Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2020 i Baseball America

MAJOR LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR CLOSE CALL Tony Gonsolin blends present value and future potential like few other rookies in a jam-packed field Baseball America has never had a tougher time picking its Rookie of the Year. That’s not to say picking the top rookie is ever easy. We choose one overall major league winner across both leagues, so the field is often crowded. We struggle each year to compare the value of pitchers with hitters, and we debate the merits of quick bursts of production versus larger samples of playing time. And at BA, the final weight we apply to our award is future value. We want our Rookie of the Year winner to appear wise in the decades to come. While our ROY is based primarily on…

1. ADLEY RUTSCHMAN, C AGE: 23. B-T: S-R. HT: 6-2. WT: 216. DRAFTED: Oregon State, 2019 (1st round). SIGNED BY: Brandon Verley. TRACK RECORD: Rutschman was a generational talent in college at Oregon State, leading the Beavers to the College World Series title as a sophomore in 2018 and winning the Golden Spikes Award in 2019. The Orioles made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft and signed him to a then-record $8.1 million bonus. Rutschman climbed from the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League through the short-season New York-Penn League to help low Class A Delmarva on its playoff run in 2019. Rutschman gained valuable experience in major league spring training before spending the summer dominating the team’s alternate site at Bowie, Md. SCOUTING REPORT: The switch-hitting Rutschman…

1. WANDER FRANCO, SS AGE: 20. B-T: B-R. HT.: 5-10. WT.: 170. SIGNED: Dominican Republic, 2017. SIGNED BY: Danny Santana. TRACK RECORD: The No. 1 prospect in the 2017 international signing class, Franco has managed to exceed lofty expectations throughout his teenage years. He hit .339 in the offense-stifling Florida State League in his first full season as an 18-year-old—the third straight level he hit over .300—and began the year as the No. 1 prospect in baseball before spending the 2020 season at the Rays’ alternate training site. Franco’s time at the alternate site pushed him. He has long played against older players, but against pitchers with major league experience, he was pressed even further. He showed well enough that the Rays added him to their postseason taxi squad before…

1. SIXTO SANCHEZ, RHP AGE: 22. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-0. WT: 234. SIGNED: Dominican Republic, 2015. SIGNED BY: Carlos Salas (Phillies). TRACK RECORD: Signed originally by the Phillies for $35,000 in July 2015, Sanchez was part of the return the Marlins received when they traded away J.T. Realmuto after the 2018 season. After Sanchez pitched just 46.2 innings at high Class A in his final season with the Phillies due to right elbow inflammation, the Marlins eased him into his first season in their organization. He pitched a combined 114 innings at high Class A and Double-A, where he went 8-4, 2.53 with 97 strikeouts and 19 walks. In 2020, Sanchez made his big league debut in late August and quickly became a fixture in the Marlins’ rotation. Sanchez impressed…

1. CADE CAVALLI, RHP AGE: 22. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-4. WT: 226. DRAFTED: Oklahoma, 2020 (1st round). SIGNED BY: Jerad Head. TRACK RECORD: After two seasons in a two-way role for Oklahoma, Cavalli focused on pitching as a junior in 2020. He quickly asserted himself as a first-round talent in a deep class of college pitchers. The former USA Baseball Collegiate National Team member already was a known commodity to Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo and the entire scouting community. Washington took him 22nd overall and signed him for $3.027 million. Cavalli fit right into a spot in the club’s 60-man player pool and impressed the big leaguers with his performance in a simulated game at Nationals Park before the start of the delayed major league season. Cavalli had back…

The 2020 postseason, like just about everything else this year, was unlike any other. The addition of the best-of-three Wild Card Series, no off days within series and games played at neutral sites made for a unique postseason that scrambled long-held practices and assumptions about October baseball. Here are three observations from covering the 2020 postseason, and what lessons may apply moving forward. 1. TEAMS TRUSTED YOUNG PITCHERS MORE THAN EVER Young pitchers have played key roles in the postseason ever since the Pirates started rookie Babe Adams in Game 7 of the 1909 World Series. Still, the volume of young pitchers playing featured roles in 2020 was notable. Consider: ◼ No pitcher had ever made his MLB debut in the postseason. This year, two did. Rays lefthander Shane McClanahan,…

ALL INCLUSIVE Factoring postseason results into award chases of the past 25 years Baseball writers have been voting to determine league MVP award winners, under various imprints, for more than 100 years. But only in the past 25 years have players amassed the bodies of work in the postseason to jostle with regular-season performance in the overall value conversation. In between the Year of the Pitcher in 1968 and Miggy’s Triple Crown in 2012, the number of playoff teams increased from two to 10, while the maximum number of postseason games possible in a given year grew from seven to 43. At the extremes, Omar Vizquel logged 86 postseason plate appearances in 1997, while Madison Bumgarner pitched 52.2 October innings in 2014. Those totals come on the heels of a…

If Baseball America had chosen its Rookie of the Year on Sept. 1, it would have been a three-player race. White Sox outfielder Luis Robert and Mariners outfielder Kyle Lewis seemed locked in a back-and-forth battle for rookie supremacy. Robert was ranging far and wide to make catches all over the outfield and also was one of the best hitters in the game. At the end of August, Robert was hitting .298/.348/.612 with 10 home runs in 33 games. Lewis was hitting just as well. While not as rangy as Robert, Lewis was robbing home runs and holding down center field. He was hitting .328/.418/.527 with eight home runs in 36 games. And if either of them slipped, Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth was also lighting up box scores. He…

1. TRISTON CASAS, 1B AGE: 21. B-T: L-R. HT: 6-5. WT: 245. DRAFTED: HS—Plantation, Fla., 2018 (1st round). SIGNED BY: Willie Romay. TRACK RECORD: Casas combined elite power in high school with a surprisingly mature approach that became evident against advanced competition in showcase events and playing for USA Baseball’s 18U National Team. The Red Sox drafted Casas 26th overall in 2018 and signed him for just over $2.5 million. After most of his 2018 pro debut was wiped out following a strained thumb ligament, his 2019 minor league season didn’t disappoint. He joined Xander Bogaerts as the only Red Sox teenagers in more than half a century to hit 20 or more homers in one year and ranked as the top infield prospect in the low Class A South…

1. NATE PEARSON, RHP AGE: 24. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-6. WT: 250. DRAFTED: JC of Central Florida, 2017 (1st round). SIGNED BY: Matt Bishoff. TRACK RECORD: Pearson mostly pitched as a reliever when he was a freshman at Florida International. He transferred to the JC of Central Florida for 2017 and his stock soared as a starter. He was drafted 28th overall, signed for $2,452,900 and quickly looked like a steal. His 2018 season ended early—he didn’t pitch until May 7, then threw 1.2 innings before a line drive fractured his right forearm and ended his season—but he returned with an outstanding 2019 that put him in the conversation for the top pitching prospect in baseball. Pearson made his major league debut in 2020 and made four starts before going…

1. FRANCISCO ALVAREZ, C AGE: 19. B-T: R-R. HT: 5-11. WT: 220. SIGNED: Venezuela, 2018. SIGNED BY: Andres Nunez/Ismael Perez. TRACK RECORD: The Mets made Alvarez the headliner of their 2018 international class by signing the Venezuelan catcher for a franchise-record $2.7 million. He dazzled in his 2019 pro debut by quickly hitting his way to the Rookie-level Appalachian League as a 17-year-old. That is the same age and level progression traveled by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in 2016 and Wander Franco in 2018. Alvarez didn’t get a chance to build on his breakout in 2020 because of the pandemic and canceled minor league season. Stranded in spring training in mid-March when Venezuela shut its borders, he headed from Port St. Lucie, Fla., to the Mets’ alternate training site in Brooklyn…

• A young Tigers shortstop matures into power, while bringing stability to the club’s projected future infield PAGE 38 • A Twins catcher gets on the same page as his pitchers PAGE 39 • A net win for one Blue Jays rookie PAGE 40 BALTIMORE ORIOLES Ryan Mountcastle had to exhibit more patience in 2020. At the plate and with his dream of reaching the majors. The Orioles kept Mountcastle at their alternate training site in Bowie, Md., until Aug. 21, enabling the organization to gain the extra control while also improving his chances of succeeding. The 23-year-old left fielder arrived a more polished hitter and finished as one of the top rookies in the American League. Mountcastle batted .333/.386/.492 with five doubles, five home runs and 23 RBIs in 140 plate appearances.…

MIKE ANTONE, a first baseman who played in the minor leagues in1975 and ’76, died Sept. 11. He was 65. KIM BATISTE, a third baseman and shortstop who played in the major leagues for five seasons from 1991-94 and in ’96, died Oct. 7 in Louisiana. He was 52. Batiste hit .234/.250/.318 with 10 home runs, 64 RBIs and four stolen bases in 251 career games for the Phillies and Giants. WHITEY FORD, a Hall of Fame lefthander who spent all 16 seasons with the Yankees and won six World Series, a Cy Young Award and a World Series MVP, died Oct. 8 in New York. He was 91. Ford pitched to a 236-106, 2.75 record and holds the highest winning percentage (.690) of any pitcher with 150 or more…

MAJOR LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE YEAR FOR LOVE OF THE GAME An intense bout with COVID granted Freddie Freeman perspective on how much he loves playing baseball The biggest home run Freddie Freeman hit this season came July 17, one week before Opening Day. When the Braves held their first team workouts on July 3—the day camps reopened following the pandemic shutdown—they did so without their allstar first baseman and franchise pillar. Freeman had tested positive for COVID-19, adding further uncertainty to a season that many in the industry, including Braves manager Brian Snitker, were skeptical would finish. Hours before Snitker informed reporters of Freeman’s status on July 4, Freeman was laying in his bed, drenched in sweat and praying for his life. His fever peaked at 104.5 degrees. “I…

1. JASSON DOMINGUEZ, OF AGE: 18. B-T: B-R. HT: 5-10. WT: 210. SIGNED: Dominican Republic, 2019. SIGNED BY: Juan Rosario/Lorenzo Piron/Edgar Mateo. TRACK RECORD: Dominguez was one of the Yankees’ most celebrated international signings ever and garnered a $5.1 million bonus that tied him with the Athletics’ Robert Puason for the highest in the 2019 international class. It was also the highest bonus the Yankees have ever paid to an amateur. Dominguez showed early hints of his potential as a 13-year-old when he homered on the first pitch of a tryout and ran a 6.4-second 60-yard dash. His expected U.S. debut in 2020 was as anticipated as any Yankees prospect’s over the last decade, but it was delayed a year by the coronavirus pandemic. SCOUTING REPORT: Dominguez is as tooled…

1. CRISTIAN PACHE, OF AGE: 22. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-2. WT: 215. SIGNED: Dominican Republic, 2015. SIGNED BY: Matias Laureano. TRACK RECORD: Signed by the Braves for $1.4 million when he was 16, Pache progressively tapped into more power as he climbed the minor league ladder and, after spending the 2019 season at Double-A and Triple-A, made his big league debut in 2020. Pache had a reserve role during parts of the regular season and saw just four at-bats. He was included on the Braves’ postseason roster and stepped into a starting role in the Championship Series after Adam Duvall suffered an oblique injury. Shortly thereafter he became the seventh major leaguer to hit his first home run in the playoffs—going deep against the Dodgers’ Julio Urias—while showcasing the outstanding…

1. SPENCER HOWARD, RHP AGE: 24. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-3. WT: 210. DRAFTED: Cal Poly, 2017 (2nd round). SIGNED BY: Shane Bowers. TRACK RECORD: Howard got into Cal Poly on academics and planned to play for the school’s club team, but he made the varsity team during walk-on tryouts as a freshman. He blossomed physically and went from throwing 84-85 mph at the tryout to sitting 92-93 and touching 96 by the time he was a redshirt sophomore in the Mustangs’ rotation. The Phillies drafted him in the second round, No. 45 overall, in 2017 and signed him for $1.15 million. Howard battled through an arm injury his first full season but recovered to throw a no-hitter in the South Atlantic League playoffs. He reached Double-A in 2019. Howard looked…

• A velocity boost and two deadly breaking balls precede a breakout from a surprising Reds rookie PAGE 42 • A Brewers reliever redefines what a changeup can be PAGE 43 • Youth was served for a Nationals middle infielder PAGE 45 ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS The 12th pitch of righthander Riley Smith’s major league career was blasted by Charlie Blackmon for a no-doubt grand slam in late August. It was the kind of start that could have rattled Smith and sunk his season just as it began. Instead, Smith was nearly untouchable over his next five appearances, most in long relief. He posted a 1.47 ERA in 18.1 innings while striking out 18 and walking five. Smith beat out a collection of Diamondbacks rookies who reached the majors for the first time this season.…

@JJCOOP36 I know I’m lucky. I have spent nearly two decades immersed in baseball every day while working for Baseball America. I’m convinced I wouldn’t have gotten this opportunity without spending years down on the farm. In my first job out of college, I was a sportswriter for the Macon (Ga.) Telegraph. One of the best assignments I had was the chance to cover the Macon Braves, Atlanta’s low Class A affiliate in the South Atlantic League from 1991 to 2002. Future Braves Andruw Jones, Rafael Furcal and Jason Marquis played for Macon during my tenure. So did a steady stream of great minor leaguers who taught me that not all Class A stars go on to further success. Being a 20-something watching baseball daily was formative. I don’t think…