Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2023 i Baseball America

Dear Mr. Cooper, I wanted to take the time to let you know how much the Prospect Handbook means to our family—especially our 8-year-old son Graham. My husband has been enjoying the Handbook for years and would always have one out on the coffee table during baseball season or fantasy draft time. This past year, our son started playing Little League and has been enjoying learning the game and watching on TV. Once Graham had a Prospect Handbook in his hand, his mind was blown and he was hooked! He has the books practically memorized, knows exactly where to flip quickly to some of his most fond players, is learning all about the tools and then will analyze current MLB players we watch and pretend to score them, etc. We…

The Brewers’ Jackson Chourio finished his breakthrough 2022 season at Double-A as an 18-year-old. No hitter that young had reached that high since Fernando Tatis Jr. in 2017 or Bryce Harper in 2011. Chourio returned to Biloxi on Opening Day this year as the only 19-year-old at Double-A. The center fielder did not light the world on fire in the first half, hitting .249/.304/.410 with 11 home runs and a 21% strikeout rate in 71 games. But not everything is as it seems. The Southern League experimented with a pre-tacked baseball in the first half that gave pitchers a consistent grip on the ball. It had the effect of improving spin rate and command of breaking pitches and fastballs, especially riding four-seamers up in the zone. The SL ditched the…

Even before the Rookie-level Florida Complex League season began, scouts who saw extended spring training gushed over the Yankees’ talent, starting with shortstop Roderick Arias and 6-foot-7 pitchers Henry Lalane and Carlos Lagrange. Outfielder John Cruz mashed 10 home runs as a 17-year-old. Players require 50 at-bats or 15 innings to qualify for this ranking. 1. WALKER JENKINS, OF, TWINS The fifth overall pick lived up to his reputation in his short stint in the FCL. Jenkins reached base in all but one of the 14 games and put up a .927 OPS before moving to Low-A. The sweet-swinging lefthanded hitter has the potential to be a true five-tool talent with plus or better hitting ability, power and arm strength. Jenkins stands as one of the best prospects not only…

HITTING Best Hitter JJ Wetherholt, West Virginia Best Power Jac Caglianone, Florida Best Plate Discipline JJ Wetherholt, West Virginia Fastest Runner Seaver King, Wake Forest Most Exciting Player JJ Wetherholt, West Virginia PITCHING Best Pitcher Michael Massey, Wake Forest Best Fastball Michael Massey, Wake Forest Best Breaking Pitch Tyson Neighbors, Kansas State Best Changeup Drew Beam, Tennessee Best Control Drew Beam, Tennessee FIELDING Best Defensive C Ryan Stafford, Cal Poly Best Defensive INF Griff O’Ferrall, Virginia Best Defensive OF Jace LaViolette, Texas A&M…

Each year, the summer showcase window is a vital evaluation period for MLB scouting departments as they get their first in-depth looks at the current draft class. Our high school showcase all-star team is made up of standout performers and notable prospects from a variety of high-profile events. This year, in-person notes come from USA Baseball’s PDP League in Cary, N.C.; Perfect Game’s National Showcase (PGN) in Phoenix, the Area Code Games (ACG) in San Diego and Baseball Factory’s All-America Game (BFAA) in Arlington, Texas. Because we can’t be at every event, supplemental information for events such as East Coast Pro (ECP) in Hoover, Ala., was incorporated. In contrast to the 2023 high school class, scouts consistently talked about the 2024 group being down on talent and lacking a clear-cut…

ALEX COLE MADE A FAST IMPRESSION AS A ROOKIE Alex Cole’s rookie season in 1990 seemed to be an indication of greatness to come. Instead, it proved to be the high-water mark of a seven-year MLB career. When the 24-year-old center fielder broke into Cleveland’s lineup during the summer of 1990, he went 0-for-4. But in the second game of that July 27 doubleheader, he went 3-for-4 and stole a base. Cole’s speed made an impact in game after game over the next few months. He stole five bases in a game on Aug. 1, scored four runs in a three-hit game three days later and kept his batting average at .300 or better for the remainder of that season. Cole finished ninth in American League Rookie of the Year…

Jackson Holliday began the season at Low-A Delmarva. He began the second half of the season at Double-A Bowie. In the process, the 19-year-old Orioles shortstop became one of the major storylines of the 2023 minor league season. Holliday won Best Tools categories in the High-A South Atlantic and Double-A Eastern leagues, including Best Batting Prospect and Most Exciting Player in both. What makes Holliday stand out is his ability to hit for a high batting average and reach base at a high clip. His plate skills are plus-plus, and he shows innate bat-to-ball skills and the ability to hit a variety of pitches. Holliday’s contact skills proved too much for pitchers in the lower minors. He hit .331/.466/.523 in 71 games at two Class A stops. He then handled…

Early promotions of star prospects led to a bit of a down season for the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League. Shortstops Jefferson Rojas (Cubs) and Austin Charles (Royals) spent mere days in the ACL, while Padres catcher Ethan Salas and Dodgers outfielder Josue De Paula skipped the league entirely. Players require 50 at-bats or 15 innings to qualify for this ranking. 1. SEBASTIAN WALCOTT, SS, RANGERS Texas signed Walcott out of the Bahamas in January, and he flashed his talent in a 35-game run through the ACL after beginning in the Dominican Summer League. The 17-year-old clubbed seven home runs and ranked ninth in the ACL with a .524 slugging percentage. Walcott brims with athleticism and physicality not often seen in players his age. Swing-and-miss is a concern. He finished with…

Things continue to evolve in college baseball. Eye-popping home run totals, record transfers and NIL money are the new normal. Summer ball—and more specifically the Cape Cod League—has been impacted mightily by the changing dynamics. In a league and region that is historically resistant to change, the 10 Cape teams have been forced to adapt to the ever-evolving landscape of college sports. Even before the 2020 pandemic and lost season, the Cape Cod League had already begun morphing into what many called more of a “showcase” league. But when the draft was moved back from early June to mid July in 2021, the nature of summer ball changed. With players hoping to get one final look from scouts, early Cape Cod League rosters the last three summers have been littered…

College Reliever Pham Emerges In Rotation Having not used high draft picks on pitchers in recent drafts, the Orioles know that development might take longer for the young arms they’re bringing along through the minor leagues. Thus, breakouts might come from unexpected places. Righthander Alex Pham is a prime example of that. A 19th-round pick out of San Francisco in 2021, Pham was limited to 33 relief innings in 2022 but had excelled as a starter this year. The 23-year-old began the season at High-A Aberdeen and was promoted to Double-A Bowie on June 20. Through 23 games, including 18 starts, he recorded a 2.54 ERA and 1.02 WHIP with 117 strikeouts in 99.1 innings. “I don’t know if that’s as much of a surprise internally, because if you know…

BEST HITTER Most career category wins 11 Tony Gwynn 7 Albert Pujols 5 Miguel Cabrera 4 Mike Trout 3 Todd Helton, Kirby Puckett, Ichiro Suzuki, Frank Thomas Active players with multiple category wins 5 Miguel Cabrera 4 Mike Trout 2 Freddie Freeman, Joey Votto BEST POWER Most career category wins 6 Mark McGwire 5 Barry Bonds, Giancarlo Stanton 3 Jose Canseco, Aaron Judge, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez Active players with multiple category wins 5 Giancarlo Stanton 3 Aaron Judge 2 Pete Alonso, Shohei Ohtani FASTEST BASERUNNER Most career category wins 6 Carl Crawford, Billy Hamilton 5 Vince Coleman, Kenny Lofton 4 Michael Bourn, Jose Reyes, Deion Sanders 3 Luis Castillo, Jarrod Dyson, Tom Goodwin, Ichiro Suzuki, Trea Turner Active players with multiple category wins 6 Billy Hamilton 3 Trea Turner…

International League fans got an extended look at Elly De La Cruz before the 21-year-old Reds shortstop ever stepped foot on a major league field. They saw why De La Cruz was going to become one of the most exciting players the minute he arrived in MLB. De La Cruz showed off his speed by turning in the fastest home-to-third time (10.97 seconds) of any Triple-A player. He also swiped 11 bags to go with three triples in just 38 games for Louisville. It was a big hint of how he would quickly turn in the three fastest home-to-third times on triples in the majors after receiving his callup on June 6. At Triple-A he hit .298/.398/.633 with 12 home runs, while reining in his strikeout rate to 23% in…

When Ethan Salas arrived in the California League on May 30, he immediately displayed talent well beyond his years. The Padres assigned Salas to Low-A Lake Elsinore this season when he was just 16 years old, making him the first player that age to appear in the full-season minor leagues since Julio Urias in 2013. Salas, who signed in January and bypassed Rookie ball entirely, reached base in seven of his first eight plate appearances, turned 17 two days after his arrival and never slowed down. Salas hit .267/.350/.487 with nine home runs and 35 RBIs in 48 games for Lake Elsinore before earning a promotion to High-A Fort Wayne—and eventually Double-A San Antonio in late August. Beyond the numbers, the Venezuelan catcher showed an uncanny knowledge of the strike…

USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team annually puts together a roster of the best players in the country, making it a must-see for scouts as they preview the upcoming draft class. The 2022 team was one of the most talented scouts had seen in years. It featured Paul Skenes, Dylan Crews, Wyatt Langford, Jacob Wilson, Rhett Lowder, Kyle Teel, Jacob Gonzalez, Enrique Bradfield Jr. and Brayden Taylor—nine of the top 20 players drafted in 2023. The same was not true of Team USA in 2023. That’s because the 2024 draft class looks like a down group compared to the historic 2023 group. There are still plenty of intriguing players on this year’s top 10 ranking, though each player comes with a few more question marks that will need to be addressed…

HITTING Best Pure Hitter Travis Bazzana, Oregon State Best Raw Power Brody Donay, Florida Fastest Runner Jacob Humphrey, Vanderbilt PITCHING Best Fastball Greysen Carter, Vanderbilt Best Breaking Pitch Cade Obermuller (slider), Iowa Best Changeup Braden Davis, Oklahoma Best Command Sean Matson, Harvard FIELDING Best Defensive C Ryan Stafford, Cal Poly Strongest C Arm Brody Donay, Florida Best Defensive INF Jonathan Vastine, Vanderbilt Strongest INF Arm Cameron Smith, Florida State Best Defensive OF Tab Tracy, Texas A&M Strongest OF Arm Braden Montgomery, Texas A&M…

Taking A Time Out Serves De Los Santos A two-week stay on the development list seemingly turned around 20-year-old third baseman Deyvison De Los Santos’ season. After hitting just .207/.269/.308 with a 26% strikeout rate through 63 games for Double-A Amarillo, De Los Santos took a two-week pause. He returned on July 14 and hit .329/.361/.532 with 23% strikeouts in his first 20 games following a stint at the club’s complex in Arizona. He had totaled 10 home runs through 83 games overall. “I think being young and really struggling for the first time, I think he started to press,” D-backs farm director Josh Barfield said, “and that led to trying to do too much, and that led to his swing and approach getting out of whack. “Toward the end…

Adam Bourassa’s own major league dreams fell short, but he’s finding another way to make his mark on the game. Bourassa, 42, was the 2003 national college defensive player of the year as Wake Forest’s center fielder. After playing four years in the minors and another in independent ball, he bounced around a few jobs in the game before becoming the Pirates’ Midwest area scout in 2016. In that role, he signed 2021 No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis out of Louisville. “Just watching him play even as a freshman, you noticed right away the intensity and the aggressiveness he plays with,” Bourassa said. Just the intent and the willingness and want to win and be successful. I don’t think anyone ever questions how much Henry wants it, and it…

@JJCOOP36 When Camden Yards opened in Baltimore in 1992, baseball changed forever. Baseball architecture and ballpark aesthetic were transformed. Retro design touches were in. “Modern” multi-purpose, artificial-surface stadiums of the 1970s and ’80s were out. Camden Yards was so revolutionary that even a brand-new facility like the new Comiskey Park, which the White Sox debuted in 1991, felt outdated. Every MLB team saw the need to create their own version of Camden Yards—and many did. In the 15 years between 1992 and 2006, a total of 14 new ballparks opened, nearly all of them with borrowed ideas from Camden Yards. That building spree was nearly unprecedented in MLB history. In the 17 years since then, just seven MLB ballparks have been built. Only the Braves and Rangers have opened new…