Cleveland’s baseball club was known as the Blues when the American League was formed in 1901, but that’s far from what Guardians fans were singing following Thursday’s ALCS Game 3. Two days before A Tribe Called Quest and other musical luminaries are to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Progressive Field erupted in rapture as David Fry circled the bases in the bottom of the 10th inning to cap a stunning comeback and give the Guardians a 7-5 win.
More on that in a moment.
The first inning featured missed opportunities — both teams stranded a pair of runners — as well as a pitch clock violation on a chagrinned Juan Soto and a sliding catch by Guardians center fielder Lane Thomas. That those happenings barely qualify as footnotes says a lot about what would eventually transpire. Ditto a second inning that saw Alex Verdugo chop a ball over first baseman Josh Naylor’s head and leg out a sliding double on a play where second base umpire Jansen Visconti ruled that Brayan Rocchio had a foot blocking the bag (that was debatable). Anthony Volpe advanced to third on the hit, then scored on a Jose Trevino groundball single that made it 1-0 Yankees. Guardians starter Matthew Boyd proceeded to pick off Trevino, which helped to limit the damage. Read the rest of this entry »
In baseball history, there have been 15 players signed to contracts worth a total of $300 million or more. The Dodgers started three of those 15 players on Thursday night — Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. That’s a ridiculous amount of money, especially for such a trivial enterprise as baseball. When a team — even a team as well-resourced as the Dodgers — spends that much money on a trio of players, it means they really want to win.
Well, the syndicate of investors at Guggenheim Baseball Management got their money’s worth on Thursday. Ohtani homered to lead off the game and added three walks, scoring four runs in total. Betts went 4-for-6 with three runs and a homer of his own, which took the Dodgers’ lead from tenuous to comfortable in the sixth. And Yamamoto struck out eight batters in 4 1/3 innings as the Dodgers won 10-2. The World Series is now just one win away. Read the rest of this entry »
Shohei Ohtani doesn’t have a hit with the bases empty. I kept hearing that throughout FS1’s broadcast of Game 3 of the NLCS. My first thought was, “Wow, I’m old enough to remember when they dogged star players for not hitting well enough with runners on base! I guess some people will find any reason to complain!”
My second thought was, “Huh, I thought Ohtani was having a decent postseason.” It could be better, of course. Ohtani is hitting .226/.351/.419, which I suppose is disappointing from a player with a legitimate case for being the greatest of all time. But if you told most managers that their leadoff hitter would post a .351 OBP through the first eight games of the playoffs, most of them would take it. Out of 58 players with 20 or more plate appearances this postseason, Ohtani is 18th in wRC+ and 11th in WPA. By any objective standard, Ohtani’s been perfectly adequate at the plate overall. Read the rest of this entry »
Once considered the natural successor to Clayton Kershaw as The Man in the Dodgers’ rotation, Walker Buehler’s career hit a rocky stretch in 2022. Coming off arguably his best season in the majors, Buehler was pulled from a June start with elbow pain, starting a journey that ended with a Tommy John surgery, the second of his career, two months later. After some unrelated injury setbacks this spring, Buehler returned to the Dodgers, but as a shadow of his former self. He finished 2024 with a 5.38 ERA and a 5.54 FIP, and might not have even made the postseason roster if not for the fact that most of the organization’s other plausible starters don’t currently have working throwing arms. His no-strikeout, six-run outing against the Padres in Game 3 of the NLDS wasn’t an inspiring sign that he’d turn things around in the playoffs.
And yet, in Game 3 of the NLCS against the Mets at Citi Field, Buehler had opposing batters flailing at his shockingly nasty repertoire in a short but effective four-inning start. He left with a two-run lead, but after the Los Angeles offense kept tacking on and the bullpen threw five scoreless innings, the Dodgers left the ballpark Wednesday night with an 8-0 win and a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-seven series.
One of the problems with Buehler in his return this year was that he was just so darn hittable at times. Before 2022, his four-seamer was the foundation that his out-pitches were built around, but even before his elbow surgery, the effectiveness of the pitch had practically disappeared. From 2021 to 2022, he bled about 200 rpm off his fastball’s average spin rate. Batters apparently took notice, suddenly slugging .618 as his heater lost some of its rise. Buehler returned from surgery, but the four-seamer’s effectiveness did not, and the pitch became a smaller part of his toolset. Read the rest of this entry »
At my old job, my boss occasionally held idea sessions. He wanted everyone to participate, and the point wasn’t to come up with something actionable, just to brainstorm. No suggestion was too ridiculous – sure, it might get picked apart in discussion, but the whole point was to suggest weird stuff and see what came out of it. Still, I can safely say that none of those judgment-free-zone ideas sounded quite as zany to me as “let’s intentionally walk the guy in front of Aaron Judge.”
That didn’t stop Stephen Vogt on Tuesday night. With runners on second and third base and one out in the bottom of the second inning, Vogt didn’t let Juan Soto hit. He put up four fingers to send Soto to first. His reward? A bases-loaded encounter with Judge, the best hitter in baseball. Obviously Vogt had a reason for his decision. I ran the math to see how well that reason agrees with theory.
In a vacuum, it’s pretty clear why this intentional walk was bad: It loaded the bases with only one out, increasing the chance of a big inning, and it did so with the presumptive American League MVP at the plate. But there were two reasons to do it. First, it took the bat out of Soto’s hands, and Soto is himself a phenomenal hitter, particularly against righties. Second, it created the chance for an inning-ending double play, which would have been a huge boon to the Guardians’ chances (they already trailed by two). If you squint, you can kind of see it; maybe these two choices are equal. It didn’t matter in Game 2, because the Yankees won going away, but if the Guardians come back to win the series, they’ll be facing New York’s best hitters in important spots again, so what Vogt chose to do Tuesday night might help us guess what he’ll do in the future. Read the rest of this entry »
NEW YORK — For as essential as Aaron Judge and Juan Soto were to driving the Yankees offense this season, the team spent much of the first half waiting for its other hitters to provide complementary production. Circa the July 30 trade deadline, the only other Yankees with a wRC+ in the vicinity of league average were Giancarlo Stanton, who had missed five weeks in June and July due to injury; the catching tandem of Austin Wells and Jose Trevino, only one of whom was in the lineup on a given day; and fill-in first baseman Ben Rice, whose initial success proved fleeting. With the deadline addition of Jazz Chisholm Jr. and a late rebound by Gleyber Torres, the big bashers finally got more support, particularly after the latter returned to the leadoff spot on August 16. So far in the postseason, Torres has been particularly pesky, hitting .292/.433/.500 through six games while scoring seven of the Yankees’ 25 runs.
In their 6-3 victory in Game 2 of the ALCS on Tuesday, Torres paced the Yankees’ 11-hit attack by going 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. The 27-year-old leadoff man was one of three Yankees with multiple hits, along with Anthony Rizzo (2-for-4, with a double) and Anthony Volpe (2-for-3). His table-setting was well-timed, as he came around to score after opening the home half of the first inning with a double, and was on base when Judge finally got on the board with a towering two-run homer, his first of the postseason. Read the rest of this entry »
Job Summary: The Kansas City Royals are seeking an analyst who excels at the intersection of baseball knowledge, technical skills, and communication to join our Research and Development department, specializing in the Amateur Draft. This role will report to the Director of Research and Development and requires collaboration with front office, scouts, and other baseball operations personnel. The successful candidate will possess a passion for baseball and integrating statistics to provide actionable insights for decision makers. Coding proficiency in R and SQL will be essential for day-to-day tasks such as data manipulation, analysis, and report building as we look to improve our systems and processes to thrive in the Draft. In addition, exceptional communication skills are required to translate complex data and modeling outputs into clear and concise reports or presentations that can be understood by both technical and non-technical audiences. This role will be involved in the yearlong operations surrounding the MLB Amateur Draft and be a contributor in the Draft Room to help the Kansas City Royals acquire the best talent in baseball.
Position Accountabilities/Responsibilities:
Display a combination of knowledge and enthusiasm around the game of baseball and its teams, players, and operations in various settings
Write, enhance, and maintain production level code
Be a great technical problem solver and use process-oriented techniques to deliver products on time
Show creativity when it comes to building or enhancing code, visuals, and general processes
Exhibit communication skills that are adaptable for varying audiences
Preferred Qualifications:
Experience with machine learning and modeling techniques to extract actionable insights within large data sets
Experience with player and ball tracking data (Hawkeye, Trackman, Statcast, etc.)
Record of published baseball research and or experience
Post-graduate degree in computer science, mathematics, statistics, or related quantitative field
Position Qualifications, Skills, and Experience Required:
4-year degree or equivalent experience in computer science, mathematics, statistics, or related quantitative field
High proficiency with SQL and R or Python (HTML is a plus)
Track record of good interpersonal and communication skills to seamlessly interact with co-workers and stake holders
Understanding of the landscape of baseball from the amateur levels to the major leagues.
Ability to work evening, weekend, and holiday hours during the baseball season
Physical Requirements:
Ability to lift items weighing as much as 15 pounds
Must be able to work in a seated position for majority of workday
Must be able to be productive utilizing a computer keyboard and telephone
Must be able to be productive in a work environment where the noise level can be high at times
Must be comfortable walking to navigate the facility to access the office, concourse, etc.
Must be able to work extended hours and/or weekends as required by deadlines and event scheduling
The physical demands described here are representative of those that may be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
This role is a Full-Time, Exempt opportunity that is eligible for Company Benefits, 401K, and PTO. This role is expected to have a standard 40-hour work week.
We also afford equal employment opportunities to qualified individuals with a disability. For this reason, the Kansas City Royals will make reasonable accommodations for the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who is an applicant consistent with its legal obligations to do so, including reasonable accommodations applicable local, state and / or federal law. As part of its commitment to make reasonable accommodations, the Club also wishes to participate in a timely, good faith, interactive process with a disabled applicant to determine effective reasonable accommodations, if any, which can be made in response to a request for accommodations. Applicants are invited to identify reasonable accommodations that can be made to assist them to perform the essential functions of the position they seek. Any applicant who requires an accommodation in order to perform the essential functions please inquire with Human Resources by email at humanresources@royals.com.
We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Summary:
The St. Louis Cardinals are currently seeking candidates for the Minor League Affiliate Fellowship position to be located at a domestic minor league affiliate. The Minor League Affiliate Fellow will manage all aspects of video and technology at these locations in supporting the minor league coaching staff (manager, hitting coach, and pitching coach, etc.). The data collected from video and technology will be utilized to provide feedback to players for development.
Pre-game this position will manage distribution, set up and usage of all baseball technology. During the game this position will manage technology resources for the minor league coaches from the dugout. Post-game this position will ensure all data and video collected from the day is available for reporting & analysis and creating reports for players and coaches as required. This position will work directly with the Video & Technology Department and reports to the relevant minor league manager for day-to-day responsibilities at the affiliate.
The ideal candidate will have demonstrated a strong work ethic and impressive intellect. The position is a seasonal job for the 2025 season only, but may lead to full-time employment in Video & Technology or elsewhere within Baseball Operations.
Responsibilities Include:
Manage baseball technology and video capture at the affiliate (e.g. Trackman, Blast Motion, Edgertronic Camera, etc.).
During the game, depending on staff needs:
Manage in-game capture of technology and video from the dugout
Quality assurance of the video and data collected for analyses
Setup video camcorders for game recording
Communicate any implementation issues to Video & Technology Coordinator that are not remediated through initial troubleshooting
Attend Spring Training and travel with assigned minor league team on the road throughout the season
Qualifications:
Proven ability to use and troubleshoot baseball or sport science technology (like pairing portable trackman to an Edgertronic camera, syncing wearable technology to a mobile device, etc.)
Familiar with and/or demonstrate the willingness to learn technology such as Blast Motion, Trackman, and video integration
Postgraduate or college senior available to start work during Spring Training
Ability to communicate effectively and efficiently
Proficient with computers, iPads, and other electronics
Ability to work weekdays, nights, weekends and holidays
Spanish or Chinese Mandarin (Taiwanese) fluency a plus
Compensation:
The Minor League Affiliate Fellow position is considered a full-time, salaried position with Company sponsored Benefits and a meal allowance during travel.
As Dan Szymborski pointed out in his ALCS preview, ZiPS saw the Gerrit Cole vs. Tanner Bibee face-off in Game 2 at Yankee Stadium (and the potential rematch in Game 6) as the most lopsided matchup in the series. It’s not hard to see why. The Yankees looked like (and still look like) the better team. They have the better no. 1 starter. And they had home field advantage.
At the same time, you can see why the Guardians might have liked their chances entering Game 2. Bibee is their only starter who Stephen Vogt can trust to throw five innings; he pitched into the fifth in each of his starts against the Tigers in the ALDS. If he could give his team some length in Game 2, they could close out the contest with a barrage of well-rested bullpen studs: Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis, Cade Smith, and Emmanuel Clase. Simply put, the Guardians can look like a completely different team with those five arms pitching all nine innings. I imagine the projections wouldn’t have been so lopsided if Bibee, Herrin, Gaddis, Smith, and Clase were guaranteed to pitch the full game.
Unfortunately for the Guardians, Bibee couldn’t make it out of the second inning on Tuesday, let alone the fifth. Meanwhile, it was the Yankees whose airtight bullpen secured the win. New York also had a little help from nearly everyone in the lineup, powering the Yankees to a 6-3 victory and putting them up 2-0 in the best-of-seven ALCS.
Cole made quick work of the Guardians in the top of the first. Bibee couldn’t do the same in the bottom of the frame. Gleyber Torres hit a 3-1 fastball into left field for a leadoff double, and Juan Soto drilled a single into right, putting runners on the corners for Aaron Judge. We all know what happened next. Judge hit a towering shot 103.3 mph off the bat and the Yankees took the lead. And to clarify, by “towering shot” I mean “towering infield popup,” and by “took the lead” I mean “took a 1-0 lead when Gold Glove finalist Brayan Rocchio dropped the popup and Torres scored from third.”
Bibee worked his way out of the inning without any more trouble (aided by a nice sliding catch by right fielder Will Brennan), but a seven-pitch at-bat from Jazz Chisholm Jr. ran up his pitch count before he escaped. The righty was at 27 pitches by the end of the first.
Cole allowed his first baserunner in the second when Josh Naylor pulled one of his high fastballs into right field for a single, but the Yankees ace settled in after that. A first-pitch fly out from Lane Thomas, a three-pitch strikeout of Brennan, and a foul pop out by Andrés Giménez got Cole out of the inning with his pitch count after two frames barely higher than Bibee’s after one; he looked comfortable.
Bibee came out for the second with a clean slate and a chance to settle in against the bottom of the Yankees order. Instead, Anthony Volpe chopped Bibee’s two-strike putaway pitch over the mound and into center field for a single, and Anthony Rizzo laced a fastball to right center for a single of his own. For the second time in as many innings, the Yankees had runners on the corners with no outs, and while that’s not nearly as scary with Alex Verdugo at the plate, it turned out to be a bigger problem for Bibee than it was in the first. Verdugo doubled past a dancing umpire in left field, scoring Volpe and putting New York up 2-0.
After that, the Yankees had runners on second and third. There were still no outs. The top of the order was due up. The time was ripe for drama, and the game delivered. Here’s what happened next: 1) Mound visit. 2) Smith starts getting loose in the bullpen. 3) Torres pops out. 4) Another mound visit. 5) Vogt intentionally walks Soto to load the bases for Judge. 6) Vogt calls for a pitching change.
There’s a lot to unpack here. For one thing, Bibee’s day was done after 39 pitches and four outs. The Guardians would need at least another 23 outs from the bullpen if they were going to win the game. Bibee never looked awful, and in a regular season game he would have gotten the chance to work his way out of the jam. Maybe he could have done it. Still, the Yankees were clearly seeing his pitches well and hitting them hard. Part of the problem might have been that the sinker he used as a valuable weapon in his first two postseason starts was nowhere to be seen.
Meanwhile, this was only the second time a team has intentionally walked Soto to face Judge. I’m not sure I agree with Vogt’s decision, but at least in this case, it’s clear what he was thinking. With runners on second and third, any ball in play could potentially drive in a run. Soto is better than Judge at putting the ball in play. Furthermore, with Soto on first, a double play ball from Judge could get the Guardians out of the inning. No AL batter hit into more double plays this past season than Judge. Walking Soto may have increased the Yankees’ run expectancy, but Vogt must have thought it would also increase his team’s chances of escaping the inning without any further damage. That was his priority.
We all know what happened next. Judge hit a high fastball out to center field, and the Yankees padded their lead. And to clarify, I’m talking about a sacrifice fly. Smith didn’t get the big strikeout or the double play, but he managed to avoid the worst-case scenario, retiring Austin Wells to end the threat.
“They were hitting the ball around the ballpark, and we needed to stop the game,” Vogt said. “In that situation, you want to try to get a double play ball. You want to try to get two outs with one pitch. You want to try to find a way to get out of that inning, and Cade did a great job doing that.”
After another scoreless inning from Cole, Smith returned for the bottom of the third and retired the side. He threw almost exclusively fastballs, and he didn’t need anything else to stymie the Yankees. There’s a reason his four-seamer was the most valuable pitch in the league this season. If Smith’s performance was any indication, perhaps the Guardians bullpen could keep them in the game over six more innings. Still, the offense would need to get something going against Cole for any of the bullpen’s efforts to matter.
The elder Naylor brother led off the fourth with his second single of the game, sending another high fastball to right field for a base hit. Thomas came up next and reached on a tapper that Chisholm tried to steal from Volpe. Neither of them came up with the ball, and it was ruled an infield hit. After a groundout from Brennan put runners on second and third, a cautious Cole walked Giménez on four pitchers, loading the bases and prompting Vogt to make an early substitution: David Fry came in to bat for catcher Bo Naylor.
It wasn’t an ideal situation to use Fry, who is much better suited to pinch-hit against left-handers, but Vogt must have wanted anyone other than Naylor taking that crucial plate appearance. Regrettably, Fry popped out on the first pitch he saw. That sent the nine-hole hitter Rocchio to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. He put up a real effort, driving up Cole’s pitch count with a nine-pitch at-bat, but ultimately the ace won out, getting the rookie to strike out looking on a perfectly placed curveball on the upper outside corner of the strike zone.
The left-handed Herrin was the next man out of Cleveland’s ‘pen, and while he gave up a two-out single to the righty-batting Torres, he used his balanced arsenal to retire all three lefties he faced: Rizzo, Verdugo, and Soto. After four innings, Smith and Herrin had kept the Yankees lead at a manageable 3-0, and the Guardians bats finally did some damage in the top of the fifth.
Cole’s fifth inning started out a lot like his fourth. He gave up two hits and a walk to load the bases, and this time, he couldn’t wriggle his way out. Josh Naylor drove in Steven Kwan on a sacrifice fly, and Thomas drew a walk. It was Cole’s fourth walk of the game, and also his last; with the bases loaded again and only one out, Aaron Boone called for Clay Holmes. Holmes gave up another run on a fielder’s choice and walked the bases loaded again, but weak-hitting catcher Austin Hedges, who replaced Fry, struck out to end the inning. The Yankees had a 3-2 lead.
With half the game still to play, Vogt was always going to need to use a reliever outside of his trusted core, and he did so in the fifth, handing the ball to Eli Morgan. Yet, Morgan may have been the most effective Guardians reliever of the game. He was excellent, getting three fly balls on six pitches to sit down Judge, Wells, and Stanton in order. After that, the Yankees sent Tim Hill (their own left-handed Tim H.) to the mound, and he, too, produced a 1-2-3 inning, retiring Rocchio, Kwan, and Kyle Manzardo.
With the lefty-heavy lower portion of the Yankees’ order due up, Vogt called on rookie southpaw Erik Sabrowski next. Sabrowski made his major league debut on September 4 and had just eight regular-season appearances under his belt by the time he made the Guardians’ playoff roster. But across those eight appearances, he pitched 12 2/3 scoreless innings, and then he added two more innings without allowing a run in the ALDS. If could pitch a clean sixth, then Gaddis and Clase might be able to handle the rest of the game. Unfortunately, it turned out to be too much to ask from the inexperienced hurler. On Monday, Sabrowski gave up the first run of his big league career – a home run to Stanton. Then, in Game 2, Vogt asked him to pitch on back-to-back days for the first time as a major leaguer. That’s not easy.
Sabrowski started the inning by giving up a double to Chisholm and walking Volpe to bring up Rizzo, but a baserunning blunder briefly bailed him out. Chisholm left too early from second base on what Boone said after the game was supposed to be an attempted double steal, and Sabrowski picked him off. Rizzo came through after that, doubling in Volpe (with help from a fielding error by Brennan) and bumping the lead to 4-2.
Sabrowski stayed in to face Verdugo, who flied out, before Vogt went to Pedro Avila to face the top of New York’s order. Though, as it turns out, Avila wouldn’t end up needing to retire a single batter. This time it was Rizzo’s turn to TOOTBLAN. He misread a sweeper in the dirt and took off for third, thinking it had gone to the backstop. Instead, Hedges kicked out just enough to block it, got to his feet, and picked up the ball. At about this point, Rizzo realized that Hedges had the ball and halted between the bases, so Hedges pump-faked a throw to second to force Rizzo to decide which base he’d try to reach. He turned toward third and then shuffled a little in each direction, prompting Hedges to gallop toward him. Rizzo committed just enough to second base for Hedges to fire to Giménez, so Rizzo broke for third. Giménez threw to José Ramírez; Rizzo retreated. Ramírez then threw it to Giménez, and Rizzo ran to third again. Giménez sent it back to Ramírez, who finally tagged Rizzo to end the inning with a classic 2-4-5-4-5 putout.
Hill came back out in the seventh and quickly retired Ramírez and Naylor, before Boone brought in Tommy Kahnle to face Thomas. Thomas drew a walk, but Kahnle got Brennan to ground out and end the frame.
Although Avila had thrown only three pitches, there was no question that Vogt would turn to Gaddis in the seventh. Torres led things off with his third hit of the game, and after Soto flied out, Judge stepped to the plate. Facing a dominant right-handed reliever, Judge finally, actually did exactly what you’d expect him to do, crushing his first home run of the postseason to give the Yankees a 6-2 lead:
Dating back to September, Judge had gone more than 30 trips to the plate without a home run. That wouldn’t be so noteworthy for most hitters, but it was a veritable drought for Judge, who homered once every 12.14 plate appearances during the regular season.
Gaddis stayed in for one more batter, but with the game no longer close, Vogt went back to the ‘pen and asked Ben Lively, who was added to the ALCS roster on Tuesday in place of an injured Alex Cobb, to finish the game. Needless to say, Clase never needed to warm up. On the bright side for the Guardians, at least that means the Yankees have yet to see his stuff this series.
After Kahnle and Lively each pitched a scoreless eighth inning, Cleveland came to bat one more time in the top of the ninth. Somewhat surprisingly, Boone chose closer Luke Weaver to pitch in that spot, even though the Yankees were up by four and Weaver had recorded a multi-inning save the night before. Evidently, Boone wasn’t taking any chances as he sought to secure the win.
Facing Ramírez for the second time in as many days, Weaver gave up a solo home run to the Guardians’ best hitter, snapping his scoreless streak at 18 1/3 innings. Like Judge, Ramírez had been rather quiet in the postseason before his Game 2 blast, and it was a welcome sign of life for Ramírez and the Cleveland offense. However, that home run was all the Guards could muster against Weaver, and the Yankees closer ultimately secured his team’s 6-3 win.
The Yankees were far from perfect on Tuesday night. Cole labored through 4 1/3 innings, giving up six hits and four walks. The offense was 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Chisholm and Rizzo were each picked off second base (in the same inning, no less!). Still, seven of the nine hitters in the starting lineup recorded at least one hit. Torres, Soto, and Rizzo continued to hit the ball well, while Volpe had a terrific game of his own. Most importantly, the bullpen threw 4 2/3 innings, giving up just two hits and one run. Hill and Kahnle, in particular, were excellent, and for most of the game, it looked as if the bullpen was going to have to be near-perfect to close out a close contest. Then, of course, Judge made it not so close after all.
As for the Guardians, they needed a longer outing from Bibee, and they needed more from an offense that has averaged less than four runs per game during the playoffs. Moving forward, they’ll need a better plan than hoping for their bullpen to be perfect. As Gaddis demonstrated on Tuesday, that’s just not something they can always count on.
Cole Young is one of the shining stars of Seattle’s system. Slotted in at no. 2 with a 50 FV grade when our Mariners Top Prospects list was published in mid-summer, the 21-year-old middle infielder is coming off a second full professional season during which he slashed .271/.369/.390 with nine home runs and a 119 wRC+ over 552 plate appearances with Double-A Arkansas. Displaying above-average contact skills — a selling point when he was drafted 21st overall out of Wexford, Pennsylvania’s North Allegheny High School in 2022 — he had a 15.8% strikeout rate to go with a 12.1% walk rate.
The extent to which he will hit for power as he continues to mature was on my mind when I spoke to him prior to an Arizona Fall League game this past weekend (Young has since been removed from the Peoria Javelinas roster; per a source, he was dealing with wrist discomfort, an issue dating back to the regular season). Back in July, Eric Longenhagen wrote that Young has “added considerable bulk to his frame” since entering pro ball, and noted that “changes he’s made to his swing have resulted in him trading some contact for power.”
Asked about our lead prospect analyst’s observations, Young said that he now weighs 200 pounds, up from 190 a year ago, and is “a lot stronger after going to lifting camp” over the offseason. He sees his ideal weight in the 195-200 pound range, allowing him to “still be athletic, but also be able to hit the ball hard.” Read the rest of this entry »
