Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2022 i Baseball America

1 EURY PEREZ RHP Fastball: 70 Curveball: 60 Slider: 60 Changeup: 60 CTL: 65 BA Grade: 70 Risk: High Born: April 15, 2003. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-8. WT: 220. Signed: Dominican Republic, 2019. Signed by: Fernando Seguignol. TRACK RECORD: Perez has grown by leaps and bounds since the Marlins signed him in 2019. That’s true physically and regarding his status in the sport. He’s gone from a wiry 6-foot-5 to a thicker, more sturdy build at 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds and has used the extra strength to amplify his arsenal and blossom into one of the game’s top pitching prospects. Perez’s official debut was delayed a year by the pandemic, but the Marlins were so confident in his abilities that they jumped him straight to Low-A Jupiter for his 2021 professional…

Those days are gone. Now, Henderson is the No. 1 prospect in baseball after mastering Double-A and Triple-A and making his MLB debut for the Orioles on Aug. 31. “Henderson has the potential for an average hit tool with current above-average power that could turn into plus power down the line,” we wrote in his scouting report for the 2019 draft, back when he was a high school shortstop in Alabama. Baltimore drafted him in the second round. Of Henderson’s defensive upside, we wrote that “some scouts believe Henderson will need to move to third base, where he has plus defensive potential with solid hands and 60-grade arm strength.” Those prognostications turned out to be accurate. Three years later, Henderson draws plus or better grades across the board. His advanced…

1 SHANE BAZ RHP Fastball: 80 Slider: 60 Curveball: 45 Changeup: 50 Control: 60 BA Grade: 65 Risk: Extreme Born: June 17, 1999. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-2. Wt.: 190. Drafted: HS—Tomball, Texas, 2017 (1st round). Signed by: Wayne Mathis (Pirates). TRACK RECORD: After a 2021 season full of highlights, Baz’s 2022 season never got going. In 2021, he pitched for Team USA’s silver medal-winning Olympic team, emerged as one of the best pitching prospects in baseball, earned a late callup to the Rays and started a game in the postseason. In 2022, Baz got off to a late start thanks to surgery to remove loose bodies in his right elbow during spring training. The surgery foreshadowed further problems. Baz returned to action in mid May and joined the Rays rotation in…

Walston Finishes Strong At Double-A Righthanders Ryne Nelson and Drey Jameson each turned in three impressive starts in the majors late in the year, but they weren’t the only D-backs pitching prospects finishing their seasons on a high note. At Double-A, 21-year-old lefthander Blake Walston turned in perhaps the most impressive 10-start run of his career, posting a 2.89 ERA with 60 strikeouts in 56 innings. Though Walston pitched to a 5.16 ERA in 106.1 innings on the year for Amarillo, an extreme hitter’s park, he provided a reminder that he could factor in Arizona’s 2023 rotation. “We always put a lot of stock in how guys finish, trying to take that momentum into next year,” D-backs farm director Josh Barfield said. “He did that as good as anybody in…

@JJCOOP36 The howls of outrage began the moment the 111-win Dodgers were bounced from the postseason, on the same day the 101-win Braves exited stage left. The 101-win Mets never even made it to the League Division Series. Neither did the 93-win Cardinals. The expansion to 12 playoff teams has left many baseball fans wondering if the regular season is being devalued. And the concern is that “worthy” teams are being knocked out by teams that were demonstrably worse over the course of a six-month, 162-game season. And so the suggestions flooded in to say MLB’s postseason system needs to be tweaked to ensure the best regular season teams are in better positions to advance. Please stop. The chance for underdogs to win is the feature of the playoffs, not…

Trevor Hildenberger always wanted to be a big leaguer. He felt sure that would be the case when he starred at Archbishop Mitty High in San Jose. The 6-foot-2 righthander was the staff ace and was committed to California, so naturally he assumed pro ball was in his future. Then he arrived on campus. “Everybody in high school is the best guy on their team,” Hildenberger said. “I got (to college) and everyone was as good, if not better, than me—and definitely stronger and bigger.” Hildenberger made just two appearances as a freshman in 2010. Then in the fall of his sophomore year, he and his Bears teammates learned that Cal’s baseball program would be cut following the 2011 season. Rival Division I programs rushed to recruit Hildenberger’s teammates. “Other…

1 ANDREW PAINTER RHP Fastball: 70 Curveball: 50 Slider: 60 Changeup: 55 Control: 70 BA Grade: 70 Risk: High Born: April 10, 2003. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-7. WT: 215. Drafted: HS—Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 2021 (1st round). Signed by: Victor Gomez. TRACK RECORD: Painter a unanimous choice for the 2021 Preseason High School All-America team, voted on by scouting directors. He continued to shine during his senior season at Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Lauderdale, and the Phillies drafted him 13th overall and signed him to an under-slot $3.9 million. Painter made four appearances in the Florida Complex League after signing, striking out 12 batters in six scoreless innings before finishing the season in instructional league. In 2022 he emerged as one of the top pitching prospects in the sport, rising three…

1 MARCELO MAYER SS Hit: 60 Power: 55 Speed: 40 Fielding: 60 Arm: 60 BA Grade: 65 Risk: High Born: Dec. 12, 2002. B-T: L-R. HT: 6-3. WT: 205. Drafted: HS—Chula Vista, Calif., 2021 (1st round). Signed by: J.J. Altobelli. TRACK RECORD: In 2019, Red Sox area scout J.J. Altobelli made several trips to Eastlake High to see eventual first-rounder Keoni Cavaco, but it was Mayer—then a sophomore—who repeatedly commanded his attention. Mayer’s consistent excellence in high school and a stint on Team USA’s 17U development team in 2019 established him as a clear top talent entering the 2021 season. He was the sort of player who would almost never be available to the Red Sox in the draft, but Boston’s awful performance in the Covid-compressed 2020 campaign netted the organization’s…

1 GABRIEL MORENO C Hitting: 70 Power: 45 Speed: 40 Fielding: 60 Arm: 60 BA Grade: 65 Risk: Medium Born: Feb. 14, 2000. B-T: R-R. HT: 5-11. WT: 195. Signed: Venezuela, 2016. Signed by: Francisco Plasencia. TRACK RECORD: The Blue Jays signed Moreno in 2016 for just $25,000 at the age of 16 out of Venezuela. Since then, he has blossomed into one of the top prospects in baseball. Moreno progressed steadily over his first few seasons in the organization, first displaying advanced plate discipline and defense in consecutive seasons in the Dominican Summer League and the Gulf Coast League. He made adjustments to his swing to tap into more power before his 2019 season with Low-A Lansing, and the changes and resulting production helped cement him as one of the…

When lefthander Corey Phelan signed with the Phillies as a nondrafted free agent in 2020, he seemed to be a man in a hurry. While many players opted to sign minor league contracts with MLB teams that summer after a coronavirus-shortened five-round draft, the vast majority were college players. The 18-year-old Phelan was one of the few undrafted high school players to take the unconventional route to pro ball. He went to instructional league that fall, then pitched in the Florida Complex League in 2021, allowing one run in 9.2 innings over five appearances. Phelan was supposed to get his first chance at full-season baseball in 2022, but this April he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He spent this spring and summer being treated for cancer. He died on Oct.…

1 KYLE MULLER LHP Fastball: 60 Curveball: 55 Slider: 60 Changeup: 40 Control: 45 BA Grade: 50 Risk: Medium Born: Oct. 7, 1997. B-T: R-L. HT: 6-7. WT: 250. Drafted: HS—Dallas, 2016 (2nd round). Signed by: Nate Dion. TRACK RECORD: The Braves have had plenty of success developing former two-way players, and like graduated homegrown prospects Austin Riley and Michael Harris II, Muller was a standout two-way prospect in high school. Muller showed improved velocity during his 2016 draft year and leapt up draft boards after he struck out 24 straight batters over two starts in a competitive Dallas region. The Braves eventually signed Muller for $2.5 million in the second round of the 2016 draft and watched him continue to improve his stuff—to the point where he had some of…

1 JAMES WOOD OF Hitting: 55 Power: 65 Speed: 55 Fielding: 50 Arm: 55 BA Grade: 65 Risk: High Born: Sept. 17, 2002. B-T: L-R. HT: 6-7. WT: 240. Drafted: HS—Bradenton, Fla., 2021 (2nd round). Signed by: John Martin (Padres). TRACK RECORD: Wood moved away from his hometown in Maryland to attend Florida’s IMG Academy and gain greater exposure on the baseball diamond. A standout in basketball as well as baseball, Wood used his first summer on the showcase circuit to his advantage and emerged as one of the most physically impressive players in the 2021 draft class. Despite Wood’s elevated strikeout totals his senior spring, the Padres saw his plus-plus raw power and huge upside and drafted him 62nd overall in the second round and signed him for an above-slot…

1 ANTHONY VOLPE SS Hitting: 60 Power: 60 Speed: 55 Fielding: 50 Arm: 45 BA Grade: 65 Risk: High Born: April 28, 2001. B-T: R-R. HT: 5-11. WT: 180. Drafted: HS—Morristown, N.J., 2019 (1st round). Signed by: Matt Hyde. TRACK RECORD: Volpe had a standout senior season in 2019 at Delbarton High, the New Jersey program where he was teammates with fellow future first-rounder Jack Leiter. The Yankees believed enough in both Volpe’s performance and makeup that they spent their first-round pick and a bonus of $2,740,300 to keep him from a commitment to Vanderbilt. His pro debut was hampered by a case of mononucleosis that muted his performance at Rookie-level Pulaski. Then the pandemic happened, and Volpe spent the season working remotely to up his game. When he re-emerged in…

Ortiz Hits His Way Into Orioles’ Plans A breakout two years in the making finally came true this summer. Shortstop Joey Ortiz, drafted in the fourth round in 2019, earned plaudits for his defense coming out of New Mexico State but faced questions about his bat. The 24-year-old answered those questions emphatically in the second half. A midseason adjustment at Double-A Bowie erased a frustrating first half, and Ortiz kept hitting after moving to Triple-A Norfolk on Aug. 30. From July 1 until the end of the season, Ortiz hit .352/.416/.610 at both levels and led the minor leagues with 101 hits, 68 runs and 175 total bases. His 1.026 OPS ranked seventh in that time. Orioles player development staff hinted at his emergence during the pandemic, when Ortiz added…

To describe Dodgers shortstop Maury Wills as a prolific basestealer isn’t enough. “Prolific” simply fails to fully summarize how Wills was playing a different game than the rest of the National League in the early 1960s. Wills led the NL in steals for six consecutive seasons from 1960 to 1965. Much like Babe Ruth’s power surge led others to hit home runs in the 1920s, Wills led a surge in steals across the game in the 1960s. The Dodgers turned to Wills after Pee Wee Reese retired. Don Zimmer broke his toe, so Los Angeles brought up Wills in 1959. When he stole 50 bases to lead the league in 1960, just three other NL players stole half as many. Two years later, Wills stole 104 bases to break Ty…

■ Jerry Ahrens, a pitcher who spent two years in the Tigers organization in the minor leagues in 1947 and ’48, died on Oct. 17. He was 93. ■ Jim Bailey, a lefthander who made three appearances for the 1959 Reds, died Oct. 12. He was 87. ■ Danny Coker, an outfielder who played for multiple teams in 1964 and ’65, died Oct. 12. He was 78. ■ Dick Ellsworth, a lefthander who was a fixture in the Cubs’ rotation from 1960 to ’66, died Oct. 10. He was 82. Ellsworth was an all-star in 1964 when he went 14-18, 3.75 in 256.2 innings. He finished his career with the Brewers in 1970 and ’71. ■ Jack Hollis, a righthander who pitched in Class A with the Blue Jays in…