ARLINGTON — After his team had trekked across three frozen states to play a weather-delayed season-opening tournament, weary Mississippi State coach Chris Lemonis gazed up into the stands with a smile during the Bulldogs’ workout to take in all that Globe Life Field had to offer.
About 150 scouts smiled right back at him.
“You won’t see a bigger group all year,” Lemonis said of the number of MLB scouts in attendance at last week’s State Farm College Baseball Showdown. “And they were all here for our practice night. And I’m not talking about just scouts and evaluators. I’m talking about decision-makers. You don’t see a crowd this big in Omaha” for the College Baseball World Series.
The tournament featured six teams ranked among the top 14 teams in Baseball America’s preseason top 25. It was the premier event of college baseball’s opening weekend. For MLB teams, which have gravitated more and more to college choices, particularly those from power conferences like the two represented in Arlington — the SEC and the Big 12 — it was a can’t-miss event to kick off maybe the most challenging scouting season of all-time. Which, of course, is a great jumping off point to mention the Rangers have the second pick in this year’s challenging draft.
The challenges are all COVID-19 related. The virus wiped out all but the first three weeks of the 2020 college season, leaving a giant void in the evaluation process. While high school talent was able to play in the showcase circuit during the summer, there were no college summer leagues to see. And who knows what health-related perils may lie ahead of the July 11-13 draft this year?
The Rangers had six reps at the tournament, the maximum allowed in the building for any team. Though Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels and assistant general manager Josh Boyd, whose background is in scouting, were in town, neither showed up at Globe Life Field. They couldn’t. The allowed slots were already filled.
The contingent was headed by director of amateur scouting Kip Fagg and also included not just area scouts — the backbone of draft preparation — but analysts and guys pulled from the professional scouting ranks. Might as well. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, pro scouts aren’t currently allowed at MLB spring training sites, so, rather than sit on their hands, they’ve been asked to help on this front.
Though it was unlikely the Rangers’ top pick was on the field in Arlington this weekend, the depth of talent in the tournament demanded a heavy presence. Start with right-handers Ty Madden of Texas, who struggled in his season debut, and Gunnar Hoglund of Mississippi, who struck out 11 in his debut, and the list grew from there. According to Baseball America, the six teams had 24 of the top 150 college players in the nation.
“It’s too good an opportunity to pass up,” Fagg said. “You are seeing the equivalent of six Friday night starters from top programs in top conferences in three days. Any time you can do that, it’s a benefit, but even more this year.”
A row behind Fagg for the entire tournament was Yankees scouting director Damon Oppenheimer, who was one of three members of his scouting staff on hand.
“What you can see in this tournament, especially the pitching, might take you eight weeks to get to you,” Oppenheimer said. “You can see it in a weekend here. Add in that it’s a major league stadium, that it’s indoors and the level of competition, it’s almost impossible to get this kind of opportunity. It was huge for us.”
It’s been a good 10-day stretch for a scout to make himself right at home at Globe Life Field. Sam Houston State outfielder Colton Cowser, ranked as the 16th-best prospect in the draft by Baseball America, took part in a four-team event mid-week that also included Oklahoma and UT-Arlington. This weekend will be highlighted by a high-school tournament that includes IMG Academy from Bradenton, Fla., ranked No. 2 in the country according to MaxPreps. IMG features three of Baseball America’s top 100 prospects, including No. 7 outfielder James Wood. Oh, and the nation’s top underclassman, too: outfielder Elijah Green.
Mix in a side trip to see Jesuit, which opens the season Saturday, and Jordan Lawlar, the top-ranked high school player in the country and a scouting director who decided to spend 10 days in and around Globe Life Field could see more than 10% of the country’s top 100 prospects.
That kind of optimization is important this year. Because of COVID restrictions and juggling booster demands, major programs have had to severely limit the number of scouts who can attend games.
Lemonis fought to get one representative from each MLB club in for Mississippi State’s home games. At LSU, the current policy is for only 15 scouts per weekend, repping AL teams one weekend, NL teams the next. For example, the weekend that LSU, currently ranked 13th, hosts Vanderbilt, ranked fourth, it’s an NL weekend in Baton Rouge. That means the Rangers can’t see Vandy’s Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter, against LSU’s Jaden Hill. The Rangers can still see those pitchers, of course, but not in the same weekend, meaning more spreading out resources.
“The challenge of scheduling this year is even more difficult,” Oppenheimer said. “You aren’t as able to make last-minute adjustments. You have to take advantage of what you can.”
Amid all those challenges, a 10-day stretch in Arlington has presented teams like the Rangers, who can’t afford to miss on the draft, a can’t miss opportunity to see some of the best players in the country.
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