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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
MLB Draft Analyst Applauds Cardinals Day 1 Selections
MLB Draft Analyst Applauds Cardinals Day 1 Selections originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Highlighted by No. 5 overall pick LHP Liam Doyle out of Tennessee, the Cardinals made four selections on Day 1 of the MLB Draft. Advertisement After taking Doyle in the first round, St. Louis selected 18-year-old outfielder Ryan Mitchell at No. 55 overall. Just based on those two selections alone, Keith Law of The Athletic named the Cardinals as his favorite Day 1 class. Cardinals No. 55 overall pick Ryan MitchellStu Boyd II-The Commercial Appeal-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images "I think the St. Louis Cardinals had my favorite Day 1 group based on their top two picks," Law wrote. "They took my top pitcher, Liam Doyle, at No. 5. He has one of the best fastballs in the draft class, a deceptive delivery, and a second-plus pitch in the splitter. He dominated early against bad competition, then continued to perform well in the SEC." "The Cardinals followed up that pick with Ryan Mitchell at No. 55, getting what I thought was a first-round bat in need of a new position, a strong kid who makes excellent swing decisions and might come into some power." Advertisement St. Louis took another pitcher out of Tennessee with the 72nd pick, selecting RHP Tanner Franklin. In 38 2/3 innings pitched for the Vols in 2025, Franklin posted a 4.89 ERA with 52 strikeouts. His arsenal is highlighted by a fastball that can reach triple digits. The Cardinals rounded out day 1 by taking Jack Gurevitch at No. 89 overall. A 21-year-old first baseman from the University of San Diego, Gurevitch showcased a ton of power this past season, posting a 1.167 OPS with 17 homers and 35 extra-base hits. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
New York Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Jordan Yost was a surprising first-round pick, but he's exactly the Tigers' type
DETROIT — The Detroit Tigers are nothing if not consistent. They have a type these days. It's prep left-handed hitters who play up-the-middle positions. They have little regard for media rankings or following the consensus opinion. They like what they like and who they like. And if this year's records at the major-league level and across the farm system are any indication, their methodology tends to work. Advertisement The latest example: The Tigers selected shortstop Jordan Yost from Sickles High in Florida with the No. 24 pick in Sunday's MLB Draft. The Athletic's Keith Law had Yost ranked No. 72 on his draft board. Other draft analysts also had Yost ranked well below the Tigers' spot at No. 24. Yost, a Florida Gators commit, was a late riser in this year's draft crop. 'Helium' is the buzzword defining the Tigers' Day 1 draft selections. Although Yost was under the radar for most of his high school career, he started making noise this past year, and Tigers area scout RJ Burgess had watched closely as Yost grew and developed over time. 'This is a kid who walked into high school weighing 115 pounds,' Tigers scouting director Mark Conner said. 'Just took time to mature. Our guys scouted him during the summer, during fall, during the spring. Pretty early on in the spring, our group identified him as a target. If that was gonna lead to the first round or one of our picks throughout the draft, we really liked the swing, liked the defensive actions. We had been scouting him for a while.' 1.24 Tigers select Jordan Yost SS/OF Sickles (FL) Yost is young for the grade. Patient approach w/ balanced approach in the batters' box. Plus bat speed & checks off boxes. Tons of helium this spring — late bloomer.#PGDraft #MLBDraft #RepDetroit — Perfect Game Draft (@PG_Draft) July 14, 2025 Now listed a 6 feet and 170 pounds, Yost is already getting bigger and stronger. He hits from the left side with pure bat-to-ball skills — he had only a 7 percent whiff rate on the summer circuit and struck out only one time in his senior season — and also plays shortstop with slick athleticism. Whether he can develop more power is a question. But traits of recent Tigers draft picks Kevin McGonigle and Bryce Rainer are evident in Yost's game. He might or might not develop into that tier of prospect. But he is certainly interesting and checks so many boxes the Tigers have tended toward in the Scott Harris era. Advertisement Sunday night, the Tigers brass denied it is simply drafting left-handed hitters because of the obvious platoon advantage. 'I would say it's a lot more in depth than that,' Conner said. Yost still feels like the latest example of the Tigers following their formula above all else. 'Honestly, it's all about attributes,' Conner said. 'It's about athleticism, bat speed, ability to control the strike zone. We're looking at right-handed hitters, left-handed hitters, switch hitters. All these different things come into play. It's not just the percentages.' At pick No. 34, the Tigers did it again. They selected Michael Oliveto, who was ranked No. 219 by MLB Pipeline and included only as a name to know outside The Athletic's Top 100. Oliveto was drafted as a catcher. He hits — you guessed it — left-handed with the potential for plus power. He attended high school in the Hauppauge hamlet on Long Island and was another player who gained momentum late in the draft process despite hailing from a cold-weather state. The Tigers were among several teams whom Oliveto impressed at the WWBA World Championship in October. Now they are betting on his power and prowess. His defense might be a work in progress. But as a Yale commit, Oliveto's intellect and makeup were also a selling point. It doesn't hurt he's listed at 6-3 with room to add more muscle. 'This was an exciting one just because our guys identified him a little bit later,' Conner said. 'He has a really, really good, loose swing. Projects to have power, bat-to-ball skills. As a high school catcher, definitely some work to do behind the plate as far as just handling some new pitchers and some different stuff. But very intelligent kid, driven, hardworking, with a frame to add a lot of strength.' CBA.34 Tigers select Michael Oliveto, C, Hauppauge (NY) Oliveto was a standout bat in Jupiter last year, handles the bat well w/ a short stroke. Helium picked up last fall. Tons of bat speed — athletic mover #PGDraft #MLBDraft #RepDetroit — Perfect Game Draft (@PG_Draft) July 14, 2025 At pick No. 62, the Tigers drafted right-hander Malachi Witherspoon out of Oklahoma. Witherspoon is the twin brother of Kyson Witherspoon, who went No. 15 to the Boston Red Sox. Malachi had a 5.09 ERA but struck out 11 hitters per nine innings in his final college season. He throws from a deceptive three-quarters slot but has battled command issues in his college career. Advertisement 'We liked the fastball, we liked the athleticism, we liked his ability to spin the baseball,' Tigers assistant general manager Rob Metzler said. 'We think he has great attributes to develop with our group as a starting pitching prospect.' At pick No. 98, their final pick on the first day of the draft, the Tigers selected Arizona State lefty Ben Jacobs. He had a 4.95 ERA and struck out 12.9 hitters per nine innings last year. Strike-throwing is an area to improve, but Jacobs is well regarded for his ability to miss bats with his fastball, slider and changeup. 'He's an athletic left-hander with a good body and a really good foundational fastball that we think we're going to be able to build a starter's repertoire around,' Metzler said. (Photo of Scott Harris: Junfu Han / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
Miami Herald
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Names in play for Marlins' first-round pick, how 2024 picks are doing and trade chatter
This Marlins regime's first amateur draft delivered four early-round picks whose nascent careers so far have been marked by myriad injuries or modest performance. Miami must hope for better fortune when MLB holds the first three rounds of its amateur draft on Sunday night. The Marlins select seventh overall on Sunday and should have a choice among several highly regarded pitchers and shortstops, among others. In his recent mock draft, The Athletic's Keith Law projects the Marlins to select prep right-hander Seth Hernandez, who pitches for Corona High in California and has a fastball that touches 98 mph as well as a plus changeup. 'The Marlins went heavy for high schoolers last year, and I've heard them more with prep players than college players this year,' Law said. 'I've also heard them on Hernandez's teammate Billy Carlson and on JoJo Parker.' Carlson and Parker (a prep standout in Mississippi) are rated the seventh- and ninth-best prospects by which has five shortstops overall among its top 10 players available, including Oklahoma prep stars Ethan Holliday (ranked first) and Eli Willits (fifth) and Oregon State's Aiva Arquette, who is ranked sixth and hit .354 (.461 on base) with 19 homers and 66 RBI in 65 games for the Beavers this past season. Wake Forest shortstop Marek Houston also is considered a top-10 prospect by some evaluators. Pitchers projected for Miami's range include Martinez (who could be off the board at seven), FSU left-hander Jamie Arnold (Law mocks him ninth), Tennessee left hander Liam Doyle and Oklahoma Sooners right-hander Kyson Witherspoon, Oregon prep left-hander Kruz Schoolcraft and UC-Santa Barbara right-hander Tyler Bremner. Though catching has been transformed from a weakness to a strength of the organization, don't discount Auburn outfielder/ baseman Ike Irish, who hit .364 (.469 on base) with 19 homers and 58 RBI in 55 games for the Tigers this past season. Kiley McDaniel, ESPN's lead MLB draft analyst, noted that 'in the first draft under new president of baseball ops Peter Bendix [formerly of the Rays] and scouting director Frankie Piliere [formerly of the Mariners], the Marlins took prep position players with their top two picks. 'Rumors have them eyeballing a similar strategy this year, which would be in keeping with a player demographic that the Rays and Mariners have found success with in the past. With a comp pick and over $15 million in bonus pool money, there's plenty of muscle to get more than two premium talents in this year's haul.' Besides the seventh pick, the Marlins also select 43rd, 46th and 78th on Sunday before rounds 4 through 20 are held on Monday. The Marlins' first-day 2024 draft picks remain works in progress. South Carolina prep outfielder PJ Morlando, a surprise pick at No. 16 last July, played in only one minor-league game for the Marlins last summer before sustaining a season-ending lumbar stress reaction. He missed the start of this season after left elbow surgery, then missed five weeks with a left hamstring sprain. He's hitting .231 (.427 on base) with two homers and nine RBI in 20 games at Class A Jupiter. Morlando can play all three outfield positions; the Marlins have primarily used him in left field. It was widely reported that the decision to draft Morlando was at least partially driven by finances. Teams have a pot to split up among draft picks, and by persuading Morlando to sign for $3.4 million (which was $1.3 million below his slot value), the Marlins could pay more for second-round pick Carter Johnson, the former Alabama-based prep shortstop/second baseman who's hitting .185 in 70 games at Class A Jupiter this season. Several players selected after Morlando in the first round have shown more promise so far. That group includes former Texas prep outfielder Braylon Payne (selected by Milwaukee one pick after Morlando) and Oklahoma State outfielder Carson Benge, who was chosen 19th overall by the Mets and already has advanced to Double A and has 39 RBI in 70 games for two minor-league teams this season. Right-hander Aiden May, selected 70th overall by the Marlins out of Oregon State last July, was scheduled to make his professional debut in a Marlins' FCL game on Wednesday. He didn't pitch after the draft last year and missed the first three months of this season after elbow surgery. Second baseman/third baseman Gage Miller, the Marlins' 2024 third-round pick from the University of Alabama, has been decent this season at low A Beloit: .232, .344 on base, four homers, 17 RBI in 270 plate appearances. Drafts cannot be judged fairly for years, but the Marlins likely need at least two of those four players to become quality major-leaguers for the 2024 draft to be considered a good one. This and that The Marlins (42-48) had won 11 in a row on the road entering Wednesday's game at Cincinnati. It's the longest road winning streak since Philadelphia won 13 in a row in 2023. ▪ How good has rookie catcher Agustin Ramirez been? Marlins TV voice Kyle Sielaff put in context. Counting the first 66 games of any Marlins player in history, Ramirez ranks tied for first in homers in 14; first in extra base hits with 33; second in doubles with 18 and tied for fourth in RBI with 40. ▪ In its annual list of the top 40 candidates to be traded before the July 31 trade deadline, ranks Marlins right-handers Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera first and 27th, respectively. Cabrera — who has battled injuries and inconsistency in the past — had a 1.50 ERA through his past eight starts and a 3.33 ERA for the season. Though the Marlins would be selling low on Alcantara (7.01 ERA in 17 starts), the website notes that 'market conditions this summer are very seller-friendly. There are only a handful of clubs certain to sell, and even fewer who both have and are willing to part with quality, controllable pieces. That gives the Marlins a great deal of power on the trade market, as they hold two of the best controllable arms who are expected to be available in Cabrera and Alcantara. 'With so many contenders in need of starting pitching and limited options available, it's at least conceivable that a desperate team would be willing to take the risk of paying something close to full value for Alcantara's services despite his brutal performance this year. Outfielder Jesus Sanchez is rated 17th; the website notes 'he's a straightforward target for teams that need to raise the floor in the corner outfield. He's still reasonably affordable and controllable for two years after this one, though his expected arbitration salary may climb to a point beyond what teams are willing to pay by 2027.' MLBtraderumors ranks reliever Anthony Bender 35th. The order of the list is based on a 'a balance between the player's appeal and the likelihood that they'll move.' ▪ Left-hander Robby Snelling, acquired by the Marlins in last July's Tanner Scott trade with San Diego, will make his 2025 Triple A debut for Jacksonville on Thursday. Snelling, rated by as the Marlins' No. 3 prospect, had a 2.68 ERA in his past seven starts at Double A and a 3.61 ERA in 14 starts this season. This will be his second Triple A appearance; he allowed one run in six innings in a game for Jacksonville last season.
New York Times
04-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
White Sox call up former top prospect Colson Montgomery ahead of Colorado series
Four years after getting drafted out of a small-town Indiana high school, Colson Montgomery is making his major-league debut for the White Sox. The 23-year-old Montgomery will hit seventh and start at shortstop in Friday evening's game in Colorado. He was hitting .218/.298/.435 with 11 home runs and 30 RBIs in 55 games with Triple-A Charlotte. Advertisement Montgomery's ride to the majors almost stalled out of after a hot start. A 6-foot-4 shortstop was drafted No. 22 overall out of Southridge High School in Huntingburg, Ind., by the Sox in 2021. By the following February, The Athletic's Keith Law ranked him as the top prospect in the White Sox system after a solid stint in the Arizona Complex League. In 2022, he played for three teams in the Sox system, including a 14-game stint in Double-A Birmingham. By the following January, he was No. 25 on Law's top prospect list, one spot ahead of Cubs minor-league outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. Colson got the call 📞 — Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) July 4, 2025 He missed two months with injuries that season, but still put up an .827 OPS in 37 games at Birmingham. In the Arizona Fall League, he was the Fall Stars Game MVP, and while he rose in many prospect rankings (he was No. 9 in baseball for MLB Pipeline), he fell to No. 42 in Law's list. Law wrote: 'He performed well at every level but never quite looked like he did in his torrid 2022 season, when he earned some comps to Corey Seager …' Last season, he looked completely overmatched in Triple-A Charlotte, putting up a .214/.329/.381 slash line with 164 strikeouts in 130 games. He was still in many top 100 prospect rankings, but not The Athletic's. But this winter, Law ranked him as just the seventh-best Sox prospect, writing, 'It's his history — and maybe some blind optimism — that's keeping him alive here.' Montgomery didn't make the Sox roster out of spring training and was off to such a bad start (.149/.223/.255 in 23 games) in Charlotte, the team pulled him out of Triple A in late April to work with director of hitting Ryan Fuller at their Arizona complex and play in the ACL. It felt like a last-ditch effort to salvage his Sox career, but it also worked. He came back up on May 13 and put up a .270/.353/.574 slash line with Charlotte. Advertisement Nineteen of his 33 hits in that 32-game span were for extra bases, including eight homers. He had two multi-homer games last week against the Toledo Mud Hens and slugged .672 in June. Montgomery was drafted during the high point of the Sox rebuild process. Now, Montgomery joins them for the start of their series in Colorado, a matchup between the team that set the modern major-league loss record last year and the team that could break it this season.
New York Times
02-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Live chat on the MLB Draft with The Athletic's Keith Law on July 2 at 1pm!
The 2025 MLB Draft is nearly upon us. With less than two weeks until the draft kicks off, there's plenty to talk about, from who will be the No. 1 pick to what the strengths and weaknesses are in this year's class. Keith Law released his final top 100 prospect list on Tuesday and will be chatting with subscribers on Wednesday at 1pm ET about all things MLB Draft, as well as the recently released Futures Game rosters and more. Keith Law July 2, 2025 11:00 am EDT
