MLB’s top pitching prospect Paul Skenes is dominating the minors like almost no one before. In six starts at Triple-A he has a 0.37 ERA and has thrown 89 pitches 100-plus mph.
The latest belief is it may be only one more start for Indianapolis. “Soon,” is the word.
One scout called Skenes, 22 this month, the second best college pitcher he’s seen, behind Stephen Strasburg. Another put the former Air Force and LSU right-hander in the top three (Strasburg and Gerrit Cole.)
Hearing the current Phillies plan calls for Spencer Turnbull (1.67 ERA) to stay in the rotation.
Shota Imanaga is off to an even better start than Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who’s also been excellent (and better every start) after being the most coveted free agent ever and signing his $325 million Dodgers deal (plus $50.6M in posting fee). Imanaga is 5-0 with a 0.78 ERA after beating the Mets, 1-0, Wednesday.
The Red Sox and Pirates were runners-up, with the decision to go with the Cubs based on a connection with the front office even more than Chicago/Cubs history. The four-year, $53M guarantee becomes $80M for five assuming the Cubs pick up a three-year option after 2025.
The early favorite for Chiba Lotte wunderkind right-hander Roki Sasaki, the next great Japanese import: Dodgers. Who else?
Now It Can Be Told Dept.: Aroldis Chapman’s one-game ban (reduced from two after he agreed not to appeal) actually wasn’t anything to do with what he said that caused home plated umpire Edwin Moscoso to eject him in that game against the Mets.
It was levied for tossing a baseball backhand toward the umpires that rolled and hit another umpire. MLB called it only “inappropriate actions” at the time.
The Rockies set an MLB record by trailing in their first 31 games. In the record-breaking 29th game, they had to blow a 5-0 lead in the ninth to the Marlins— the only NL team with a worse record — then lose on the last play. Not easy!
The Rays are looking very un-Ray-like (just when I very belatedly jumped on the bandwagon.)
