Innholdsfortegnelse for September 21, 2018 i Baseball America

HAVE A QUESTION? @jjcoop36 askba@baseballamerica.com Q Eight of the Top 20 Prospects in the Braves’ system coming into the season have reached the big leagues this year. Has any other team debuted that many of their Top 20 this season? —MAURICE PATTON, NASHVILLE A Expanding your question to look at the full Top 30 Prospects for each organization from the 2018 Prospect Handbook finds the Braves have nine prospects who reached the big leagues before September roster expansion (when making the big leaguers becomes easier). That’s tied with the Orioles and Rays for the second most in baseball this year, but it does not match the Cardinals, who have promoted 11 of their Top 30 to the big leagues in the first five months of the season. Not only did…

@JCRASNICK David Dombrowski, president of baseball operations for the Red Sox, has a wonderful view of the pregame foot traffic outside Fenway Park from his office overlooking Lansdowne Street. When he wants to get a read on what the fans are thinking—rather than where they’re walking—he just needs to go for a coffee or a bite to eat around the park or in his neighborhood in the ‘burbs. The Red Sox are chasing their first 100-win season since 1946 and have a chance to break the franchise record of 105 victories set in 1912, so Dombrowski is a magnet for positive feedback these days. “People are great,” he said. “Once in a while you hear, ‘Hey we could use this or that.’ But it’s more a case of, ‘Thank you,…

When scouts see Wander Franco they gush. His hitting ability, hand-eye coordination and bat-to-ball skills are beyond what scouts expect to see in the Appalachian League. Here’s what three scouts who have seen Franco this year saw. SCOUT 1: “He is the best young player I have seen this year. He has a chance to be a perennial offensive all-star.” SCOUT 2: “He has an ability to hit almost everything. He’s so young. He gets away with a lot here (in rookie ball), but he’s certainly one who could be promoted aggressively.” SCOUT 3: “He’s the best guy I’ve seen in the minors this year. I can’t get over how polished he is at the plate. Seventeen-year-olds don’t have at-bats like this. If this guy isn’t a .300 hitter, I…

Under Armour glovemaker Ryan Lawrence knew authenticity in the baseball world required top-quality construction. He didn’t want to enter the fielding glove world with some crazy new material or futuristic design. He wanted to prove his company knew how to make high-end products for baseball, steeped in tradition and craftsmanship. “I think the most important thing as we make baseball product, whether a batting glove or cleat, is (that) the athlete feels we are authentic to the sport and not just trying to make money in the sport,” said Lawrence, fielding glove product line manager for UA. “A fielding glove is, I would argue, the most important product to a baseball player. Kids go to sleep with their glove, dads pass down their glove. We understand baseball, we have baseball…

@JOE_SHEEHAN September baseball should mean major league opportunities for the game’s top prospects, a chance for young players to get major league reps and fans to get excited about their team’s future. This year, though, brings more controversy than cheering. The Blue Jays passed on promoting Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who chased a .400 average in the minors this year, to Toronto for a cup of coffee. Eloy Jimenez, who crushed Triple-A, was contemplating a grievance against the White Sox over his own absence from the majors. The reasons for this are well known by now. By keeping Guerrero and Jimenez in the minors this year—and the early days of 2019—the Jays and White Sox ensure that those players cannot reach free agency for an additional season. We saw the Braves…

Curtis Pride was born 95 percent deaf. Growing up in Silver Spring, Md., he was a three-sport superstar. He eventually played basketball at William & Mary and soccer for Team USA at the 16U World Cup in 1985. Pride was ranked as one of the best soccer players in the world as a 15-year-old, but baseball remained his first love. The Mets drafted him in the 10th round in 1986 out of Kennedy High, but he never reached Queens despite peaking at Double-A in 1992. The Expos signed Pride as a minor league free agent in 1993, and the 24-year-old lefthanded hitter made his major league debut that September. He never became a big league regular yet played 11 seasons for six clubs, concluding his tenure with the 2006 Angels.…

@TRACYRINGOLSBY A friend of Art Howe’s jokes that he was the key to the University of Wyoming football team that was ranked No. 7 in the nation in 1967 and went to the Sugar Bowl. “If you hadn’t hurt your back as a freshman and been unable to play college football, (head coach Lloyd) Eaton would never have converted Paul Toscano from defensive back to quarterback, the Cowboys wouldn’t have been undefeated, and they never would have gone to the Sugar Bowl,” the friend says. “We’d have probably gone 9-1 and been in the Sun Bowl again.” The last laugh, however, is one for Howe to enjoy. He played baseball at Wyoming, earning all-conference honors as a third baseman. However, Howe’s athletic career in Laramie didn’t stir any interest from…

Baseball America honors minor leaguers at alwl levels with our annual Classification All-Stars. Kyle Glaser spearheaded our efforts to honor the top players at each level with Ben Badler picking the Dominican Summer League all-star team. Players are picked based on performance, but we do weight a player’s age and talent when picking between similarly qualified players. It’s more difficult and more impressive for a young player to perform in a league filled with players older than him than it is for an older player to star in a league filled with players who are younger than him.…

RAYMOND “RAY” ARRA, a righthander who pitched in the Sophomore League in 1960, died May 17 in Westfield, Mass. He was 77. WARRINER “YONNIE” BASS, who played in the Virginia and Coastal Plain leagues from 1948-50, died May 14 in Crewe, Va. He was 93. HOWARD “DOC” EDWARDS, a catcher who played for the Indians, Kansas City Athletics, Yankees and Phillies from 1962-65 and 1970, died Aug. 20 in San Angelo, Texas. He was 81. After his playing career, Edwards served as the Indians’ manager from 1987-89, winning 173 of his 380 games (.455) and he also served as a manager for multiple independent league teams. MIKE FARLEY, a righthander who pitched in the Tar Heel and Cotton States leagues for the St. Louis Browns and Orioles organizations in 1953…

@BaseballAmerica @BaseballAmerica BaseballAmericaMag ReadBA BASEBALL HOTBEDS CORRECTIONS On Page 7 of our Baseball Hotbeds issue (Sept. 7), we presented incorrect state population estimates, which undermined the results of our state-by-state data analysis and map display. The following population data and map are correct. We regret the error. Rate of pro players per 100,000 state residents. On the Digging Deeper sidebar on Page 11, the adjusted state populations created minor text changes. ▪The state of Hawaii ranks 40th in the U.S. in terms of population—roughly 1.4 million—but is ninth with 4.21 pro baseball players per 100,000 residents. ▪ Among cold-weather states, Connecticut has produced the highest rate of pro players per capita—4.12 per 100,000 residents.…