Innholdsfortegnelse for August/September 2024 i Baseball America

“He’s the best player who I’ve ever scouted. I can’t think of a player in our game who can beat you in as many ways as Bobby Witt Jr. can.”—FORMER ROYALS GM DAYTON MOORE The Royals dispatched a scout or club official to every game shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. played as a high school senior, and that was no small number. Colleyville Heritage High, located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, played 42 games in 2019, winning 39 of them, as Witt led the Panthers to the Texas class 5A state title. The Royals wanted to watch over the player they believed was the most talented in a top-heavy draft class that also included Adley Rutschman and 2024 first-time all-stars Gunnar Henderson, Riley Greene and CJ Abrams. Kansas City saw all five of…

Player value can be debated ad nauseam, but major league managers are clear on one point. Shohei Ohtani is the most exciting player in baseball. The 30-year-old Dodgers DH has won that Best Tools category in every season since the pandemic, the first three in the American League when he was with the Angels. This year, National League managers chose Ohtani as best hitter, best power and most exciting player. That all checks out. As August dawned, Ohtani led the NL in batting, on-base percentage, slugging, home runs and a few other key categories. Oh, and Ohtani is plenty valuable, too. He is the odds-on favorite to win his third MVP award this year. NATIONAL LEAGUE BEST TOOLS As determined by a survey of National League managers, coaches, scouts and…

It took some time for Rangers shortstop Sebastian Walcott to find his footing at High-A Hickory. But when the 18-year-old Bahamian got up to speed, the results were eye-popping. Walcott slumped hard during the first two months of the season, hitting .195/.326/.315 in April and May. Those struggles should have been expected for a player who spent last season in Rookie ball. Just when many began to question the Rangers’ decision to aggressively assign Walcott to High-A, he caught fire. Over his next 51 games, Walcott hit .300/.359/.523 while cutting his strikeout rate. Walcott stands out for the many ways he can help his team. He flashes impressive tools on both sides of the ball, with potential for plus power, speed and a presently plus throwing arm. South Atlantic League…

Last year’s Arizona Complex League top prospects list featured future Top 100 Prospects Sebastian Walcott and Jaison Chourio as well as outfielder Dillon Head, who was used by the Padres as a trade chip that helped them land hitting savant Luis Arraez from the Marlins. Two years ago, the 2022 list included another pair of Top 100 Prospects in Guardians shortstop Angel Genao and Cubs catcher Moises Ballesteros. It also included a trio of prospects used in trades. Fireballer Jarlin Susana helped the Padres land Juan Soto, outfielder Gabriel Gonzalez was used to pry Jorge Polanco from the Twins and Rayne Doncon brought shortstop Noah Miller into the Dodgers’ system. Now, take a look at the 10 best prospects the 2024 ACL had to offer. 1. EDUARDO QUINTERO OF, DODGERS…

With confetti raining down at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Tennessee coach Tony Vitello raised the national championship trophy aloft. The Volunteers had won the 2024 College World Series, cementing their legacy as one of the best teams of all-time. Tennessee won 60 games, more than any team in 22 years. It collected every trophy it could, winning both the Southeastern Conference and SEC Tournament on its way to Omaha greatness. It was the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and became the first No. 1 overall seed to win the championship since Miami did it in 1999. It was a complete team effort. The Volunteers led the nation in home runs, ranked 11th in scoring and sixth in ERA. They had All-Americans, Freshman All-Americans, present first-round picks,…

MLB DEBUTS WITH THEIR SIGNING SCOUTS We highlight the scouts who signed this year’s major league debuts, with this installment covering the period June 17 to July 31.…

Major league players have never been allowed to participate in baseball at the Olympics, but that may change. Both MLB and the MLB Players Association are at least open to the possibility of allowing big leaguers to play in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. There are still many hurdles to clear before MLB players actually suit up to play for a gold medal, but both MLB and the MLBPA expressed interest in seeing what would have to be done to make that possibility a reality. That’s according to union head Tony Clark and commissioner Rob Manfred, who spoke during All-Star Game media availability. Manfred said that after discussions with Casey Wasserman, CEO of LA2028, he encouraged Wasserman to speak directly to MLB owners about the proposal to allow MLB…

The 2024 draft is in the books. The trade deadline is history. ETA has morphed into established time of arrival for many of the top upper-level prospects as they matriculate from Triple-A to MLB. Now, it’s time to survey the prospect landscape that remains once young players in the big leagues are excluded and selections from this year’s draft are included. That’s where our Top 100 Prospects: Summer Update fits. We filter out summer callups, such as the Nationals’ James Wood, the Orioles’ Jackson Holliday and the Athletics’ Jacob Wilson, to focus only on prospects who were in the minor leagues as of Aug. 1. We curate our Summer Update with the top talent from the 2024 draft, led by hard-hitting collegians Charlie Condon of the Rockies, Travis Bazzana of…

Hindsight is 20/20. In the case of Bobby Witt Jr., foresight also was 20/20. The Royals’ 24-year-old shortstop does everything well and is one of MLB’s brightest young superstars. Witt’s future potential on the field came into sharp focus three years ago during minor league Best Tools voting at midseason. Back in 2021, Witt’s lone full season in the minor leagues, he dominated Best Tools voting like few prospects do. Double-A Texas League managers voted him best batting prospect, best baserunner, fastest baserunner, best infield arm and most exciting player. He received votes for—but did not win—best power prospect and best defensive shortstop. Translation: Witt cornered the market on the five traditional scouting tools: hitting, power, speed, fielding and arm. He was at or near the top of his class…

The world of amateur scouting moves quickly. With the 2024 draft in the books, it’s full steam ahead for a 2025 class that scouts are eagerly anticipating after a down group this year. With that in mind, we look ahead to the potential top 10 picks in next year’s draft with our way-too-early mock. In last year’s version, six of the 10 players we identified developed into 2024 first-round picks: Nick Kurtz, Travis Bazzana, JJ Wetherholt, Konnor Griffin, Jac Caglianone and Chase Burns. The actual 2025 draft order will be determined by a lottery at the Winter Meetings. Until then, we will use reverse order of MLB standings at the all-star break for this exercise. Note: The White Sox have the worst record but cannot pick until 10th at the…

The Dominican Summer League held its annual All-Star Game on July 21 at the Brewers’ complex in Santo Domingo. The game, which came with a raucous atmosphere not found in either the Florida or Arizona Complex leagues, featured plenty of talent on both the American and National league rosters. The game finished in a 2-2 tie. Afterward, Blue Jays lefthander Ramon Suarez and Rangers outfielder Paulino Santana were named the game’s most valuable pitcher and hitter. The former struck out the side in his inning. The latter went 2-for-3 at the plate. The Brewers’ Luis Peña provided the home crowd a jolt when he swatted the game’s only home run. The DSL All-Star Game is truly one of a kind. All other minor league all-star games were eliminated when MLB…

Day one of the draft consists of the first two rounds, including all the compensatory, competitive balance and Prospect Promotion Incentive picks following those rounds. This year, a total of 74 picks were made during the top two rounds of the draft. Kentucky outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt and Virginia shortstop Griff O’Ferrall, drafted 31st and 32nd overall by the D-backs and Orioles, were the second- and third-ever PPI draft picks. Arizona and Baltimore added the picks when Corbin Carroll and Gunnar Henderson won Rookie of the Year awards in 2023. A RECORD EIGHT STRAIGHT COLLEGE PLAYERS KICK THINGS OFF We expected this year’s first round to lean heavily on college players, and that wound up being the case on a record-setting night. This draft was the first in history to feature…

Few outcomes are more certain than Aaron Judge receiving Best Tools votes in the American League best power category. The Yankees’ 32-year-old center fielder won the category as a rookie in 2017 and then again in 2018, 2022 and now 2024. Judge also finished runner-up in 2019 and 2023. The names surrounding Judge on the all-time Best Tools leaderboard for best power are telling: Giancarlo Stanton, Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols. That quintet has combined to hit 3,164 home runs—and counting. What’s even more notable this year is Judge’s first win for best hitter. It is the first time he has ever earned a top-three finish, let alone first place. It’s easy to see why Judge received so much attention for his bat. Heading into August,…

After a whirlwind 2023 season that involved reaching three full-season levels, expectations were sky-high for Red Sox outfield prospect Roman Anthony headed into 2024. The 20-year-old started off slowly at Double-A Portland. He sported a .206/.310/.329 line at the end of April. From then on, however, Anthony has been absolutely terrific, and he’s doing so as one of the youngest players in the Eastern League. For as strong as his surface-level stats are, Anthony’s underlying metrics are even more impressive. He does not often swing and miss on pitches inside the zone, nor does he chase pitches outside of the zone. When he does make contact, he hits the ball as hard as any prospect in the minors. He has already hit a ball 116 mph and multiple balls at…

Everything’s bigger in Texas, including the Prospect Pad. Launched by Baseball America and Louisville Slugger during All-Star Weekend in 2016 as a way to connect with the top prospects in baseball on the eve of the Futures Game, the event has attracted the biggest up-and-coming stars over the past eight years, including Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr., Bobby Witt Jr., Pete Alonso, Julio Rodriguez and so many more. It has been a veritable who’s who of young baseball talent. This year’s interviews and highlights—and all of the classic ones going back to 2016—are available on demand right now at BaseballAmerica.com and on our YouTube channel . . . and we hope you join us online next July for Prospect Pad in Atlanta. AMONG THOSE IN ATTENDANCE … HEARD AT…

Heading into the 2022 season, the Royals’ farm system ranked fifth in baseball. It was led by superstar-in-waiting Bobby Witt Jr. and also included future big leaguers Vinnie Pasquantino, Michael Massey and Alec Marsh. Now, Witt is one of the best players in the sport, while Pasquantino, Massey, Marsh and others, including MJ Melendez, Kyle Isbel, Angel Zerpa and Maikel Garcia, have contributed to a big league team that finished the first half in the thick of the American League wild card race. Once that group graduated from prospect consideration, however, things began to go south. Kansas City’s system ranked 29th in 2023 and entered this season dead last in BA’s organization talent rankings. There was nowhere for the Royals to go but up, and a system-wide overhaul has helped…

The 2019 draft had a little bit of everything. Oregon State’s Adley Rutschman presented a clear-cut No. 1 overall talent as a proven college hitter and potential franchise catcher. Led by Bobby Witt Jr., Riley Greene and CJ Abrams, the level of high school talent was higher than usual. Even the second tier of first-round preps included future big leaguers Brett Baty, Corbin Carroll and Anthony Volpe. Aside from Rutschman, many of the top college hitters in 2019 have come up short of stardom. Still, the first round was littered with future MLB regulars. In order of selection: Andrew Vaughn, JJ Bleday, Josh Jung, Shea Langeliers, Bryson Stott and Michael Busch. Perhaps the most surprising development from the 2019 first round is that a maligned crop of college pitchers has…

ORLANDO CEPEDA SHINED AS ONE OF MLB’s FIRST LATINO STARS Orlando Cepeda won the National League Rookie of the Year award unanimously in 1958, the Giants’ first year in San Francisco, and then made the NL all-star team in each of the next six seasons. In 1959, Cepeda made history as the first Puerto Rican player to start the All-Star Game. In 1961, he finished runner-up for NL MVP after he led the league with 46 home runs and 142 RBIs. A year later, he helped power the Giants to the World Series, which they lost in seven games. Cepeda hit 222 home runs in his first seven MLB seasons. Just 10 players have ever hit more to begin a career. Cepeda would have kept building on that total if…