The Baseball Big Brother Project

Red Sox Should Be Ashamed For Breaking Daniel Bard

2013-05-18T07:00:00.000-04:00

If there is ever one decision that will haunt the current front office regime of the Boston Red Sox, it will be the handling of Daniel Bard.

At 27-years-old and owner of one of the most devastating fastball/slider combos in the game, Daniel Bard should have been the shut-down closer that the Red Sox have lacked since Jonathan Papelbon left town. Instead, the right-hander is wallowing away in obscurity at Double-A Portland, trying to fix himself.

But I'm getting a little ahead of myself for a minute, so let's backtrack.

From 2009-2011, Bard was the premier set-up man in the game, and deemed the heir apparent to the aforementioned Papelbon as the team's closer. During those three seasons, Bard appeared in 192 games out of Boston's bullpen, accumulating an ERA of 2.88 with a 9.7 K/9 ratio and a WHIP of 1.056 over 197 innings-pitched.

So when it became apparent that Papelbon would be moving on after the 2011 season, the thought was Bard would be ready to take over

But then the epic collapse of 2011 occurred and the front office upheaval started.

With Ben Cherington taking over for Theo Epstein and Bobby Valentine becoming the team's manager, a different convention took place and new plans started to unfold. The Red Sox looked at Bard's growth as a pitcher and decided to transition him to the rotation. The thought of course was that it would be a cheaper move for the Red Sox to replace Papelbon at closer than it would be for the team to search for an affordable starter in a market than was sans of them.

For some reason, this seemed like a viable plan to the Red Sox front office, despite Bard's struggles as a starter in the low minors before making a successful transition to a reliever. But you know what they say about good intentions.

The first clue it wasn't going to work was Bard's spring performance, where the then 27-year-old walked 16 batters in 24.2 innings during camp, but the team proceeded as planned.

Well, Bard's struggles continued throughout the early part of the season. He would make 10 starts with the team before being optioned back to Triple-A Pawtucket, where the team tried to get him back on track by transitioning back to a reliever. When he made his return to the bullpen in August, the results weren't much better. Overall, Bard posted a 5-6 record in 2012 with career worsts in ERA (6.22), BB/9 (6.5), and K/9 (5.8).

Now, fast forward to 2013 and the Daniel Bard of old is still nowhere in sight. In 15 appearances between Boston and Double-A Portland, Bard has surrendered 12 runs (9 earned) and 19 walks in 13.2 innings-pitched.

The results have lead Red Sox pitching coach Juan Nieves to tell WEEI that Bard "was never going to be a quick fix."

He's missing the point. Daniel Bard should never have needed to be fixed.

The Red Sox had transitioned Bard into a successful reliever because he exhibited control issues as a starter in the minors. Knowing this, the Red Sox instead tried to change something that was working in order to try to pare down payroll at the expense of a talented arm that they chose to miscast.

Daniel Bard is broken because Boston wanted to cheaply piece together a temporary pitching rotation until John Lackey could return from Tommy John Surgery. He is broken because they refused to learn the lesson that had already befallen the New York Yankees with Joba Chamberlain. He is broken because Boston failed to leave well enough alone.

Now, all the team can do is try to fix Bard, while also trying to piece back together the psyche that they helped to destroy. But in the end, the writing is already on the wall.

In the end, this story doesn't end well, and both parties will be the poorer for it.

MLB Prospect Top 10 Power Rankings - 5/16/13

2013-05-16T16:34:00.002-04:00

Archie Bradley: Mandatory Credit - MILB.com

You know what I love about prospect rankings, is that they are tumultuous at best, with the names coming and going on a weekly basis as guys step up in the spotlight and fade away just as quickly.

This season's top prospects are doing just that. Guys get hot, guys starts slow, and others appear to come out of nowhere. That's what makes prospecting so much fun, you get constantly teased by the future of the game without ever knowing if it will ever come to pass.

You'll notice some changes from the list this time around. For instance, I am a big fan of Tony Cingrani, and the 23-year-old lefty has been impressive. However, I'm moving him off the prospect list because quite frankly, he's living in the now man, his time in the minors is likely done unless Cincinnati decides to extend his service clock by sending him back down.

Also dropping out of the list this time around was Danny Hultzen, who is currently on the shelf with a rotator cuff strain in his left shoulder. No news on how long he'll be out, but for a guy on the cusp of the dance, this one has to hurt.

Rambling aside, let's segway into this edition's rankings shall we?

1.) Oscar Taveras - Outfielder - St. Louis Cardinals
- Previous Ranking:1

Taveras continues to sit in the number one slot, as he's done nothing but rake at Triple-A Memphis. Through 31 games, the Cardinals center fielder of the future has produced a .317 average with a .831 OPS and 20 RBI. Oh, and he's only struck out 18 times in 132 plate appearances, showing an advanced maturity at the plate. He was slowed a bit this spring by an ankle injury, but that appears behind him, while the Cardinals outfield is the only thing ahead of him.

2.) Jurickson Profar - Shortstop - Texas Rangers
- Previous Ranking:3

I'll say it again, this is not a reflection on Profar's overall ranking as a prospect, simply where he's performing up to date this season. That said, Profar has been rebounding a bit after a slow start. He's currently up to .250 at Triple-A Round Rock, but the .720 OPS is a bit of a disappointment at this stage. Still, we are talking about a 20-year-old in Triple-A, and Profar's numbers will start to drive upward as the seasons goes on.

3.) Wil Myers - Outfielder - Tampa Bay Rays
- Previous Ranking:2

Myers slides behind Profar this week, as the Tampa prospect has enjoyed a rough go of it lately. The 22-year-old is destined for Tampa at some point this season, but his plate discipline has some in the front office worried. Myers has fanned 49 times in 164 plate appearances at Durham, which puts him on pace to top last year's strike-out total of 149 split between Double and Triple-A. That would be one thing if he was making up for it elsewhere, but his slugging percentage has slid to a low of .403. Tampa will give him as long as he needs to improve both lines.

4.) Miguel Sano - Third Baseman - Minnesota Twins
- Previous Ranking:7

You cannot say enough about the bat of Miguel Sano, who's bat has everyone talking. With 13 more games under his belt since we last checked in with him, Sano has continued to punish the ball. A promotion from high-A Fort Myers should be in short order, as Sano is obviously overpowering the league with a .364 average, 10 home runs, 31 RBI, and a 1.126 OPS through 155 plate appearances. He's destined to move quickly in the coming months.

5.) Taijuan Walker - Starting Pitcher - Seattle Mariners
- Previous Ranking: 4

Walker continues to impress as the top-ranked arm on this list. After 8 starts, Walker has looked every bit the potential ace he's projected to be, posting a 3-3 record with a 2.09 ERA and a 9.9 K/9 ratio. And as the season progresses, his walk ratios are evening out a bit, where last time we looked at Walker it sat at 5.6, that number is now down to 4.4. That's still nearly a full extra base-runner than his previous average, but it shows that he's getting into a rhythm.

6.) Gerrit Cole - Starting Pitcher - Pittsburgh Pirates
- Previous Ranking: 6

Next we check in with Gerrit Cole, the future ace of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 22-year-old could be looking at a call-up at the beginning of June if his production stays where its at, especially considering the needs to the Pirates at this stage. After 42.1 innings over 8 starts, Cole has produced a sparkling 3-1 record with a 2.55 ERA. His 6.6 K/9 ratio is a little lower than you'd want from a top-tier prospect and the 4.3 BB/9 is a bit high, but considering he's allowing a .204 batting average against, I think we can cut him some slack.

7.) Christian Yelich - Outfielder - Miami Marlins
Previous Ranking: NR

We have our first new name this week, and its a big one. Yelich is regarded as the top prospect in the Marlins organization outside of Jose Fernandez and a promotion to Double-A Jacksonville finally got him going in 2013. In 23 games and 105 plate appearances, Yelich is tearing the cover off the ball with a .319 average, 8 doubles, 4 triples, 5 homers, 21 RBI, and a 1.050 OPS. Oh, and he's played perfect defense while posting an above average range factor in the outfield. The 21-year-old Yelich could be the next infant promoted to the Marlins

8.) Francisco Lindor - Shortstop - Cleveland Indians
Previous Ranking: 9

19-year-old Francisco Lindor may no longer be the youngest player on this list, but that hasn't stopped him from impressing. Now 33 games into his first season at high-A, Lindor is really coming into his own as a hitter. Already graded high as a fielder, he's shown a better approach with the bat in 2013 with a .331 batting average and a .871 OPS. That's been aided by a solid grasp of the strike-zone, where over the last two years, Lindor has walked nearly as much as he's struck out. He's definitely one to watch for the next several seasons.

9.) Byron Buxton - Outfielder - Minnesota Twins
Previous Ranking: NR

Lindor is no longer the youngest player on this list as Buxton bests him by a month. Minnesota's first round pick in 2012 (2nd overall) has shown that he deserved the hype. At Low-A Cedar Rapids, Buxton has hit .341 in 170 plate appearances, with 10 doubles, 4 triples, and 5 home runs, 28 RBI, 15 stolen bases, and a 1.026 OPS. He's also scored an amazing 41 runs in 37 games. This kid is lightning in a bottle, and may have as high a ceiling as Sano.

10.) Archie Bradley - Starting Pitcher - Arizona Diamondbacks
Previous Ranking: NR

Bradley competed heavily with Dylan Bundy in high school, and the pair went within three picks of each other in the 2011 draft, with Bundy going with the fourth pick and Bradley with the seventh. 2 years later, and with Bundy on the shelf and facing possible elbow surgery, it is Bradley that is making a name with scouts. The 20-year-old has been electric in 2013. After posting a stunning 1.26 ERA after 5 starts at High-A Visalia, Bradley has been tougher since getting promoted to Double-A Mobile, where he has hardly been touched, surrendering just 1 run over his first 14 innings. His 13.3 K/9 ratio is most impressive, but his improvement to a 3.4 BB/9 shows that his control is getting better with experience. The D-Backs rotation has been pretty solid this season, so they won't hurry Bradley this year, but keep an eye out for a 2014 landing.

Cubs Lock Up Anthony Rizzo With Long-Term Deal

2013-05-13T09:35:00.000-04:00

Image courtesy of Zimbio

Theo Epstein let Anthony Rizzo go once, sending him to San Diego Padres is the ill-fated deal that brought Adrian Gonzalez to the Boston Red Sox. After getting him back upon his move to Chicago, Epstein is not willing to make that mistake again.

On Sunday, Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports announced that the Chicago Cubs and the 23-year-old first baseman have agreed on a 7-year, $41 million extension. The deal begins by usurping his 2013 contract and carries through 2019. The agreement also contains two, $14.5 million club options for the 2020 and 2012 seasons.

The agreement also buys out all of Rizzo's arbitration years, avoiding the Super Two status that the lefty-slugger was on pace for.

The Cubs acquired Rizzo in a four-player deal that sent Andrew Cashner and Kyung-Min Na to San Diego prior to the 2012 season. Rizzo had become expendable in San Diego after the team brought in first baseman Yonder Alonso in the Mat Latos trade.

After a rough debut for the Padres is 2011, where he hit just .141 with 1 home run and 9 RBI in 153 plate appearances, Rizzo has taken kindly to his new home at the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field. In 124 games with the Cubs, Rizzo has compiled a .283 average with 24 home runs, 76 RBI, and a .831 OPS.

If you remember, the Baseball Big Brother Project highlighted Rizzo as their key player for the Chicago Cubs this season in our 30 Players, 30 Teams series. By entending the young slugger, the Cubs now have two corner stones of their franchise locked up through 2019, with both Rizzo and shortstop Starlin Castro under contract.

Red Sox Closer To Undergo Season Ending Elbow Surgery

2013-05-11T13:50:00.001-04:00

Well, the Joel Hanrahan era in Boston didn't last long, as the Red Sox closer announced that he will undergo season-ending elbow surgery to repair a strained flexor tendon in his throwing arm.

The injury was discovered last week, when Hanrahan visited Dr. James Andrews to resolve discomfort in his pitching elbow. At the time, the fear was that Hanrahan may have torn the Ulnar Collateral Ligament, which commonly leads to Tommy John Surgery. However, Dr. Andrews found the strain instead.

That was good news for Hanrahan, as the 6-9 month recovery for the flexor tendon surgery will enable him to be ready to spring training in 2014, whereas the Tommy John surgery would have kept him out of action for most, if not all of next season.

Unfortunately, it isn't the best of news for the Boston Red Sox, as Hanrahan is set to become a free agent at the end of this season. After sending a package that included Mark Melancon, Stolmy Pimentel, Ivan DeJesus Jr., and Jerry Sands to the Pirates in exchange for Hanrahan and Brock Holt, the Red Sox got exactly 9 appearances and 4 saves from their new closer.

Those appearances were not exactly pretty either, as Hanrahan struggled with his control, leading to a 9.82 ERA, 2 blown saves, and 7.4 BB/9 ratio.

The timing could also have been better for Boston, who is also without Andrew Bailey, who is on the disabled list with right bicep soreness. For now, that means that what was once a bullpen with two closers must now rely on Junichi Tazawa to handle the ninth inning duties until Bailey can return.

Well, I guess that will be the last time Red Sox fans hear "Before I Forget" at Fenway Park.

Antiquated Judgement Call Rules Holding MLB Back?

2013-05-11T06:00:00.000-04:00

“The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

- French Proverb

When Major League Baseball first made the decision to institute limited instant replay in August 2008, the move was met with a feeling of inevitability. It was an inevitability that a game that always fought progress, would finally succumb to it.

Well, it was also inevitable that the same backward thinking that took it so long for the league to implement the measure would then also impede it from being used properly.

As a game, baseball has long been built around the judgment of the individual, a belief that one person’s naked eye should be the end-all, be-all judge of all. By instituting limited instant replay on home run balls (fair/foul, out of the park or not), the league as a whole caved to the realization that the naked eye is not always to be believed. Bud Selig even admitted as much during his initial press conference on August 26, 2008.

"I believe this is right," Selig. "I think the umpires believe it. I think the players believe it. The evidence [for using it] became overwhelming the more I looked at ballparks. You've got an umpire running out and he's 300-400 feet away, and it became impossible [for him to make the right call]. I'm delighted we're able to make this adjustment.

Yes, here we stand, nearly five seasons after the system has been introduced, and we still rely on the judgment of one person to dictate the outcome of a ballgame?

On Wednesday night, the Oakland Athletics were handed a loss by the Cleveland Indians after they failed to push a tying run over the plate during the 9^th inning. However, that should not have been the case, as Adam Rosales hit what appeared to be a game-tying home run with two-outs in the inning. However, the umpire crew called the ball in play rather than a home run and Rosales ended up at second base.

This is the type of situation replay was instituted to resolve. The Athletics protested and the umpires decided to go to the replay, which clearly showed the ball hitting a railing above the yellow line at Progressive Field and bouncing back into play, which would mean the ball was indeed a home run. However, despite both home and away feeds showing that fact and the umpire crew having access to said feeds, crew chief Angel Hernandez ruled the play would stand as ruled on the field.

Obviously, Bob Melvin was incensed and was ejected for continuing to argue the call on the field. The Athletics would load the bases, but would ultimately fail to push that tying run across.

But that fact is not the real kick in the teeth. That came from MLB’s executive vice-president for baseball operations Joe Torre.

In a ruling on Thursday, Torre admitted that “an improper call was made”. However, Torre left the call as is, saying “By rule, the decision to reverse a call by use of instant replay is at the sole discretion of the crew chief. In the opinion of Angel Hernandez, who was last night's crew chief, there was not clear and convincing evidence to overturn the decision on the field. It was a judgment call, and as such, it stands as final.”

Torre is referring to rule 9.02a which states, “Any umpires decision which involves judgment, such as, but not limited to, whether a batted ball is fair or foul, whether a pitch is a strike or a ball, or whether a runner is safe or out, is final. No player, manager, coach or substitute shall object to any such judgment decisions.”

However, it begs to ask that if we are making progress toward the correct judgment, should we not also be progressing toward a way to correct improper judgment?

In this case, the Athletics are allowed an appeal to Torre’s office, but based on the way the rule is written – or interpreted, I’m unsure which – that appeal is for naught, as the umpire’s judgment is deemed the final word. They in essence become the judge, jury, and executioner so to speak.

This is not the first example of this, let alone the first time this season. The Tampa Bay Rays were robbed twice by bad calls, once on April 9^th when Marty Foster handed Joe Nathan his 300^th save on poor strike call and another time on April 4^th, when Evan Longoria was ruled to have overrun Ben Zobrist on an RBI single. Unfortunately, you cannot argue balls and strikes, and the umpire refused to ask for help on the April 4^th play.

However, the issue at hand is that the appeals system is nearly non-existent. What good does it do to file said appeal if in essence all you are getting to really say is, “I’m really unhappy Joe.”

It is an absolute disgrace to the game that there is no willingness on the part of Major League Baseball to correct a wrong. Instead, they simply say “sorry” and expect that it is fair to both parties to leave things as ruled on the field. With the insertion of replay, we should be making progress against bad judgment calls rather than enabling them to continue unhindered.

Is the long-term legitimacy of the game really worth bolstering up the ego of an individual?

Carlos Santana: Cleveland Catcher Peaking or Lucky?

2013-05-08T16:17:00.000-04:00

Cleveland Indians catcher Carlos Santana has been somewhat lost over the years, hidden in the shadows cast by other top catchers like Buster Posey, Joe Mauer, Yadier Molina, Matt Weiters, and Miguel Montero. Considering that this is perhaps one of the best corps of catchers in recent memory, if not ever, then it could have been deemed as perfectly understandable.

However, it is not so understandable now.

At 27-years-old, Carlos Santana appears to have consulted a black magic woman and stepped out of the shadows of his peers and skipped to the front of the pack so far in 2013. After 26 games this season, the Cleveland backstop has amassed a pretty impressive slash line of that includes a .355 batting average, a .450 on-base percentage, and an OPS+ of 205. That has put Santana atop of the early-season leaderboard in terms of fWAR among catchers, posting a stellar 1.7 mark through the season's first month-plus.

But has Carlos Santana turned the corner and moved right into his prime, or is he simply the benefactor of a healthy portion of luck?

Among qualifying catchers, Santana is posting the highest BABIP (Batting Average, Balls in Play) with a .415. In fact, Santana is posting the third highest mark in baseball at this stage, with only Carlos Gomez and Torii Hunter (both at .420) posting higher marks.

What this means is that Santana is benefiting from putting the ball into just the right places to make things count. However, it also means that Santana is due to regress back toward his career .281 mark, and here's why.

- Santana is enjoying a 13.3% Infield Hit Percentage, which means he's reaching base 13.3% on infield ground balls. That's nearly twice his career average. For a catcher with no discernible speed, that's a pretty high percentage and is bound to even out.

- For the fourth straight season, Santana's fly-ball ratio is down, currently sitting at a career-low 36.6%. Now, that could be a result of an increased line-drive ratio, which is matching his career-high of 21.1%. Yes, he's getting 23.1% of those fly balls to leave the yard, but for a 27-year-old with decent power, you don't want to see that number regressing.

- Santana has always been a solid hitter in regards to plate discipline, having walked nearly 100 times each of the last two seasons, while reducing his strike-outs from 2011 to 2012. However in 2013, he appears to be going in the opposite direction with his plate discipline. He is striking out 20.2% of the time this season, compared to 16.6% in 2012. That's troubling considering he is actually making better contact, with a swinging-strike percentage of 7.4% and a contact percentage of 80.1%.

None of this is to say that Santana couldn't be finding his potential, but to expect him to maintain an average over .330 with an OPS over 1.000 is highly unlikely. Evolution usually comes in stages, so the Indians will be happy if Santana can push himself closer to .280 with 20+ home runs, 80-85 RBI, and an OPS over .800.

Still, dreamers can keep dreaming can't they?

MLB Prospect Top 10 Power Rankings - 4/29/13

2013-04-29T16:16:00.003-04:00

Courtesy of Rant Sports

The first month of the 2013 Major League Baseball season is coming to a close and we're starting to get a good look at some of baseball's top prospects.

Already, we are seeing some names called up to fill some important roles on their respective squads. Players like Didi Gregorius (Diamondbacks )and Tony Cingrani (Reds) have received call-ups and made immediate impacts for their teams. Others, like Batimore's Dylan Bundy (elbow issues), have been forced to the sidelines with injuries.

But one thing has rung true thus far. Baseball's very best prospects are still making their names in the minors, awaiting the call. With that in mind, here are my updated rankings through the end of April.

1.) Oscar Taveras - Outfielder - St. Louis Cardinals
- Previous Ranking: 2

John Jay is holding his own with the parent club, so the Cardinals are taking their time in starting the Oscar Taveras era in St. Louis. Meanwhile, the five-tool Taveras has been steady at Triple-A this season. Despite being just 20-years-old, the lefty-hitting Taveras is putting up a .284 average with 2 home runs, 7 RBI, and a .742 OPS in 19 games played.

2.) Wil Myers - Outfielder - Tampa Bay Rays
- Previous Ranking: 3

It is not a case of if, but when will Myers gets called up that Rays fans keep asking. The club's offensive roll may help slow down that chant, as the team would prefer to keep Myers from reaching Super Two status too early. However, as his parent club started hitting the ball, so did the 22-year-old Myers, who now sits at .309 with 2 home runs, 16 RBI, and .859 OPS at Triple-A Durham. He's ready, waiting, and mature enough to make the jump when the call comes.

3.) Jurickson Profar - Shortstop - Texas Rangers
- Previous Ranking: 1

Profar's slide in the rankings isn't a measure of his talent, just where he is thus far in the early season. Perhaps it is the non-stop bantering of his name in connection with trades for Taveras, or Giancarlo Stanton, or David Price, or any other high profile trade candidate on the market, but the young Profar is finally stumbling a bit. Thus far, he's slipped to just .214 with 2 home runs, 12 RBI, and a .723 OPS. However, more alarming is that Profar is striking out about 20% of the time right now. While he is also walking nearly as often, that's a heavy percentage, even this early in the season. Still, the key word there is "early" and Profar is too good to stumble for long.

4.) Taijuan Walker - Starting Pitcher - Seattle Mariners
- Previous Ranking: 4

Walker's second go-around with Double-A hitters appears to be going well for the 20-year-old righty. After struggling in the second half of 2012, Walker has been solid thus far in 2013, posting a 2-2 record with a 1.55 ERA and a 9.9 K/9 ratio. One concern would be the 5.6 BB/9 Walker is currently floating, but since that is nearly 2 more than his career mark, we're going to chalk that up as an anomaly right now.

5.) Tony Cingrani - Starting Pitcher - Cincinnati Reds
- Previous Ranking: NR

Our first new addition this week is Tony Cingrani, who has caught the baseball world as somewhat of a surprise. The Reds lefty has made short work of the minors after being drafted out of Rice University in the 3rd Round of the 2011 draft, including 3 starts at Triple-A in 2013 where he scattered 3 hits and struck-out 26 in 14.1 innings. The injury to Johnny Cueto opened the door for Cingrani and he has not missed a beat, going 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA and 28 strike-outs over 3 starts and 18 innings with the Reds. Not too bad for a kid ranked just 66th by MLB.com coming into the 2013 season.

6.) Gerrit Cole - Starting Pitcher - Pittsburgh Pirates
- Previous Ranking: 5

Another guy moving down the list, this time it isn't due to Cole's performance to date. The 22-year-old former 1st overall pick has made 5 appeances at Triple-A in 2013, throwing 23.1 innings while posting a 2-1 records, a 2.31 ERA, and 19 strike-outs. However, he has also struggled with his control in those outings, walking 15 batters for a mark of 5.3 BB/9 innings. Like Walker, that is a blip compared to his career rates, so that should correct itself as he works out the winter kinks.

7.) Miguel Sano - Third Baseman - Minnesota Twins
- Previous Ranking: 7

Sano is perhaps one of the minor's most well-regarded power hitters, even though he has yet to play above High-A. In 23-games with the Fort Myers Miracle, that power has been on full display, with Sano punishing baseballs to the tune of 9 home runs, 5 doubles, 1 triple, and 24 RBI to go along with a 1.162 OPS. However, he also has a thing to learn about plate discipline, as Sano has gone down the way of the K 26 times while walking just 9 times in 100 plate appearances.

8.) Danny Hultzen - Starting Pitcher - Seattle Mariners
- Previous Ranking: 9

The PCL isn't generally regarded as a good pitcher's league, but that hasn't seemed to both Hultzen thus far in 2013. The Mariners lefty is enjoying a fine start, posting a 3-1 record with a 2.78 ERA, and 25 strike-outs in 22.2 innings pitched. Additionally, the 23-year-old has seemingly put his control issues behind him, even if just for the time being, putting up a 2.4 BB/9 ratio thus far. With Aaron Harang struggling, perhaps a call to Hultzen could be in the offing.

9.) Francisco Lindor - Shortstop - Cleveland Indians
Previous Ranking: NR

Another previously unranked prospect, Lindor is the youngest player on this list. However, there are some in baseball that feel the slick fielding shortstop could be the one with the highest upside. After hitting .257 with 6 home runs and 42 RBI as an 18-year-old in Low-A last season, Lindor's bat has seemingly matured overnight. Through 22 games in the Carolina League, Lindor is slugging a solid .843 with a .326 average 28 hits and 7 stolen bases. Furthermore, his plate approach is advanced for his age, as he's walked 71 times in 684 career plate appearances. Combine that will some of the best glove-work in the minors and you have yourself a solid prospect.

10.) Trevor Bauer - Starting Pitcher - Cleveland Indians
Previous Ranking: 8

There has never been any doubts about Bauer's stuff, as he has one of the best fastball/curve combos of all prospects in the game. However, Bauer has this reputation of being a horrible teammate. Regardless, he has put that behind him to start the 2013 Minor League season. Through 3 starts with Triple-A Columbus, Bauer has posted a 1-0 record with a 2.50 ERA and 24 strike-outs in 18 innings pitched, good enough for a 12.0 K/9 ratio. Throw out the April 6th start with Cleveland, and Bauer could be authoring a nice comeback season for his prospect status.

Does Matt Moore Make David Price Decision Easier For Rays?

2013-04-25T16:50:00.001-04:00

There is very little of more value in the baseball world than a 27-year-old former Cy Young winner that is still under team control for two-plus seasons. Every team wants to land a stud pitcher, in his prime, that they still have some negotiating room with.

Enter stage left, David Price.

The Rays lefty is coming off of another solid season, one in which he won the American League Cy Young award while pitching in baseball's toughest division. He's thrown 200+ innings each of his three full season at the Major League level. Oh, and he's good for 200 K's per season.

So why would the Tampa Bay Rays entertain the thought of trading such a prized commodity?

Well, first off, if the Rays move Price at the appropriate time, the return could be astonomical. If James Shields could pry the Minor League Player of the Year away from the Royals, then surely Price could net a larger bounty. We're not just talking about quantity here, but we're also talking about quality, like Jurickson Profar, Oscar Taveras type quality. And that's only part of any return package for Price.

Secondly, the modest-spending Rays like to float a relatively small team payroll, with Tampa having the third lowest in baseball at $57.895 million in 2013. Price, with two years of arbitration left, is the team's highest paid player at $10.113 million, which represents a nearly $7 million increase from 2012. That's already 17.5% of the team's payroll. Imagine what that climbs up to as Price keeps playing the arbitration game. Tampa would more likely move him before his salary impedes them from playing their small market shuffle.

Needless to say, it's safe to assume that the Rays will make a deal that will send Price from Tampa to the highest bidder. That just makes the continued development of Matt Moore all the more important.

Moore was everyone's favorite for the 2012 Rookie of the Year coming into last season. In fact, the Rays thought so much of his cup-of-coffee in 2011, that they inked the rookie to a 5-year, $14 million extension after just 3 appearances at the Major League level. While he didn't exactly live up to those expectations, the hard-throwing Moore still enjoyed a solid season. When all was said and done in 2012, Moore finished 12-12 with a 3.81 ERA, an 8.9 K/9 ratio, and a 1.4 bWAR.

However, the 23-year-old Moore is looking a bit more comfortable in his second go-around.

In 2013, Moore has won all four of his starts with a minuscule 1.04 ERA, having surrendered just 3 earned runs over 26 innings pitched. Opposing hitters are reaching Moore for just a .116 batting average against and he's returning the favor by striking out 10 for every 9 innings pitched. And he's seemingly getting stronger as the early season progresses, holding the Yankees to a single earned run over 8 innings while striking out 9 on Monday night.

Moore stands to be the one with the most to gain if Price departs, and would be the likely heir to the thrown of ace. The best part for the Rays is, because of Andrew Friedman's foresight, he doesn't even begin to make a blip on the payroll scale until 2018 at best, and that is only at $9 million.

The shrewd Rays keep finding a way to restock and reload without breaking the bank, and Price is just another means to that end. David Price had his run, and next it will be Matt Moore's turn.

And, as long as they keep developing the talent they turn these players into, the Rays will keep peskily hanging around. Now all they have to do is get their Profar, Taveras, or whatever high-end prospect they can for Price.

30 Players, 30 Teams - Los Angeles Angels

2013-04-20T20:38:00.000-04:00

Photo: Halos Heaven

Arizona Diamondbacks - Miguel Montero

Atlanta Braves - Craig Kimbrel
Baltimore Orioles - Dylan Bundy
Boston Red Sox - Jon Lester
Chicago Cubs - Anthony Rizzo
Chicago White Sox - Chris Sale
Cincinnati Reds - Brandon Phillips
Cleveland Indians - Asdrubal Cabrera

Colorado Rockies - Troy Tulowitzki
Detroit Tigers - Prince Fielder
Houston Astros - Chris Carter
Kansas City Royals - James Shields

Los Angeles Angels - C.J. Wilson - Starting Pitcher

Acquired: Free Agent - December 8, 2011
Signed Through: 2016 ($54 million remaining)
MLB Debut: June 10, 2005

Picture this, your team is sitting on a not-so-pretty 6-10 record, they have a team ERA of 4.81 and a starters ERA of 5.18. You're already regarded as having a weak starting rotation, and then you add in the fact that you lost your team ace for 6 weeks due to a broken arm suffered on a freak accident while trying to avoid a line drive.

Yup, that is what the Los Angeles Angels are dealing with. And that is precisely why C.J. Wilson becomes so important in 2013.

The 32-year-old shocked some in baseball when he left the comforts of the Texas Rangers and signed a big money deal (5-year, $77.5 million) with the division rival Angels prior to the 2012 season. And the weight of that deal left some pretty high expectations for the lefty.

Coming off a solid 2011 campaign that saw Wilson register career-highs in wins (16), strike-outs (206), and starts (34), the results from his first season were somewhat disappointing. Despite making the same number of starts (34), Wilson saw his strike-out rate decline (7.7), his ERA rise (3.83), and his win total slip to 13. Furthermore, his ERA+ (park adjusted ERA) slipped nearly 60 points from the prior season, despite moving to a less hitter friendly environment.

Ultimately, the season wasn't a complete train wreck for Wilson, but it also left a lot to be desired from a pitcher earning $10 million in a heavily back-loaded contract. Regardless, with Jered Weaver out for an extended period of time, the role of staff stopper falls to Wilson, and will require him to channel those Ranger days again and pick up the reins in L.A.

In two starts since the Weaver injury, the results have varied. On April 9th, Wilson struggled against division-leading Oakland, tossing six innings, but surrendering 4 earned runs in the process. He followed that up by mastering the lowly Astros by spinning 6 innings of 1-run ball.

However, the growing trend shows that Wilson has failed to give the Angels anything more than six innings a start and his game scores of 48, 48, and 57 leave something to be desired from the anointed ace of the staff. In fact, his average game score of 52 in an Angels uniform is tremendously disappointing.

Still, it is something Wilson will have to overcome in his new life in Los Angeles, especially if the Angels want to be able to weather the loss of Weaver. That means stepping up and working deeper into games and shutting down opponents.

And shutting down opponents is exactly what the Angels need right about now.

MLB Prospect Top 10 Power Rankings - 4/18/13

2013-04-18T11:54:00.000-04:00

Photo: SI.com

In the last several seasons, the value of prospects in Major League Baseball has skyrocketed. Teams are becoming more cost conscious and as such, are looking for ways to trim their budgets. A good, controllable rookie is as good a way as any.

So, when MLB.com published their preseason prospect rankings, we received a good look at just what was out there in terms of elite young bats and arms that would one day step up to help their parent clubs. With that in mind, after a few weeks of minor league baseball under our belts, where do those prospects sit today?

We're going to start an updated power ranking for those top rookies.

1.) Jurickson Profar - Shortstop - Texas Rangers

The 20-year-old Profar has made short work of the minor leagues thus far in his young career, but without a true place to put him in the Major Leagues - he's blocked by Elvis Andrus at short and Ian Kinsler at second - Profar started 2013 at Triple-A Round Rock. In 9 games for the Express, Profar is hitting .281 with a .894 OPS and 6 RBI. I'm also encouraged by the nearly 1:1 K/BB ratio (10/8). While not elite numbers, they are enough to keep him in the top slot.

2.) Oscar Taveras - Outfield - St. Louis Cardinals

Taveras may be the single most dangerous bat in all of Minor League baseball, and that's saying something. The 20-year-old, has an advanced swing, reminiscent of Barry Bonds. The only thing truly missing from his game is elite speed, but I don't think you'll hear many complaints about that. In 9 games with Memphis, Taveras is hitting .294 with a home run, 4 RBI, and a .775 OPS in his first turn at Triple-A. It's just a matter of time before he is in St. Louis permanently.

3.) Wil Myers - Outfield - Tampa Bay Rays

The funny thing about the reigning Minor League Player of the Year is that everyone seems to know when he'll join the Rays outfield; May 1st. Still, the 22-year-old Myers waits patiently in Triple-A Durham awaiting the call, and continues to rake, hitting .304 with 9 RBI and a .795 OPS thus far. After hitting 37 home runs between Double and Triple-A last season, it is a bit disappointing that he has yet to hit a bomb through 12 games in 2013, but there's no need to worry. The power is still there, and pretty soon it will be in Tampa.

4.) Taijuan Walker - Starting Pitcher - Seattle Mariners

For those of you that were worries when Walker hit a bump in the road at Triple-A last season, you can officially relax. The 20-year-old right-hander has come out on fire in 2013, posting a 1-2 record with a 2.25 ERA and 19 strike-outs in 16 innings pitched. The 10 walks (5.6/9IP) are a bit worrisome at this stage, but he seems to be working his way around them thus far. He could see a call-up in September, but for now Walker will be the pillar of what is an excellent farm system for the Mariners.

5.) Gerrit Cole - Starting Pitcher - Pittsburgh Pirates

The 22-year-old #1 pick of the 2011 draft made steady progress last season, his first in professional baseball. MLB.com has him ranked at #9, but that's a bit low, and Cole will prove it shortly. Through three starts with Triple-A Indianapolis, Cole is holding his own with a 3.65 ERA, a 1-1 record, and 12 strike-outs in 12 innings pitched. The Pirates are sort of easing him into the season, with Cole averaging just 4 innings per start thus far, but with Wandy Rodriguez on the shelf, they may wish to reexamine that plan.

6.) Jose Fernandez - Starting Pitcher - Miami Marlins

What more can you say about Jose Fernandez? The 20-year-old got an early ticket to the Major Leagues this season, making the team out of camp due to injuries to both Nathan Eovaldi and Henderson Alvarez. However, it looks like it was a good choice for the Marlins, as Fernandez has more than held his own to this point, posting a 0.82 ERA over his first 11 innings and striking out 13 in the process. We'll see if he remains with the team long-term, but for now Fernandez certainly looks like he belongs.

7.) Miguel Sano - Third Base - Minnesota Twins

While Aaron Hicks may have made all the noise this spring for the Twins, it is nonetheless Sano that bears watching long term. The 20-year-old from the Dominican Republic is launched 28 home runs at low-A last season, earning a promotion to start 2013, and he's responded nicely. Through 13 games with the Fort Myers Miracle, Sano is tearing the cover off the ball, hitting .380 with 4 home runs, 12 RBI, and a 1.139 OPS. Something tells me this young man will be moving up the ladded quite quickly this season.

8.) Jameson Taillon - Starting Pitcher - Pittsburgh Pirates

Taillon becomes the second Pirates pitcher to crack this list. The 21-year-old right-hander is likely a year behind Cole in terms of being ready, but he could eventually be better than Cole long-term. At 6' 6", he gets excellent drive on the ball, resulting in a high-90's fastball, a solid curve, and an above-average change-up. Through three starts at Double-A Altoona, Taillon is 2-1 with a 1.00 ERA and has 20 strike-outs in 18 innings pitched.

9.) Danny Hultzen - Starting Pitcher - Seattle Mariners

What a one-two-three punch that the Mariners will have on their hands when Walker and Hultzen join Felix Hernandez in Seattle next season. The 23-year-old Hultzen is every bit the stud that Walker is, but with a bit more polish, with plus offerings with his fastball , slider, and change-up. In 3 starts with Triple-A Tacoma, Hultzen is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA and 20 strike-outs in 16.2 innings pitched, so the stuff is there and ready. He's just waiting for the call at this point.

10.) Anthony Rendon - Third Baseman - Washington Nationals

Rendon is just the latest in a long line of smartly drafted, well developed players in the Nationals system. The 23-year-old is tearing up the ball at Double-A Harrisburg, posting a .311 average with 2 home runs, 7 RBI, and a 1.000 OPS through 13 games. What's more impressive is his understanding of the strike-zone, having shown an advanced approach with 12 walks to his 7 strike-outs in 2013. With injury concerns in his past, the Nationals will likely want to see a full season under his belt before assessing his projection at the highest level, which will also likely include a position switch with Ryan Zimmerman entrenched at third. However, if he can put together a solid season of health and productivity at both Double and Triple-A in 2013, he could be with the big club in 2014.

30 Players, 30 Teams - Kansas City Royals

2013-04-16T15:39:00.001-04:00

Source: Jamie Squire/Getty Images North America

Colorado Rockies - Troy Tulowitzki
Detroit Tigers - Prince Fielder
Houston Astros - Chris Carter

Kansas City Royals - James Shields - Starting Pitcher

Acquired: Trade - December 9, 2012
Signed Through: 2013 (2014 Team Option - $12 million)
MLB Debut: May 31, 2006

After the 2010 season ended, James Shields was at a crossroads in his career. Despite the team winnings its first division title and the Rays taking the American League pennant, Shields was far from where he wanted to be, posting an unsightly record of 13-15 with an ERA of 5.18. He lead the league in hits, home runs, and earned runs allowed.

Needless to say, things needed to change and fast.

Shields was completely embarrassed by the 2010 wreckage, but was thankful to have been able to participate in the postseason for the first time in his career. The then 29-year-old right-hander came back for the 2011 season reinvigorated and dedicated to putting that 2010 campaign behind him.

And after a rough start on April 8th, where he allowed 5 earned runs over 6 innings to the White Sox, he effectively did.

From that fateful start against the White Sox, James Shields posted a 16-11 record, a 2.71 ERA, and a 8.3 K/9 ratio. Furthermore, he would lead all of baseball with a 11 complete games, 4 shut-outs, and went from a -1.5 bWAR in 2010 to a 5.2 in 2011. That lead to Shields earning his first ever trip to the All-Star Game and a third place finish in the American League Cy Young Award voting.

The coast has remained smooth sailing ever since, with the right-hander winning another 15 games and posting a 3.52 ERA in 2012. But with good news comes the bad, especially in cost-conscious Tampa Bay. The Rays just couldn't keep up with the rising cost of Shields' talent, let alone the price of filling other holes.

That lead Tampa trading the talented pitcher to the Kansas City Royals, along with fellow pitcher Wade Davis, in exchange for the Minor League Player of the Year, Wil Myers and fellow prospects Mike Montgomery, Patrick Leonard, and Jake Odirizzi.

Naturally, after losing such a talent as Myers, the Kansas City community flipped out. They spent a 2012 season enthralled by what the young Myers would represent for the team in the future, only to have him pried from their fingers at the moment he was ready to help the team.

But Shields gives the Royals something they have needed over the years; a leader in the pitching staff. Sensing an opportunity to win, the Royals took the plunge and added Shields in an effort to not only give them a proven arm in the rotation, but to also bring over some of Maddon's clubhouse culture to Kansas City.

And while the early results have been highly encouraging from Shields, despite a 1-2 record, the overall affect on the Royals has been bigger. A young team, the Royals are playing like they believe they can win the division, an obvious influence from Shields to thank for that spirit.

In the end, that's going to mark the true value of the Shields/Myers trade. If the Royals can continue to win, the acquisition of Shields will be seen as a success.

And they'll have Shields' determination to improve after a rough 2010 to thank for it.

30 Players, 30 Teams - Houston Astros

2013-04-14T14:55:00.002-04:00

Photo:David J. Phillips, Caller.com

Colorado Rockies - Troy Tulowitzki
Detroit Tigers - Prince Fielder

Houston Astros - Chris Carter - Left Fielder

Acquired: Trade - February 4, 2013
Signed Through: 2019 (Pre-arbitration Eligible)
MLB Debut: August 9, 2010

For a team with an Opening Day payroll of under $25 million, a lot needs to break the right way in order for the Houston Astros to have any sort of success on the field. Some of that is relying on their young players to make a successful transitions to the Major Leagues, but a greater struggle is finding a diamond or two in the rough that can take advantage of every day playing time that they otherwise wouldn't get with another organization.

So far in the 2013 season, first baseman/outfielder Chris Carter is starting to look like that diamond in the rough.

The 26-year-old Carter would certainly fit the bill. Originally a 15th round selection of the Chicago White Sox in 2005, he blossomed into a promising power-hitter in the minor leagues, where he has hit 182 home runs in 826 games, or an average of one home run per every 20 at-bats. That has lead to Carter being a part of not one, not two, not three, but four different trades with teams trying to cash in on his power potential.

On December 3rd, 2007, Carter was flipped by the White Sox to the Arizona Diamondbacks for outfielder Carlos Quentin.

Just 11 days later, on December 14, 2007, the Diamondbacks sent him with Dana Eveland, Brett Anderson, Aaron Cunningham, Carlos Gonzalez, and Greg Smith to the Oakland Athletics for Dan Haren and Connor Robertson.

On February 4th, 2013, Carter was acquired by Houston with Max Stassi and Brad Peacock in exchange for Jed Lowrie and Fernando Rodriguez.

Needless to say, Chris Carter has been a solid chip in some deals that have involved some fairly significant players going back and forth. But why is he being moved as much as he is?

Well, a lot of that has to do with the fact that Carter has no natural position on the field, making him a defensive liability wherever he is stationed. It has taken Carter a great deal of time to grasp his potential at the Major League level, where he finally started to show some of that power when he launched 16 home runs for the A's in just 67 games in 2012.

In Houston, Carter appears to have found a home, and with the Astros in flux, he'll likely be given the long leash he's been needing all along. In 11 games this season, Carter is hitting a solid .289 with 4 home runs, 7 RBI, and a .919 OPS. He'll be given ample playing time to continue that trend and the Astros will be reliant on his ability to provide power in a line-up that could be well short of it in 2013.

Of course, Carter is prone to the strike-out as well, as he is currently on pace to whiff 265 times this season. In fairness though, the Astros are leading the league as a team in that category, and are on pace to shatter the single-season team record for strike-outs, topping the 2010 Diamondbacks by 100 K's.

Regardless, the Astros have nothing to lose by giving Carter his time to shine. He'll be given the ability to swing away as much as he wants, and the team is willing to accept a little bit of extra breeze in exchange for a few extra home run trots.

And who knows, maybe if those trots add up, maybe another trade partner will pop up down the road.

Giancarlo Stanton and Carlos Gonzalez: The Art of the Trade

2013-04-13T07:00:00.000-04:00

As fantasy baseball players, we can all understand the difficulty involved with making trades. After all those years of swapping baseball cards with your friends, it knocks you off guard to find out that there is a lot more involved when swapping players for a fake baseball team.

First, you have to find the perfect partner, someone with whom you can not only match up in terms of needs, but also in supplying what they require. That requires examining the surplus of talent you have as well as combing through each opponent to understand how to make them want what you have.

Second, you have to then determine a worthwhile offer with which to entice them into dealing with you. Be prepared, because this first offer is often rejected and countered. If its not, then you over-packed the offer from the get-go.

Then you have the back and forth negotiating, attempting to work out a deal that is inevitably fair for everyone (and one that will be approved by other owners as well). This could be the most difficult task, as each and every owner (you included) wants to come out the winner in any trade. It's the nature of competition and the trade market is no different.

Doesn't sound so bad, does it?

Well, imagine for a minute that this is a six-year keeper league, meaning that each player on the roster is with you as long as you don't release or trade them for a minimum of six season, as long as you don't release or trade any of them. To make things difficult, we'll give you are given a salary cap with which to work with. Just for kicks, let's throw in the fact that we can swap minor-leaguers as well, a minor-leaguer with a service clock that starts when they reach the Major Leagues.

Does it still sound easy? It shouldn't, because that is what Major League general managers have to deal with.

On Thursday, we learned (from Andy Martino of the NY Daily News) that the New York Mets were keeping an eye on outfielders Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins and Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies. While both targets are extremely attractive candidates for any general manager to chase after and the Mets would be a good trade partner for both the Rockies and Marlins, Sandy Alderson, Larry Beinfest, and Dan O'Dowd have a lot to consider in any deal.

- It isn't often that a big trade involving a player under team control goes down mid-season. Stanton is under team control through 2016 and would be eligible for arbitration for the first time this coming winter, making him extremely affordable, even for the Marlins.

Gonzalez is under team control through the 2017 season, but it less affordable than Stanton, being locked into a multi-year contract that will pay him $63.5 million over the next four seasons.

- In order for the Marlins to part with Stanton, the Mets would need to send quite the package to Miami. That would likely have to be headlined with the pair of Zack Wheeler and Travis d'Arnaud. Wheeler, was acquired in the Carlos Beltran deal two years ago and is currently ranked as the 8th best prospect in the game. d'Arnaud came to New York in the R.A. Dickey trade with the Blue Jays and is rated the sixth best prospect in baseball.

- Gonzalez, with his heavier price tag, and his being four years older than Stanton, would likely require a smaller package. d'Arnaud or Wheeler would have to be the center piece, but the deal likely wouldn't require both.

- That all said, the Mets (Alderson) then needs to decide if four years of either Stanton or Gonzalez are worth more than six seasons of low-priced team control over the top catching prospect and one of the best pitching prospect.

- On the flip side, while a deal would make real sense to the Marlins, they run the risk of further alienating their fan base by moving Stanton, their last remaining star player. However, one would find it hard to fault them for chasing a four-player package with Wheeler and d'Arnaud headlining the deal.

For the Rockies, that deal is much easier to do, as they need to drastically improve their pitching staff and getting Gonzalez's salary off the books would help them improve the team long-term. Wheeler would make more sense here, as the Rockies already have a solid young catcher in Wilin Rosario.

- Both teams also need to realize the longer they wait, the less control they surrender of these players and the small the return package becomes.

- Equally so, the Mets could make a huge splash by bringing in Stanton or Gonzalez, especially given the contract they gave David Wright signaling that they are not rebuilding the team.

Needless to say, there are a lot of moving pieces in any deal of this scope, and I can't say that I would envy either GM of their ordeal. If you thought making a trade for a fake baseball team was difficult, just imagine what it means when you are deciding the next 4-6 years of your organization.

That's what these three teams are trying to weigh, and there is no guarantee regardless of which path they take.

Easy, I don't think so.

Greinke Breaks Collarbone in Brawl, Quentin Punishment Coming

2013-04-12T20:50:00.001-04:00

By now, thanks to my late take on the ordeal, we are all familiar with the incident that occurred last night between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres. For those that have not been educated though, we will briefly recap the incident.

In the sixth inning, of a one-run game, Dodgers starter Zack Greinke struck Padres right fielder in the left shoulder with a fastball, sparking a bench clearing brawl between the two clubs. Here is the replay of the incident, courtesy of MLB.com

Your browser does not support iframes.

As you heard in the video above, Quentin tries to play off his need to charge the mound on the fact that Greinke has a history of hitting Quentin with pitches. Well, to some degree, Quentin has a point as is evidenced by this chart by Baseball-Reference.com, which shows Greinke's history against Quentin:

	PA	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	HBP	GDP
Carlos Quentin	31	6	0	0	3	4	2	5	.231	.355	.577	.932	3	1
Total	47	10	1	0	3	4	3	7	.244	.340	.488	.828	3	2

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used

Generated 4/12/2013.

Ok, point Quentin.

However, Quentin has also been known to get hit frequently by pitches. In fact, he has lead all of Major League Baseball in the category two years in a row, which is saying something considering that he missed 44 games in 2011 and played in only 86 contests in 2012. Quentin ranks 7th among active players in being hit by pitches, showing that maybe Greinke isn't going head-hunting after all, but that he isn't afraid to give away the inside of the plate away to a man that obviously dives over it.

But Dodger manager Don Mattingly also brings up a good point in the above video. It was a 1-run game in the bottom of the sixth inning and the count was 3-2 to Quentin. Not exactly a spot where you throw at a batter, regardless of whether or not one of your own had one fly past his head earlier in the game, as Matt Kemp did.

Point Mattingly.

Despite the timing not calling for it, Quentin charged anyway, and in the process of colliding with Greinke, who wisely turned away from his pitching arm, broke the pitchers left collarbone. Greinke will undergo surgery on the collarbone on Saturday, and will miss the next 8 weeks of the season.

Now, Mattingly brings up another interesting suggestion here. While typically a mound charging would advocate a 5-game suspension, it is rare that such an injury occurs during such a melee. With that in mind, the Dodgers manager has openly said that Quentin should face a punishment equal to whatever time Greinke misses due to the injury.

That's right, Mattingly is suggesting that if Quentin feels an eye for an eye is an adequate reason to charge the mound, then the commissioners office should seek a similarly path in exacting a punishment to Quentin.

Quite frankly, I think it is a brilliant solution and one that should also hold true in the reverse, if an injury occurs to a batter who is deemed to have been intentionally thrown at. It will certainly help to deter those that feel they have to take matters into their own hands instead of letting the game play out the way that it was meant to.

Will the Players Union allow it to happen? Not without a fight. Will Quentin appeal any suspension, regardless of length? Very likely. However, it shouldn't stop the commissioner's office from trying to punish him to the highest extent possible.

Nobody wins when this nonsense occurs on the field, but Quentin should also feel the sting of loss in this case.

Angels Jered Weaver To Miss 4-6 Weeks With Broken Arm

2013-04-09T16:06:00.001-04:00

The Los Angeles Angels already had a suspect pitching staff. Now they will have to fend without their ace for the next 4-6 weeks, according to Ken Rosenthal at FoxSports.

Right-hander Jered Weaver broke his non-pitching elbow on Sunday night when he dove to avoid a line-drive off the bat from Mitch Moreland of the Texas Rangers. At the time, Weaver had thought it was just a hyper-extension, but further examinations showed a non-displaced radial fracture in the elbow.

Weaver finished third in the Cy Young balloting in 2012, posting a 20-5 record with a 2.81 ERA and a 6.8 K/9 ratio in 188.2 innings pitched. It was Weaver's third straight season finishing in the top-5 of the Cy Young voting, but it was also the third straight season of declining strike-out totals. After peaking at 233 K's in 2010, Weaver dropped to 142 a season ago.

Year	W	L	ERA	G	CG	SHO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA+	WHIP	SO/9
2006	11	2	2.56	19	0	0	123.0	94	36	35	15	33	105	177	1.033	7.7
2007	13	7	3.91	28	0	0	161.0	178	77	70	17	45	115	116	1.385	6.4
2008	11	10	4.33	30	0	0	176.2	173	88	85	20	54	152	103	1.285	7.7
2009	16	8	3.75	33	4	2	211.0	196	91	88	26	66	174	117	1.242	7.4
2010	13	12	3.01	34	0	0	224.1	187	83	75	23	54	*233*	132	1.074	9.3
2011	18	8	2.41	33	4	2	235.2	182	65	63	20	56	198	156	1.010	7.6
2012	20	5	2.81	30	3	2	188.2	147	63	59	20	45	142	134	*1.018*	6.8
2013	0	1	4.91	2	0	0	11.0	9	6	6	2	6	6	84	1.364	4.9
8 Yrs	102	53	3.25	209	11	6	1331.1	1166	509	481	143	359	1125	128	1.145	7.6
162 Game Avg.	17	9	3.25	34	2	1	217	190	83	78	23	58	183	128	1.145	7.6

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/9/2013.

At a glance, the Angels will have a tough time replacing Weaver's productivity on the mound.

24-year-old Garrett Richards will get the first crack. Richards split time between the bullpen and the rotation in 2012, making 30 appearances (9 starts) and posting a 4-3 record, a 4.69 ERA, and a 6.0 K/9 ratio. The Angels also have Jerome Williams available should Richards not make the transition from the pen.

Of course, this adds to the argument that the Angels should have strove to resign right-hander Zack Greinke, who, instead signed with the cross-town Dodgers, while the Angels committed that money to Josh Hamilton instead.

How does this decision look now, with the Angels without an ace and a collection of middle of the rotation starters?

30 Players, 30 Teams - Detroit Tigers

2013-04-08T16:29:00.001-04:00

Colorado Rockies - Troy Tulowitzki

Detroit Tigers - Prince Fielder - First Baseman

Acquired: Free Agent - January 26, 2012
Signed Through: 2020 (8-year, $191 million remaining)
MLB Debut: June 13, 2005

There is a certain amount of stock to put into a baseball player's pedigree, and then there is Prince Fielder.

The younger Fielder grew up around the game, right in old Tiger Stadium, as his father was exploding onto the baseball scene in the early 1990's. There are even stories of the "little" fella launching home runs in that haven to home runs, even as a child.

So when Prince wanted to come home to Detroit, the Tigers opened up their arms (and wallets) to bring him into the fold.

While his power numbers dropped a bit while moving to Detroit, Fielder nonetheless made quite the impression on the Tigers in 2012. With a .313 batting average, a .940 OPS, 30 home runs, and 108 RBI, Fielder still made plenty of noise with his bat. His 4.9 wins above replacement (baseball-reference) were the second highest of his career and he finished 9th in the MVP balloting for the season.

But what he truly brought to the Tigers was respect.

Because Fielder never gets cheated on any swing, opposing pitchers had to respect the pure power of the 275lbs behemoth. And because they respected the damage his bat could cause, they could no longer pitch around slugger Miguel Cabrera.

We all know what that lead to for Cabrera; a monster season that resulted in Major League Baseball's first triple-crown winner since 1967, when Carl Yastrzemski accomplished the feat for the Boston Red Sox.

Would that have been accomplished without Fielder's bat in the line-up behind Cabrera's? Not likely.

Now, here we stand a year later, and the Detroit Tigers are built to make another run at the American League Central crown. The vaunted pitching staff is intact once again, but after adding Torii Hunter and getting Victor Martinez back from injury, it will be the line-up that has teams wary of the Tigers in 2013.

With the added presence of Martinez behind Fielder in the line-up have a similar affect to Prince's presence behind Cabrera? We'll have to see, but at least we know one thing for certain.

Prince Fielder will be smiling from ear-to-ear as he steps into the box.

Is Perfection A Road To Mediocrity?

2013-04-07T11:52:00.002-04:00

Felix Hernandez has always been a tremendous talent on the pitching mound. Turning just 27-years-old on Monday, Hernandez has already amassed a 99-77 record with a 3.21 ERA, a 8.2 K/9 ratio, and a cumulative bWAR of 33.4 over the course of 8 seasons.

So when Hernandez tossed Major League Baseball's 23rd perfect game (and the 3rd of 2012), it came with a certain amount of expectation. After all, King Felix was built to be perfect and had pitched to that pedigree up until that point.

But could that 2012 perfecto have started a downward trend for Hernandez?

Dating from August 21st (Hernandez's first start after the perfect game) through October 1st (his final start of last season) the Mariners right-hander made 8 more starts on the season. In those 8 starts, Hernandez was mostly human, posting a 2-6 record with a 4.67 ERA and surrendering 27 earned runs in 52 innings pitched. During that stretch, hitters touched him for a .308 batting average, a .759 OPS, and a .390 baBIP.

Needless to say, those aren't quite King Felix-caliber statistics there.

Regardless, the Mariners sought to re-up with their ace this winter, inking Hernandez to a 7-year, $175 million extension. The signing was not without its hang-ups though, as concerns about his elbow arose during his physical and language was placed in the contract to help protect the Mariners should an injury result of it.

So with the contract pressure behind them, the ace turned the page on 2012 and looked to regain his form in 2013.

In his first start of the season, the old Hernandez took the mound, throwing 7.2 innings of scoreless baseball against the Oakland Athletics, striking out 8 in the process. His game score of 80 was his first time eclipsing the mark since August 27, 2012. Everything seemed to be back on track.

Well, Hernandez followed that up with a rough start Saturday, where the White Sox notched 4 runs against him over the course of 6.1 innings, with Hernandez striking out only 3 and walking a pair in the process. His game score dove to a rather pedestrian 46.

So if we are rating on a basis of game scores, since firing his perfect game on August 15, 2012, Hernandez has average a game score of 51.3, well below what would be deemed average. However, Hernandez may not be the only victim of this trend.

Now Hernandez may just be victim of the number of innings his right arm has accumulated over the years. Four straight seasons of 230-plus innings can do that, even to the best of arms.

Matt Cain, since achieving a game score of 101 when firing his perfect game on June 13, 2012, has averaged a game score average of 56. Philip Humber, since picking up his perfecto on April 26th, has averaged a paltry game score of 40. Now Humber is not nearly the caliber of pitcher of Cain or Hernandez, but he does continue the trend.

Needless to say, this is just a small sample size, but it bears watching as the season progresses. Of course, Cain and Hernandez are a different breed, and judging by their contracts, the Giants and Mariners better hope that they buck it.

Bait And Switch Can Kill A Fantasy Season

2013-04-06T07:00:00.000-04:00

The first few days of the baseball season can be an extremely funny time. Some guys struggle initially and we sort of shrug it off, reminding ourselves that the season is a 162-game marathon. However, when a guy explodes out of the gate, he's all of a sudden the second coming of Babe Ruth.

Those are the times when we need to slap ourselves with a dead fish.

For those of us that have forgotten the past, let me remind you of a guy named Chris Shelton. Shelton, a first baseman for the Detroit Tigers, hit 8 home runs in the team's first 13 games of the 2006 season. That rush resulted in Shelton being a quick addition to fantasy teams everywhere. However, Shelton quickly trailed off from there, hitting just 7 more during the remainder of the season, and was sent down to the Minor Leagues for the month of August.

Shelton would play just 50 more games in the Major Leagues and hit just 2 more home runs after the 2006 season. At 32-years-old, he is no longer in professional baseball.

What was significant about the 2006 season for Shelton is that it over-shadowed another player who was having an equally impressive April. While Shelton finished April with 10 home runs, 20 RBI, and a growing notoriety, this other player hit 14 home runs and drove in 38 runs during the month.

That player was Albert Pujols.

The point being, is that we put an awful lot of stock into what those players have accomplished in such a short sample size. And right now, as I am typing this, there are people clambering to find ways of adding Chris Davis and Michael Morse to their respective fantasy line-ups.

Chris Davis, a 27-year-old first baseman, spent three seasons in Texas, unable to crack Texas's everyday line-up and eventually being cast off in a trade with Baltimore. Davis became an intergral part of Baltimore's run to the playoffs in 2012, hitting .270 with a career-high 33 home runs and 85 RBI for the Orioles.

Davis has come out of the gate strongly, swatting 3 home runs and driving in 11 in Baltimore's first three games of the season. That mark includes a ridiculous 2.420 OPS in that one series on the season.

Another player jumping the shark early on is Michael Morse of the Seattle Mariners.

Morse was a big pick-up for the Mariners this winter, coming over in a trade with the Washington Nationals, who no longer had room for him after picking up Denard Span and resigning Adam LaRoche. The 31-year-old Morse is no stranger to Seattle, having started his career there, but it took leaving town in order for him to find his potential and blossoming into a 30+ home run hitter in Washington during the 2011 season.

Morse has streaked to begin the season as well, taking comfort while swinging toward the recently brought-in walls of Safeco Field. His four home runs lead Major League Baseball at this early point of the season, putting him on pace for 162 on the season.

Certainly, Morse is taking advantage of the move to a more hitter friendly park and his hot start is a good sign for Mariners fans looking for offense from a team that has been dreadful at it over the years. Orioles fans are equally happy with Davis continuing where he left off a season ago, lending credence to the hope that 2012 was not a fluke.

Still, expectations need to be tempered. Quick starts are just as bad at projecting value as a slow start, especially given the small sample size. Buying into or selling based on false value is a good way to kill one's hopes of having any sort of successful fantasy baseball season whatsoever.

A marathoner wins through patience and prudent action when the need arises. Championships are won by finding adequate bargains and taking low-cost risks. Monitor, but don't plunge into unrealistic paces by players who could not possibly keep them up.

Still, if you buy into paces, I'd be more than happy to flip either of these blossoming (insert snicker here) sluggers for your slow-starting Robinson Cano, Mike Trout, or any other somewhat useful piece of your line-up.

It will be well worth my time when Morse and Davis are hanging drywall with Chris Shelton a few years from now.

Ruptured Roberts

2013-04-06T06:53:00.000-04:00

Brian Roberts, 35, went 5-for-12 with a double, run scored, RBI and stolen base in the first three games of this season.

B Rob was put on the 15 day DL for a ruptured tend in the back of his right knee. It could be a three-four week rehab
MGR Showalter isn't a doctor but here's his assessment :

"Considering that's the same tendon area they take out of your leg for Tommy John, which tells you some doctors think it's not a part of your body you necessarily have to have in that area," Showalter said.

This is Roberts' 13th season with O's. From 2003-2009 he played a 138 games or more per season. Back and abdominal issues caused him to missed 97 games in 2010, the first year of a 4-year , $40 million deal. Concussions came next and he has played in only 115 of the Orioles’ 486 games (2010-12), or 23.7 percent. He has a solid all-around game including 50 SB in 2007.

Management and teammates support him and attest to how hard he 's worked to get back on the field full time.

Ryan Flaherty, Alexi Casilla, and other will replace him at 2B, but there's no question that his absence leaves a big void. However, we did make the playoffs last with BRob playing in only 17 games early in the season. The mental recovery may prove more difficult than the physical.

30 Players, 30 Teams - Colorado Rockies

2013-04-05T19:08:00.004-04:00

Colorado Rockies - Troy Tulowitzki - Shortstop

Acquired: Draft - 1st Round 2005 (7th Overall)
Signed Through: 2020 (8-year, $140 million remaining, $15 million club option for 2021)
MLB Debut: August 30, 2006

For the life of me, I cannot find a more polarizing player in baseball than Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.

There is no denying the talent the kid has, as it is difficult to find a shortstop that averages 29 home runs and 103 RBI per 162-games, while also playing Gold Glove quality defense. Case in point, Tulowitzki has been worth 6 or more wins above replacement (baseball-reference) 4 times during his career, with 2 of those wins being contributed on the defensive side.

When he and Carlos Gonzalez are in the line-up together, the Rockies have one of the best, young 1-2 punches in baseball.

The problem has been that you just don't know if you are going to see Tulowitzki for a full season or if that salary is going to pay for a disabled list veteran.During his 8-year career, Tulowitzki has appeared in 150 games just twice, while missing 30 or more games three times, including making just 47 appearances a year ago.

There is also no denying just how much he means to the Colorado Rockies and the future of their organization. The Rockies recognized that by inking Tulowitzki to a monster contract that has him locked into Colorado at least through the 2020 season. But at some point, the Rockies (with a team payroll of $78,069,571) have to question whether Tulowitzki and his $16-$20 million salary over each of the next seven seasons is the correct allocation of resources.

Firstly, the Rockies obviously have many needs elsewhere on the diamond, specifically the pitching staff, and having 20% of your team payroll dedicated to one player does not do much to help fill those needs. It prevents the team, which is already hampered by the pitching environment they play in, from using that money to lure a top of the rotation starter to Denver.

Secondly, the value of Tulowitzki on the trade market, especially a healthy Tulo, could help secure the Rockies a sizable package of players that could help replenish their farm system. If they were able to convince Seattle to flip them a similar package to the one the Mariners offered Arizona for Justin Upton, one with two solid pitchers (Taijaun Walker and Stephen Pryor) a solid reliever in Charlie Furbush (best name in baseball), and a solid young shortstop in Nick Franklin, I think you'd be hard pressed to see the Rockies balk at such a deal.

The problem is, the Rockies are in love with Tulowitzki, and rightfully so, but it clouds their judgement for the organization. Perhaps Todd Helton's deal coming off the books after this season helps them overcome that obstacle, but until they still may wish to see what is dangling out there, especially while Tulowitzki is healthy, mashing, and making spectacular plays.

Tomorrow, that opportunity may not be there.

30 Players, 30 Teams - Cleveland Indians

2013-04-02T20:39:00.003-04:00

It is a difficult thing for any player to have to sit back in the offseason and hear that you are likely to be traded. In the internet age, speculation runs rampant day in and day out. Today you're headed for Arizona, tomorrow you ticketed for Cincinnati.

For most of the winter, Asdrubal Cabrera was certain he was being flipped. After all, Cleveland was rebuilding and his salary, along with those on Shin-Soo Choo and Chris Perez, was deemed too high for the small market Indians to carry in 2013.

So when the three-way trade between the Indians, Reds, and Diamondbacks was being finalized, Cabrera's name naturally came up. However, when the deal was announced it was Jason Donald being dealt to Cincinnati and young Didi Gregorius got sent from the Reds to Arizona.

Cabrera was staying put in Cleveland.

Now, the Indians have a motivated, solid producer at shortstop ready to help the Indians win in 2013, which would also mean they do not pursue another trade.

For his career, the 27-year-old Cabrera is a .279 career hitter with 59 career home runs and .757 career OPS. However, it is his last two seasons that have really defined Asdrubal as a ballplayer. During that span, he holds a .272 average, but has averaged 20 home runs and 80 RBI, making him one of the best run producers at the shortstop position over the last two seasons. You have to wonder if he sticks at shortstop long-term, as his UZR for his career is -30.1, but even with a shift to second or third, his production should continue to play well.

For the Indians, that makes him an incredibly important player for them, especially batting near the top of their brand-new line-up, slotted right behind lead-off man Michael Bourn. And with a team largely constructed of new players and a new attitude, a little bit of consistency if just what Terry Francona could ask for.

Staying in Cleveland, that same consistency is something Cabrera will be most thankful for as well.

The Baseball Big Brother Project 2013 National League Season Predictions

2013-03-30T20:58:00.001-04:00

With games starting as Sunday night when the newly minted American League Houston Astros host their cross-state rival Texas Rangers on Sunday night, the 2013 Major League Baseball season is upon us. No more talk about the Hot Stove, no more trade or free agent speculation, just baseball. Pure and simple.

But we still have a few days left before the first pitch is thrown and the long, arduous season is underway. That means we have a few more minutes to make some predictions and assumptions about how things will play out and who will be wearing the crown when the dust settles.

In case you missed it, we started with the American League yesterday. Tonight, we're going to move forward with the National League, and then close things out on Monday with an Awards prediction.

So, let's open this up shall we?!

National League East

1.) Washington Nationals
2.) Atlanta Braves (WC)
3.) Philadelphia Phillies
4.) New York Mets
5.) Miami Marlins

The Washington Nationals were the toast of baseball in 2012, putting together baseball's best record during the regular season at 98-64. However, their postseason dreams were short-lived when the Cardinals came back from a 0-2 deficit during the divisional series to send them home. So the strong went and got stronger. Washington added Dan Haren to replace Edwin Jackson, Denard Span via a trade with Minnesota, and shored up at closer with Rafael Soriano. Oh, and they get some guy named Stephen Strasburg for a full season. Yeah, this team is sick and should be considered a favorite, not only for the divison, but the World Series as well.

Playing second fiddle will be the Atlanta Braves, who had a solid offseason of their own. The Braves knew they needed more thunder in their line-up, so they signed B.J. Upton and then acquired Justin Upton in a trade with Arizona that cost them Martin Prado and a slew of prospects. That said, Atlanta is now home to one of the best outfields in baseball, with the Upton brothers and Jason Heyward holding down the fort. The team is also strong in the pitching department, with a solid rotation and a stellar closer in Craig Kimbrel. That will all be good enough for the Wild Card, but not the division title.

Speaking of better, but not quite good enough, we have the Philadelphia Phillies. Philadelphia is still lead by its pitching staff, but the entire roster is aging in a hurry. Ryan Howard looks at leas 5 years older after an Achilles injury last season, Roy Halladay looks like years of high innings totals are finally catching up to him, and you never know how healthy Chase Utley is going to be. The Phillies did make two solid additions in Ben Revere and Michael Young, but this is a team in its last year of contending before a tear-down is in order.

Tear-downs are exactly what has been going on with the New York Mets. Jon Niese, Dillon Gee, and Matt Harvey are three solid young arms, but what looks to be a possible career-ending injury to Johan Santana may doom this team from the start. After trading R.A. Dickey this winter, the Mets are as thinner in the rotation that any team in baseball outside of Colorado. Additionally, outside of David Wright and the inconsistency of Lucas Duda and Ike Davis, this offense it a mess. The only reason they don't finish last is that they play in the same division as....

The Miami Marlins did what is practically inexcusable in baseball. They finally get the brand new stadium they were clambering for and then screw the fans by dismantling the team in one broad stroke. Yes, the Marlins got some solid prospects in return from Toronto in Jake Marisnick, Adeiny Hechavarria, and Justin Nicholino, but outside of Hechavarria, the rest of the lot is at least 3 seasons away from being Major League ready. Can the people of Miami really wait another three seasons to see a return on their investment before they lynch Jeffery Loria in the streets?

National League Central

1.) Cincinnati Reds
2.) St. Louis Cardinals
3.) Chicago Cubs
4.) Milwaukee Brewers
5.) Pittsburgh Pirates

You really have to appreciate a team like the Cincinnati Reds. They play the game the way it is meant to be played, with passion and fun. That formula lead them to a 97-65 record last season, and the team made a few small tweaks in 2013 to help make them just a bit better. Adding Shin-Soo Choo will be an experiment in center, but having his bat in the line-up alongside Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, and Jay Bruce will be solid. The only question with the Reds is why they signed Jonathan Broxton to close and then keep Aroldis Chapman in the role. Regardless, this is a team that is on the cusp of making a real playoff dent.

The Cardinals are my choice for runner-up in the division, but not because I believe they are as good or better than the team that won 88 games a year ago. I just feel this is a weak division, again, and the Cardinals always seem to prosper from that. They signed Adam Wainright to a long-term extension, but they also let Kyle Lohse walk without replacing him adequately. Furthermore, I'm not convinced that Jon Jay is the right choice in centerfield, especially when Oscar Taveras is knocking on the door.

One team that made some solid noise this winter in this division was the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs are still in a rebuilding phase, but they made some decent moves to make them at least more competitive this season, adding Edwin Jackson, Scott Feldman, and Carlos Villanueva to the rotation and Nate Schierholtz to the outfield. A full season of Anthony Rizzo will provide needed punch. That all said, if the Cubs should falter, watch them closely. With a trade chips in Matt Garza and Alfonso Soriano to flip, there is a move to be made there. And is it too early to think they may consider a blockbuster trade for Starlin Castro with Javier Baez making some noise in camp and expected to start the season at Double-A.

When I orignally wrote these rankings, I had already written off the Milwaukee Brewers. Then they signed Kyle Lohse to a three-year deal. Well, I still think they are going to struggle in 2013. The loss of Corey Hart is going to be tough to replace, and the platoon of Alex Gonzalez and Yuniesky Betancourt at first isn't going to get it done. Additionally, the long-term extension the team signed with Carlos Gomez looks like a stinker right out of the gate. I just don't think this team has what it takes to play as a cohesive unit.

Finally, we have the Pittsburgh Pirates. I actually the Pirates as a team and wish they could figure it out. With a collection of young talent that is enviably, and a pitching rotation that should be better than it is, the Pirates should be easy to root for. Unfortunately, they cannot play ball for an entire season and are consistently tripping over themselves. Andrew McCutcheon, Neil Walker, and Starling Marte may be fun to watch, but until James McDonald becomes the ace he should be and Pedro Alvarez figures out how to be a Major Leaguer, there is going to be more years of losing in Pittsburgh.

National League West

1.) Los Angeles Dodgers
2.) San Francisco Giants (WC)
3.) Arizona Diamondbacks
4.) San Diego Padres
5.) Colorado Rockies

Don't tell me that the ghost of Frank McCourt doesn't still haunt the Dodgers. There is no other reason to justify why this team is spending money the way they are. First it was the big trade with Boston last August that brought in Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, and their millions of dollars in contracts. Then it was a stupid big contract to player like Brandon League. Finally the Dodgers capped it off with a huge deal with Zack Greinke. The Dodgers are trying to buy themselves a championship. It'll likely be enough to buy them a division title, but until Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier can stay on the field for an entire season, that's all it will be.

The San Francisco Giants are the perfect example of a team that turns it on when they need to. Both of their titles in 2010 and 2012 came from strong runs to the postseason and then bursts to the title. The recently extended Buster Posey is now the face of the franchise and rightfully so, and the pitching staff isn't too shabby either (read here as stellar) with the likes of Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Ryan Vogelson, Tim Lincecum, and Barry Zito. Still, I see a lot of similarities between this team and the 2011 Giants, a team that stood pat with streaky players and got burned. Of course, that team also lost Posey for an entire season due to injury, so maybe I'm being too critical.

Call me a fool, but I love the new-look Arizona Diamondbacks. Funny how the loss of one player and the addition of two known scrappers, Prado and Cody Ross, and you change the entire look of a team. This D-Backs squad is carved right in the image of manager Kirk Gibson and they will play their hearts out night in and night out. Do not be surprised if they leap either San Francisco or Los Angeles, especially if their pitching staff throws like it did in 2011.

The San Diego Padres are moving in the right direction, but these things take time to build. The prospects keep coming with the addition of Jedd Gyorko and he'll help weather the burden lost with Chase Headley out for the first few months. Another year of experience for Yonder Alonso may also help him break out. The true enigma is Carlos Quentin. When he is in the line-up, he's been tremendous, but it's getting him there that is the hard part. Admittedly, I know nothing of their pitching staff outside of Edinson Volquez and Clayton Richard, but I don't take that as a good sign either.

Speaking of pitching staffs and bad signs, our final team is the Colorado Rockies. This team is going to be dreadful. When Jhoulis Chacin and his lifetime GO/AO ratio of 1.57 is your staff ace in Mile High country, then you know things are going to be rough. This is a team that is hampered by huge contracts to Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitski, and Todd Helton. Helton's will come off the books this winter, but Tulo and CarGo should be trade candidates for a team badly in need of a rebuild.

The Baseball Big Brother Project 2013 American League Season Predictions

2013-03-30T07:00:00.000-04:00

With games starting as Sunday night when the newly minted American League Houston Astros host their cross-state rival Texas Rangers on Sunday night, the 2013 Major League Baseball season is upon us. No more talk about the Hot Stove, no more trade or free agent speculation, just baseball. Pure and simple.

But we still have a few days left before the first pitch is thrown and the long, arduous season is underway. That means we have a few more minutes to make some predictions and assumptions about how things will play out and who will be wearing the crown when the dust settles.

Today, we'll work on the American League, and then we'll follow that up with the National League tomorrow. So let's get started, shall we?

American League East

1.) Toronto Blue Jays
2.) Tampa Bay Rays (WC)
3.) Boston Red Sox
4.) Baltimore Orioles
5.) New York Yankees

No team in baseball did more to improve their overall team than did the Toronto Blue Jays. Adding three quality starters (R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle, and Josh Johnson) to their starting five and then securing two solid top of the order hitters (Jose Reyes and Melky Cabrera) and a pair of universal infielders (Maicer Izturis and Emilio Bonifacio), the Blue Jays may be the deepest team in baseball. They will beat teams on the mound, on the basepaths, and in the batter's box. Some pundits worry about how the team will gel, but the players acquired are all professionals of the highest order and that shouldn't be an issue. The AL East, in a weakened state, should be their division to lose.

Tampa will take second place and one of the two wild-cards in the American League. The Rays have the one thing all teams envy, and that's a deep pitching staff that will keep them in any game, and help them win quite a few. Unfortunately, the line-up outside of Evan Longoria is at its most barren and Tampa will again struggle to score runs. That may improve once the team bites the bullet and promotes Wil Myers, but they'll need to wait three weeks before that happens.

I may shock some people by picking the Red Sox to vault up to third place this season, and then again some will think this is a homer pick. That said, Boston did a lot to improve themselves throughout the order, adding Mike Napoli, Shane Victorino, Jonny Gomes, and Ryan Dempster. Furthermore, the pair of Clay Buchholz and Lon Lester have looked great this spring and they'll have a healthy Will Middlebrooks back. The only question mark is David Ortiz, but the team is deeper and may be able to withstand a short-term loss of Big Papi.

The final two squads could easily flip-flop in the standings. As much as I appreciated what the Orioles did in 2012, I think they overachieved and are in for a market correction. Baltimore did little to improve on a squad that managed only a +7 run differential and won more games with their bullpen than any other team in the American League.

Meanwhile, the Yankees are going to struggle to overcome the injuries to Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, and Alex Rodriguez. They may have a solid starting five, but they'll lose more offense than any team in baseball for the first three months of the season, and an aging Kevin Youkilis, Travis Hafner, Vernon Wells, and Lyle Overbay are not going to be the answer the Yankees need.

American League Central

1.) Detroit Tigers
2.) Cleveland Indians
3.) Chicago White Sox
4.) Kansas City Royals
5.) Minnesota Twins

The AL Central is likely going to be a brutal division in 2013. The Tigers are still the toast of the town and should be better than the 88-win team that won the division in 2012. The addition of Torii Hunter and the return of Victor Martinez should make the line-up even deeper and the pitching staff should be solid, with Justin Verlander topping the rotation and a full season of Anibal Sanchez to add to the mix. Closer is a concern, but the role is overrated anyway.

The Cleveland Indians have flirted with respectability each of the last two seasons, but stumbled in the second half of both. The front office reloaded by bringing in Nick Swisher, Michael Bourn, Mark Reynolds, and Brett Myers, but we should all keep an eye on Scott Kazmir. If Kazmir can be a shadow of what he used to be, this could be a very entertaining team to watch.

The White Sox have a lot of good going for them, but they are still only a third place team at best. Chris Sale and Jake Peavy are a solid 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation, but the rest of the starting five has its question marks. Will Tyler Flowers be able to carry A.J. Pierzysnki's weight? Will Adam Dunn ever get himself away from the Mendoza line? Can the starting outfield avoid regressing in 2013? That's a lot of questions to answer to make a two-team jump for the division title.

I really like what the Kansas City Royals did this winter. The front office finally said "we need to win", and they went out and traded their top prospect (Myers) to Tampa for James Shields and Wade Davis, and acquired Ervin Santana from the Angels. Still, will it all be for naught when these markedly better Royals squad still has to jump three other teams in the division? Will they regret losing a talent of Myers' proportions?

What can you say about the Minnesota Twins? This is a still a team that revolves around Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, but their window of opportunity has passed and the team seems to be set on building for the future. The fans will be treated to a talented rookie in Aaron Hicks and the team will likely turn to other young building blocks as the season progresses. The lack of a solid pitching staff and a young line-up likely means that the Twins will make more noise at the trade deadline than they will in the standings. Expect Morneau and Josh Willingham to be shopped extensively when the Twins fall out of contention in early June.

American League West

1.) Los Angeles Angels
2.) Oakland Athletics (WC)
3.) Texas Rangers
4.) Seattle Mariners
5.) Houston Astros

To me, this is the toughest division to pick. In the end, I went with the Angels taking the title, as they are just a dangerous team to have to face consistently. The addition of Josh Hamilton to a line-up that already contained Albert Pujols, Mike Trout, and Mark Trumbo will be devastating for even the best rotations to face. Jered Weaver is a solid ace at the top of the rotation, but the rest of the starting five is made up of number 4 starters at best, and that's giving Joe Blanton a lot of credit. Still, the team's offense should carry them.

Oakland is my runner-up, but could very well steal the division again. The starting rotation is as deep as they come, and Billy Beane's teams always seem to have another arm waiting in the wings, which they may need if Brett Anderson continues to struggle with his health. Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Reddick will likely continue to improve and are solid offensive building blocks. The addition of Jed Lowrie is another good buy-low move by Beane.

What were the Texas Rangers doing this winter? A team with so much to gain just by retaining their top offensive weapon, Texas instead let Hamilton walk to a division rival and did nothing to replace him. They have the best prospect in the game in Jurickson Profar, but no place to play him, so why they couldn't swing a deal for Justin Upton with Elvis Andrus as a center piece, I don't know. The combination of Yu Darvish and Matt Harrison at the top of the rotation is solid, but losing out on Greinke is going to hurt them.

The Seattle Mariners, like the Royals above, did a lot to improve their team, first bringing in the fences, then bringing Kendrys Morales and Mike Morse to help an anemic offense support one of the most underrated pitching staffs in baseball. Still, they face an uphill battle with the Rangers, A's, and Angels still having stronger rosters to fall back on. The presence of Danny Hultzen, Taijuan Walker, James Paxton, Mike Zunino, and Nick Franklin gives the Mariners a top-5 prospect list to be envied by any organization.

Moving from the NL Central to the AL West was the right move for the Astros and will help them create a natural rivalry with the Rangers. Unfortunately, they have a few years of building a roster ahead of them, especially after dismantling the current one. There is something to be said about building a winner by losing on the field, but entertaining is not one of them.

Posey, Verlander, Goldschmidt All Get Extensions

2013-03-29T17:37:00.003-04:00

What a day for young ballplayers getting money trees planted in their front yards. Three, count them three stud players got handed multi-year extensions on Friday and have much to be thankful for heading into Opening Day.

The Detroit Tigers and Justin Verlander have come to an agreement on a five-year extension, keeping the 30-year-old Verlander in a Tigers uniform through the 2019 and also includes an option for the 2020 season. According to Buster Olney (Twitter), the deal could be worth a total of $202 million if the option vests by Verlander finishing in the top-five of the 2019 Cy Young voting. The former Cy Young and MVP will not likely remain a Tiger for life.

Here is what Dave Dombrowski had to say about Verlander's deal:

“Justin is one of the premier pitchers in baseball and we are thrilled to keep him in a Tigers uniform for many years to come,” Tigers General Manager David Dombrowski said via press release. “Justin has been a Tiger for his entire career and he is on pace to be one of the greatest pitchers in this illustrious franchise’s history.”

Year	W	L	ERA	G	CG	SHO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA+	WHIP	BB/9	SO/9
2005	0	2	7.15	2	0	0	11.1	15	9	9	1	5	7	61	1.765	4.0	5.6
2006	17	9	3.63	30	1	1	186.0	187	78	75	21	60	124	125	1.328	2.9	6.0
2007	18	6	3.66	32	1	1	201.2	181	88	82	20	67	183	125	1.230	3.0	8.2
2008	11	17	4.84	33	1	0	201.0	195	119	108	18	87	163	92	1.403	3.9	7.3
2009	19	9	3.45	35	3	1	*240.0*	219	99	92	20	63	*269*	131	1.175	2.4	10.1
2010	18	9	3.37	33	4	0	224.1	190	89	84	14	71	219	124	1.163	2.8	8.8
2011	24	5	2.40	34	4	2	*251.0*	174	73	67	24	57	*250*	*172*	*0.920*	2.0	9.0
2012	17	8	2.64	33	6	1	*238.1*	192	81	70	19	60	*239*	*160*	1.057	2.3	9.0
8 Yrs	124	65	3.40	232	20	6	1553.2	1353	636	587	137	470	1454	128	1.173	2.7	8.4
162 Game Avg.	18	10	3.40	34	3	1	228	198	93	86	20	69	213	128	1.173	2.7	8.4

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Generated 3/29/2013.

Also getting an extension today was Arizona Diamondbacks' first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. The two parties had been said to be interested in reaching a deal, but Goldschmidt was also rumored to want to see what would happen after one more season under his belt. Well, the almighty dollar must have changed his mind, as the two parties agreed on a five-year deal worth $32 million and will likely keep him in Arizona through the 2018 season.

The 25-year-old Goldschmidt is coming off a solid sophomore season where he hit .286 with 20 home runs and 82 RBI over 145 games. His 3.3 bWAR was a solid return on the $482,000 investment the Diamondbacks made in 2012.

Jim Bowden at ESPN got the skinny on the Goldschmidt deal (Twitter), while Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports scooped the monetary aspect of the agreement.

Year	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OPS	OPS+
2011	48	177	156	28	39	9	1	8	26	4	20	53	.250	.808	117
2012	145	587	514	82	147	43	1	20	82	18	60	130	.286	.850	123
2 Yrs	193	764	670	110	186	52	2	28	108	22	80	183	.278	.840	122
162 Game Avg.	162	641	562	92	156	44	2	24	91	18	67	154	.278	.840	122

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Generated 3/29/2013.

Closing out the day, at least as far as we know is Buster Posey. The San Francisco Giants inked their star catcher to a 9-year deal. Including the $8 million contract he signed as a Super-2 this offseason, the deal is worth $167 million over that span.

The Posey deal was also broken by Buster Olney via Twitter.

The 26-year old Posey was the 2012 National League Most Valuable Player after leading the San Francisco Giants to their second World Series title in three seasons with Posey on the squad. Posey hit a solid .336 with 24 home runs, 103 RBI, and a .957 OPS while registering a 7.4 bWAR in just his second full season.

Year	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OPS	OPS+
2009	7	17	17	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	.118	.235	-38
2010	108	443	406	58	124	23	2	18	67	0	30	55	.305	.862	133
2011	45	185	162	17	46	5	0	4	21	3	18	30	.284	.756	116
2012	148	610	530	78	178	39	1	24	103	1	69	96	*.336*	.957	*172*
4 Yrs	308	1255	1115	154	350	67	3	46	191	4	117	185	.314	.883	146
162 Game Avg.	162	660	586	81	184	35	2	24	100	2	62	97	.314	.883	146

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Generated 3/29/2013.

All three deals showcase the changing landscape of the game, where teams are taking increasing risks to lock-up their young talent rather than exposing them to free agency.

The obvious downfalls to each deal, at least the Posey and Verlander deals, are the risks involved with locking that much money into a player at a premium position where injuries are prevelant. Still, the talent involved makes it a necessary evil and both have proven their tremendous values to both organizations.

Goldschmidt's deal is in line with similar extensions handed out to players like Evan Longoria (first extension) in their first big-money deals.

Now, the only thing remaining is for the players to show they deserve the money by playing up to the contract value.

*Verlander image source - CBS Sports
*Goldschmidt image source - Sports Illustrated
*Posey image source - blogs.kqed.org

30 Players, 30 Teams - Chicago White Sox

2013-03-28T10:57:00.003-04:00

In this series, we are going to spotlight one player on each of the 30 Major League Baseball teams. However, we won't be highlighting just any player. Rather, we are going to call attention to the one guy from each squad that is the heart and soul of the team, a rookie to watch for, or simply the key to winning.

If you missed the previous installments, be sure to check them out:

Arizona Diamondbacks - Miguel Montero
Atlanta Braves - Craig Kimbrel
Baltimore Orioles - Dylan Bundy
Boston Red Sox - Jon Lester
Chicago Cubs - Anthony Rizzo

Chicago White Sox - Chris Sale - Starting Pitcher

Acquired: Drafted (1st Round - Pick 13 - 2010)
Signed Through: 2017 (Team Options 2018 & 2019)
MLB Debut: August 6, 2010

It's been a fun ride for Chris Sale and the Chicago White Sox. Let's do a quick recap shall we:

- NCAA Pitcher of the Year - 2010
- 13th Overall Selection in 2010 MLB Draft (June 7, 2010)
- Made MLB Debut on August 6th, becoming the first player in the 2010 draft to do so.
- 2011, served as a light's out set-up man.
- 2012, converted to starter and finished 5th in American League Cy Young balloting.

Needless to say, that is an incredible three-year run for Chris Sale, and the White Sox have to be very pleased with the return on their draft pick investment. You have to give a lot of credit to Kenny Williams and his staff for seeing the potential in Sale, having the wherewithal to know that he was worth having up at the Major Leauge level as a reliever, and then making the brilliant decision to convert him to a start.

And what a brilliant conversion it was. Sale seamlessly transitioned from a late-inning guy with a 2-2 record, a 2.58 ERA, and a 10.0 K/9 ratio in 2011, to the Chicago's best starter with a 17-8 record, a 3.05 ERA, and a 9.0 K/9 ratio.

How dominant was Sale in 2012? He was 7th in the Major Leagues in fWAR (FanGraphs), clocking in at a value of 4.8. His FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) was 13th in the league with a 3.27 mark.

All of that equivalated to Sale getting presented with the Opening Day start for the White Sox and the team giving the talented lefty a five-year extension worth $32.5 million. That keeps Sale and the White Sox married through the 2019 season, which, while a risky move, is right in line for other stud pitchers getting their first big-dollar extensions.

Will it work out better for the White Sox than the John Danks or Gavin Floyd deals? That's tough to say at this stage. Sale has a funky, side-arm slinging delivery that may be tough to repeat as he gets older. Also, it generates a ton of tourque, and with his wiry frame (6'6", 180 LBS), that delivery could also be an injury concern in the future. Still, it's a risk worth taking and one that will make both parties comfortable for the foreseeable future.

The White Sox and their fans are banking on Sale continuing his already storied career arc and hope that it continues to rise. Will it bring a Cy Young in 2013?

Or better yet, will it help bring a division title to Chicago?

Year	W	L	ERA	G	GS	GF	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA+	WHIP	BB/9	SO/9
2010	2	1	1.93	21	0	8	4	23.1	15	5	5	2	10	32	229	1.071	3.9	12.3
2011	2	2	2.79	58	0	17	8	71.0	52	22	22	6	27	79	152	1.113	3.4	10.0
2012	17	8	3.05	30	29	0	0	192.0	167	66	65	19	51	192	142	1.135	2.4	9.0
3 Yrs	21	11	2.89	109	29	25	12	286.1	234	93	92	27	88	303	149	1.125	2.8	9.5
162 Game Avg.	10	5	2.89	54	14	12	6	141	115	46	45	13	43	149	149	1.125	2.8	9.5

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/28/2013.