TBNL: Paul Skenes checks in at LSU; MLB The Show cover athletes revealed; Mammoth LIDOM homer

Clubs are always looking for any advantage they can. In recent years, much of their effort has centered on building internal data systems, including metrics, statistics, and in-house analysts who monitor these new data points and translate/communicate them to coaches and players. Even the stingiest-spending organizations have dozens of people in these departments.

Often when a player has a question about their performance, they don’t need to go far to get answers.

Curiously, however, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, that wasn’t the approach Paul Skenes took this offseason. Skenes instead went back to the staff at his alma mater, LSU, to help him “run some numbers” on (AL Cy Young winner) Tarik Skubal, (NL Cy Young winner) Chris Sale, and himself.

Pirates fans shouldn’t be concerned that Skenes sought guidance elsewhere. It’s common for players to maintain relationships with coaches and training staff they work with in college. LSU has become well-known for its ability to help develop pitchers in recent years (it’s partly how they recruited him from the Air Force Academy in the first place). Skenes is, after all, demonstrating the very work ethic that made him such a highly-touted prospect and instant league-wide fan favorite upon his arrival last season.

Skenes spent his offseason working. That he did so outside the organization shouldn’t matter.

Separately, Skenes can add one more accolade to his list.

The cover athletes for MLB The Show 25 were revealed on Tuesday. For the first time in the game’s 20-year history, there will be a trio of cover athletes. Skenes will be joined by Cincinnati’s Elly De La Cruz and Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson.

Family connections

Most of the attention on this year’s international amateur free agent class centered on Roki Sasaki until he signed with the Dodgers, but there were still other notable names in this year’s class. At least two are the sons of former players.

St. Louis signed Royelny Strop, an outfielder who ranked as the No. 28 prospect in this year’s group, according to MLB Pipeline. Likely a corner outfielder long-term, scouts around the league think he could develop some power. He’s among the younger players in this year’s class, having just turned 16 last June. The Cardinals gave him a $1.4M signing bonus.

Strop’s father, Pedro, spent 13 years in the major leagues, including eight with the rival Cubs.

Meanwhile, Texas signed Hansel Ramirez, an infielder who was not ranked among MLB Pipeline’s Top 50 prospects. Evaluators suggest his frame and swing are quite similar to that of his father’s, Hanley. The team will pay him a $125,000 signing bonus.

Hanley Ramirez was the NL Rookie of the Year in 2006 and spent 15 years in the majors, hitting .289/.360/.486 with 271 home runs.

Junior Caminero has arrived

Signing international amateur free agents can sometimes be a wild gamble for teams. Sometimes those bets pay off substantially in time.

Cleveland signed an unheralded infielder in 2019 for just $87,500 named Junior Caminero. The Covid pandemic canceled the 2020 minor league season so Caminero would not make his pro-debut until 2021, when he hit .295/.380/.534 over 171 plate appearances as a 17-year-old in the Dominican Summer League. Cleveland traded him that following winter to Tampa Bay (for reliever Tobias Myers).

Caminero’s star has only taken off since.

2023 marked a banner year for the Dominican Republic native. Caminero slashed .324/.384/.591 with 31 homers and 94 RBI across 510 PA between High-A and Double-A. He’d appear in the Futures Game that summer and ultimately received 36 PA with the Rays before season’s end, making his MLB debut at age 19. He was a consensus Top 5 prospect following the season.

Most of 2024 was spent at Triple-A, but he still saw another 177 PA in the major leagues.

The Rays are likely counting on Caminero to take another step forward in that development this year (he’s projected to be their starting third baseman). Caminero has been playing in the Dominican Winter League (LIDOM) and would certainly look ready for the coming season.

Monday night was Game 7 of the LIDOM Series, the championship finale between the Tigres del Licey and Leones Del Escogido.

With the game tied at 5 entering the 9th inning, Caminero came to bat for Escogido (against Astros reliever Rafael Montero) and swatted a mammoth home run to dead center field that was estimated at 454 feet. The response from Caminero and his teammates was, in a word, electric:

The shot put Escogido ahead 6-5 and they would hold on to win their 17th LIDOM title. It was their first under manager Albert Pujols.

Caminero was 4-for-5 on the day, with three extra-base hits.

Elsewhere, around the league …

• Longtime Orioles outfielder Adam Jones has returned to the organization. He’ll serve as a community ambassador and as a special assistant to GM Mike Elias. Jones spent 11 years in Baltimore, batting .279/.319/.459 with 263 homers while winning four Gold Glove Awards in center field.

• MLB revenues reached a record-high $12.1 billion (yes, billion) in 2024, according to Forbes’ Maury Brown. It should be noted that the figure does not include revenue from team-owned RSNs or mix-use developments around the stadiums, which would likely only boost it further.