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,...
Yesterday, Prospect A-Z returned with Washington catcher Derek Norris. He has the power and defensive skills to potentially be an All-Star, but he needs to improve his batting average. He’ll be competing for true three outcome titles in the majors with his patience and also penchant of striking out. Wilson Ramos established himself as a solid starter behind the plate for Washington, but Norris could eventually surpass him. He could be a key piece...
We got back to shortstops yesterday, generally focusing on Tampa Bay’s Hak-Ju Lee. Just a year after being acquired from the Cubs in the Matt Garza trade, he became the team’s best shortstop prospect and best prospect among all position players. His athleticism, solid bat and nice plate approach makes him one of the top shortstop prospects in the game, and the Rays hope he can hit at the top of their lineup soon....
Yesterday, we reviewed Grant Green, the A’s prospect and former first rounder converting from shortstop to centerfield. After a great pro debut in 2010, Green’s offensive suffered from a pretty substantial decline with AA Midland in 2011. He should be able to handle center and at least be an okay defensive player, and if his power comes back, he could be a quality regular for the A’s who are in desperate need of offense...
It’s Awards Week here at Bus Leagues, that annual event in which we unveil the seasons that our voters determined to be the best in Minor League and Independent baseball. This year, we have nine awards to give out: Player of the Year, Starting Pitcher of the Year, and Relief Pitcher of the Year for Full-Season Minor League Baseball, Short-Season Minor League Baseball, and Independent Baseball. In the Independent Baseball awards announced yesterday, Ronnie...
We’re just a few days away from baseball’s draft pick signing deadline which is at midnight ET on August 15th. That means it’s another year of Bud Selig and Major League Baseball swing and miss at their attempt to maintain fiscal sanity among owners. In an attempt to limit signing bonuses, the commissioner won’t allow most big money bonuses to be announced until the deadline. His thinking is that if bonuses are announced in...
Jose Altuve. Altuve is a 5’5, 170 pound second baseman signed by Houston from Venezuela in 2006. This legitimate Eddie Gaedel has had a meteoric rise through the Astros farm system this season. According to Baseball Almanac, only 60 players in baseball history have been 5’5 or shorter, so Altuve is joining a pretty exclusive club. If he becomes a solid contributor, he wouldn’t be the first good short baseball player, but they’re few...
Anyone, Manny Ramirez. This is mostly Major League related, but it was pretty big news last week, so I thought it warranted an entry here. It’s been a wild career for Manny, entertaining fans with some of the best statistics anyone has ever seen and frustrating fans with his attitude and antics. For 19 years, Ramirez was one of the most feared hitters in the league, but after forcing a trade from two teams,...
Picture: Reference.findtarget.com (my computer wouldn’t open the link, but the map was cool so I wanted to mention it) I was working on one of my many projects the other day when I started wondering about the classification history of the modern minor leagues. Perhaps one day I’ll delve into this in greater detail – I’d love to research and write a series of books about the history of each individual league – but...
This week, we will be presenting the 2010 Bus Leagues Postseason Awards in five categories: Independent Pitcher of the Year, Independent Player of the Year, MiLB Reliever of the Year, MiLB Pitcher of the Year, and MiLB Player of the Year. Voters selected their top five finishers for each award, with points awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1 scale. In addition to the regular Bus Leagues cast of characters, we invited a few friends to vote...
2012 05 14 Scranton Wilks Barre/ Empire State Yankees vs Pawtucket Red Sox
