Roman Anthony arguably has the best upside within the Boston Pink Sox system. Three months shy of his twentieth birthday, the left-handed-hitting outfielder is No. 14 on our recently-released High 100, and within the phrases of Eric Longenhagen, he “has the offensive basis (plate self-discipline and call) to be a prime 5 prospect if he can extra readily get to his energy in video games.”
Attending to extra of his in-game energy was an organizationally-driven aim all through a primary full skilled season that noticed the 2022 second-rounder start in Low-A Salem and end in Double-A Portland. Progress was made. Of the 14 residence runs Anthony swatted over 491 plate appearances, all however one got here from mid-June onward. Studying to carry was the important thing and, in response to the teen that got here not from an overhaul of his mechanics, however fairly from delicate changes.
“At first of the yr, I used to be pulling it on the bottom slightly greater than I want to,” acknowledged Anthony, who was 200-plus plate appearances into the season when he went yard for a second time. “However I labored with my hitting coaches and finally it clicked. It was actually simply minor tweaks. It’s not as if I used to be redoing my swing, or something like that. I nonetheless have just about the identical swing I’ve at all times had.”
In keeping with Pink Sox farm director Brian Abraham, Anthony’s changes had been crafted primarily in a batting cage with easy, but inventive, drill work.
““It wasn’t essentially him altering his mechanics,” defined Abraham. “It was our hitting group placing him in sure positions, inside sure environmental constraints, that allow him to leverage extra balls to the pull aspect. A few of it was specific drills that enable him to be himself, but drive him to hit the ball within the air with out really bodily making an attempt to take action.
“Say I had been to place my hand in your arm and advised you push me again,” Abraham elaborated. “The one alternative you might have is to push in a sure means, so that you’re going to push more durable. It’s just like that. Or it could possibly be standing in entrance of a wall with the intention to solely go to the pull aspect, or in batting observe having the ball thrown from a sure angle — issues that enable the physique to be working naturally, however due to constraints solely in a sure means. The extra repetitions with that taking place, the extra the physique adjusts and it turns into pure.”
Anthony’s slash line was .272/.403/.466 final season, with a wholesome 17.5% stroll charge contributing closely to his OBP. In Longenhagen’s eyes, the looks of plus-plus plate self-discipline deserves a caveat. As our lead prospect analyst identified in his writeup, Anthony’s swing charge on pitches proper down the center of the plate was among the many lowest within the minors, suggesting “an method that features premeditated takes fairly than precise selectivity.”
Requested about that speculation, Abraham mentioned that the group doesn’t dictate takes, a minimum of not in a means that might starve younger hitters’ alternatives to crush cookies. If something, Anthony’s lapses in selective aggression had been of his personal volition, and never a directive from above.
“I feel generally there might need been pitches the place he may have let it eat, for lack of a greater time period, versus taking a pitch,” the farm director mentioned. “However that’s simply an schooling factor, him studying himself as he additional acclimates to professional ball. We actually don’t put limitations on our gamers, saying you must not swing at this pitch. I don’t suppose that’s sustainable or scalable. To me, a coaching setting is the place you’ll create one thing that’s slightly bit extra innate and will be carried over from degree to degree. We give them an method — an understanding of what they need to do — after which enable them to go do it. If we have to make changes afterwards, the dialog shall be concerning the why.”
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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS
Bingo Binks went 3 for 16 in opposition to Tiny Bonham.
Bing Miller went 1 for 18 in opposition to Ivy Andrews.
Mike Ivie went 8 for 14 in opposition to Tug McGraw.
Wally Pipp went 4 for five in opposition to Slim McGrew.
Bob Seeds went 5 for 7 in opposition to Lefty Smoll.
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Ben Cowles is a sleeper within the New York Yankees system. The just-turned-24-year-old infielder wasn’t included when our 2024 Yankees High Prospect record went up in December. That doesn’t imply he doesn’t possess potential. In 444 plate appearances with Excessive-A Hudson Valley, Cowles put up a 109 wRC+ whereas swatting 10 residence runs and swiping 26 bases in 30 makes an attempt. He additional impressed within the Arizona Fall League, logging a .956 OPS, leaving the yard 4 occasions, and going an ideal 3-for-3 within the theft division.
Cowles led the Large Ten with 18 residence runs in his 2021 draft yr, however the Tenth-round decide doesn’t see himself as a bopper. After I talked to him on the tail finish of the AFL season, he advised me that getting on base and “wreaking havoc on the pitcher” are his main targets, whereas any energy he produces is a plus. Defensively, he feels that shortstop is his greatest place, with the flexibility to additionally play second and third — he cut up time between the three positions final yr — including to his worth.
His baseball hero was a shortstop, which made his draft expertise all of the extra thrilling.
“I grew up close to Rochester, New York and was at all times a Yankees fan,” defined Cowles. “I cherished Derek Jeter. It was exhausting to not.”
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Daniel Vogelbach was 25 years outdated and a Seattle Mariner after I talked to and wrote about him in spring coaching 2018. Hitting for extra energy was on his thoughts on the time, and whereas the additional oomph didn’t emerge that very same season — a minimum of not on the big-league degree — he did go on to bash a career-high 30 residence runs in 2019. Ups and downs have adopted. The lefty slugger is now 5 groups faraway from Seattle — this after Friday’s reported signing with Toronto — and final yr’s ledger included a modest 13 dingers to go along with a 109 wRC+.
This previous summer time I requested Vogelbach, then a New York Met, for an up to date tackle his fence-clearing intentions.
“I feel you’re at all times making an attempt to hit for energy,” he replied. “It’s only a matter of the way you go about it. I imply, homers are thrown, they’re not hit. Pitchers must make errors. When you go up there making an attempt to hit residence runs each at-bat, given how good pitchers are — how a lot they’ll make the ball transfer — you’re mainly setting your self up for failure.”
As for changes he’s made over time, Vogelbach advised me that he’s at all times working to be the most effective hitter doable, and that the sport will dictate what he must do higher, and what he must work on. Furthermore, “When the sport tells you one thing, you must pay attention.”
Jay Jaffe will tackle the Blue Jays’ reported acquisition of Vogelbach — may it have been Joey Votto as an alternative? — right here at FanGraphs within the coming days.
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A quiz:
The identical pitcher holds the Cincinnati Reds franchise document for each profession saves and profession video games completed. Who’s he?
The reply will be discovered beneath.
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NEWS NOTES
The SABR Analytics Convention has added a Statcast panel comprising Jason Bernard, James Buffi, Graham Goldbeck, Clay Nunnally, and Mike Petriello, Extra info on the convention, which shall be held in Phoenix from March 8-10, will be discovered right here.
MLB has promoted Ryan Wills and Clint Vondrak to full-time umpires, changing Ed Hickox and Jeff Nelson, who’ve retired. Chris Guccione, a 17-year veteran, has been promoted as a brand new crew chief.
The Oakland Athletics have employed Jenny Cavnar as their new TV play-by-play broadcaster. Cavnar, who has spent the previous 12 seasons with the Colorado Rockies as a backup play-by-play announcer, pre- and postgame host, and reporter, will reportedly be the the primary feminine main play-by-play voice in MLB historical past.
Jim Hannan, who pitched in 276 video games from 1962-1971, primarily for the Washington Senators, died earlier this month at age 85. The best-hander from Jersey Metropolis was a part of a noteworthy transaction late in his profession, going from Washington to Detroit in an eight-player deal that included Denny McLain, Joe Coleman, and Aurelio Rodríguez.
Don Gullett, a left-handed pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds from 1970-1976, and for the New York Yankees in 1977-1978, died on Wednesday at age 73. A member of The Large Pink Machine who was simply 19 years outdated when he debuted, Gullett went 109-50 with a 3.11 ERA and pitched in 5 World Sequence earlier than accidents ended his profession at age 27. Boston’s Invoice “Spaceman” Lee famously mentioned of his Sport 7 matchup in opposition to the flamethrower within the 1975 World Sequence, “Gullett will go to the Corridor of Fame and I’ll go to the Eliot Lounge.”
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The reply to the quiz is Danny Graves, who had 182 saves and 337 video games completed whereas pitching for the Reds from 1997-2005.
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Zack Scott debuted a podcast this previous week, and the preliminary episode of “Deconstructing Champions: The Artwork and Science of Profitable” is a must-listen. The erstwhile Boston Pink Sox and New York Mets entrance workplace govt — now the CEO of 4 Rings Sports activities Options — welcomed Texas Rangers GM Chris Younger to the present, and their wide-ranging dialog is predictably each entertaining and informative. One alternate that stood out to me was Younger’s response to a query about how his team-building philosophies have advanced over his quick time within the position.
“Greater than something, it’s most likely made me double down slightly bit on the traits, or attributes, that I actually consider strongly in, when it comes to what profitable gamers appear to be,” mentioned Younger, who pitched within the massive leagues from 2004-2017. “It’s not at all times about essentially the most expertise; it’s about the best assortment of expertise. It’s a must to have the best position gamers, and you must have the best stars… they usually’re equally essential. [The role players] can really set the tradition and the chemistry of the group greater than anyone. It’s their sacrifice that results in the success of the collective group. Your star gamers are going to be your star gamers, nevertheless it’s what you get out of everyone else — the position gamers round these star gamers — that’s going to set the group up for its success.”
Scott’s “Deconstructing Champions” is obtainable on Youtube, Spotify and most all over the place else you take pleasure in your favourite pods.
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Who’s/was higher, Clayton Kershaw or Pedro Martinez? I offered that query in a Twitter ballot earlier this week, and the latter received in a landslide. Of the votes solid, 86.6% went to the Corridor of Fame right-hander, whereas the left-handed future Corridor of Famer garnered a paltry 14.2%.
Their credentials? Let’s have a look.
Kershaw: 210-92 document, 157 ERA+, 2.82 FIP, 2,944 Ks, 27.6 Okay%, 75.8 fWAR.
Martinez: 219-100 document, 154 ERA+, 2.91 FIP, 3,154 Ks, 27.7 Okay%, 84.4 fWAR.
Every has 5 ERA titles, three Cy Younger Awards, and a World Sequence ring on his résumé. Kershaw is a 10-time All-Star who has received an MVP Award. Martinez was an eight-time All-Star who was by no means named MVP.
Pedro is hands-down my all-time favourite pitcher. Was he higher than the good Kershaw? That’s up for debate.
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FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Rintaro Sasaki, who had been projected to be the highest decide within the forthcoming NPB draft. will reportedly enroll at Stanford College this spring and subsequently be a part of the baseball group for its 2025 season. The 18-year-old first baseman from Iwate Prefecture set Japan’s highschool residence document whereas attending Hanamaki Higashi Excessive College, the alma mater of Shohei Ohtani.
Andrew Campbell has introduced his retirement. An outfielder for the Brisbane Bandits for the previous 13 seasons, the 32-year-old native of Ipswich, Queensland was a part of 4 ABL championship groups and was a member of Workforce Australia..He performed within the Cleveland system in 2011 and 2012.
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A random obscure former participant snapshot:
Larry Yount is the brother of Robin Yount, however that isn’t his declare to fame. The Corridor of Famer’s older sibling formally appeared in a big-league sport but was by no means on the sector whereas the ball was in play. On September 15, 1971, Lawrence King Yount took the mound for the Houston Astros in what was to be his MLB debut, solely to injure himself whereas warming up. As a result of he had been introduced, his title went into the annals. It was to be his solely alternative at baseball’s highest degree.
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Philadelphia teammates Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto had been home-road polar opposites in 2023:
Harper slashed .352/.459/.622 with 15 residence runs at Citizen’s Financial institution Park and .234/.340/.374 with six residence runs in street video games.
Realmuto slashed .198/.257/.320 with six residence runs at Citizen’s Financial institution Park and .306/.364/.587 with 14 residence runs in street video games.
After which there was Kyle Schwarber. The Phillies slugger had 58 hits, 23 residence runs, and 138 complete bases at residence, and 57 hits, 24 residence runs, and 139 complete bases on the street.
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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE
The Detroit Tigers introduced their 2024 broadcast groups, which embrace Carlos Peña as a notable addition on the TV aspect. Evan Woodberry has the story at MLive.
At South Aspect Sox, Chrystal O’Keefe wrote about bike and pedestrian security considerations relating to the proposed website for a brand new White Sox ballpark.
Pitcher Record’s Adam Salorio broke down the arbitration circumstances of Luis Arraez, Adolís García, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Citing a report from Marlins beat author Craig Mish, Royal Evaluate’s Max Rieper wrote of how Kansas Metropolis and Miami could have mentioned a deal that might have included Bobby Witt Jr. and Eury Pérez.
SABR’s oral historical past interview with Jon Matlack, which I quoted from in final Sunday’s column, is now archived and will be heard right here.
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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS
Vern Stephens made eight All-Star groups and amassed 48.3 WAR in a 15-year profession that spanned the 1941-1955 seasons. One of many prime shortstops not within the Corridor of Fame, Stephens completed with 247 residence runs, 1,178 RBIs, and a 117 wRC+. A detailed offensive comp is Victor Martinez, who had 246 residence runs, 1,174 RBIs, and a 117 wRC+.
Cecil Travis batted .327 and made three All-Star groups as a shortstop with the Washington Nationals from 1934-1941 earlier than lacking the subsequent three seasons serving within the Military throughout WWII. Doubtlessly a Corridor of Famer had his profession not been interrupted by service to his nation, Travis was born and raised in Riverdale, Georgia.
Archie Reynolds pitched for 3 groups from 1968-1972 and completed his profession with a document of 0-8. The best-hander had a minimum of one loss in all 5 of his winless seasons.
Moose Stubing’s big-league managing profession comprised eight video games, all on an interim foundation with the California Angels in 1988, and all had been losses. Twenty-one years earlier, Stubing went 0-for-5 with the Angels in his solely big-league motion as a participant.
Jug Thesenga pitched in 5 video games for the Washington Nationals in 1944 and is certainly one of simply 39 South Dakota-born gamers in MLB historical past. Twenty-seven of the 39 took the mound, together with Terry Francona, who in 1989 tossed an ideal inning for the Milwaukee Brewers in a 12-2 loss to the Oakland Athletics.
Reggie Richter pitched in 22 video games for the Chicago Cubs in 1911 and is certainly one of 45 gamers born in Germany to play within the majors. Per his B-Ref bio web page, the Düsseldorf native is the earliest big-leaguer with the title Reggie.
On in the present day’s date in 1999, the Toronto Blue Jays traded Roger Clemens to the New York Yankees in alternate for David Wells, Graeme Lloyd, and Homer Bush. Clemens went 77-36 with the Yankees over the subsequent 5 seasons. Wells went 37-18 in his two seasons with the Blue Jays.
The Florida Marlins signed Tim Raines on in the present day’s date in 2002. The Corridor of Fame outfielder, by then 42 years outdated, slashed .191/.351/.258 over 114 plate appearances in what could be his closing big-league season.
Gamers born on in the present day’s date embrace John Mayberry, a left-handed-hitting first baseman whose profession included a four-season stretch (1972-1975) with the Kansas Metropolis Royals by which he launched 107 residence runs and put up a 153 wRC+. All advised, the Detroit native went deep 255 occasions whereas logging a 123 wRC+enjoying for 4 groups from 1968-1982.
Additionally born on in the present day’s date was Zip Zabel, who went 12-14 with a 2.71 ERA with for the Chicago Cubs from 1913-1915. Born George Washington Zabel in Wetmore, Kansas, the right-hander set the document for many innings pitched in reduction in a single sport, hurling 18-and-one-third frames on June 17, 1915 in a 4-3, 19-inning win over the Brooklyn Robins.