.56 as a senior while striking out 131 batters and walking just 13 in 65 innings. “He’s a strike-thrower, and one of the more polished high school players we’ve ever taken,” Meek said of Garrett, a player he and other Marlins scouts have tracked for the past year. “His delivery is already in place. Maybe there are a few tweaks needed, but nothing major.” Garrett’s…

Family Connection WASHINGTON With their first of back-to-back first-round picks, the Nationals stuck with a familiar family. Washington selected Marietta, Ga., shortstop Carter Kieboom, the brother of Double-A Harrisburg catcher Spencer, at No. 28 overall. The franchise followed that up by taking Florida righthander Dane Dunning, one of eight Gators drafted this year, at No. 29. Kieboom is known for his baseball IQ and has the feel for the game that might keep the Walton High product at shortstop. He has a selective feel at the plate. Though Carter signed with Clemson, he probably won’t end up at Spencer’s alma mater. “He’s very athletic, and we see him as a shortstop,” scouting director Kris Kline said. “He has very good tools—some above-average and some solid-average. He’s going to be a…

Benson Earns Heyward Comp CLEVELAND For the second time in four years, the Indians used their first-round pick on a power-hitting high school outfielder from Georgia. In 2013 it was Clint Frazier. In 2016 it is Will Benson. The Indians selected the 17-year-old Benson with the No. 14 overall pick. The 6-foot-6, 220-pound lefthanded hitter immediately drew comparisons with Jason Heyward. “It’s an honor to have that comparison,” said Benson, an Atlanta native. “Defensively, it’s a true comparison. We both have a lot of range and throw well. “Offensively, I think I can possibly do better. He’s more of an on-base and average guy. I think I’ll hit for more power—and still hit for average.” In his senior season at The Westminster Schools, Benson hit .454/.566/.814 with eight home runs…

For statistics, organization reports, prospect lists and recent drafts, check out: baseballamerica.com/t/organization-reports/ CINCINNATI The Reds held the No. 2 pick in the draft, but they still got their No. 1 target: Tennessee third baseman Nick Senzel. The Reds had Senzel ranked at the top of their board since last summer, when he was the MVP of the Cape Cod League. They knew they’d be drafting high this year, so they had the wood-bat summer collegiate league covered. They liked what they saw in Senzel. “We’re really excited. This is the guy we wanted,” scouting director Chris Buckley said. “He’s a very polished player, and one of the better hitters—if not the best hitter—in the draft. “We think his power will improve the more he plays. He’s a complete player. He…

Data Mining PITTSBURGH The Pirates have extensively used advanced statistical analysis as an aid in evaluating professional players and designing game strategy since Neal Huntington became general manager in 2007. However, when it came to scouting amateur players, the Pirates have usually depended on the eyes of their scouts when making decisions on the draft and international free agents. That changed this year when the Pirates selected Wake Forest third baseman Will Craig with the 22nd overall pick. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound Craig is not the most athletic player in the draft, but he is an accomplished hitter with power and patience. The lefthanded batter hit .379/.520/.731 with 16 home runs, 16 doubles and 66 RBIs in 52 games. He also went 2-0, 3.54 with nine saves in 19 relief appearances.…

Finding Forrest HOUSTON The proximity between Houston and San Antonio made it easy for the Astros to heavily scout Forrest Whitley. They sent much of their front office to watch the Alamo Heights High righthander, including Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, now an executive advisor for the club. Clearly, the reports were glowing enough for the Astros to make Whitley the 17th overall pick in the first round of the draft. Whitley, a power pitcher listed at 6-foot-7 and 240 pounds, was on the mound in a Class 5A state semifinals game in Round Rock, Texas, as the first round transpired. Whitley’s fastball ranges from 92-97 mph, and he also throws a curveball, a slider and a changeup. He previously pitched for USA Baseball’s 18U team. “We feel it’s an…

Ragans Lands With Rangers ARLINGTON Never ones to shy away from the risk that comes with nabbing a prep pitcher with their first pick in the draft, the Rangers dipped back into the high school ranks by using the 30th overall selection on Florida prep lefthander Cole Ragans. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound southpaw from North Florida Christian High in Tallahassee caught the Rangers’ eye with quality stuff, including a potentially devastating curveball and a tireless work ethic. “We loved the kid’s stuff,” scouting director Kip Fagg said. “We love the pitchability, lefthanded(ness), size and projection—and we loved the kid and the family. It’s a kid who really wants to be good. He works his butt off to be that good.” And Ragans might look familiar. He changed his delivery as a…

Lux-urious Talent LOS ANGELES Thanks to compensation picks for losing free agent Zack Greinke and failing to sign Louisville righthander Kyle Funkhouser, the a sandwich pick in 2015, the Dodgers held four of the first 65 picks in the draft. “Our big-picture view is the same: take the best talent available,” scouting director Billy Gasparino said. The Dodgers went with Wisconsin high school shortstop Gavin Lux at No. 20 overall, then followed with another position player, Louisville catcher Will Smith at No. 32. “I know the Wisconsin stigma kind of throws some people off,” Gasparino said of the thin history of cold-weather shortstops, “but (Lux has) played in some highly competitive leagues over the summer against some top players. He’s not just some raw kid . . . “I don’t…

As it always does, the Cape Cod League will feature many (the top college players in the country in its 132nd season. Each team will play a 44-game regular season, with a threeround playoff (all in the best-of-three format) starting Aug. 5. The league’s all-star game is on July 23 in Chatham. In 2015, the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox won their second straight Cape Cod League title by defeating the Hyannis HarborHawks. Last year’s league MVP was the second pick in this year’s draft, Tennessee third baseman Nick Senzel. Fourteen (the 34 players drafted in the first round played in the Cape in 2014 or 2015. Here’s some (the notable players to watch for each team. BOURNE BRAVES: LHP Brendon Little (North Carolina); (Danny Reyes (Florida) and OF Jake Mangum (Mississippi…

Mark Marquess, Stanford’s baseball coach since 1977, has announced that the 2017 season will be his last. Marquess led Stanford to the 1987 and ’88 College World Series championships, and has been on campus more or less since he played on The Farm in the late 1960s, graduating in 1969. Marquess is the nation’s secondwinningest active head coach with a career record of 1,585-862-7 (.647), and he’s guided the Cardinal to 14 CWS trips, the latest coming in 2008. Stanford excelled under Marquess for most of the 1980s, when the program peaked, producing big leaguers such as righthanders Jack McDowell and Mike Mussina, and again in the late 1990s; from 1995-2003, the Cardinal went to Omaha seven times, finishing as national runner-up in 2000, 2001 and 2003. Future big leaguers…

Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin has never liked endings. No coach does. In the postseason of any sport, the endings are often abrupt, unexpected, cruel. But 2016’s end was crueler than most. Vanderbilt’s regional weekend was never really about baseball—not after 19-year-old righthander Donny Everett drowned on June 2. The NCAA regional weekend, for Vanderbilt, was about healing, about finding some measure of solace between the lines at Hawkins Field. The Commodores honored Everett as best they could, hanging his No. 41 jersey in the dugout, leaving a space for him down the foul line during the national anthem, writing “DE41” on their hats and hanging the stadium flags at half staff. But they also had baseball to play—postseason baseball. The timing couldn’t have been more difficult. As circumstances would…

Columnist, MLB.com SEATTLE Nelson Cruz has made a statement. After the 2014 season, Cruz was a free agent, and he signed with the Mariners, ignoring the cynics who questioned whether he could survive, much less thrive in Safeco Field. The 17-yearold ballpark has been known to play on the mind of others over the years, including third baseman Adrian Beltre, a teammate of Cruz in Texas who struggled from 2005-09 while calling Safeco home. Cruz hasn’t been the least bit intimidated by the deep fences and the heavy air. Cruz has answered the critics who stamped a question mark on his career statistics after he was suspended for 50 games for violation of MLB’s Basic Agreement and its Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment program in the second half of 2013.…

The current Collective Bargaining Agreement has taken the drama out of draft signings. The old days were the Wild West. Signing deadlines were fluid and negotiations stretched for months. Players used to be able to sign at any point up until they set foot into a college classroom. There was no fixed deadline and some top picks would skip a few classes or their fall semester to continue negotiating. Add in draft-and-follows, which allowed junior college players to sign until just days before the next draft, and the nature of a draft class was often up in the air for months after the draft itself ended. Nowadays, the draft signing deadline is a simple fixed date— everyone who is signing must do so by July 15. And under the new…

The strength of the 2016 international signing class is at shortstop. These five shortstops in particular have earned widespread praise from international scouts, with an argument to be made that they comprise the top five overall players in the entire class. Kevin Maitan For many teams, the best player in the 2016 international class is 16-year-old Venezuelan shortstop Kevin Maitan, who trains with Henderson Martinez. Maitan is a special talent with a rare combination of physicality, athleticism, tools, hitting ability and overall feel for the game. It’s why he’s going to get the top bonus in the class—aside from Cuban players—and shatter the bonus record for a Venezuelan amateur, which belongs to Blue Jays righthander Adonys Cardona at $2.8 million. The Braves are the heavy frontrunner to land Maitan for…

O’s Grab Illini Righty BALTIMORE The Orioles carried through with their desire to find pitching early in the 2016 draft by selecting Illinois righthander Cody Sedlock with the 27th overall pick. Sedlock was the Big Ten Conference’s pitcher of the year as a junior after going 5-3, 2.49 in 14 starts, including two complete games. He allowed 80 hits in 101 innings, with 31 walks, 116 strikeouts and just four home runs. Sedlock finished his three seasons at Illinois with a 2.96 ERA in 164 innings. The scouting reports on Sedlock mention a four-pitch mix that includes a fastball that touches the mid-90s and two breaking balls. He flashes a plus slider. Speculation in the industry suggests that Sedlock, a reliever his first two years at Illinois, could transition to…

Zeuch Delivers On All Fronts TORONTO The Blue Jays covet size, clean deliveries and good fastball command in their pitchers, and 6-foot-7 Pittsburgh righthander T.J. Zeuch, the club’s first-round pick, delivers on all fronts. “He’s a good-sized kid. He’s athletic. He gets lots of groundballs,” scouting director Brian Parker said. “He has a good fastball, and that’s probably his best trait right now . . . “There are a lot of things to like with him. With his projection, with his age, there’s some upside with this guy.” The draft for the Blue Jays was the first conducted under new president and CEO Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins, but in selecting Zeuch at No. 21, they stayed true to recent patterns, taking a college pitcher in the first…

Back To Their Backyard NEW YORK The Mets looked to their Long Island back yard, from where they selected Steven Matz out of Melville High in 2009, for their two first-round selections. The Mets selected Boston College righthander Justin Dunn, a Freeport, N.Y., native, with the 19th overall pick. They then selected Connecticut lefthander Anthony Kay, a Stony Brook, N.Y., native, with the 31st overall pick. “I didn’t feel like flying this year, so I just scouted guys I could drive to from my house in Rhode Island,” scouting director Tommy Tanous joked. On a serious note, Tanous added: “It was so bizarre the fact that both kids are local, and it’s still how the draft played out. We had no intention of manipulating the draft or anything to get…

For statistics, organization reports, prospect lists and recent drafts, check out: baseballamerica.com/t/organization-reports/ DETROIT The Tigers are known for drafting hard-throwing college pitchers with their first pick in the draft. For the second consecutive year, however, Detroit selected a hard-throwing high school pitcher. The Tigers selected righthander Matt Manning out of Sheldon High in Sacramento with the ninth overall pick in the draft. The Tigers selected Texas high schooler Beau Burrows with their first-round pick in 2015. “(There were) a lot of things about him that attracted us to him,” scouting director Scott Pleis said. “His size, his athleticism, the way he does things, the ease of his actions. We always saw the plus fastball. We saw the curveball in there. He’s just been a good performer when we’ve seen him.”…

Puckett Rises To Royals KANSAS CITY, MO. Scouting director Lonnie Goldberg said Pepperdine righthander A.J. Puckett did not enter the season “with much helium,” but that suddenly changed. Puckett went 7-5, 4.38 in a pedestrian sophomore season, but as a junior in 2016, he put together a 452⁄3 inning scoreless streak, the third longest in NCAA history. Puckett’s name abruptly began climbing up draft boards. The Royals picked him in the second round, No. 67 overall, with their only pick on the first day of the draft. “We were sweating it out on whether he would get to us,” Goldberg said. “We were just waiting it out. We were very happy he was there. It was a good night for us.” Puckett, who is listed at 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, went…

Hatching A Plan CHICAGO After waiting out the first day of the draft without a pick, the Cubs wasted little time loading up on pitchers on day two. Having lost their first- and second-round picks after signing free agents John Lackey and Jason Heyward, the Cubs didn’t select until the third round, when they selected Oklahoma State righthander Tom Hatch with the 104th overall pick. The Cubs then proceeded to take college righthanders with six of their seven picks in the top 10 rounds. “That was an emphasis going into the year, from our scouting meetings in January,” vice president of scouting and player development Jason McLeod said. “Certainly, we did continue to scout the hitters, but we knew exactly what we were going to do. And we spent an…

Cards Accept Perez’s Risk ST. LOUIS After the report of a positive drug test sent the talented shortstop Delvin Perez tumbling in the first round, the Cardinals used their 23rd pick to give the teenager a second chance. Perez, who turns 18 in November, was considered a possible top-five-overall talent entering the draft. But on the eve of what could been a coronation, a positive drug test became public knowledge, and the Cardinals would confirm that the young Puerto Rican had tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug. With that concern and the lack of a college commitment, Perez fell. Considering the Cardinals rarely have a crack at top-10 talent, the pick carries arguably the highest upside of any pick in decades, and all of that from firsttime scouting director Randy…

Hot Bat For Thaiss ANAHEIM The Angels used their first-round pick on a college catcher for the second straight year, selecting Virginia’s Matt Thaiss with the 16th overall pick. But that doesn’t mean Taylor Ward, the former Fresno State catcher and Angels firstround pick in 2015, will have any more competition behind the plate as he rises through the system. Though most scouts believe Thaiss has the arm to catch, they aren’t sold on his receiving and blocking skills. And both Thaiss, who played some right field in high school and first base in college, and scouting director Ric Wilson indicated there is a good chance Thaiss will switch positions. “We haven’t settled in on anything, and we haven’t ruled anything out,” Wilson said. “We were trying to acquire the…

For statistics, organization reports, prospect lists and recent drafts, check out: baseballamerica.com/t/organization-reports/ DENVER The Rockies selected high school righthander Riley Pint, whose fastball has regularly hit triple digits, with the No. 4 overall pick in the draft. A product of St. Thomas Aquinas High in Overland Park, Kan., Pint is the first prep pitcher the Rockies have taken with their first pick since they selected lefthander Tyler Matzek No. 11 overall in 2009. Pint led his high school to the Kansas 5A state championship and went 6-1, 0.50 with 75 strikeouts in 42 innings during the regular season. His fastball has touched 102 mph, and he sits 97-98, but he is by no means focused on velocity. “I think that’s one of the things I’m asked most: ‘How hard do…

Ready To Go SAN DIEGO Fifteen months after he had Tommy John surgery, Stanford righthander Cal Quantrill said he is “100 percent ready to go” and has been throwing off the mound for two weeks with improved velocity. Quantrill, whose father Paul pitched for the Padres and five other teams in a 14-year big league career, sat out the 2016 season in his comeback from the March 2015 procedure. The Padres drafted him No. 8 overall, with the first of the franchise’s three selections in the first round. At No. 24 overall, San Diego selected Southlake, Texas, prep Hudson Sanchez, a quick-handed, 6-foot-2, 190-pound shortstop who projects to third base or the outfield in pro ball. The industry viewed the 17-year-old Sanchez as a second- or third-round talent, so he…

A 27-2 record speaks for itself, but that record is more impressive when accomplished without the team’s star player. This is the case for the Baseball America High School Team of the Year, Douglas High in Parkland, Fla. Coming into this season, Douglas was poised for a deep playoff run. Led by senior draft prospects Jesus Luzardo, a hard-throwing lefthander, and third baseman Colton Welker, the Eagles were ready. But in his fourth appearance of the season, Luzardo the ace injured his throwing arm. His season was done. This was a tough pill to swallow for the Eagles, but cocaptain Luzardo calmed the team’s sails with a speech the day after his injury. “He said, ‘I’m gonna be fine— don’t worry about me. Go win a championship for me and…

Which of the 2016 draft crop become their respective team’s No. 1 overall prospect once they sign? J.P. SCHWARTZ, SPRINGFIELD, ILL. This was a relatively deep draft, but it wasn’t a great draft. Top prospects failed to separate themselves from the pack. The lack of difference between the top and the 10th player explains how A.J. Puk and Kyle Lewis could slide from top three consideration to sixth (Puk) and 11th (Lewis). That also explains why there aren’t that many instances in which a draft pick would vault immediately to No. 1 on his drafting team’s prospect list. We’ll actually be updating our prospect lists in our midseason prospect update that will be unveiled in July. We’ll follow the same rules we use then for eligibility: any prospect who has…

Editor in Chief Baseball America johnmanuel @baseballamerica.com Gabe Ribas pitched at Northwestern and in the Padres and Phillies systems. He’s coached college baseball since his playing career ended and has seen all the West Coast Conference has had to offer since the 2012 season. This was the best year for Friday starters that the Santa Clara pitching coach has seen, because the league brimmed with aces. Corbin Burnes of Saint Mary’s was the headliner coming off a strong Cape Cod League performance, and the WCC also had Gonzaga’s Brandon Bailey, Brigham Young’s Mike Rucker and Pepperdine’s A.J. Puckett, who pitched more than 40 consecutive scoreless innings and went to the Royals in the second round. None of them was the league’s first pitcher drafted. Instead, it was 6-foot-4, 207-pound Mitchell…

TALLEST PLAYER: Both Duke LHP James Ziemba (37th) and Oyster Bay, N.Y., prep LHP Kyle Young (22nd) are listed at 6-foot-10. Both were selected by the Phillies. SHORTEST PLAYER: Brewers 39th-rounder Jose Gomez, an OF from St. Thomas (Fla.), is listed at just 5-foot-3. HEAVIEST PLAYER: Four draft picks—all pitchers—are listed at 265 pounds. The shortest by several inches is 6-foot-4 RHP Andrew Scrubb, a Dodgers eight-rounder from High Point. LIGHTEST PLAYER: Yankees 28th-round RHP William Sierra, who attended high school in Montreal, is listed at 6-foot-1, 150 pounds. BIGGEST BODIES: Four drafted players have a BMI of 32 or greater. Keep in mind the World Heath Organization classifies a 30 as “obese.” 1. Orioles RHP Nick Jobst (15th, South Carolina-Aiken), 6-foot-2, 260 pounds (33.4 BMI) 2. Brewers OF Jose…

Newcomers highlight CWS field For the first time since 2012, the College World Series has two first-time participants. Coastal Carolina and UC Santa Barbara both advanced to Omaha on July 12 with stunning super regional upsets of national seeds Louisiana State and Louisville, respectively. UCSB’s super regional-clinching victory in Louisville provided the most dramatic moment of the first two weekends of the tournament. The Cardinals, the No. 2 national seed, needed a victory to push its series against the Gauchos to a decisive third game in the Louisville Super Regional. The Cardinals got off to a strong start, led by Atlantic Coast Conference pitcher of the year Drew Harrington, and led the Gauchos, 3-0, going to the ninth. Louisville had closer Zack Burdi, the 26th overall pick in the draft,…

Nationals righthander Lucas Giolito shined in 2015. He ranked as the No. 1 prospect in both the Carolina and Eastern leagues, started the Futures Game and checked in at No. 5 on this year’s Top 100 Prospects list. So why, then, was he back at Double-A Harrisburg this season instead of a step away from the major leagues at Triple-A Syracuse? The answer, simply, is command. When stacked against other minor leaguers, his arsenal is nearly unmatched. As they often do, however, advanced hitters in the upper levels of the minor leagues showed that even the wickedest repertoire needs to be commanded to be successful. Through the first two months of 2016, for example, the 21-year-old Giolito proved he needed to iron out his control and command. In 34 innings,…

Rutherford Falls To Yankees NEW YORK Canoga Park, Calif., high school outfielder Blake Rutherford fell to the Yankees at No. 18 overall, and they were overjoyed to land the 19-year-old. Some organizations had the 6-foot-3, 195-pound lefthanded hitter rated as high as the sixth or seventh pick in the draft. Baseball America rated Rutherford as the ninth-best prospect in the draft. A scholarship offer from UCLA may have given some teams pause, though the Yankees should be able to sign Rutherford. “Blake’s a guy who we’ve scouted for a long time, and we couldn’t be happier that he fell to us,” scouting director Damon Oppenheimer said. “He’s hit at a high level, he can run, he’s a really good defender in center field and he’s got power. He’s got a…

For statistics, organization reports, prospect lists and recent drafts, check out: baseballamerica.com/t/organization-reports/ ATLANTA The Braves had seen nearly every pitch high school righthander Ian Anderson had thrown over the past year, but it was his performance five days prior to the draft that catapulted the Clifton Park, N.Y., product to the top of their board. On June 4, Anderson allowed two hits and an unearned run with 16 strikeouts over seven innings to lead Shenendehowa High to a playoff victory. He showed command of three plus pitches, including a fastball that touches 96 mph, as well as advanced maturity for a pitcher who turned 18 on May 2. “His last start really put everything into perspective for us as an organization,” scouting director Brian Bridges said. “He’s young, he has…

Best In The Land PHILADELPHIA The Phillies’ plan leading up to the No. 1 overall pick in the draft appeared to center around landing an elite pitcher. After all, first-year general manager Matt Klentak is on record as saying his goal is to build the club with “waves of pitching.” When no pitcher separated himself as a clear-cut No. 1 pick, the Phillies zeroed in on prep outfielder Mickey Moniak. “Toward the three-quarter mark of the season, he started to define himself as a superior talent,” scouting director Johnny Almaraz said. The 18-year-old from La Costa Canyon High in Carlsbad, Calif., became the second player to be selected No. 1 in franchise history. Pat Burrell was the top overall pick in 1998, the year Moniak was born. “I’m very excited…

The Perfect Fit CHICAGO In his first year as scouting director, Nick Hostetler knew the player he wanted with the 10th overall pick for the past two months. Zack Collins was there when Chicago’s turn came, and the White Sox quickly scooped up the Miami catcher. “Zack was the guy,” Hostetler said. “He was No. 1 on our list since the first week of April. We kind of highlighted him, circled him. “I ran everybody in under the sun to see him. We were pretty happy, and to (general manager) Rick (Hahn’s) credit, he struck out three times when Rick saw him, so Rick trusts the scouts.” Collins makes a lot of sense for the White Sox, who are platooning catchers Dioner Navarro and Alex Avila this season, and both…

Kirilloff Lands With Twins MINNEAPOLIS Scouting director Deron Johnson didn’t have to look far for what he believes the Twins may have secured by drafting Alex Kirilloff with the 15th overall pick. Minutes after Johnson said Kirilloff reminded him of Christian Yelich, with perhaps a bit more power potential, the Marlins’ star outfielder smashed a double to left field at Target Field, roughly 150 feet from where Johnson was standing. “He takes competitive at-bats, even against advanced pitching,” Johnson said of Kirilloff, a prep outfielder from Pittsburgh. “He’s a guy we targeted. We’re happy, as a group.” That group of scouts has drafted five other outfielders in the first round since 2000, and all five—Denard Span, Chris Parmelee, Aaron Hicks, Ben Revere and Byron Buxton—are currently in the majors. Kirilloff,…

Ray Of Light MILWAUKEE The Brewers said they would stick with their “best available player” draft philosophy, and they weren’t kidding. With the fifth pick of the draft, Milwaukee selected Louisville center fielder Corey Ray, a multi-dimensional performer with an aggressive style of play whom general manager David Stearns called “an exciting player.” It didn’t matter that the Brewers took a center fielder with their first-round pick last year, though Trent Clark came out of the prep ranks and will take longer to get to the majors. Or that prospect Brett Phillips, who is playing at Double-A Biloxi, is viewed as the club’s possible center fielder of the future. “If you can get an up-the-middle player who has that kind of power, speed and defense, we’re going to gravitate toward…

For statistics, organization reports, prospect lists and recent drafts, check out: baseballamerica.com/t/organization-reports/ OAKLAND On draft day, some projections speculated that Florida lefthander A.J. Puk could be the No. 1 overall selection in one of the most unpredictable drafts in recent history. The Athletics never expected to have a chance at Puk, and they never talked to him before the draft. It shocked Oakland that he was available when they picked at No. 6. “I probably did a little jig,” scouting director Eric Kubota said. “We were very surprised.” “We started hearing (that) morning that he was sliding for some reason. At no point during the spring did we think we would have a chance at him.” Puk had been outstanding during his sophomore season at Florida, striking out 104 in…

Lewis Falls To Mariners SEATTLE Back in early March, scouting director Tom McNamara stopped by the office of general manager Jerry Dipoto at the team’s Peoria, Ariz., training complex. McNamara had just returned from scouting Kyle Lewis at Mercer and meeting with his family. “I probably went overboard, like I usually do,” McNamara said, “but we get excited about players with high ceilings.” Dipoto told the rest of the story with a chuckle. “(McNamara) said: ‘This kid might be the best player in the country,’ and he started rolling through him and then he said, ‘But he’s not going to be there,’ and dejectedly put his head down and started to walk out. “I reminded him that the draft is a funny thing.” That funny thing happened when Lewis, the…

Worth The Wait? PHOENIX Not having a first-round pick created some unwanted stress for scouting director Deric Ladnier, but he said his club landed a pair of players it had targeted for the first day of the draft. “It was painful sitting there and watching all the names fly off the board and hoping and a praying a guy we targeted with a potential pick would be there,” Ladnier said. “We were sweating that one out.” The Diamondbacks came away with Auburn center fielder Anfernee Grier in the supplemental first round and Toronto prep catcher Andy Yerzy in the second. Ladnier described both as having “tremendous upside.” In Grier, the D-backs get an athletic, toolsy player whom they believe is a lock to remain in center field. Ladnier said Grier…

Second-Round Scoop SAN FRANCISCO The Giants knew it wouldn’t be easy to watch names disappear from their draft board as they waited to make their first pick at No. 59 overall. They were pleasantly surprised when Bryan Reynolds, a switch-hitting outfielder from Vanderbilt, fell to them in the second round. “We were very happy he was available for us in the second round, and I must say we were surprised he was getting to us,” scouting director John Barr said. The Giants surrendered their first-round pick in December when they signed free agent Jeff Samardzija. But they had Reynolds rated as a first-round pick, and they see him as an athlete who can stick in center field and hit near the top of a major league lineup. Following their tradition…

Things have gone from bad to worse for the Hartford Yard Goats this season. Now, the team’s scenario is moving rapidly toward the worst case. Hartford mayor Luke Bronin at a press conference in June announced that the stadium’s developers, DoNo Hartford and Centerplan Cos., were being removed from the long-delayed project. The announcement came after the developer took issue with the team’s release of the stillunfinished items at Dunkin Donuts Park, which was last scheduled to be turned over to the Yard Goats on May 17 in preparation for a May 31 opener. At the June 6 news conference, according to the Hartford Courant, Bronin revealed that the impetus for the decision involved an e-mail from the developers notifying him that the remaining work would take at least 60…

Baseball Analyst, Senior Writer ESPN.com PHILADELPHIA Lasers in the Outfield. Sounds like a major motion picture coming to a Cineplex near you. Turns out it’s just another high-tech baseball innovation that won’t be coming to an outfield near you, me or Yasiel Puig. Of all the unlikely controversies we’ve seen in baseball in the 21st century, this one might be the hardest to fathom. Not to mention the hardest to follow. This situation erupted in late May, when those free-thinking Dodgers showed up in New York and asked the groundskeeper of their good buddies, the New York Mets, if they could paint a few marks in the Citi Field outfield before the game. Just to help position the outfielders, with the help of a device that you and I would…

TRIVIALITY It’s only trivial if you don’t know the answer David Ortiz is the only active player with 500 doubles and 400 homers for his current team. Can you name the four other active players with at least 250 doubles and 250 homers for their current team? USELESS INFO: Kelly Johnson got traded from the Braves to the Mets—for the second straight year! According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he’s the first man to play for the same two teams in order two years in a row since Chad Kreuter (White Sox-to-Angels) in 1997-98 . . . Three months after getting traded by the Cubs to the A’s, Chris Coghlan got traded by the A’s—back to the Cubs! That makes at least three straight seasons of similar moves. There was…