I’m just a boy, standing in front of the commissioner’s desk, telling them to restart the Futures game nine rounds again. And maybe put it on a streaming platform that people already get.
Anyway, for a game in which hitting odds are far more popular and highly rated than pitching odds, this year’s Futures Game was actually more of a showcase for shooters. A big part of this is that the show is now so good, with so much speed and so much pitch design, that when you take starting prospects and let them air them for a spin until they can pick up 2mph or so, they’ll give the best fit. That’s a lot of what happened on Saturday.
Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski had the best stuff, topping out at 102 mph with a sweep slider. I saw it in May and the speed was a little slower, but I also thought it had to go to the mall, so here’s your preview. I’m sure Milwaukee would be happy if he just turned into a reliever with 80 fastballs and 70 sliders. (I think he goes to the pen because the delivery is so erratic he won’t use it enough to throw putts, and you can at least see that in the Saturday delivery.)
Mick Abel started in the National League, and the Phillies first baseman of 2020 was beefed up, running 97-99mph with a 91-92mph changeup—that’s right—and two broken repeats. He hasn’t had much of a command, and that’s been his story of events – he’s big, he’s strong, he’s got a good delivery, he obviously has enough of his stuff to be an above-average rookie, but the command just isn’t there now.
I saw Carson Wiesenhunt (Giants) on Sunday at Reading, walked five guys in over innings, without feeling his change-up and fastballed at just 91-94mph. In his turn here, he’s 94-96 mph, the change is an easy 70th grader, and he flips his curveball once. This is the correct version of Whisenhunt. I do not accept the other.
Cardinals right Tink had the best overall combination of stuff and drive of the day, running 96-98 mph with an overshift at 84-88 mph and an above-average curveball at 83 mph, although the pitch The latter seems to end up outside the zone most of the time. The 20-year-old just moved up to Double A last week and hit career highs with 22 batters faced and 80 pitches in his first start at the level. It’s weak, but it’s electric.
Minnesota right-handed David Vista is 95-96 mph with a changeup and slider, and has great torso spin in his delivery, making it difficult for hitters to catch the ball. He’s struggled on the surface this year in Double A with a 5.21 ERA, but he’s had some bad luck in BABIP (. 356) that I don’t think reflects those things.
Sitting at 97 mph from a slightly lower hole that should give him the bottom approach angle so many teams target, Atlanta right-hander Spencer Schuelenbach sat at 97 mph, showing four pitches in a 13-pitch quick turn. It’s a little bit of a relief to watch but I’d take him out as a starter for a while given his inexperience he was close/close to Nebraska when Atlanta drove him in the second round in 2021 had Tommy John had surgery before pitching in a pro ball he missed all of 2022 .
Boston right-hander Luis Guerrero sat at 99 mph with a chopper at 91 mph which was good and a change at 83 mph which was not. He’s a direct relief, and he walks a lot of players (15 percent so far this year in Double A), but the fastball/cutter combo has helped him limit hitters to a .147/.282/.220 streak.
The Toronto representatives in the game combined to give up three runs in the sixth inning, as right-handed Sim Roberts, who was 94-95 mph but didn’t have much sense for his changeup, gave up a pair of batters and then got a strikeout. , and then Yosver Zulueta came in with the gas can, sitting 96-97 mph as he hit first batter and gave up a weak hitting streak drive the other way to Breeze Nunez (Miami), clearing the bases. Zulueta has two pitches that should be good enough to make him a big-league playoff, but he pitched 33 batters to 41 innings pitched in Triple A. Saturday’s handoff was more effort than it usually is.
So here’s the full list of players who have at least two hits in the 2023 Futures Game:
[THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK]
It doesn’t help when Marcelo Mayer plays a stellar play on defense in the top of the first inning, singles in the bottom of the first inning, and then gets pulled from the game so Jackson Holiday can play. But that’s what brought about the decision to cut the game to seven innings. However, the hitters didn’t look great. A few who stood out a bit: Detroit’s Colt Keith jammed the slider on his hands but it’s so strong he thrusts it to right center for a strike… Abel’s fastball, he’s floored right up center… Boston’s Nick Yorke gets the One of only two base hits in the game, a hard-hitting double to left center field on a slider moving away from him, and his only hit in 1-for-3 on a run on a below-average curveball.
Three guys who didn’t get a hit still looked good doing it: Jackson Chorio (Milwaukee) was 0 for 4 but you can see the insane speed of the bat and how far he let the ball travel on him before he even got his hands off. Justin Crawford (Philadelphia) did an excellent job adapting to different court types, hitting a fastball in one spot where he sat clear breaking the ball, then lining up to center where he stayed on an 89-mph slider from Festa and managed to hit the 105. mph. Larry Butler (Oakland) had two of the three most hit balls of the game at 111 mph and 107 mph, but both were close to the second baseman.
Some not-so-great looks at hitters: Jonathan Klass (Seattle) hit two runs, though he made a great catch in center field. Jordan Lawler (Arizona) hit twice, the second time as if he was late for the bus. Kieren Paris (Los Angeles Angels) hit twice, second time on three pitches, and last 96 down the incline. Spencer Jones (New York Yankees) hit a fastball in the area, a pitch that would give him a lot of trouble, and then walked the next over.
Finally, just to put it all back to the beginning, the Dodgers’ lone representative in the game, catcher Dalton Rushing, appeared at one plate, where he was hit by a pitch. You can’t guarantee better results with a nine-inning game, but at least you’ll give yourself a chance, so maybe a Dodgers fan who figured out how to find Peacock and log in and watch the game get more than one plate appearance for their troubles.
The Futures Game is one of the best things MLB has done to market the game. It would be nice if they stopped trying to make it worse.
(Top photo by Jacob Misiorowski: Steven Bisig/USA Today)
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