Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2023/January 2024 i Baseball America

How does your excitement level for Jackson Chourio compare to other recent top prospects? Is he on that Acuña, Vladdy, Julio type of level? Extremely high. I would have Chourio a small tick below that group. But even in what I think is a pretty deep year at the top with players like Jackson Holliday, Junior Caminero, he’s comfortably a top five prospect in the game and fits historically with the position players we’ve had in that range. There are some occasional misses in that group, but it’s a lot of stars and some Hall of Famers. —Ben Badler Is it possible the Braves have loaded up on pitching recently because of their MLB position player depth? The Braves have such a dynamic and cost-controlled core of young hitters which…

55/Medium Risk ◼ Cole Ragans, LHP, Royals ◼ Bryce Miller, RHP, Mariners 55/High Risk ◼ Bryan Woo, RHP, Mariners ◼ Taj Bradley, RHP, Rays ◼ Hunter Brown, RHP, Astros ◼ Logan O’Hoppe, C, Angels 50/Medium Risk ◼ Yainer Diaz, C, Astros ◼ Edouard Julien, 2B, Twins ◼ Bo Naylor, C, Guardians ◼ Jordan Westburg, 2B, Orioles ◼ Chase Silseth, RHP, Angels ◼ Matt Wallner, RF, Twins ◼ Yennier Cano, RHP, Orioles ◼ Masataka Yoshida, LF, Red Sox 50/High Risk ◼ Logan Allen, LHP, Guardians ◼ Reese Olson, RHP, Tigers ◼ Kerry Carpenter, RF, Tigers 45/Medium Risk ◼ Oswald Peraza, SS, Yankees ◼ Maikel Garcia, 3B, Royals ◼ Will Brennan, RF, Guardians…

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1 JACKSON HOLLIDAY SS HIT: 70. POW: 55. RUN: 60. FLD: 55. ARM: 50. BA Grade: 70. Risk: Medium. Born: December 4, 2003 B-T: L-R. HT: 6-1. WT: 175. Drafted: HS—Stillwater, OK, 2022 (1st round). Signed by: Ken Guthrie. TRACK RECORD: The son of seven-time all-star Matt Holliday was a rapid riser from probable first-round pick to High School Player of the Year and No. 1 overall pick in 2022 thanks to some physical and swing gains. Since then, Holliday’s trajectory hasn’t flattened. He returned to Low-A Delmarva to begin 2023 and finished the season with Triple-A-champion Norfolk, excelling across all four full-season levels and earning Minor League Player of the Year honors. Holliday wasn’t at a level long enough to qualify for any league awards, but his .323 average…

1 RICKY TIEDEMANN LHP FB: 65. SL: 60. CHG: 60. CTL: 55. BA Grade: 65. Risk: Very High. Born: August 18, 2002. B-T: L-L. HT: 6-4. WT: 220. Drafted: Golden West (CA) JC, 2021 (3rd round). Signed by: Joey Aversa. TRACK RECORD: Teams likely regret passing on Tiedemann out of Lakewood (Calif.) High in the five-round 2020 draft. In pro ball, the lefthander has quickly developed one of the highest ceilings among pitching prospects. Tiedemann showed progress at Golden West (Calif.) JC in 2021, prompting the Blue Jays to draft him in the third round and sign him for a below-slot $644,800. He debuted with Low-A Dunedin in 2022, showing a jump in velocity and stuff across his arsenal. On the back of his elite stuff and strong performance, he…

1 MAX CLARK OF HIT: 60. POW: 50. RUN: 70. FLD: 60. ARM: 70. BA Grade: 60. Risk: High. Born: December 21, 2004. B-T: L-L. HT: 6-1. WT: 205. Drafted: HS—Franklin, IN, 2023 (1st round). Signed by: Harold Zonder. TRACK RECORD: In a draft that was viewed as having a five-player top tier, the Tigers picked third with three top outfielders still on the board. Detroit could pick between Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford or high school outfielders Walker Jenkins or Clark. The Tigers chose Clark, valuing his ability to impact the game both at the plate and in the field, where he’s viewed as a relatively surefire center fielder. Clark is just the seventh prep position player from Indiana to ever be drafted in the first round. Of the previous…

One of the more obscure players drafted in the truncated, five-round 2020 draft, Carter has—in terms of value—become one of the best draft picks in recent draft history. Texas drafted Carter 50th overall in the second round and bought him out of a Duke commitment—he was class valedictorian at Elizabethton (Tenn.) High—for $1.25 million. Carter has been one of the youngest players in every pro league in which he has played, from the Carolina in 2021 to the American this year after he made his MLB debut in September. By the time the World Series rolled around, the 21-year-old Carter was batting three-hole for the eventual champions despite having just 23 games of regular season experience. The Rangers knew what they were doing, and now everybody else knows it, too.…

1 MASON MILLER RHP FB: 70. SL: 60. CHG: 50. CUT: 60. CTL: 50. BA Grade: 55. Risk: High. Born: August 24, 1994. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-5. WT: 220. Drafted: Gardner-Webb, 2021 (3rd round). Signed by: Neil Avent. TRACK RECORD: Miller posted an ERA above 7.00 each of his first two seasons at Division III Waynesburg (Pa.) and walked more batters than he struck out as a sophomore while pitching with a nondescript mid-80s fastball. Of more concern, he struggled to keep on weight, losing 20 pounds during that time. It wasn’t until Miller underwent a routine blood test—required by a potential summer internship—that doctors flagged an issue, ultimately identified as Type 1 diabetes. The discovery changed his career. Miller retooled his diet and steadily added physicality, leading to more…

ACE RELIEVER WILLIE HERNANDEZ ELEVATED 1984 TIGERS The World Series-champion 1984 Tigers steamrolled to 104 wins and a World Series championship, led by future Hall of Famers Alan Trammell and Jack Morris plus longtime stars Lou Whitaker and Kirk Gibson. Yet it was 29-year-old lefthanded reliever Guillermo “Willie” Hernandez who captured voters’ hearts in 1984, winning both the MVP and Cy Young Award in the American League. Hernandez was a fireman totally unlike the relief aces of today. Appearing in a league-leading 80 games in 1984, he pitched 140.1 innings, put up a 1.92 ERA and collected nine wins and 32 saves. Thirty-eight of his appearances that year lasted two innings or more. Hernandez retired Hall of Fame Padres right fielder Tony Gwynn to close Game 5 of the World…

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FORMER BALLPLAYERS REFLECT ON PRO SUCCESS AND FAILURE If someone had told Ryan Lavarnway as a child that he would have reached the major leagues, he probably wouldn’t have been surprised. “When I was 5 years old, I decided I was going to make the big leagues—and that was the end of that conversation,” Lavarnway said. By age 18, however, Lavarnway felt pretty far away from The Show. Through his junior year, he had not even cracked the varsity lineup at El Camino Real High outside Los Angeles. The confidence he had about making it to the big leagues as a child was still in there. He just needed a little help in finding it. During a preseason meeting, Lavarnway’s coach asked a question of his team: “Who is going…

Rare is the prospect who debuts in September and makes enough impact to justify playing every day in October. Evan Carter is no ordinary prospect. The 21-year-old outfielder is one of just six late-season callups in the past 35 years who played in the World Series and then went on to rank as a top 10 overall prospect the following spring. Carter finished the 2023 season ranked No. 10 on the Top 100 Prospects list. If anything, he will rank even higher on the 2024 preseason Top 100 based on his strong postseason performance. For the World Series-champion Rangers, Carter started 15 of 17 postseason games. In 72 plate appearances he hit .300/.417/.500 with a home run, nine doubles, nine runs scored and six RBIs. He earned the nickname “Full…

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo is in rare company. He is one of eight active big league managers to have continuously helmed the same team for more than five consecutive seasons. Five of the eight have winning records. Lovullo, the Rockies’ Bud Black and the Nationals’ Dave Martinez do not. But after guiding the D-backs to the 2023 National League pennant and winning BA Major League Manager of the Year, Lovullo has job security. The 58-year-old Lovullo signed an extension that will keep him in Arizona through 2026, at which point he will have managed the club for 10 seasons. That is rare territory in a profession where managers are hired to be fired. A dozen MLB teams changed managers in either 2023 or 2024. Next season will mark the debut…

1 MARCELO MAYER SS HIT: 55. POW: 60. RUN: 40. FLD: 60. ARM: 60. BA Grade: 60. Risk: High. Born: December 12, 2002. B-T: L-R. HT: 6-3. WT: 205. Drafted: HS—Chula Vista, CA, 2021 (1st round). Signed by: J.J. Altobelli. TRACK RECORD: After a standout career at Eastlake High outside San Diego, Mayer was a candidate to be drafted No. 1 overall by the Pirates in 2021. Pittsburgh and two others teams passed, leaving Mayer on the board for the Red Sox at No. 4 overall. Boston took advantage of its highest draft position since 1967 by selecting Mayer and signing him to a slot bonus of $6.64 million. He turned in a strong first full season at Low-A Salem and High-A Greenville in 2022, though he was limited to…

On the court, Montgomery established the Southridge High career record for points, while on the diamond he led the baseball team to its first state title in 2021. That helped make him one of the top prep shortstop prospects in a draft class that also included Jordan Lawlar, Marcelo Mayer, Jackson Merrill, Brady House and Carson Williams. Montgomery was old for his high school class—he was 19 his entire senior season—which helped push him down the board to No. 22 overall. The White Sox certainly aren’t complaining. Lauded for his athleticism, physicality and bat speed as an amateur, Montgomery has delivered in pro ball. His career .410 OBP is one of the highest among shortstops, and if he does move off the position, he could fit as an athletic, physical,…

1 BLAKE MITCHELL C HIT: 45. POW: 55. RUN: 30. FLD: 55. ARM: 70. BA Grade: 55. Risk: Extreme. Born: August 3, 2004. B-T: L-R. HT: 6-1. WT: 202. Drafted: HS—Sinton, TX, 2023 (1st round). Signed by: Josh Hallgren. TRACK RECORD: Mitchell was the top high school catcher in the 2023 draft, and the Royals drafted the Louisiana State commit with the eighth overall pick. They signed him for $4,897,500, which was 18% under slot. High school catchers are often considered to be a riskier profile, and Mitchell went a bit higher than projected, with his under-slot bonus giving the Royals the flexibility to go above slot for second-rounder Blake Wolters. Starring both behind the plate and on the mound, Mitchell had a heralded amateur career at Sinton (Texas) High.…

1 JACOB MELTON OF HIT: 50. POW: 55. RUN: 60. FLD: 50. ARM: 50. BA Grade: 50. Risk: High. Born: September 7, 2000. B-T: L-L. HT: 6-3. WT: 208. Drafted: Oregon State, 2022 (2nd round). Signed by: Tim Costic. TRACK RECORD: After one season at Linn-Benton (Ore.) JC, Melton transferred to Oregon State prior to the 2020 season. He appeared in just seven games before the Covid-19 pandemic canceled the season. Melton worked his way into the starting lineup in 2021, hitting .404/.466/.697 in 32 games. An April shoulder injury ended his season, and Melton went undrafted in 2021 despite being eligible. He returned to Oregon State in 2022 and hit .360/.424/.671 with 17 home runs in 63 games on his way to first-team All-America honors and the Pacific-12 Conference…

1 COLE YOUNG SS HIT: 60. POW: 45. RUN: 50. FLD: 55. ARM: 50. BA Grade: 55. Risk: High. Born: July 29, 2003. B-T: L-R. HT: 6-0. WT: 180. Drafted: HS—Wexford, PA, 2022 (1st round). Signed by: Jackson Laumann. TRACK RECORD: Young first emerged on the baseball scene as a 10-year-old when he won MLB’s Pitch, Hit and Run competition for his age bracket at Minnesota’s Target Field during 2014 All-Star Weekend. He parlayed that into continued success as a teenager and blossomed into one of the top hitters in the 2022 draft at North Allegheny High just outside Pittsburgh. He hit .428 in a decorated three-year career and showed he could compete with warm-weather players with repeated standout performances on the summer showcase circuit. The Mariners drafted him 21st…

When Major League Baseball took control of the minor leagues in 2021, it made changes both sweeping and subtle. The most obvious change was downsizing from 160 ticket-selling minor league teams to 120. Now, those 120 surviving teams are scrambling to meet the facility requirements that take full effect on Opening Day 2025. There have been other, much less apparent effects, too. Since 2021, MLB organizations have had to adhere to a limit of 180 players active players in the domestic minor leagues. That has led to the rise of the 60-day injured list—players with long-term injuries don’t count toward the 180-player limit—and a wide array of other effects. Now, teams have to decide, and often agonize, over how to create roster space in their minor league systems after the…

The Rangers reached the pinnacle of major league success in 2023 by winning the World Series. But the ride doesn’t end there. The organization is poised to continue its winning ways in 2024 and beyond, thanks to a talented, young MLB core and a farm system that boasts outfielders Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford, two of the top prospects in the game. The Rangers organization stands out in a third regard as well. Texas affiliates finished with a .511 winning percentage in 2023, ranking them 12th in baseball. Pare down to full-season affiliates, and Texas fares even better. The Rangers’ four full-season affiliates went 289-249 (.537), with Triple-A Round Rock and Low-A Down East reaching the championship series in their leagues. High-A Hickory lost in the first round of the…

The Guardians signed 16-year-old Dominican shortstop Junior Caminero for just $87,500 in 2019. He was overlooked in his signing class despite performing in the Dominican Prospect League the year before and despite hailing from the prominent Mejia Top 10 baseball academy. When Caminero made his pro debut in 2021, he raked in the Dominican Summer League. Still, Cleveland traded him to the Rays that November to acquire Triple-A righthander Tobias Myers. That is one trade the Guardians would like to take back. Caminero quickly blossomed into a top talent, reaching Low-A in 2022, then mashing 31 home runs in 2023 and making his MLB debut on Sept. 23. Ranking the AL East farm systems after the 2023 season Baltimore Orioles From Adley Rutschman to Gunnar Henderson to Jackson Holliday, the…

1 JASSON DOMINGUEZ OF HIT: 55. POW: 60. RUN: 60. FLD: 50. ARM: 60. BA Grade: 60. Risk: High. Born: February 7, 2003. B-T: B-R. HT: 5-9. WT: 190. Signed: Dominican Republic, 2019. Signed by: Juan Rosario/Lorenzo Piron/Edgar Mateo. TRACK RECORD: When he signed in 2019, Dominguez instantly became one of the most celebrated Yankees prospects in recent memory. His pro debut got pushed back a year when the pandemic canceled the 2020 minor league season. The spotlight got even brighter in summer 2021, when Dominguez was named to his first Futures Game before he had played a game outside the Florida Complex League. He returned to the Futures Game in 2022 and hit a booming home run to center field at Dodger Stadium. He finished the season in Double-A…

1 CHASE DeLAUTER OF HIT: 50. POW: 60. RUN: 55. FLD: 50. ARM: 60. BA Grade: 60. Risk: High. Born: October 8, 2001. B-T: L-L. HT: 6-4. WT: 235. Drafted: James Madison, 2022 (1st round). Signed by: Kyle Bamberger. TRACK RECORD: DeLauter was unheralded as a prep player at Hedgesville High in West Virginia and went to James Madison as a two-way player. While he played well at JMU in 20202 and 2021, the pandemic severely limited his game time. DeLauter remained under the radar going into summer 2021, when he broke out in the Cape Cod League, tying for the league lead with nine home runs in 34 games. He was off to a strong start in the spring of 2022, but a broken left foot in April brought…

1 WALKER JENKINS OF HIT: 60. POW: 65. RUN: 55. FLD: 55. ARM: 60. BA Grade: 60. Risk: High. Born: February 19, 2005. B-T: L-R. Ht.: 6-3. Wt.: 210. Drafted: HS—Southport, NC, 2023 (1st round). Signed by: Ty Dawson. TRACK RECORD: As rising juniors, Jenkins and Max Clark battled for the title of best high school prospect in the 2023 draft class. A year later when the draft arrived, the debate seemed no closer to a resolution. A hamate injury slowed Jenkins during the summer, but he went out and performed week after week during the spring at South Brunswick High to stamp himself as an elite prospect. Jenkins is the bigger and stronger of the two, with a typical right fielder’s profile thanks to his bat speed, strength and…

1 NOLAN SCHANUEL 1B HIT: 60. POW: 50. RUN: 40. FLD: 50. ARM: 50. BA Grade: 50. Risk: Medium. Born: February 14, 2002. B-T: L-R. HT: 6-4. WT: 220. Drafted: Florida Atlantic, 2023 (1st round). Signed by: Brandon McArthur. TRACK RECORD: Schanuel was a three-year starter for Florida Atlantic who regularly posted video game numbers. Following his sophomore year, he struggled in the Cape Cod League, which led to an eye doctor appointment where he was diagnosed with an astigmatism. He had a corrective lens placed in his right eye in January 2023. Schanuel went on to a huge junior season, slashing .447/.615/.868 with 71 walks to 14 strikeouts and a Division I-leading 1.483 OPS. The Angels loved his performance and mental aptitude for hitting and drafted him 11th overall…

Hurley Draws Up To-Do List For 2024 After more than holding his own in his pro debut, outfielder Jack Hurley got to work on honing his game for 2024. “Overall, it was a good taste of how pro ball is going to be,” Hurley said. “Getting used to wood bats, playing every day against pretty good competition—it was new, but it’s what I signed up for and what I want to do for a long time.” The Diamondbacks drafted Hurley in the third round this year out of Virginia Tech. He hit .276/.374/.409 with two home runs and 10 stolen bases in 33 games, 20 of them at High-A Hillsboro. He has some thoughts on how he can get better. He chased (32%) and swung and missed (38%) more than…