Latest news with #KeithLaw
New York Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Mariners set to promote top-50 prospect Cole Young: Source
Fresh off two heartbreaking extra-innings losses, the Seattle Mariners are calling up infield prospect Cole Young from Triple A, a team source confirmed. Young, the No. 21 pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, was ranked No. 36 in Keith Law's latest top 50 MLB prospect ranking. The news was first reported by Advertisement Young, 21, is a left-handed hitting shortstop who has also played a significant number of games at second base. According to the team source, that will be the spot where he gets most of his playing time, at least initially, as the Mariners have been struggling to find a permanent solution at second after losing Ryan Bliss to a left biceps tear on April 8. Young, an excellent defensive player, has a career .388 OBP in 321 minor-league games. The 5-foot-11, 180-pounder isn't known for his power, but he has been in the middle of a red-hot streak for Triple-A Tacoma. For the month of May, he slashed .366/.467/.673 with five home runs and a 16:8 K:BB. Overall, he's batting .277/.392/.461 this season. 'Young should see the majors sooner rather than later, with the Mariners getting so little OBP from five lineup spots,' Law wrote in the top-50 ranking. 'He's had a power surge this month, mostly from playing road games in some of the PCL's higher-altitude parks, but his OBP … and high contact rate are consistent with his track record from the lower levels, and that alone would help Seattle's lineup. He's only played shortstop and second, the latter his better position, so they'd have to shift some guys around to fit him in. Regardless of where he plays, though, I think he's ready or very close to it.' Seattle began the season with MLB's top farm system in Law's preseason rankings. Young is the first of their elite prospects to join their MLB roster. The Mariners have six players in the current top 50 ranking, with shortstop Colt Emerson at No. 6, shortstop Felnin Celesten at No. 21, Young at 36, right-hander Ryan Sloan at No. 41 and outfielder Jonny Farmelo at 49. Catcher Harry Ford, outfielder Lazaro Montes and infielder Michael Arroyo didn't make the newest top 50 ranking but were on Law's preseason top 100 list. The Mariners enter Saturday's games a half-game behind the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West. They rank sixth in baseball in home runs (thanks in large part to catcher Cal Raleigh, who leads the AL with 21) but rank 10th in runs scored and 12th in OBP. Seattle second basemen have been in the middle of the pack in OPS for the position at .720.
CBS News
3 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Franklin Arias of Red Sox is now a Top 10 MLB prospect
The Red Sox are in a free fall. How does this get fixed? The Red Sox are in a free fall. How does this get fixed? The Red Sox are in a free fall. How does this get fixed? It's no surprise Roman Anthony is the top prospect in all of baseball, though the 21-year-old probably won't be a prospect for the Red Sox much longer. But Boston still has another Top 10 prospect in its system, with infielder Franklin Arias climbing up the latest rankings. The 19-year-old shortstop checked in as the No. 8 prospect in Keith Law's newest Top 50, which he published Thursday on The Athletic. Who is Franklin Arias? The Red Sox signed Arias as an International free agent in 2023, and he's been turning heads the last two years as one of the organization's top defensive prospect in the infield. He checks in at 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds, and is currently playing at Single-A Salem after starting the season at High-A Greenville. Before the season, Arias was Law's No. 42 prospect. But he's caught everyone's attention with both his bat and his glove in 2025. "Through Sunday, Arias was hitting .360/.406/.517 since his promotion to High A, and he's still just 19 until November," wrote Law. "He's a true shortstop, he doesn't punch out (8.3 percent at the higher level), and he has power." Law called Arias "electric on both sides of the ball." "If there's a flaw in his game, pitchers through the High-A level haven't exposed it yet," added Law. In the Boston organization, Arias is the No. 3 prospect behind Anthony and Marcelo Mayer, with the latter currently up with the Big League club. Kristian Campbell, whom Law had as a Top 10 prospect last year, made Boston's Opening Day roster following an impressive spring. "Leave it to the Red Sox to graduate a top-10 prospect (Kristian Campbell) and immediately have someone else replace him," noted Law. Jhostynxon Garcia also cracks Top 50 Prospect list The Red Sox had a third prospect pop up in Law's Top 50: outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia. The man nicknamed "The Password" checked in at No. 46 after he was unranked last season. Law notes that Garcia had a breakout year in 2024 -- when the 22-year-old slashed .286/.356/.536 with 24 doubles and 23 homers for Greenville, Salem, and Double-A Portland -- but adds the outfielder as taken a significant step forward this season. "He's swinging less often, which has also meant that he's whiffing less and he's chasing less, and he's still hitting the ball hard — although the surface results haven't been there yet. The Red Sox bumped him up to Triple A last week and in his first six games there he homered twice, at 106 and 109 mph. It's plus power, a significantly improved approach, and, well, he should move to right field," wrote Law. Garcia is slashing a robust .406/.424/.719 with the WooSox, and is up to three homers in his eight games at Triple-A.
New York Times
4 days ago
- General
- New York Times
Live chat with Keith Law on MLB prospects at 2pm ET today!
May 29, 2025 at 2:00 PM EDT Earlier today, we released an early-season re-ranking of the top 50 prospects in baseball, taking into account graduations to the big leagues, injuries and significant changes to a player's repertoire (both positive and negative). Come chat with Keith Law about the players on his list, as well as other top prospects around baseball at 2pm ET on Thurs., May 29. Keith Law May 29, 2025 12:00 pm EDT
New York Times
24-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Red Sox call up prospect Marcelo Mayer: Source
The Boston Red Sox are promoting top infield prospect Marcelo Mayer, according to a team source. The long-awaited promotion of Mayer, the No. 28 prospect in baseball according to The Athletic's Keith Law, comes as the Boston Red Sox are expected to place third baseman Alex Bregman on the injury list with a right quad strain. Bregman injured his quad while running to first base on Friday night. Advertisement The likely loss of Bregman for the foreseeable future is a blow to the Red Sox lineup, as he was hitting .299 with a .938 OPS in 51 games, but it opens the door for one of the most anticipated Red Sox prospect promotions in recent memory. The 22-year-old Mayer, the No. 4 overall draft pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, has been near the top of the Red Sox system for the past four years, his ascent slowed by injuries along the way. This season, however, Mayer has proven he's more than ready for the majors. In 43 games for Triple-A Worcester, he hit .271 with an .818 OPS with nine homers, five doubles and a triple while providing fluid defense at three infield positions. Outside of two games at third last season in Double-A, Mayer had played almost exclusively at shortstop from the time he was drafted in 2021 through 2024, but the Red Sox began expanding his defensive versatility this season in an attempt to find him a spot on the major-league roster. Though Mayer's offensive consistency and power have climbed through the years, his fluid defense, particularly at shortstop, has been just as impressive. This season in Worcester, Mayer has played 29 games at short, nine at second and four at third base. Manager Alex Cora offered high praise for Mayer in spring training. 'Good defender, he can move, he can play shortstop at the big-league level,' Cora said in March. 'He's going to get stronger with time. But we've seen big shortstops, big guys play shortstop in the past. He's a good one. He drives the ball to left-center. There's a few things that he knows that he needs to work on offensively. But the more you see him, you get excited about it.' Mayer's season last year was cut short as he dealt with a low back strain that prevented him from debuting in Triple A despite a promotion in early August. In 77 games at Double-A Portland last year, he hit .307 with an .850 OPS and eight homers. In 2023, Mayer dealt with a shoulder injury that limited him to 73 games, and in 2022, he battled a wrist sprain and played 91 games. Advertisement This spring, Mayer, along with No. 1 overall prospect Roman Anthony as well as current Red Sox infielder Kristian Campbell, spent all of spring training with the big-league club and impressed with their maturity and poise in handling major-league hitting as well as meshing with a big-league clubhouse. But when the season began, Campbell was the lone prospect who made the big league roster, with Anthony and Mayer headed to Triple A to continue refining their games. Now Mayer joins Campbell in Boston. Mayer is likely to see time at third base with infielder Nick Sogard also handling reps at the corner spot. In recent weeks since first baseman Triston Casas' season-ending knee injury, the Red Sox have worked with Campbell at first base, partially to open second base for Mayer. Now, with Bregman down, Mayer figures to see time at both second and third and may see time at shortstop with Trevor Story struggling for consistency at the plate. Either way, the Marcelo Mayer era in Boston has begun. (Photo of Mayer during spring training: WooSox Photo / Ashley Green / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
New York Times
22-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Live MLB Draft chat with Keith Law at 2pm ET today!
May 22, 2025 at 2:00 PM EDT This morning, Keith Law released his 2025 MLB Draft Big Board with his top 100 prospects for this year's draft. Chat with him at 2pm ET today about who made the list, and how this year's draft is shaping up. Keith Law May 22, 2025 12:00 pm EDT
