Mack’s Apples – Brady Singer, Jonathan India, Jose Reyes, Rafael Palmeiro, Cuban Baseball Fans

Baseball America’s  Top 500 Prospects –

       

    4 (Last: 5):   Brady Singer   4YR RHP  School: Florida

Ht: 6-5 | Wt: 180 | B-T: R-R | Committed/Drafted: Blue Jays '15 (2)

Scouting Report: The latest in a developing tradition of talented Florida starting pitchers is righthander Brady Singer, who was one of the earliest players to establish himself at the top of the 2018 draft class with one of the most spotless track records in the country. Singer has a long history of success in the SEC and has improved—at least statistically—every season. After getting just one start as a freshman in 2016, Singer moved into a prominent role in Florida’s rotation in 2017 alongside Alex Faedo (who was taken No. 18 by the Tigers in the 2017 draft). As a sophomore, Singer led the Gators with 126 innings, posted a 3.21 ERA over 19 starts and struck out 21 batters in two starts during the 2017 College World Series, which Florida won. Even before Singer’s time in Gainesville, he was a prominent draft prospect, ranking as the No. 54 prospect on the 2015 BA 500. He was selected by the Blue Jays with the 56th pick of the MLB Draft but didn’t sign. Now, he’ll have a chance to go much higher as a starting pitcher with a strong track record and two plus pitches. Singer’s fastball sits in the low to mid-90s with impressive natural movement and he also has a sharp slider that has been a weapon for him in the past. Singer’s slider can be inconsistent at times, however, because of his low arm slot, which is a point of concern for some evaluators. While Singer doesn’t throw many changeups currently, scouts think he has the ability to develop at least an average changeup in pro ball, when he would be able to throw it more frequently. Teams more skeptical of Singer will see a two-pitch starter with a concerning arm slot that might lead to the bullpen, while less critical scouting departments might see a potential middle-of-the-rotation arm who has impressive strike-throwing ability and more high-level track record than any 
pitcher in a deep 2018 class.

Jonathan India Soars Up Draft Boards With Breakout Year –

        

   India’s all-around physical tools have long been apparent. He committed to Florida the summer before his sophomore year at American Heritage High in Delray Beach, Fla. By the end of his senior year of high school, he was an All-American and ranked No. 82 on the BA 500 pre-draft ranking. Getting him to campus that summer as a part of a loaded 2015 recruiting class was a coup for the Gators, and he produced a Freshman All-American season the next spring, stepping right into the lineup for the Preseason No. 1 team in the country. His production as a sophomore didn’t match his freshman success, in part due to an elbow injury that sidelined him for a few weeks. He remained a key part of the lineup and helped the Gators win the first national championship in program history in 2017.

Rotographs on Jose Reyes –       

pic by Mack Ade 

    You’re not going to believe this, but Jose Reyes still plays! I didn’t even realize he amassed 561 plate appearances last year. Pretty amazing since he didn’t enter the year as a starter, but rather a super utility player. He entered this season as one too, but Todd Frazier just landed on the DL and figures to miss a couple of weeks with the dreaded hamstring strain. So Reyes should garner the majority of the at-bats at third base, though perhaps Wilmer Flores plays there some as well.

Reyes is already 35, so his most valuable fantasy skill, his speed, is more difficult to count on. That said, he has already attempted three swipes in just 38 plate appearances (and a pathetic .184 OBP!), so he surely seems still willing to run. That’s a good thing for his future fantasy owners. The other thing you worry about when a hitter ages is a deteriorating ability to make contact. That has happened here so far over a small sample (career worst Contact% and SwStk% marks), but he has somehow managed to maintain a strong strikeout rate. That might not last, but even some regression would result in a much better than average strikeout rate.

Rafael Palmeiro  is returning to baseball at age 53 –

      

     Rafael Palmeiro has signed to play for the independent Cleburne Railroaders at age 53, nearly 13 years after his last major league game.

The second-year American Association team announced the deal Wednesday. The Railroaders also signed Palmeiro’s 28-year-old son, Patrick, who has played for other independent teams the past three seasons.

Palmeiro said in a statement issued by the team that he was “especially excited to get to do this with my son Patrick.”

In Cuba , longtime baseball fans now wild for European soccer –
          

  “Baseball was at the heart of everything. It was part of everything, of every house,” Naranjo said. “Baseball was Cuba, and Cuba was a reflection of baseball. Nothing was more Cuban, even if it was invented by the Americans.”

Cuban baseball is going through a rough period now, and if Naranjo returns to the island he will find European soccer — the shared megalomania of Real Madrid and Barcelona, the jerseys of Messi and Cristiano — filling plazas and streets.