As the Rays have grown in prominence in the AL East, their blogosphere has also vastly grown in size and expertise. Only a few years ago, there were but a hand full of Rays blogs. Now there are quite a few covering all aspects of the Rays organization, from the big league club to the low minors. One of these new Rays blogs is Rays Digest.com, edited by John Gregg. Since starting Rays Digest,...
Last year while writing for MiLB.com, I had a chance to talk with one of the Mets most highly regarded pitching prospects, right-hander Matt Harvey. At the time, Harvey was hurling for the St. Lucie Mets. Today, Harvey is pitching to possible make the Mets Triple-A club in Buffalo or he could start the season in Double-A Binghamton. MetsBlog writer Michael Barron caught up with Harvey a few days ago and talked to him...
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...
Anyone who has read Bus Leagues since the beginning knows of our fascination with Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jay Bruce. He was named the top prospect in the game by Baseball America and USA Today shortly after Eric and I started pretending we knew something about minor league baseball, and so we have followed his career arc more closely than that of just about any other player. With Bruce firmly entrenched in the Reds lineup,...
Besides seeing the future of Major League Baseball, and besides the game’s casualness and coziness, one of best things about baseball in the Bus Leagues is promotions. Every year there are some great promotions throughout the Minors, from cannon-shot stuntmen to actors masquerading as former Mexican legends and of course dozens, if hundreds, of culinary exhibitions. Although I won’t be attending any minor league games this year, there are a several promotions I would...
Prospect A-Z continued its farewell week with Padres outfielder Yoan Alcantara. His career is in flux right now because of an identity fraud scandal that was exposed this offseason. A scout and trainer bribed a contracted investigator working for Major League Baseball to check Alcantara’s background, and this allowed him to pass and receive his signing bonus. At his age with his performance in the AZL, he looked like a really good prospect, but...
On Friday, Prospect A-Z covered Zack Wheeler, the top pitching prospect for the Mets. Formerly of the Giants organization, Wheeler was traded by San Francisco to acquire Carlos Beltran for the stretch run. Beltran held up his end of the bargain by performing well, but he couldn’t overtake the Diamondbacks alone. Beltran is now with the Cardinals, so the Giants are left without a star right fielder and a top pitching prospect. This will...
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...
Our second international free agent was profiled in Prospect A-Z yesterday with Nippon Ham righty Yu Darvish. The Rangers won the posting auction for exclusive negotiating rights with him, and it seems likely that a deal will get done at the end of the negotiating window. They’re a team in need of pitching after losing Cliff Lee and C.J. Wilson in free agency in consecutive years, and Darvish has the potential to be a...
I hope everyone had a good holiday. Last week, Prospect A-Z wrapped up with Tyler Skaggs, the lefty Arizona received from Anaheim in the Dan Haren trade during the 2010 season. Skaggs has emerged as a very good pitching prospect and has advanced through the minors quickly. Just three years after he was drafted by the Angels, Skaggs could make his ML debut sometime in 2012. He was a part of a rotation at...
2012 05 14 Scranton Wilks Barre/ Empire State Yankees vs Pawtucket Red Sox
