What Red Sox fans should know about the MLB Futures Game
With the MLB Futures Game soon approaching, here’s a run down of everything that a Red Sox fan should know about our competition.
Ch-ch-ch-changing times. MLB’s Jim Callis broke the news that after 20 years, the MLB Futures Game format switches from U.S. (born players) vs World (born players) teams to American League vs National League. The game will be played on July 7th in Cleveland at Progressive Field. In addition, the game has been shortened from nine innings to seven.
Progressive Field is the place to be in early July. In addition to hosting the Futures Game, the MLB Home Run Derby and the 2019 MLB All-Star Game will also be hosted in Cleveland. Who should we be looking for in the Futures Game?
Outfielder Jarren Duran will be representing the Boston Red Sox. Duran is an interesting player in many ways. The Red Sox converted him from a second baseman over to a center fielder. He recently sneaked his way onto the updated 2019 Prospects List.
Duran is known for his speed and his ability to get on base. He’s not a huge power hitter but offers fans the excitement brought about through his grit and ability to use his legs. He has increased through 4 levels of the minors within the Red Sox organization over 2 years.
Duran’s history in Boston dates back to his University playing days. During the summer of 2017, he played in a summer league that was an affiliate of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
It’s no secret: the Red Sox farm system is lacking in depth in comparison to our division. But what exactly do they have that we’re missing?
What about the competition? As we all know, the Red Sox farm system is what one might call a “work in progress”. While focusing on building a World Series winning team, the price to pay was losing young talent. It’s something that’s going to take time to now rebuild. However, keeping fan interest is definitely doable with players like Michael Chavis, Triston Casas, and now Jarren Duran.
As Red Sox fans, we’ll use the Futures Game to keep an eye on Duran and to scope out the talent of our competition. Unfortunately, the Rays are stacked with top prospects. We should start learning and preparing for what the future has in store for us.
Tampa Bay has a number of players featured including shortstop Wander Franco, catcher Ronaldo Hernandez, and left-handed pitcher Brendan McKay. The Baltimore Orioles will have two young players present in the game: left-handed pitcher DL Hall and right-handed pitcher Grayson Rodriguez. Right-handed pitcher Deivi Garcia will be representing the New York Yankees. Right-handed pitcher Nate Pearson from the Blue Jays will be in the game.
What should we know about the Rays farm system? How do they stack up and what makes them dangerous to us?
The Rays compete directly against the Red Sox and the New York Yankees who both have the advantage of having higher financial support. While this offers us an advantage of trading and obtaining higher ranked players, we saw the financial downfalls when we faced a luxury tax and draft selection punishment this past year. This was a price that many Red Sox fans and management deemed as necessarily for being 2018 World Champions.
2019 marks the fifth straight year that the Rays have been placed on MLB’s Pipeline list of the top 10 farm systems. As a result of a lower financial backing, the Tampa Bay Rays rely heavily on building a system filled with the best players around the world. As Tampa Bay Director of Minor League Operations Mitch Lukevics stated,
“We depend and rely on our scouting and player development system on domestic or international more than any team in baseball and we have less margin of error here. If some teams have errors, they can go buy some players. We don’t have that luxury, so we would want to do what’s right for the player and err on the side of caution.”
Franco is an 18-year-old Dominican born shortstop playing in the Rays organization. Franco was named as the number 1 player on the 2019 Prospect Watch. Baseball runs in the switch-hitters family. His father and both uncles on his mom’s side played baseball in the minors. He’s a dynamic offensive player who has both power and speed. Playing in the Dominican he often faced players considerably older than him, now giving him immense confidence.
Defensively he exhibits good range. Scouts believe that he could later be moved around to different positions within the infield. In 2 seasons he has a .341 BA, .409 OBP, and a .556 SLG. Defensively he’s accumulated a .949 Fielding Percentage, 241 Assists, and 20 Errors in 108 games.
Franco dropped out of school after the sixth grade so he could dedicate himself to training for professional baseball. Bowling Green third baseman Connor Hollis commented on his talent stating,
“He does some things you’ve never seen before on a baseball diamond. A barehand play that you wouldn’t ever think to barehand — he makes it look easy. Hits two home runs oppo in the same game. There are some things you don’t ever see, and it leaves you astonished. You don’t know what to do.”
Hernandez is a 21-year-old Columbian born catcher playing in the Rays organization. He’s listed as number 80 on the MLB Prospects 2019 list. During a 5-year period in the minors, he’s recorded a .300 BA, .354 OBP, and .470 SLG. Defensively he has a .989 Fielding Percentage, 250 Assists, and 21 Errors over 221 games.
Hernandez has appeared on the Awards and Honors board including being named Player of the Week, 2018 Mid-Season All-Star, 2018 Baseball America Low Class A All-Star, 2018 Post-Season All-Start, and MiLB Organization All-Star in 2017 and 2018.
The Rays have another prospect who will be playing in the Futures Game: pitcher Brendan McKay.
McKay is a 23-year-old American born pitcher and first basemen playing in the Rays organization. McKay comes in as number 23 on the Prospects list. In 3 seasons in the minors, he’s gained a .216 BA, .348 OBP, and a .356 SLG. He has a 1.85 ERA, 0.830 WHIP, and a .857 win-loss percentage with 12 wins and 2 losses.
News broke that McKay would be promoted to pitch on Saturday against the Rangers. With this recent development, McKay won’t be playing in the Futures Game. But we’ll still be able to scope out our competition in his upcoming MLB start.
Entering the 2019 draft, the Baltimore Orioles had one of the weakest organizations. The team had missing parts on offense and on the pitching core. Throughout the season, the Orioles stocked up on draft picks giving fans a hope for the future. The team now have 4 players on the Top 100 Prospects list: including 2 pitchers (Hall and Rodriguez), an outfielder (Yusniel Diaz) and a first basemen (Ryan Mountcastle).
Orioles 20-year-old American born pitcher DL Hall is listed as the No. 66 prospect to watch in 2019. In 3 seasons, he has a 3.11 ERA, .286 Win-Loss Percentage, recording 4 wins and 10 losses. The Orioles selected Hall in the first round of the 2017 draft.
He had been on the radar of scouts for his high school performances. Hall was named Pitcher of the Week twice in 2018 and Baseball America’s Low Class A All-Star once.
In addition to Hall, another name within the Orioles to be aware of is Grayson Rodriguez.
Grayson Rodriguez is another young American born player with the Orioles. Rodriguez is listed as being the No. 53 Prospect to watch. Rodriguez was drafted in the first round of the 2018 draft. He was another selection straight out of high school. Over 2 years he’s accumulated a 2.00 ERA, .700 Win-Loss Percentage with 7 wins and 3 losses.
His main pitches are the fastball, slider, curveball, and potential for a changeup. Grayson has been named the Mid-Season All-Star in 2019 and Pitcher of the Week. Manager Kyle Moore speaks very highly of Rodriguez saying,
“If it’s possible for a high first-rounder to exceed expectations, he probably has.”
The New York Yankees have a history of developing pitcher velocity and spin rates. This explains why the Yankees have always have such a dangerously strong pitching core. Out of the Yankees top 30 prospects, 21 happen to be pitchers. Note to the Red Sox: this is already a very dangerous area that our competition overpowers us in. It’s important to keep an eye on this and make moves to better arm ourselves.
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The Yankees will be represented by young 20-year-old Dominican born Deivi Garcia. Garcia has spent 2 years playing at the AA level and 2 years playing A+ level. During the 4 years, he has a 2.81 ERA, .516 Win-Loss Percentage, 16 wins, and 15 losses.
Comparisons have been made between Garcia and Pedro Martinez. Martinez was a pitcher in the Red Sox organization for 7 years. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame, an 8x All-Star, 3x Cy Young winner, 5x ERA Title holder, Triple Crown, and an All-Star MVP. The praise is remarkably high.
Garcia has a fastball, curveball, and has been working towards improving his changeup through imitation of Martinez. If he’s able to master those 3 pitches, speculation is that he’ll be in the majors before the end of the season.
Last but not least, what’s going on within the Toronto Blue Jays farm system?
The Blue Jays are also a team that we cannot ignore. America’s Farm Systems Ranking places the Blue Jays third on the list, following closely behind the San Diego Padres and the Tampa Bay Rays. The Jays have stocked up on powerful offensive talent and pitchers.
The Blue Jays will have 22-year-old American born Nate Pearson. Pearson was drafted by the Jays in the first round of the 2017 draft out of Central Florida Community College. Over his 3 years in the minors, Pearson has accumulated a 1.82 ERA, .600 Win-Loss Percentage, and 3 wins with 2 losses.
Pearson was named on the All-Prospect team in 2018 and as a Rising Star. He’s currently nursing an injury but is expected to be in full shape by July 7th. So far in 2019, he’s been consistently seeing triple digits on the radar.
The American League East division is stacked with young talent. While a few of these players have already been promoted to the majors, others are expected to have appearances in the 2019 season. Some of the developmental leagues are overflowing with talent that we should expect to face over the next few years. It’s important to start preparing for what’s to come.
The American League team will be managed by Jim Thome. Thome was a first and third baseman and a DH. He spent 13 years of his 22-year career playing for Cleveland. Thome is a Hall of Famer, 5x All-Star, and a Silver Slugger.
Red Sox players who should be All-Stars. dark. Next
MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list is increasing inaccuracy. 37 of the 50 players selected for the Futures Game were named on the Top 100 list. Including No 1 Wander Franco, Number 3 MacKenzie Gore, Number 4 Jo Adell, and Number 5 Luis Robert. The game can be viewed on MLB Network at 7 pm ET and to SiriusXM subscribers.