I’m just a boy standing in front of the commissioner’s office and begging them to bring the futures game to nine innings again. And maybe put it on a streaming platform that people actually get.
Anyway, for a game where the hitting prospects were far more famous and valued than the pitching prospects, this year’s Futures Game was actually much more of a pitcher showcase. A big part of that is simply because the pitching is so good right now, with so much speed and pitch design out there, that if you take starters and let them air out for an inning, they’re about 2 mph achieve , they will suit even the best Schlager prospects. That’s a lot of what happened on Saturday.
Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski had the best performance, hitting a top speed of 102 mph with a wipeout slider. I saw him in May and the speed was a bit slower but I also figured he needed to bullpen so here’s your preview. I’m pretty sure Milwaukee would be happy if he turned into a reliever with just an 80 fastball and a 70 slider. (I think he grabs the pen because the delivery is so infrequent that he’ll never use it enough to throw punches, and at least you could see that with the Saturday delivery.)
Mick Abel was starting for the National League, and the 2020 Phillies first-rounder was in overdrive, hitting 97-99 mph with an alternation at 91-92 mph — that’s right — and two break points. He just didn’t have much command and that’s kind of his story in the minors – he’s big, strong, performs well, clearly has enough stuff to be an above average starter, but he just lacks command at the moment.
I saw Carson Whisenhunt (Giants) at Reading on Sunday and he ran five players in more than two innings, lacked flair for his transition and fastballed at just 91-94mph. In his only inning here, he hit a 94-96 mph pace, the switch was easily a class 70 pitch, and he threw his show-me curveball in there once. This is the correct version of Whisenhunt. I don’t accept the other.
Cardinals right-hander Tink consequently had the best combination of power and command for the day overall, managing 96-98 mph with a plus change at 84-88 mph and an above-average curveball at 83 mph, though that one last pitch seems to be out of the zone most of the time. The 20-year-old was promoted to double-A just last week and set a career record of 22 batsmen and 80 pitches in his first start at that level. He’s petite, but he’s electric.
David Festa (Steven Bisig / USA Today)
Minnesota right-hander David Festa clocked 95-96 mph with a changeup and a slider and exhibits a lot of trunk rotation on his throw, which must make it difficult for batsmen to pick up the ball. On the surface he struggled in the Double A this year with a 5.21 ERA, but he was unlucky on the BABIP (.356) which I don’t think is due to that.
Atlanta right-hander Spencer Schwachenbach hit a 97-mph speed from a slightly lower slot that should give him the lower approach angle many teams strive for, and hit four pitches in a fast 13-pitch inning. It’s a little reassuring to watch, but I’d rule him out as a starter for a while due to his inexperience, since he was a shortstop/closer in Nebraska when Atlanta took him in the second round in 2021, and he submitted to Tommy John’s surgery before he throws a pitch in pro ball and misses all of 2022.
Boston right-hander Luis Guerrero managed 99 mph, with a cutter at 91 mph that was pretty good and a change at 83 mph that was pretty bad. It’s a definite relief, and he’s running too many players (15 percent in Double A so far this year), but the fastball/cutter combo has helped him get the batting average to a line of .147/.282/. 220 limit.
Toronto’s two replays in the game combined to see him give up three runs in the sixth inning when right-back Sem Robberse, who was 94-95mph but didn’t have much feel for his switch, gave up two hits and then scored a strikeout , whereupon Yosver Zulueta came in with the gas can, hit 96-97 mph while hitting the first batter, and gave up a soft-hit line-drive double the other way to Nasim Nuñez (Miami) for the bases to vacate. Zulueta has two pitches that should be good enough to make him a big-league substitute, but he’s run 33 youngsters in 41 innings in the triple A. As a starter, Robberse has a clean and fluid throw, but he made it clear on Saturday and the delivery was more involved than usual.
So here is the entire list of guys who had at least two hits in Futures Game 2023:
[THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK]
It doesn’t help when Marcelo Mayer makes a great defensive play in the first inning, makes a single in the first inning, and then gets pulled out for Jackson to play Holliday. But that’s exactly what prompted the decision to reduce the game to seven innings. Still, the batsmen didn’t look particularly good. A few that even stood out a little: Detroit’s colt Keith got pinched in his hands with a slider, but is so strong he threw it briefly right center for a hit… Mayer’s single was hit badly and managed a 98 speed Miles-per-hour fastball from Abel, landing right down the middle… Boston’s Nick Yorke had one of only two extra base hits in the game, a very hard double hit into left centerfield on a slider moving away from him, his only one Hit in a 1 for 3 days with a strikeout on an underperforming curveball.
Three guys who didn’t score still looked good doing it: Jackson Chourio (Milwaukee) was 0 for 4, but you could see the crazy shot speed and how much he could run the ball over him before launching his hands. Justin Crawford (Philadelphia) did an excellent job of adapting to different pitch types, reaching a fastball where he was clearly seated and breaking the ball, then aligning himself to center where he was on an 89- Miles slider by Festa stayed and managed to hit the ball 105 miles per hour. Larry Butler (Oakland) had two of the top three hit balls in the game at 111 mph and 107 mph, but both were groundouts for the second baseman.
Some not-so-great looks at batsmen: Jonatan Clase (Seattle) hit twice despite making a great jump catch in midfield. Jordan Lawlar (Arizona) struck twice, the second time as if he was late for the bus. Kyren Paris (LA Angels) struck twice, the second time on three throws, the last 96 right at the ball. Spencer Jones (NY Yankees) hit a fastball up in the zone, a pitch that will cause him a lot of trouble, and left then up next time.
To get it all back to square one, the Dodgers’ only representative in the game, catcher Dalton Rushing, got a plate performance where he was hit by a pitch. You can’t guarantee better scores in a nine-inning game, but at least you’d give yourself a chance. Perhaps the Dodgers fan who figured out how to find Peacock, log on, and watch the game will get more than a plate of gigs for their troubles.
The Futures Game is one of the best things MLB has ever done to market the game. It would be great if they stopped making it worse.
(Top photo by Jacob Misiorowski: Steven Bisig / USA Today)