Latest news with #JacCaglianone
New York Times
6 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
Law: Biggest risers and fallers from the newest MLB top-50 prospect ranking
As a companion piece to my re-ranking of the top 50 prospects in the minors — which was almost immediately undercut by the promotion of Jac Caglianone and demotion of Jordan Lawlar within days of the list going live — I've added some further notes below on six players whose outlooks have changed significantly based on the two months we've had so far, both in terms of scouts' notes and what we can see in the data. Lewis probably would have cracked the top 50 had he played more this year, but the Reds' second-round pick from 2024 didn't make his debut this year until May 12, and even now he has barely passed 50 professional plate appearances. They've been elite, though, as he was hitting .383/.444/.574 through Monday's games with only an 18.5 percent strikeout rate, and he's already hitting the ball extremely hard, with several batted balls over 110 mph. He's in the Arizona Complex League now, and that's unusual for teams to do with a high MLB Draft pick, but I'm hopeful other teams will see Lewis' success to date and consider holding some of their teenage prospects back a little to play in the complex rather than pushing them all to Low A. There's no downside to a month in the complex to tune up before facing the better competition of full-season ball. Either way, Lewis would be on a top-75 list right now, and I won't be the least bit surprised if he's in the top 30 next winter. .@BaseballAmerica Reds No. 9 prospect Tyson Lewis HR 434 feet114.8 mph exit velocity He is greeted by Cam Collier with a home run chain that says 'Reds Rehab Dawgs' — Jesús Cano (@Jesus_Cano88) May 15, 2025 Arias was the MVP of the Florida Man League last year at age 18, then ended with a credible .257/.331/.378 line in 36 games in Low A to finish his first season playing in the U.S. He went back to Low A and was so good the Red Sox bumped him up to High A before April was out. He hasn't stopped hitting since, with exceptional contact skills and breaking ball recognition already. He has whiffed on just 10 percent of the pitches he's swung at this year, which would be great for pretty much any player but is wild for a player who'll be 19 all season, playing in High A. His only real … I wouldn't even call it a flaw or a concern, but he does put the ball on the ground more often than you'd like, just over 50 percent on the season. If that improves, then we're looking at a shortstop with a plus hit tool and 20-plus homer upside. That's a prospect who ends up in the running to be No. 1 at some point. Franklin Arias stays hot with another four-hit game! — Red Sox Player Development (@RedSoxPlayerDev) May 31, 2025 Bonemer was the biggest enigma of the 2024 draft for me. He came into the spring a potential high first-rounder, but I got report after report that he wasn't hitting well even against mediocre competition in Michigan, and his swing seemed to change with every video I saw, starting in the fall of 2023. He has shown an advanced approach in his pro debut, with an excellent understanding of the strike zone, and the White Sox have encouraged him to go back to using the middle of the field more. That's a more natural plan for him and an improvement over his attempts to pull the ball in the air more last spring. You have to hit if you're going to hit for power. Bonemer's strong enough that the power will be there, and it's a positive sign that he's hitting as well as he is. Caleb Bonemer goes 106 MPH to LF for his 4th HR on the year. #Ballers up 1-0. — FutureSox (@FutureSox) May 28, 2025 Sproat was at No. 30 on the list coming into 2025, thanks to a strong full-season debut in 2024 that saw him dominate High A and Double A with premium stuff across the board, although he scuffled in seven starts in Triple A to end the year. Those difficulties have continued this year, as he has a 6.02 ERA with Syracuse with just a 16.6 percent strikeout rate and 10.7 percent walk rate. The walk rate is right around the International League average, and the strikeout rate is substantially below (23.6 percent). The quality of his stuff hasn't changed much, if at all, but he now has more than twice the experience at Triple A, and hitters there haven't had much trouble connecting with all of his pitches. Nothing he has thrown has a whiff rate over 28 percent this year, and he has given up too much hard contact, especially on the fastball. Lefties are destroying him, with a .333/.420/.479 line, as his changeup is too firm and he doesn't command it, leaving it up way too often. He probably needs another pitch, or a revised changeup, for lefties so he can stay a starter, even before we get into broader questions of fastball command or what to do with the variety of breaking pitches he throws. Advertisement Smith was the White Sox's first-round pick in 2024, going at No. 5, but his Double-A debut this year hasn't gone well — he made seven starts, and in 25 2/3 innings, he walked 20 batters before hitting the IL with soreness in his left elbow. An MRI didn't show any damage, so the injury isn't a catastrophe, but his 18.7 percent walk rate puts him in the bottom 5 percent among all minor-league pitchers who've thrown at least 20 innings this year. I'm hopeful this is just a matter of a small sample where Smith may have been fighting through some discomfort and thus unable to command the ball as he has in the past. That kind of walk rate, if sustained over a larger sample, will push him to the bullpen. Taylor was No. 89 on my top 100 coming into the year, after getting quite a bit of industry support when I talked to sources before compiling the rankings. He hit the ball consistently hard when he did hit it last year and looked like he'd be a 55 or better defender at third or second. He struck out a lot last year, however, and that's not showing any signs of abating, as he's hitting .183/.287/.327 in Double A with a 28.7 percent strikeout rate, which is at least down from 36.8 percent last year in Double A. He's 23 now and hasn't hit a lick in half a season at this level. I'm not giving up entirely, but the evidence is pretty strong that he's not going to hit. (Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; top photos: Chris Bernacchi / Diamond Images, Nick Cammett / Diamond Images / Getty Images, Jim Rassol / Imagn Images)
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cardinals Make Announcement on Wednesday's Game vs Royals
Cardinals Make Announcement on Wednesday's Game vs Royals originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Fans hoping to see Kansas City Royals sensation Jac Caglianone record his first major league hit will have to wait an extra day. Advertisement The St. Louis Cardinals announced Wednesday that due to inclement weather in the area, Wednesday's game against the Royals has been postponed. Instead, it will be made up as part of a split doubleheader on Thursday, June 5. The Royals (32-29) took the first of the three-game set on Tuesday night, defeating the Cardinals 10-7 behind the bat of Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who finished 2-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBIs. Heralded Royals prospect Jac Caglianone, in what was his MLB debut, went 0-for-5 and was robbed of an extra base hit in his first major league at bat by Cardinals centerfielder Victor Scott II. St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Victor Scott II (11) leaps and catches a line drive hit by Kansas City Royals designated hitter Jac Caglianone (not pictured)Jeff Curry-Imagn Images St. Louis (33-27) was led by Alec Burleson and Nolan Gorman, who each slugged two-run home runs in the loss. The Cardinals are 81-58 all-time against their I-70 rivals, however they've lost the last two games. Advertisement Game 1 on Thursday will begin at 12:45 p.m. CT, with gates opening at 11:15 a.m. Cardinals veteran Miles Mikolas (4-2, 3.90 ERA) is expected to take the mound against Royals' rookie Noah Cameron (2-1, 1.05 ERA). Game 2 will remain as originally scheduled for 6:45 p.m. CT, with gates opening at 5:15 p.m. CT. Matthew Liberatore (3-4, 3.08 ERA) will be on the bump against Kansas City's Cole Ragans (2-3, 4.53 ERA). Related: Cardinals Sign Former Yankees Southpaw to Minor League Deal Related: Cardinals' Gold Glove Winner Nolan Arenado Honored with Gold Seat This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 4, 2025, where it first appeared.
Fox News
19 hours ago
- Sport
- Fox News
Former MLB exec blasts Royals' 'irresponsible' move with top prospect Jac Caglianone
Kansas City was ecstatic when the Royals called up their top prospect, Jac Caglianone, but one former MLB executive called it the "single-most irresponsible move I've seen in quite a long time." Former Miami Marlins team president David Samson vocalized his displeasure with the Royals' front office bringing Caglianone up to the big leagues despite his success in the minors. It wasn't Caglianone's performance Samson was referencing in his opinion. It has to do with service time. "If he's going to be that good, how do you call him up now where he will hit arbitration a full year earlier than if they waited until after around June 17?" Samson wondered. "I have no idea how a team that's not in the top 10 of payroll is not paying attention to dates. And the Royals forcing the issue, that's a bunch of horse hockey. You take the extra two weeks because it gives you an extra year and compounds itself in arbitration." Caglianone will reach arbitration a year early because Kansas City brought him up before the Super Two deadline. Service time has been a debated topic for some time among baseball experts and fans because teams do have the ability to keep prospects down on the farm to ensure another year of control. But Kansas City clearly doesn't mind bringing up Caglianone now. He was just called up, but Caglianone is one of the top prospects in baseball and has been raking in the minors this year with a .322/.389/.593 slash line with 15 homers and 56 RBIs between Double-A and Triple-A. Samson believes calling up Caglianone now puts more pressure on him to perform right away because of the service time scenario. "This is a $10 million decision they made. He better be Vladimir Guerrero Sr., and he better start now," Samson said. Caglianone went 0-for-5 in his major league debut Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals. Kansas City is hoping Caglianone can get acclimated to the big leagues sooner rather than later, and they're hoping to reach the playoffs in back-to-back seasons after breaking an eight-year skid last year with a wild-card berth. The last time the Royals reached the playoffs before that was the 2015 campaign, when they defeated the New York Mets in the World Series.
Washington Post
19 hours ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Royals at Cardinals postponed by rain, will be part of split doubleheader Thursday
ST. LOUIS — The game between the Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals scheduled for Wednesday night has been postponed by rain. The Cardinals said the I-70 rivals will finish their season series with a split doubleheader Thursday. The Royals won the series opener in St. Louis 10-7 on Tuesday. The Cardinals took two of three in Kansas City last month. Royals top prospect Jac Caglianone made his major league debut in the series opener, going hitless in five at-bats. The forecast called for rain to continue well past the scheduled start time Wednesday. St. Louis right-hander Miles Mikolas had been set to face Royals lefty Noah Cameron before the postponement. The probable starters for the early game Thursday weren't immediately announced. ___ AP MLB:
Associated Press
19 hours ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Royals at Cardinals postponed by rain, will be part of split doubleheader Thursday
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The game between the Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals scheduled for Wednesday night has been postponed by rain. The Cardinals said the I-70 rivals will finish their season series with a split doubleheader Thursday. The Royals won the series opener in St. Louis 10-7 on Tuesday. The Cardinals took two of three in Kansas City last month. Royals top prospect Jac Caglianone made his major league debut in the series opener, going hitless in five at-bats. The forecast called for rain to continue well past the scheduled start time Wednesday. St. Louis right-hander Miles Mikolas had been set to face Royals lefty Noah Cameron before the postponement. The probable starters for the early game Thursday weren't immediately announced. ___ AP MLB:
