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Even though the unofficial start to summer is Memorial Day Weekend, it always feels like summer doesn’t really begin until we get to enjoy Fourth of July celebrations. Well, Independence Day is upon us, which means that millions of people across the country will be celebrating with barbeques, parties, trips to the beach and much more. [Read more…]
Good evening everyone. I hope you had a decent Saturday, especially for those of you along the East Coast following the snow and ice storm that hit late Friday night.
Two of my other sites, Rule 4 Draft and Rule 5 Draft, have now merged with At the Dish. All of the content from Rule 4 Draft can be found here on At the Dish. [Read more…]
Major League Baseball made changes to a couple of on-field rules prior to the 2014 season and after a month of play, those changes are causing a bit of havoc for managers, players and umpires alike. Now, the league has decided to change a couple of rules either back to their original state or to an edited state. [Read more…]
Oklahoma right-handed pitcher Jonathan Gray. Credit: Ken Inness/ZumaPress.com.
With the MLB draft just hours away, we have put together our third and final mock draft leading up to the first selection at 7PM ET tonight.
Houston will pick first tonight, and it still remains to be seen who they will select.
Most mock boards have them picking either Mark Appel or Jonathan Gray. [Read more…]
North Carolina 3B Colin Moran.
The Amateur Baseball Draft is scheduled for Thursday June 6-Saturday June 8, with the entire first round occurring on Thursday night. The draft is scheduled to begin at 7PM ET.
After news broke earlier this week of Jonathan Gray testing positive for Adderall at a pre-draft program held by Major League Baseball, we have switched up our top 10 picks. [Read more…]
San Diego Padres Bill Almon. Credit: Topps.
Once again, the San Diego Padres pick number one in the amateur baseball draft, this time in 1974.
Since their inception, the Padres picked number one overall three times including this draft.
They chose second overall once up to this draft in history.
In the same breath, the Texas Rangers have had quite a few picks in the top five since their inception.
Texas has chosen number one overall once as the Washington Senators and once as the Rangers.
This pick at number two is the first in franchise history.
Almon was drafted as an infielder out of Brown University. He was one of six players drafted out of the collegiate levels in the 1974 draft. He spent parts of 15 seasons in the majors with the Padres, the Montreal Expos, the New York Mets, the Chicago White Sox, the Oakland Athletics, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Philadelphia Phillies. He had two stints with the Mets.
Almon debuted in the Majors with San Diego in September of 1974, playing in 16 games, posting a .316 batting average. He was not able to become a full-time player until 1977, in which he played 155 games for San Diego.
Almon posted a career .254 average with 36 homeruns, 296 RBIs, and 846 hits in 1,236 games. He played the most games of his career with San Diego, totaling 429 appearances with an average of .255, four homeruns, and 81 RBIs. He also recorded 337 of his career hits while with the Padres.
The best year of his career came with the Padres in 1977. He played in a career-high 155 games with a .261 batting average, two homeruns, 43 RBIs, and a career-high 160 hits. Almon posted a career-high seven homeruns twice, once in Oakland and once in Pittsburgh. Those years were 1984 and 1986. He had a career-high 63 RBIs with Oakland in 1983.
Almon never played on a team that made it to the playoffs during his career, but all things considered, Almon had a decent career after being drafted number one overall.
Texas Rangers Tommy Boggs.
The second overall pick in the draft, Tommy Boggs, was taken by the Texas Rangers. Boggs was drafted by the Rangers as a pitcher out of Lanier High School in Austin, Texas.
Boggs was a bit of a draft bust, appearing in only 114 career games with the Rangers and the Atlanta Braves. He spent two stints with the Rangers during his career.
He did not debut in the majors until 1976, in which he posted a 1-7 record with an ERA of 3.49. He strictly was a starter in his rookie season. For his career, Boggs posted a record of 20-44 with an ERA of 4.22. He started 94 games in his career. He started just six games in 1977 for the Rangers and was traded in the off-season to the Atlanta Braves.
He returned to the Rangers in 1985, in which he pitched in just four games, all of them out of the bullpen. For his career with Texas, Boggs posted a record of 1-10 with an ERA of 4.48 in 23 games, 19 of them starts.
His best season came with the Braves in 1980. He posted a record of 12-9 with an ERA of 3.42 in 32 games, 26 of them starts, both career-highs. He threw four complete games, with three of them shutouts. Boggs also never appeared in the playoffs during his career.
Some notable players in the 1974 draft taken after the first two picks include the following:
The next installment of our draft history series will detail the 1975 draft. The number one overall pick was Danny Goodwin, chosen by the California Angels. Mike Lentz was chosen second overall by the San Diego Padres.
WBC Champs Dominican Republic. Credit: Mike Blake/Reuters.
Over the past couple of years, Major League Baseball officials have talked about instituting an international draft, or making the current Rule 4 Draft open to international players. Since we posted our first mock draft of the 2013 season, we are now tackling the idea of an international draft in baseball.
Many believe that an international draft is very close to occurring because of the new restrictions placed on international spending for amateur free agents who are not eligible for the draft in the United States. The new restrictions on signing bonuses take effect on June 1, 2013, but an international draft would not occur until at least 2014 if it is approved. [Read more…]
Stanford right-handed pitcher Mark Appel. Credit: Matthew Ersted, Stanfordphoto.com.
With the 2013 MLB draft just weeks away, we have compiled our first mock draft of the year. After being drafted eighth overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2012, Stanford right-handed pitcher Mark Appel is preparing for his second draft.
Appel was the only player in the first round not to sign. He opted to return to school for another season in order to further develop his arm. Now he is in position to be taken number one overall. [Read more…]
As our series on top prospects in spring camps comes to an end, we take a look at the best prospects who spent time in Major League Spring Training with the St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays and Washington Nationals.
With the regular season already a week old, we have seen some top prospects make an impact on their big league clubs already and some others receive call-ups just days into the season.
St. Louis Cardinals
The 2011 World Series champions have a farm system ripe with talent, with some prospects breaking through in recent years to make major impacts in the show.
From their 2013 top prospects list, the following players spent time in Major League camp with the Cardinals this past spring:
Right handed pitcher Shelby Miller, right handed pitcher Trevor Rosenthal, infielder Kolten Wong, right handed pitcher Tyrell Jenkins, first baseman Matt Adams, left handed pitcher John Gast, right handed pitcher Michael Blazek, right handed pitcher Maikel Cleto, right handed pitcher Eric Fornataro and right handed pitcher Jordan Swagerty.
From this group, Miller, Rosenthal and Adams all made the Opening Day roster for St. Louis. Miller is the team’s fifth starter and Rosenthal is pitching out of the bullpen. Adams is backing up Allen Craig at first base and provides pop off the bench.
Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays infielder Wil Myers.
Tampa has seen some of its top prospects graduate to the big leagues over the past handful of seasons and they have made major impacts, especially on the pitching staff.
As we continue further into the first month of the season, the Rays have quite an impressive crop of top prospects waiting in the wings. The group that spent time in Major League camp includes outfielder Wil Myers, right handed pitcher Jake Odorizzi, right handed pitcher Chris Archer, short stop Hak-Ju Lee, left handed pitcher Enny Romero, left handed pitcher Mike Montgomery, right handed pitcher Alex Colome, short stop Tim Beckham, and left handed pitcher Felipe Rivero.
Texas Rangers
Texas has some talented prospects knocking on the doors of the big leagues, including short stop Jurickson Profar, third baseman Mike Olt, left handed pitcher Martin Perez, right handed pitcher Wilmer Font, right handed pitcher Justin Grimm, right handed pitcher Roman Mendez, right handed pitcher Neil Ramirez, right handed pitcher Nick Tepesch, and infielder Leury Garcia.
From this list, Grimm, Tepesch, and Garcia are all on the Major League roster right now for the Rangers.
Toronto Blue Jays
The top prospects from the Toronto system that spent time in big league camp this past spring include left handed pitcher Sean Nolin, right handed pitcher Josh Stilson, catcher A.J. Jimenez, and infielder Ryan Goins.
This is a very underwhelming crop of prospects, especially since the first player to appear in camp hits the MLB.com list for Toronto at number eight.
Washington Nationals
Washington fans are going to be enjoying baseball in the Nation’s capital for quite a long time with the current active roster and the top prospects down on the farm.
The players on the top 20 list who spent time in spring camp include third baseman Anthony Rendon, right handed pitcher Nate Karns, outfielder Eury Perez, left handed pitcher Matt Purke, third baseman Matt Skole, first baseman Chris Marrero, right handed pitcher Christian Garcia, and catcher Sandy Leon.
Philadelphia Phillies Tommy Joseph. Credit: Richmond Flying Squirrels.
Day three of the MLB regular season is upon us and we are bringing you the fifth installment chronicling the top prospects who spent time in big league spring camps this year.
As with every baseball season, the excitement begins on day one and does not end until the final out of the World Series. This is exactly what happened on Opening Night on Sunday and Opening Day on Monday.
In today’s post, we take a look at the top prospects from the camps of the Philadelphia Phillies, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the San Diego Padres, the San Francisco Giants and the Seattle Mariners.
Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia saw its reign of five-straight NL East titles come to an end in 2012 when the Nationals secured the crown. The Phillies have an impressive crop of top prospects waiting in the wings and some could break into the lineup in 2013 if injuries rear their ugly head or they fall out of contention early.
The top prospects who spent time in camp with the Phillies this spring include right handed pitcher Ethan Martin, catcher Tommy Joseph, right handed pitcher Jonathan Pettibone, left handed pitcher Adam Morgan, catcher Sebastian Valle, third baseman Cody Asche, right handed pitcher Phillippe Aumont, right handed pitcher Justin De Fratus and outfielder Darin Ruf.
Aumont is the only player who made the Opening Day roster, but a handful of them already have Major League experience. De Fratus and Ruf both have spent time in Philadelphia over the past couple of seasons. Ruf could break into the lineup in the middle of the season if he continues to hit at Triple-A and figures out how to play left field. De Fratus could be the first reliever called up should an injury or ineffectiveness strike the Phillies bullpen.
Martin was acquired in the Shane Victorino trade with the Dodgers and Joseph was acquired in the Hunter Pence trade with the Giants. Morgan seems to be the starter with the best shot of reaching the majors this season in the event of an injury.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh was in line to finally return to the playoffs, but wound up struggling over the final couple months of the season, preventing them from snapping their consecutive losing season streak. They have had 20 consecutive losing seasons after collapsing in 2012.
Their top prospects who spent time in spring camp include right handed pitcher Gerrit Cole, right handed pitcher Jameson Taillon, right handed pitcher Kyle McPherson, left handed pitcher Justin Wilson, right handed pitcher Bryan Morris, catcher Tony Sanchez and right handed pitcher Victor Black.
From this list, Wilson is the only top prospect to make the Opening Day roster. Wilson made his debut for the Pirates in 2012, pitching in eight games, spanning 4.2 innings, and recorded a 1.93 ERA. He pitched on Opening Day this season, going 1.1 innings. He allowed no hits or walks and recorded two strikeouts.
Cole could crack the Pirates rotation at some point this season if injuries strike or if the Pirates find themselves out of contention en route to a 21st consecutive losing season. Others who could join him in Pittsburgh include Sanchez and possibly McPherson.
San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres Jedd Gyorko. Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports.
San Diego is still trying to build a team that can contend in the NL West as the Giants have won two of the last three World Series titles and the Dodgers have markedly improved over the past two years.
Padres fans should be excited at what the future holds, especially when you look at the team’s top 20 prospects heading into the 2013 season. San Diego’s top prospects that saw time in spring camp this year include infielder Jedd Gyorko, outfielder Rymer Liriano, right handed pitcher Casey Kelly, catcher Austin Hedges, right handed pitcher Adys Portillo, right handed pitcher Joe Wieland, left handed pitcher Robbie Erlin, right handed pitcher Donn Roach, right handed pitcher John Barbato, right handed pitcher Brad Boxberger and right handed pitcher Kevin Quackenbush.
The majority of these players were already on the team’s 40-man roster, which means that they are automatically invited to Major League Spring Training. The only player who made the Opening Day roster was Gyorko.
Kelly and Wieland are both on the 60-day disabled list. If Wieland pitches this season, he could help the Padres pitching staff at some point, even if it is in September when rosters expand. Kelly will miss the season due to Tommy John surgery. Wieland is also recovering from Tommy John surgery, which he had in 2012.
San Francisco Giants
The Giants are fresh off their second World Series title in the last three years and are still considered underdogs in the NL West because of the additions the Dodgers made in the off-season and at the trade deadline last year.
Giants fans have become accustomed to being the underdog these past couple of seasons and seem to enjoy it when October arrives.
Top prospects who spent time in Giants camp this spring include outfielder Gary Brown, infielder Joe Panik, right handed pitcher Heath Hembree, outfielder Francisco Peguero, right handed pitcher Chris Heston, left handed pitcher Eric Surkamp, left handed pitcher Edwin Escobar, left handed pitcher Michael Kickham, shortstop Ehire Adrianza, catcher Andrew Susac, first baseman Ricky Oropesa and outfielder Juan Perez.
Not one of these prospects made the Opening Day roster for the Giants in 2013, but some of them could break into the lineup as early as this season. Those players include Brown, Panik, Hembree and Surkamp.
Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners Taijuan Walker. Credit: Associated Press.
Seattle fans received good news this off-season when King Felix signed an extension that will keep him with the Mariners for at least another seven years. He started his sixth Opening Day for the M’s on Monday, a 2-0 win over the Oakland Athletics.
The group of top prospects who saw time in big league camp this past spring include right handed pitcher Taijuan Walker, left handed pitcher Danny Hultzen, catcher Mike Zunino, short stop Nick Franklin, left handed pitcher James Paxton, right handed pitcher Stephen Pryor, right handed pitcher Carter Capps, short stop Brad Miller, right handed pitcher Brandon Maurer, third baseman Stefan Romero, outfielder Julio Morban, infielder/outfielder Vinnie Catricala and third baseman Francisco Martinez.
The players from this list who made the Opening Day roster include Pryor, Capps, and Maurer. All three are pitchers, with Maurer earning the fourth spot in the rotation. Pryor and Capps are pitching out of the bullpen for the Mariners.
The sixth and final installment of this series will feature the top prospects who spent time in big league camps with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Tampa Bay Rays, the Texas Rangers, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Washington Nationals.