The 2020 Major League season was obviously unique for any number of reasons. One of the side effects of the expanded rosters, the taxi squads, the compacted schedule and the increased doubleheaders is what seemed like an exceptional number of Major League debuts, especially for what was only a 60-game schedule. The lack of a 2020 minor league season also makes it very difficult to predict who might be in position to make their big league debuts in what everyone hopes is a “normal” 2021 season.
In this six-part feature, we will look at some prominent Perfect Game alumni who did make their Major League debuts in 2020 and speculate on which alumni will make the jump during the 2021 season. The schedule will be broken down by division and as follows:
Monday, November 30: National League East
Wednesday, December 2: National League Central
Friday, December 4: National League West
Monday, December 7: American League East
Wednesday, December 9: American League Central
Friday, December 11: American League West
(* denotes Perfect Game All-American)
Notable 2020 Debuts
*OF Jordon "Jo" Adell (Angels)
Jo Adell ranks among the most tooled up players ever to come through the Perfect Game ranks. A solidly built 6-foot-3, 200-pound athlete who one knew could succeed in virtually any sport he tried, Adell ran a 6.19 sixty, threw 96 mph from the mound and 97 mph from the outfield and put on awesome batting practice power displays. But even as Adell was named to play in the 2016 PG All-American Classic, there were serious questions about Adell’s hit tool. One national level scout who obsessively tracked top prospects at-bats observed at the 2016 PG National Showcase that Adell was 0-for-37 while he was at the ballpark. No one could really argue the point other than the occasional very loud barrel that showed everyone he had it in him.
That all changed at some point in the middle of the summer. Adell hit perhaps the most violent home run this scout has ever seen at the high school level at the early August Area Code Games. He was comfortable in the box at the Classic and squared up everything the entire event. He was named the Most Valuable Player in September at the WWBA Southeast Qualifier and was among the top hitters in Jupiter in late October. Then Adell went out and had one of the best springs a top prospect senior has ever had, hitting .562-25-61 in 35 games for Ballard (Kent.) High School with 35 walks and 21 stolen bases.
Signed with hometown Louisville, Adell was picked tenth overall by the Angels in the 2017 draft and signed for a $4,376,800 bonus. He rocketed through the Angels system between 2017 and 2019, reaching AAA as a 20-year-old while showing big power for a teenager. Adell debuted for the Angels in 2020 and struggled at the plate, striking out 55 times in 124 at-bats while only hitting .161-3-7.
C Sam Huff (Rangers)
Huff was a big and strong 6-foot-4, 215-pound catcher at Arcadia High School in the Phoenix area. A very good athlete for his size, it was obvious that Huff spent lots of time learning how to keep his actions both on defense and offense short and fundamentally sound to counteract his length/size. His report from his only PG showcase, the 2016 World Showcase prior to his senior season, highlighted this:
"Big and tall build, very athletic for his size. 7.03 runner, very sound fundamentals behind the plate defensively, keeps his footwork short and efficient in all actions, very good arm strength, overall actions are short but not fast, 1.95 best pop time. At the size limits of how big a catcher can be but athleticism enables him to stay there, could undoubtedly play other corner positions on the field well. Right-handed hitter, bent knees stance, very limited shift into contact, inside swing approach, stays short to the ball and has very quick hands, has the leverage and strength to open up his swing and drive the ball to all fields, has a high offensive ceiling with swing adjustments. Signed with Grand Canyon."
Huff exploded as a senior, hitting .554-14-49 with 11 doubles and 29 walks and scouts, who had previously considered Huff more of a player to follow in college, definitely took notice. Still, he was only the 126th prospect on the PG 2016 class rankings entering the draft and lasted until the Rangers in the seventh round. He signed for a $225,000 bonus.
Huff spent two years in rookie ball and grew to his current 6-foot-5, 240 pounds. The power he showed as a high school senior started to show in his second year, when he hit nine home runs in 49 games, and really blossomed in 2019 between the two A levels, when Huff hit .278-28-72. And despite being a size that would make him one of the biggest catchers in Major League history, Huff continued to play almost exclusively behind the plate, with only a few token games thrown in at first base.
Although he hadn’t played over A ball and was still 22 years old, relatively young for a catcher, Huff got called up to the Rangers in mid-September and was immediately impressive, hitting .355-3-4 in 10 games. No one expects Huff to hit .300 over an entire big league season but the power (he also hit three doubles) was encouraging to see, especially for the offensively-starved Rangers.
*2B Jahmai Jones (Angels)
Jones' late father, Andre, played linebacker in the NFL, as has his brother, wide receiver T.J. Jones. Another brother, Malachi, plays in the CFL. And for a while, it looked like younger brother Jahmai was going to join them, especially after he caught 70 passes for 1,070 years and 12 touchdowns as a sophomore at Wesleyan (Ga.) High School in 2012. But Jones was a baseball player first and gave up football to concentrate on baseball. He was a regular on the travel circuit with the Team Elite Roadrunners, played in the 2013 PG Junior National and 2014 PG National Showcases and was named a 2014 PG All-American.
For most of his high school career, Jones was a middle infielder, although a middle infielder with a football player’s 6-foot, 210-pound build. With his plus/plus speed and athleticism to overcome a below average arm, he began transitioning to the outfield before his senior year. He entered the 2015 draft as one of the youngest prospects in the class and the 26th overall ranked player in the PG class rankings. The Angels signed him out of a North Carolina scholarship with a late second round pick and a $1.1M bonus.
Los Angeles left Jones in the outfield for three years, then moved him back to the infield and second base in 2018, the same year that Jones reached AA as a 20-year-old. He had his first challenging year in AA in 2019, hitting .234-5-50 but showing solid ability at second base on defense. Jones made a quick three-game big league debut, going 3-for-7 and driving in a run.
Potential 2021 Debuts
*SS Nick Allen (A’s)
Allen has a place as one of the most beloved prospects in Perfect Game’s history. A 2016 PG All-American, Allen was a regular on the WWBA circuit with CBA Marucci and won a pair of MVP awards in his career while helping CBA to four tournaments titles, including the 2015 WWBA 17U National Championships.
The reason for Allen’s standing with the PG scouting staff was three-fold. First, he was always the smallest player on the field, starting out his PG career at a generously listed 5-foot-6, 115 pounds and ending up at 5-foot-9, 150 pounds. Second, he played the game with such excitement and happiness and energy that it was just fun to watch regardless of whether he was hitting, running the bases or playing defense. And third, of course, was Allen’s defense, which ranged from outstanding to impossibly spectacular at times. His two defensive gems at the All-American Classic weren’t surprising at all, as it seemed he made plays like he did in San Diego every game he played. He just dominated games on defense like no other player has at PG events before or since.
While Allen was ranked 12th in the final PG 2017 class rankings, it was also well known that professional scouts didn’t share all of Perfect Game’s enthusiasm for the understandable reason that Allen’s size and limited offensive ceiling were less than ideal. Oakland liked him the most, picking him early in the third round with the 81st overall selection and signing him out of a Southern California scholarship for a $2M bonus.
After a slow start to his career offensively, Allen was having a breakout season in High A in 2019, posting .298-3-25 numbers with 30 extra base hits in 72 games when he badly sprained an ankle sliding and missed the rest of the season.
Oakland’s shortstop situation entering the 2021 season is completely open and with Allen undoubtedly both a year stronger and completely capable of playing big league defense, he certainly has a shot at getting an opportunity.
RHP Logan Gilbert (Mariners)
Gilbert is another lesson in how pitchers can develop at much different ages based on their physical maturity and strength. Despite pitching in the Orlando, Florida, area and playing for the prominent Orlando Scorpions travel club, Gilbert wasn’t ranked above the top 500 prospects in high school. Listed at 6-foot-5 and a long and lanky 190 pounds, Gilbert worked mostly in the 84-88 mph range in high school, occasionally topping out at 90 mph. He pitched for the Scorpions “B” team in Jupiter at the 2014 WWBA World Championships as a senior.
And like many young pitchers, Gilbert worked primarily out of the bullpen as a freshman at Stetson as he got stronger and refined his mechanics. Having grown to 6-foot-6, 225 pounds, Gilbert dominated college baseball his last two seasons, going 21-2 while striking out 270 hitters in 201 innings, walking only 51 hitters. Gilbert was also touching 97 mph with his fastball to go with a full four-pitch arsenal and plus command.
The Mariners picked Gilbert with the 14th overall selection in 2018, giving him a $3,883,800 bonus as only the second college pitcher selected after Auburn’s Casey Mize. Gilbert sat out the rest of the 2018 season after throwing 112 innings in the spring but was outstanding in his full season debut, going 10-5, 2.13 ERA between High A and AA in 26 starts while posting very familiar numbers; 165 strikeouts and only 33 walks in 135 innings, with 95 hits allowed.
Stetson already counts former Cy Young Award winners Jacob deGrom and Corey Kluber, both of whom entered the school just as unheralded, among their baseball alumni. Gilbert should get his chance to start on the road to joining them very early in the 2021 season.
*OF Jarred Kelenic (Mariners)
Despite hailing from Wisconsin, it was obvious from the beginning that Kelenic was going to develop into one of the top prospects in the 2018 class from early in his high school career. He not only showed legitimate five-tool potential, he also performed at a high level and was said to have a unmatched work ethic that included working out with fellow Wisconsin native J.J. Watt during the off-season. His report from the 2016 PG Underclass All-American Games going into his junior year summarizes it this way:
"Very strong and well-proportioned athletic build, looks the part. Left-handed hitter, has outstanding raw bat speed, swings hard and looks to drive the ball, can create big bat spin and carry, pull to mid-field approach, ball explodes off the barrel, type of hitter that everyone stops to watch hit. Very good overall athlete, shows plus speed and range in the outfield and can play centerfield, big right field type arm strength, has been in the low 90s off the mound but didn't pitch at this event. Plays the game with a quiet intensity. Good student, verbal commitment to Louisville."
Kelenic went on to play in the 2017 PG All-American Classic along with being a two-year starter for the USA Baseball National 18U team. He entered the 2018 draft as the top outfielder and fourth overall prospect in the PG class rankings. The Mets picked him sixth overall, and the top high school player, and gave him a $4.5M bonus.
Kelenic quickly torched the Gulf Coast League after signing, hitting .413 in 11 games and was moved up to the Appalachian League for the rest of the season. In a trade that the Mets may rue for decades, Kelenic and former first round right hander Justin Dunn were moved to Seattle with others in exchange for Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz during the winter.
While Dunn joined the Mariners starting rotation in 2020, Kelenic sprinted through Low A, High A and into AA as a 19-year-old, hitting .291-23-68 across the three levels to go with 31 doubles, 20 steals and Gold Glove caliber defense in centerfield. There was plenty of talk about his making his big league debut during the shortened season late last year but the Mariners resisted. They may not be able to resist having Kelenic, who many consider not only ready but to be the best outfield prospect in baseball, start opening day in centerfield.
OF Brandon Marsh (Angels)
Continuing a theme with the AL West players, Marsh was a two-sport standout at Buford (Ga.) High School and helped lead their football team to state titles in 2013 and 2014 as a speedy 6-foot-4, 210-pound wide receiver. He did play some summer baseball with Team Elite and was teammates with Jahmai Jones (above) on that program for a while. But Marsh also played basketball and didn’t have much time to concentrate on baseball.
Having given up basketball a year before and with his high school football career done and committed to Kennesaw State for baseball, Marsh was free to blossom as a senior and did, hitting .559 with 59 runs scored and 25 stolen bases and leading Buford to a state title in baseball. Despite his relative lack of repetitions on the baseball field, he was a hot commodity leading into the 2016 draft and was ranked 37th in the final PG class rankings. He joined his past travel ball teammate Jones as a Angels second round pick, going 60th overall and getting a $1,073,300 bonus.
The Pioneer League didn’t look much different to Marsh than high school ball as he hit .350-4-44 in what is largely a college-age league. The Angels quickly moved him up to AA as a 21-year-old in 2019, where he hit .300-7-43 and followed that up by hitting .328 in the Arizona Fall League.
The Angels look to have a hyper athletic future outfield of Mike Trout, Jo Adell and Marsh ready to go, perhaps as early as 2021 as Adell recovers his stroke at the plate and Marsh proves ready for the big leagues.
OF Taylor Trammell (Mariners)
Trammell got into a few tournaments with the East Cobb Astros early in his high school career but only really fully applied himself to the baseball field at the start of the summer before his senior season. Before then, Trammell was a not only a primary football player but an outstanding one. He rushed for 2,479 yards and 36 touchdowns as a senior at Mt. Paran Christian Academy and was named the Georgia 1A Player of the Year. Notably, though, Trammell’s scholarship to Georgia Tech was for baseball, not football.
A big senior year that featured nine home runs and 29 stolen bases helped rocket his draft stock up in the spring of 2016 and the left-handed hitting Trammell was ranked 13th overall in the final PG class rankings. A 4.0 student in the classroom who realistically could still go play football, Trammell was considered a difficult sign and slid to the 35th overall pick and the Cincinnati Reds, who signed him to a well over slot $3.2M bonus.
Trammell got off to a great start with the Reds and was named the MVP of the 2018 Futures Game at the MLB All-Star Game. He struggled at the plate, however, in 2019 and has been traded twice since the middle of the 2019 season. Trammell went from Cincinnati to San Diego first in a three-way deal also involving Cleveland, then was flipped from the Padres to the Mariners in a deal that netted San Diego three big leaguers, including starting catcher Austin Nola.
Trammell joins young Mariners outfield prospects Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez in what certainly is one of the most exciting young outfield trios in the game. With 2019 the only blip on his career performance record, expect Trammell to have a bounce back year in 2021 and possibly join at least Kelenic in Seattle’s outfield of the future right away.