CLEVELAND -- MLB made three major changes to the Futures Game this year -- two good, one just awful. The game is now at 7 p.m. ET, so it doesn't compete with teams' final games before the All-Star break. It's also now an American League versus National League affair, rather than a game pitting a roster of U.S.-born players against those born outside the 50 states. The World team often ran short of pitching, resulting in some unfortunate blowouts in the past few years.
Unfortunately, MLB decided to shorten this game to seven innings from the usual nine, which I don't think benefits anybody. We'll see fewer players in the game, they'll play less, fans who aren't familiar with the game will wonder why on earth the game ended after seven innings, and scouts here to evaluate players get even briefer looks. (The scouts in attendance also ended up with seats well offline from the regular scouts' section behind the plate, which makes me wonder if teams will simply stop sending them in the future.)
As it turned out, the players conspired to still give us eight innings, as Sam Huff hit a mammoth two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game 2-2, which is how things ended after one more inning. But it was a showcase for pitchers Sunday night -- Huff had the only homer, and there was only one other extra-base hit in the game. Pitching, especially velocity, ruled the day.
I don't think any team had a better showing than the San Diego Padres. They sent three pitching prospects, all of whom are among the top 50 prospects in the game, and all three showed. Lefty MacKenzie Gore wasn't quite as crisp as he usually is, but he still featured three above-average-to-plus pitches in his fastball (up to 94 mph), changeup and curveball, along with his signature high leg kick. Fellow lefty Adrian Morejon was 95-98 for a few batters later in the game, mixing in a breaking ball at 81, not showing his plus changeup. Luis Patiño stole the show at the end, coming in after Huff's homer and shutting down the AL in the seventh and eighth to hold the tie. Patiño was 96-99 with a power slider at 87-89, showing one changeup at 85 mph, and displayed poise and confidence that are unusual in a 19-year-old. When he retired Jo Adell to finish the game, he was already walking off the mound before Adell had swung.
Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Nate Pearson had the highest velocity of the day, sitting 98-101 in a dominant inning that was more impressive for how good his 86-90 mph slider was. He has a starter profile but his secondaries have been inconsistent; that two-pitch combination should make him dominant in any role.
The beleaguered Baltimore Orioles got some good work from their top two pitching prospects. Lefty DL Hall, their first-round pick in 2017, was 96-97 with a power curveball at 78-80 and above-average changeup at 81. He also threw strikes, which doesn't always happen. Grayson Rodriguez was summoned in the eighth and was 94-96 with an in-between slurvy breaking ball at 77-80. Rodriguez has had more success this year pitching in low-A, but I rate Hall higher because he has a better arsenal and delivery, more athleticism, and is a level higher.
Dustin May (Los Angeles Dodgers) has 80 hair ... and his arm speed isn't too shabby, either. He can really manipulate the fastball, 97-98 with a cutter at 88-92 that makes the fastball even more effective, although he couldn't seem to throw his slider.
None of the hitters really stood out, since they were mostly busy returning to the dugout. Alec "Super Bon" Bohm (Philadelphia Phillies) hit the ball hard three times but had just one hit to show for it, as he grounded into the shift in his last at-bat. I've seen him three times in the past few weeks, and I feel pretty confident he's going to hit a lot, and will be ready to do it soon.
Luis Robert (Chicago White Sox) went 0-for-4, which means I still have never seen him get a hit in an actual game, even an exhibition one.
The position players stood out negatively -- we had several plays not made, or made poorly, in the game. Royce Lewis (Minnesota Twins) misplayed a hard groundball right at him at shortstop, giving up a single to left. Nolan Jones (Cleveland Indians) dove very late on a ground ball to his left while playing third base. He's a good athlete but very big for third, and if his first step isn't quicker he might be best suited for right field. Adell (Los Angeles Angels) made a diving play late in the game in right that earned him cheers from the crowd, but he got a poor read on the ball off the bat and had to dive because he broke late.
Adell did have a solid day at the plate with several good at-bats. Two ended in walks and he hit a hard ground ball right back up the middle off a 100 mph fastball from Sixto Sanchez (Miami Marlins), who appears to have put on quite a bit of weight since the last time I saw him.
Taylor Trammell (Cincinnati Reds) was safe on his attempted steal of home, even though he was called out.
Nolan Gorman (St. Louis Cardinals) deserves some credit for a great at-bat against Brady Singer (Kansas City Royals), even though it ended in a strikeout. Singer has a different arm slot than young hitters are used to seeing. Singer was 93-94 with an above-average slider but still needs something else for left-handed hitters.
Back to some pitchers. I've written up Deivi Garcia, the New York Yankees' No. 1 prospect, twice recently and there was nothing new in this outing, although he showed all four pitches in his inning of work. He was 93-96 on the fastball (he's more 90-96 as a starter) with a new slider that I think is going to give him a fourth average-or-better pitch.
Anthony Kay (New York Mets) was 94-96 in his brief inning of work, showing a hybrid slurve at 81 that wasn't his usual true curveball. I know he has scuffled since a promotion to Triple-A, but the actual baseball at that level is different than the one he used in Double-A and below, which 1) is a serious problem for players, coaches and scouts and 2) is an absolutely inane decision by minor league baseball.