Futures Skills Showcase hits a home run in debut
ARLINGTON -- First things first, MLB Pipeline's No. 14 overall prospect Roman Anthony would like to apologize to Double-A Portland manager Chad Epperson. After failing to score points via the bunt in the first round and finding himself in sixth entering the third and final challenge of the inaugural Futures
ARLINGTON -- First things first, MLB Pipeline's No. 14 overall prospect Roman Anthony would like to apologize to Double-A Portland manager Chad Epperson.
After failing to score points via the bunt in the first round and finding himself in sixth entering the third and final challenge of the inaugural Futures Skills Showcase on Saturday afternoon at Globe Life Field, Anthony crushed his way to victory with a competition-high six homers.
"We did way too much bunting for that," said Anthony, who ranks as the Red Sox's No. 2 prospect. "Going into the last round, I had nothing to lose. I said, 'Screw it,' went down and took some swings and said, 'I'm going to go up there and get my swing off.' It went pretty well."
The 20-year-old outfielder was one of eight participants -- seven of whom are among MLB Pipeline's Top 100 prospects -- squaring off in a three-challenge skills competition inspired by fan-favorite baseball video games of the past and present. The three challenges -- Hit it Here, Call Your Shot and Swing for the Fences -- all focused on different skills and tools -- whether it be power, precision/hit tool or bunting.
The competition will air at 10 a.m. ET on Sunday on MLB Network, MLB.TV, MLB.com and on the MLB App. That's great news for Anthony's parents, who weren't in attendance.
"They'll see it tomorrow," Anthony said. "They'll be all right. They flew out yesterday. They'll probably be a little disappointed, but I'm sure they're getting some texts right now, and I'm sure I'll get a call saying, 'I'm sorry we missed it.' But it's all right."
1. Hit It Here
In this first challenge, hitters got eight swings to earn points based on each target's value. There were obstacles representing infielders' traditional starting positions placed on the infield dirt to add a degree of difficulty. Hitters got points for reaching outfield targets on the fly or on a bounce, and they earned points (8, 16 or 24) by landing the ball on the bunt target.
Termarr Johnson opened the competition swinging away, but both he and the others quickly realized an easier way to tally points would be with a bunt-centric approach. Sebastian Walcott and Moises Ballesteros each laid down three bunts, with Walcott winning the round on an eight-point swing to left field. All-Star Futures Game MVP Cam Collier went deep to right field for a home run on his final cut, but that didn't garner him any points as he was shut out in this round.
Sebastian Walcott, SS, Rangers (MLB No. 72): 40 points
Moises Ballesteros, C, Cubs (MLB No. 60): 32 points
Termarr Johnson, 2B/SS, Pirates (MLB No. 76): 24 points
Tre' Morgan, 1B, Rays (TB No. 13): 16 points
Brady House, 3B, Nationals (MLB No. 44): 8 points
Samuel Basallo, C, Orioles (MLB No. 12): 4 points
Roman Anthony, OF, Red Sox (MLB No. 14): 0 points
Cam Collier, 3B, Reds (MLB No. 84): 0 points
2. Call Your Shot
This round showcased control and placement, and players "called their shot" while taking eight swings to left, center and right. Hitters initially picked any field to hit the ball to. If successful, they then picked one of the two remaining fields, moving on to the last field once they were successful with the second one.
Once all three fields were hit, the player could call his shot to any field with any remaining swings. Six points were earned for each successful swing, with hitters needing to clear the infield for it to count.
Johnson moved into first by not only recording a hit to all fields but also adding two knocks to straightaway center. House and Ballesteros were the only others to call hits to all fields; House ended his round by finding the second deck in left-center for a homer.
Termarr Johnson (30 points, 54 total)
Sebastian Walcott (12 points, 52 total)
Moises Ballesteros (18 points, 50 total)
Brady House (24 points, 32 total)
Tre' Morgan (12 points, 28 total)
Cam Collier (12 points, 12 total)
Samuel Basallo (6 points, 10 total)
Roman Anthony (6 points, 6 total)
"That first round, I was like 0-for-4 on bunting, and the lights started to get pretty bright out there," Anthony said. "Then I saw the '6' after the second round, and I was, like, 'Oh, man, it's staring right at me.'"
3. Swing for the Fences
This round most closely resembled a Home Run Derby, though points for the homer were weighted: six points for pull-side or center-field home runs and 12 points for any opposite-field shots. If a hitter went deep on consecutive swings, he received an additional six-point streak bonus. If he hit more than two in a row, every home run in the streak got the six-point bonus.
Johnson, the leader after the first two rounds, didn't hit any homers, leaving the door open for Anthony. His 471-foot big fly to right-center and another off the right-field foul pole not only made him a crowd favorite but also secured his title.
Roman Anthony (60 points, 66 total)
Sebastian Walcott (12 points, 64 total)
Moises Ballesteros (12 points, 62 total)
Termarr Johnson (0 points, 54 total)
Brady House (12 points, 44 total)
Tre' Morgan (6 points, 34 total)
Samuel Basallo (12 points, 22 total)
Cam Collier (6 points, 18 total)
"It was great," Anthony said. "I fed off of it myself. We could hear it in the stadium. As I hit a couple there, it started to get louder and kind of just pumped me up, so it was really fun."