ace3113

I really wanted to draft that guy last year. I liked him better than Berrios pre-draft cause of his size and build. He got off to a terrible start in pro ball in 2012 which made me glad we didn't draft him after all, but man has he ever bounced back in 2013 (his first full year). I would certainly take him over Tyler Gonzalez in retrospect. And he only signed for 300k compared to 750k for Tyler. Oh well. (2013) 4-1 1.58era 57ip 38h 16bb 66so Here was the Perfect Game report that initially caught my interest.

I'm really starting to like what I've seen and read from the Hawaiian lefty Medeiros as well. He already has plus velocity for a lefty (91-95), and he complements it with a borderline unhittable slider that some are grading as plus-plus. The only downside is his size (6'0) and his arm slot (side arm).

Definitely. If only we knew what would happen with Johnson. I can't see anyone willing to give up a pick to sign him.

I do too, but this draft is so deep in high school pitchers, and you know how AA and his staff are. I wouldn't be surprised to see them pop 2 pitchers. Having said that, position players I really like in our range are: Derek Hill, OF Michael Chavis, 3B Michael Gettys, OF Kyle Schwarber, OF Nick Gordon, SS Later rounds: Ti'Quan Forbes, SS Jakson Reetz, C Chase Vallot, C Josh Morgan, SS Trenton Kemp, OF Monte Harrison, OF Gregory Deichmann, 3B/2B Carl Chester, OF Mark Zagunis, C Braxton Davidson, 1B/OF Zach Shannon, 3B/OF Stone Garrett, OF

More...

Minor league ball with a recap of the recent Perfect Game All-American Classic.

I agree with this. I wonder what he would be like if he was just a regular guy, with a regular job, not making millions of dollars a year. I suppose his looks would still allow him to be an arrogant douchebag though. lol

I definitely don't want the Yankees to benefit in any way from his suspension, but A-Rod is really a Hall-of-Fame level scumbag. It just so happens there are a lot of them in pro sports.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/cashmans-ex-mistress-spills-details-from-pillow-talk/ And the ickyness keeps coming.

Latest news on Guerrero.

4ip 5h 1r 1bb 4so

Luke Weaver too. He's a projected 1st Rounder.

I agree. I wouldn't mind Swisher though. We'd have to add a little to get him I would think, but I've always liked his numbers against the East and he's an on base guy which we don't have a lot of.

Really? lol Uggla: 13mm per year .186/.107/.389 Swisher: 15mm per year .242/.340/.398 Pagan: 9mm per year .262/.314/.374 Laroche 13.5mm per year .235/.319/.421 Romero is 3-4 years younger and is making 4mm less on average.

Minor League Ball's Top 150 draft prospects for 2014. http://www.minorleagueball.com/2013/7/27/4558480/extremely-early-2014-mlb-draft-rankings

Here's a great video library at Baseball Prospectus of many of the top prospects. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=21285

Michael Chavis. Very good bat speed, barrel control, plus speed, above average arm. He's a third baseman too. Some people (very few though), think he can stay at short. I'm not one of them, but a Baez/Lawrie hybrid sounds tasty.

Looked at a couple other names/contracts we might able to trade Ricky for. Ricky Romero, LHP (29): 14:$7.5M, 15:$7.5M, 16:$13.1M club option ($0.6M buyout) Dan Uggla, 2B (33): 14:$13M, 15:$13M Nick Swisher, 1B/LF (32): 14:$15M, 15:$15M, 16:$15M, 17:$14M vesting option Angel Pagan, OF (32): 14:$9M, 15:$9M, 16:$10M Adam Laroche, 1B (33): 14:$12M, 15:$15M mutual option ($2M buyout)

That's an interesting idea. Let me look into him a bit. To even up the average salary, maybe throw Izturis in?

I still think Romero would be a good candidate for a challenge trade involving a similarly under-performing player. If not Cabrera, I'm sure there's a "change of scenery" trade to be made out there.

Cabrera is coming off a terrible terrible year. They can either trade him for very little (something I would jump all over if I was the Jays as I think he could bounce back), or try to trade him for a guy who's value is low but who could likewise bounce back. If the worst case is we trade something minimal for Cabrera, I can live with that too. As for Kendrick, that's obviously a wishful thinking scenario. It would depend on the prospect you're attaching to Romero I suppose. A team may think they can fix Romero's problems. The stuff and the track record are there, and the Angels really are desperate for pitching.

I think we could trade Romero for a change of scenery guy like Asdrubal Cabrera. He's owed 10mm in 2014 (his walk year), and is coming off a bad season. He could be an option at second base perhaps. Send them Izturis to even out the salary (Romero is owed 7.5mm in 2014). Or if Anaheim is desperate enough for pitching (which they might be), maybe we can add a prospect and see if we can get Kendrick for Romero, who is from Cali. Other option is to dump him on the Dodgers. More local, have lots of money to waste, and might need a pitcher if Nolasco walks in free agency. Who knows, they might actually give us something usefull. Our main target this off season should be Matt Garza. No draft pick compensation, he's pitched in the AL East, he's at least a #2 or 3 starter, and he's only 30. If we can get him for close to what the Tigers got Anibal for that would be a fair deal. Any money we can save up should go towards him. My other more costly target (prospect-wise) would be Jonathan Lucroy from the Brewers. Brewers are in serious rebuild mode, and want prospects. Lucroy is only 27, one of the better all-around catchers in baseball (walks, hits for power, plays defense, receives well). Good for at least 3 WAR per year. (2013) .282/.333/.482 with 17hr 64rbi 18(2b) 4(3b) 28bb 46so He's also signed to a sweet heart deal: 14:$2M, 15:$3M, 16:$4M, 17:$5.25M club option ($0.25M buyout) If we want to improve our pitching, it starts with improving our catcher IMO. Here's a fangraphs article discussing Lucroy's defense/receiving (and he can hit on top of it.) http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/jonathan-lucroy-on-the-art-of-receiving/

Andy Burns 2-4 tonight. Now up to .247 in AA after a slow start. Over his last 10 games .311/.354/.533 2hr 6rbi 4(2b) 3bb 7so 3sb (6.3bb% 14.6bb%)

I figured with the Cape League finally complete and many of the summer showcase circuits over (PG National, All-American Classic, Tournament of the Stars, East Cost Pro, etc), we have a pretty good idea of who some of the top prospects to watch are for next year. I'll get the ball rolling with Baseball America's preliminary top 10 which was just posted today. I will post more of the lists as I find them, and will hopefully put up one of my own at some point this month. Let the games begin. http://www.baseballamerica.com/college/ask-ba-2014-draft-top-prospects/ As always Big League Futures is an excellent source for draft links, info, reports, videos, and also free original content. http://bigleaguefutures.net/1/

EMILIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAuP4Sxh3eY