NL Notes: Hiura, BA Awards, Freeland
With a .301/.369/.571 line, 16 home runs, and nine stolen bases in his first 295 plate appearances in the majors, Brewers infielder Keston Hiura has this season put on prominent display the skills that made him a top-10 pick in the 2017 Rule IV draft. Today comes word that the UC Irvine product is a little closer to putting those tools to further use, as Adam McCalvy of MLB.com tweets that Hiura did a full workout (including batting practice) before logging one at-bat in today’s game against the Cardinals (link). Hiura has been out with a left hamstring strain since Aug. 31. Though the club certainly awaits his return with eagerness, they have been doing just fine for themselves in Hiura’s absence. Saturday’s win brings their record to 8-2 over their last ten contests. They are now just 1.0 games back of the Cubs for the last Wild Card play-in spot.
More notes from around the NL…
- Baseball America has released their annual “Classification All-Stars” list, in which they name their All-Stars, MVPs, and Pitchers of the Year for each minor league level irrespective of league. Notably, NL prospects took home Pitcher of the Year honors at every minor league level except Double-A (a level which Tigers farmhand Matt Manning trounced in 2019). The complete list of garlanded NL pitchers includes Arizona’s Zac Gallen (Triple-A), San Diego’s Mackenzie Gore (High-A), San Francisco’s Seth Corry (Single-A), Arizona’s Luis Frias (Short Season), Miami’s Luis Palacios (Rookie), and Jerming Rosario of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization (Dominican Summer League).
- The Rockies play the Padres this weekend in a three-game series that has few relevant ramifications–aside from which team may be hung with the unflattering distinction of being the so-called cellar dweller in the NL West this year. There may be another bright spot in the offing for Colorado as their season yawns to a close, however, as word now comes that pitcher Kyle Freeland is one step closer to ending his troubled 2019 season on a positive note. Manager Bud Black told Thomas Harding of MLB.com that Freeland threw an issue-free, two-inning simulated bullpen session on Saturday–the 26-year-old’s latest step in recovery from a groin injury suffered on Aug. 21. After vexing hitters thoroughly in 2018 (2.85 ERA in 202.2 innings), this season has been a true test of faith for Freeland, as his 6.98 ERA in 99.1 innings of work was the worst mark among all pitchers who tossed more than 90 IP this year.
Giants To Sign First-Rounder Heliot Ramos
The Giants have reached an agreement with first-rounder Heliot Ramos, reports Baseball America’s Hudson Belinsky. A high school outfielder out of Puerto Rico, Ramos will receive the full slot value of $3,101,700 that comes with the No. 19 overall selection. Their second round-pick has also agreed to terms, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis (Twitter link). High school third baseman Jacob Gonzalez will receive a $950K bonus that is about $170K below slot. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan, meanwhile, reports that the Giants inked third-rounder Seth Corry for $1MM — roughly $450K over his slot value (Twitter link). Corry is represented by Jon Pridie of Sosnick Cobbe Karon.
Ramos headed into the draft as the No. 26 player on the list of Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen. ESPN’s Keith Law ranked him 29th overall, while Baseball America pegged him at No. 30, and Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com ranked him 40th in the draft.
Longenhagen, Law and BA all peg Ramos as a plus runner (plus-plus, per BA’s report) with an above-average arm, which should allow him to stick in center field. And all of the above-linked reports are bullish on Ramos’ raw power. There’s some question, it seems, about his hit tool and whether he’ll make enough contact to hit consistently as a professional. He draws huge praise for his athleticism, and it’s worth noting that he’s also one of the draft’s youngest players — he’ll turn 18 in September — which offers some explanation for why he’s a bit raw at the plate. BA notes that Ramos comes from a highly athletic family, as his brother Henry reached Triple-A with the Red Sox last year (and is currently with the Dodgers’ Double-A affiliate) while his other brother, Hector, plays for Puerto Rico’s national soccer club.
Gonzalez ranked 125th on MLB.com’s Top 200 and 132nd on Baseball America’s Top 500. He’s the son of former big league slugger Luis Gonzalez, though unlike his father, Jacob bats right-handed. He’s listed at 6’4″ and 210 pounds, and both scouting reports on him mention the possibility of a move to first base due to a lack of speed. Gonzalez gets good reviews for his considerable strength and raw power.
Corry, meanwhile, was 61st on Law’s list, 102nd over at BA and 105th per Callis and Mayo. The high school lefty out of Utah has a fastball that sits 89-93 mph, per those scouting reports, and he draws significant praise for his curveball as well. He was committed to attend Brigham Young University but will apparently forgo college for a seven-figure bonus.