It’s not exactly what he wanted, but Eric Pettis has had plenty of time to promote the ebook that he’s written in recent weeks. Pettis was able to take some time out and answer questions for Bus Leagues Baseball. And I thank him for taking the time out to answer my questions. I’ll start with a question you haven’t had before, what inspired you to write the book? I wouldn’t necessarily say that I...
Fresh off the heels of “Odd Man Out” and Dirk Hayhurst’s two novels comes a work from former Philadelphia Phillie Eric Pettis chronicling his time as a rookie in the Phillies organization. Pettis was a 35th round pick out of UC-Irvine in 2010, and in a stream of consciousness narrative he reports on it. Is it a worthy read? That’s something you’re going to have to wait for the end to get answered. But...
I kept seeing random mentions here and there about the whereabouts of the various players I profiled last season for MiLB.com, so I finally decided to put together a list of where each one was assigned to start the 2012 season and how they’re doing so far. Of the nine, seven advanced to Low-A, one to High-A, and one is expected to miss the season due to injury. Stetson Allie (West Virginia Power, Low-A,...
Ten years ago, I was an intern at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. It was easily the most awe-inspiring summer of my life. One of the amazing opportunities I experienced was seeing several Oneonta Tigers games at . Now, I know what you’re thinking. Trish, is this a glorified high school field? In some ways, it sadly is. (That’s not even a shot at the Tigers.) Located an hour from...
The other day on Twitter, MiLB.com promotions maven Ben Hill wondered how long it would be before a team attempted to cash in on the current wave of popularity being ridden by New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin, who has averaged 25.0 points and 9.5 assists in leading his team to wins in eight of its last nine games as of Monday evening. I don’t know if the State College Spikes are actually the...
Prospect A-Z had a tough letter yesterday in Q, and the subject was Padres reliever Kevin Quackenbush. He has the potential to pitch in middle relief for San Diego in a year or two, but that might be his ceiling. He made his pro debut with Eugene in the Northwest League and dominated, so the Padres promoted him to the Midwest League where he again dominated. From there, the entry deviated to a discussion...
Yesterday’s Prospect A-Z featured Nationals starter Matt Purke. Purke was expected to be one of the top picks in the 2011 draft, but a shoulder injury in his sophomore year at TCU greatly diminished his stuff and his draft stock. His usual 91-94 MPH fastball and sharp slider became 81-84 MPH and flat. Statistically, he was still very good, but the talent he displayed all throughout high school and in his freshman season at...
Prospect A-Z takes a back seat to the book any day, so hopefully no one missed it too much. As a refresher, the last entry was about future Rays ace Matt Moore. After dazzling minor leaguers and prospect watchers from April through August, he was promoted by the Rays to help out in the bullpen, but he eventually worked his way into the rotation and became Tampa Bay’s game one starter in the playoffs....
For the first time this week, Prospect A-Z didn’t cover a shortstop… kind of. Casey Kelly in the San Diego organization played both ways until 2009 when the Red Sox, his original organization, made him finally focus on pitching. Allowing him to play shortstop at the start of his career was a courteous move by Boston to convince him to sign instead of going to play QB at Tennessee, and I’m sure the large...
Will it be three shortstops in a row? Jurickson Profar of Texas was the subject of yesterday’s Prospect A-Z. The Rangers already have a very good shortstop in Elvis Andrus, but it’s not a deep position around the league, so there’s nothing wrong with having a top prospect at the same position. Profar could develop into a better hitter while still providing quality defense, albeit not as well as Andrus. That’s still years away...
2012 05 14 Scranton Wilks Barre/ Empire State Yankees vs Pawtucket Red Sox
