The New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series powered by Program 15 has always taken pride in providing opportunities for player development across the board, but given the unique circumstances of the upcoming 2020 MLB Draft, the importance of that increases tenfold.
Looking at Baseball America’s most recent Top 400 rankings, some of the youngest players at their positions have come through both the national tournaments as well as the highly prestigious, annual International Week event.
David Calabrese (pictured) is the second youngest player (17.7 years old at time of Draft) in the Top 400, and youngest outfielder. He turned heads with his approach at the plate, speed on the basepaths and range in the outfield both in Cypress as a member of the Ontario Blue Jays, and with the World Team at Fenway Park, where he used his legs to create an impressive inside-the-park home run.
Ricky Tiedemann (17.8) is the third-youngest on the 400-player board, and youngest left-handed pitcher. He shined in relief in Game 1 at International Week, striking out four of the eight batters he faced.
Markevian “Tink” Hence (17.9) and Marco Raya (17.9) are tied for the second-youngest right-handed pitchers on the board, and both stood out at the national tournaments — Hence for Sticks and Raya for Warstic — and on the National Team at International Week. Hence pitched in relief at Fenway Park, racking up three strikeouts, while Raya recorded two in his outing in Boston.
Since 2003, he has covered multiple World Series and has worked high-profile events ranging from the MLB All-Star Game to the World Baseball Classic. In addition to his role working for the Future Stars Series that he's held since 2017, Ashmore currently serves as the beat writer of the Double-A New York Yankees affiliate, the Somerset Patriots, as well as national hockey writer and New York Jets game day beat reporter for The Trentonian.
A regular contributor to Baseball America, Ashmore has worked seven Super Bowls, 11 Stanley Cup Finals, the 4 Nations Face-Off, the NBA Playoffs, College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Frozen Four, Daytona 500, major UFC events and much more as he approaches 3,200 games covered in his career.
An avid card collector and sim racer, he lives with his wife, Sarah, their son William, and their beloved dog, Bailey, and cat, Smokey.
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