Tag Archives: Emaarion Boyd

13 Jun

speed demon

The highest grade scouts give prospects for a specific tool is 80. Emaarion Boyd got a 70 for his “run” tool, and the ex-South Panola High standout is showing it off in his first full pro season. An 11th-round draft pick last summer by Philadelphia, Boyd leads the Low-Class A Florida State League in stolen bases with 33. He swiped six in one game last week. The 5-foot-11, 177-pound center fielder also has produced with his bat, hitting .268 with five extra-base hits and 14 RBIs for Clearwater. Boyd has scored 31 runs in 40 games for the Threshers, who stand 40-16 and already have clinched a first-half division title. Boyd is rated as the Phillies’ No. 12 prospect. The mlb.com scouting report highlights his ability to put the ball in play — he hit .345 in rookie ball in 2022 — and projects that he’ll get stronger and add power to his game. The speed will always be there. P.S. Magee’s Brennon McNair, an 11th-round pick in 2021 by Kansas City, also has flashed eye-catching speed this season. Playing at Low-A Columbia in the Carolina League, McNair has 15 steals in 16 attempts. The third baseman is batting just .209 but has a homer, four doubles and four triples. … James Beard, considered one of the fastest players in the 2019 draft coming out of Loyd Star, has been stalled by injuries in the Chicago White Sox’s system. He swiped 28 bags in A-ball in 2022 but hasn’t played yet this season. … Billy Hamilton, probably the fastest player to come out of the Magnolia State, is on a rehab assignment for the White Sox at Triple-A Charlotte. The former Taylorsville High star, 32, is Mississippi’s all-time MLB steals leader with 326, two this year. He has 405 in the minors, three this year.

02 Mar

prospecting

Having played just 11 games in pro ball, Emaarion Boyd is already a hit with the folks who do the prospect ratings. The former South Panola High standout, an 11th-round pick by Philadelphia in the 2022 draft, is pegged as the Phillies’ No. 12 prospect in MLB Pipeline’s new Top 30 rankings for 2023. Boyd projects as a center fielder and “speedy table-setter.” A right-handed hitter and thrower, Boyd batted .361 with eight stolen bases and seven runs in his debut season, playing at the two lowest levels of the Philly system. At age 19, he lists at 6 feet 1, 177 pounds. He’s one of three 2022 draftees out of the state to appear in the prospect rankings to date. (Only the National League East and Central and American League East had been released as of Wednesday.) Ex-Mississippi State catcher Logan Tanner, a second-round pick, jumps into Cincinnati’s rankings at No. 19, and former Southern Miss left-hander Dalton Rogers is Boston’s 25th-best prospect. Jordan Westburg (MSU) is Baltimore’s No. 5; Blaze Jordan (DeSoto Central) Boston’s No. 11; Will Warren (Jackson Prep) the New York Yankees’ No. 9; Colby White (MSU) Tampa Bay’s No. 27; and Ethan Small (MSU) Milwaukee’s No. 14. White is on the Rays’ 40-man roster, and Small made his MLB debut last season. P.S. Mississippi College product Blaine Crim hit his first spring training home run for Texas against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday. Crim, who reached Triple-A in 2022 and has 61 career homers in three seasons, is in Texas’ camp as a non-roster invitee.