In the 29th round of the 1969 draft, the Cincinnati Reds selected Ken Griffey, from Donora Pennsylvania. In his 19 year career, he accrued more than 2,100 hits, 200 steals, and a career .296 batting average. Griffey was a 3 time All-Star and winner of 3 World Series Championships all with the Reds, and is now the manager for the Bakersfield Blaze, the High A affiliate for Cincinnati, he took some time out after...
Bakersfield’s Billy Hamilton is all the rage thanks to an incredible start that has seen him steal 31 bases in his first 26 games this season. I think every baseball-related blog and website in existence has written something about him in the past two weeks, from us to the New York Times. He’s kind of a big deal. Recently, though, I saw something on Twitter that didn’t call attention to his stolen base totals...
Baseball America’s 48th-ranked prospect entering the season, Billy Hamilton is known for being among the fastest players in Minor League Baseball. Last year he used that speed to his advantage, becoming the first player in a decade to steal 100 bases in a season. He’s off to another great start this season, hitting .356/.447/.589 with 19 steals in 19 games for the Bakersfield Blaze in the California League. I had a chance to speak...
In an effort to milk this list as much as possible, I made a post that has all 100 prospects in just one list with their Opening Day assignments. At the bottom, I have a handful of stats that show the distribution of the top 100 by organization, position and classification. 1. Bryce Harper, OF, Washington- Syracuse (AAA, International) 2. Matt Moore, LHP, Tampa Bay- Tampa Bay (MLB, AL) 3. Mike Trout, OF, Anaheim-...
Welcome to Bus Leagues Express. Every morning, you’ll be able to stop here for a quick summary of the previous day’s minor league action, what’s to come, and interesting links the staff wants to share. While you’re eating cereal getting ready for the day, you can check out the notable stories from each league and some of the top performers at the plate and on the mound. Since this is the first day of...
A few days ago, Brian wrote this post about the release of Mariners farmhand Jamie McOwen. As it said, he’s well known for his Cal League record 45 game hitting streak in 2009. An injury derailed his career, and he never got back on track once he returned. Not to take anything away from his accomplishment, but High Desert has a well-known, well-deserved reputation as a hitter’s paradise. The light air and high winds...
Back in 2009, minor league baseball fans were treated to one of the most impressive streaks in recent memory when Mariners prospect Jamie McOwen hit safely in 45 straight games for the High Desert Mavericks, Seattle’s Class A Advanced affiliate in the California League. During the streak, which spanned nearly two full months (from May 10 to July 8), McOwen hit .398 with fourteen extra base hits, 34 RBI, and 28 runs scored as...
If you’re one of those people who likes prospects as I am, one of the fun things that you start looking for are the next sort of players. The next great ace, the next tools player that turns into skills, and all that. But the thing that interests me more than anything, is when a non-prospect turns into a prospect. And last year? One of the great emergences you might not have heard of...
Yesterday, Prospect A-Z reviewed Arodys Vizcaino, a hard throwing righty for Atlanta. He has a high ceiling in either the rotation or bullpen depending on how durable he proves to be. As long as he remains in the Braves organization, he might end up as a late inning weapon simply because they have so much starting pitching depth. He’s a player the Yankees will regret trading, especially because not only did Javier Vazquez not...
Prospect A-Z returned to the Rangers organization with lefty starter Robbie Ross. He’s one of a few upper minors starters the Rangers have left after trading Robbie Erlin and Joe Wieland to the Padres at the deadline, but it’s still a deep system, especially in the lower levels. Ross has the potential to start, but with a solid major league rotation and an organization with a lot of pitcher depth, he could do very...
2012 05 14 Scranton Wilks Barre/ Empire State Yankees vs Pawtucket Red Sox
