Aaron Hicks is the kind of prospect that can drive baseball fans crazy. Minnesota’s first round pick in the 2008 draft (14th overall), he possesses all the tools one could want in a player – speed, power, a good approach at the plate, a terrific throwing arm in centerfield – but all too often they fail to come together in a meaningful enough way to do much more than SUGGEST that he COULD fully...
Philadelphia, PA – Tyler Moore started 2012 with Triple-A Syracuse and received a well-deserved opportunity to make his major league debut in May. But that’s come with a price. Moore is not playing everyday for the National League East’s current top team. He’s contributing off the bench and, additionally, getting acclimated to a new position. He spoke about his season so far before the Nationals played the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. On His...
The fifth-ranked prospect in the Red Sox system, Bryce Brentz was a first round pick in the 2010 draft. He struggled in his professional debut with Lowell in 2010 before dominating the Sally and Carolina Leagues last season for a combined .306 average with 30 homeruns and 94 RBI. This season he made the leap to Double-A Portland, where he has bounced back after a slow start and is currently hitting .289 with five...
I recently posted a story I wrote about Brian Jeroloman, the Blue Jays minor leaguer who is in his fourth stint at the Double-A level with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. This is the interview from which that story was written. Since we spoke two weeks ago on his 27th birthday (“I’m trying to hide it. I’m trying not to tell anyone on the team,” he joked before we started the interview. “When I...
Justin Jackson was the 45th overall pick in the 2007 draft, the fourth player selected by the Toronto Blue Jays (after Kevin Ahrens, J.P. Arencibia, and Brett Cecil). The son of former major leaguer Chuck Jackson, Justin is in his first full season at the Double-A level after playing 28 games for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats last season. He is currently hitting .244 with eight stolen bases in 36 games. His current 28:17...
As you may have heard, three New Hampshire Fisher Cats pitchers combined to pitch a no-hitter on Monday. I’ve previously posted a video of the ninth inning and a recap of the game from the point of view of someone who spent most of his time walking around the ballpark taking pictures, so I emailed the team’s broadcaster and Director of Media Relations, Tom Gauthier, yesterday to see if he had any audio clips...
In late August, the Cardinals were at various points 10.5 games behind both Milwaukee in the NL Central and Atlanta for the Wild Card. They were a complete afterthought. After an incredible run to sneak into the playoffs and somehow take the World Series away from Texas, the outlook is much better even without Albert Pujols. At the time I started writing this, they were in control of the NL Central and tied for...
Kolbrin Vitek was the Boston Red Sox first round pick (20th overall) in the 2010 draft. He has progressed through the system each year, playing in Lowell (Short-Season) and Greenville (Low-A) in 2010, Salem (High-A) in 2011, and Portland (AA) this season. So far, the 23-year-old third baseman is hitting .252 with a homerun and nine RBI in 37 games for the Sea Dogs. We had a chance to speak briefly before yesterday’s game...
I had never seen a live no-hitter before Monday night. The closest I had come was Devern Hansack’s performance for the Boston Red Sox in the final game of the 2006 season, when he didn’t allow a hit in a game that was shortened to five innings due to rain. It was fun to scoreboard-watch on that one, but it doesn’t really count if we’re talking about no-hitters. Too much can (and usually does)...
Tonight in New Hampshire, three Fisher Cats pitchers (Brett Cecil, Danny Farquhar, and Ronald Uviedo) combined on a nine inning no-hitter, the team’s first since Kyle Drabek did it all by himself on July 4, 2010. I hope to have a lot more to say tomorrow, as well as some pictures and additional video, but for now here is the complete ninth inning, with Uviedo facing Kolbrin Vitek, Juan Carlos Linares, Reynaldo Rodriguez, and...
2012 05 14 Scranton Wilks Barre/ Empire State Yankees vs Pawtucket Red Sox
