The Tampa Bay Rays exhausted their season to the final stroke before clinching the playoffs, and with top starters David Price and James Shields having pitched in the days prior, the Rays turned to a rookie pitcher to start Game One of the ALDS against the Rangers. Tampa possesses one of the front runners for the [...]

Despite a negotiation window that whittled down to the final 72 hours, Monday’s signing deadline passed with all but one of the draft’s 33 first rounders inking a deal. The Big Four at the top signed predictably massive deals (combined signing bonuses over $27 million), with all but #3 pick Trevor Bauer taking their sweet time to [...]

 
It is often said that the Pacific Coast League is a “hitter’s league,” where the guys at the plate enjoy an advantage over their counterparts on the mound. The implication is that stats posted in the PCL need to be judged in context, especially when projecting future performance. A .300/.400/.500 slash line would be the [...]

 
The 2011 Draft was absolutely loaded with pitching, and for the first time in the history of the event, each of the top four selections were moundsmen. As a group, the 2011 draftees had unparalleled depth with regard to upside, stuff, and mechanics. The first three choices were of the college variety, while #4 Dylan [...]

When the Cincinnati Reds secured the NL Central crown last week, the clinching W was fastened to the stat line of their new fire-breathing southpaw. The big win came just four days after 22-year old Aroldis Chapman made national headlines for breaking the speed barrier, having uncorked a 105 mph fastball to Tony Gwynn, Jr [...]

The Washington Nationals stole the headlines for the second year in a row at the MLB amateur player draft, selecting 17-year old Bryce Harper with the #1 overall pick, a year after tabbing that Strasburg guy in the same slot. LeBryce has been scouted since before he could drive, and the young catcher-turned-outfielder is so [...]

…throughout the past decade. Since it can take years to find out how teams fared in making their draft selections, it doesn’t make much sense to hand out draft grades for Tuesday’s draft. But it is possible to take a look back at the past decade and assess whether teams have been successful or whether [...]

Just as I have done the past few years, I have uploaded and attached the new Top Prospects Compilation file to this blog posting. Prospect rankings from Baseball America, BP’s Kevin Goldstein, and MiLB.com are just some of those that you’ll find in the file.
The Excel workbook contains several tabs at the bottom representing each [...]

The Cleveland Indians are in full rebuild mode, having traded away homegrown stars CC Sabathia, Victor Martinez, and Cliff Lee in the last 22 months. The front office has focused their efforts on surrounding USDA prime player Grady Sizemore with a core of young talent on the rise, led by fellow outfielder Shin-Soo Choo. The [...]

Baseball Daily Digest’s minor league correspondent Paul Bugala witnessed the beginning of the Stephen Strasburg era in Altoona, Pa. on April 11. The following are a couple video highlights.
Strasburg’s first batter.
Strasburg hits a double.