Early last week, the Toronto Blue Jays announced that Brett Cecil, a left-handed pitcher who has started 65 major league games over the past three seasons, had been sent down to Double-A New Hampshire to begin the season. The news drew a strong reaction on Twitter from former Blue Jays pitcher Dirk Hayhurst, who questioned the decision to send Cecil to New Hampshire instead of Toronto’s Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas. One of the...
In the offseason I was talking to Brian in hopes of figuring out a new way to write game wrap-ups that are concise but yet still informative. So here it is, the inaugural edition of the 5 W’s. I would appreciate any feedback that you may have. Who – Buffalo Bisons vs. the Rochester Red Wings What- – In the matchup between the Bisons and Red Wings, the first four hitters for Buffalo went...
It must have been a bittersweet moment for Josh Judy. In tonight’s opening day game in Columbus, his name was called, and he trotted out to accept his second Triple-A championship ring, which was nice. The catch was, he had to be called out specially, at the end of the ring ceremony, from the dugout of the visiting Louisville Bats. Judy chatted briefly with his former boss, Clipper skipper Mike Sarbaugh, claimed his...
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...
I’m taking the plunge this year. I’m going to sign up for MiLB.TV and make sure I catch at least one game by each of the participating teams this upcoming season. There’s a list above that shows which teams are in – dominated by AAA teams, but augmented with a nice selection from the lower levels as well. It’s a nice solution to the geographical realities of trying to follow MiLB. I’ll try...
Hitting thirty homeruns in a single minor league season is not an exceptionally rare feat. It has been accomplished hundreds of times over the past century or so*, including 21 in 2011 and 14 in 2010. Only two players hit 30 or more homeruns in both 2010 and 2011, however: Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt (35 for High-A Visalia in 2010 and 30 for Double-A Mobile in 2011) and Washington’s Tyler Moore (31 for both High-A...
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...
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,...
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...
2012 05 14 Scranton Wilks Barre/ Empire State Yankees vs Pawtucket Red Sox
