Raising the Arizona Fall League
Baseball never ends. A fantasy baseball oasis in the middle of football season, Baseball HQ's First Pitch Forums event keeps the curveballs spinning. Nicholas Minnix and I attended and spoke at the three-day roto rave in Phoenix and surrounding areas with some high-level industry minds.
We talked shop and watched some prospects tinker in the Arizona Fall League, including a thrilling Rising Stars Game. Tap your mouse here for more »
Fantasy Baseball Player Prospecting 2010: Jordan Brown, Cleveland Indians
Brown's mitt troubles Tribe a bit
Jordan Brown was called up by the Cleveland Indians on July 31 to take time in the outfield and at designated hitter with Travis Hafner (shoulder) on the DL. In his first eight games, Brown, a first baseman and outfielder, is 7-for-27 with four doubles, one RBI and four runs scored.
In 272 at-bats for Triple-A Columbus, the 26-year-old hit .309 with six homers and 63 RBIs, along with a serviceable .344 on-base percentage and a .474 slugging percentage. Brown hit .381 with 14 RBIs in the 10 games prior to his MLB arrival.
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Fantasy Baseball Player Prospecting 2010: Mitch Moreland, Texas Rangers
How much more of Moreland will we see?
The trade of Justin Smoak and the demotion of Chris Davis allowed first baseman Mitch Moreland to join the Texas Rangers' lineup. First base looks to be the lefty stick's job to lose, even with recently acquired Jorge Cantu playing against some righties.
Moreland, 25 in September, has seven hits in his first 25 at-bats, with two RBIs, three hits and two stolen bases. The 2007 17th-round pick used to be a two-way player but eventually ditched his mid-90s fastball to focus on batter's box duty.
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Fantasy Baseball Player Prospecting 2010: Mike Minor, Atlanta Braves
Will Minor have major impact?
The Atlanta Braves keep churning out promising young arms. The latest, Mike Minor, made his major league debut in a start Monday, with Kris Medlen (elbow) on the DL. Minor, the seventh overall pick in the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft, went six innings, giving up four runs (three earned), five hits and one walk while fanning five.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound lefty has thrown 120 1/3 minor league innings in 2010. He posted a 4.03 ERA in 15 starts for Double-A Mississippi, but his jump to Triple-A Gwinnett stood out. In six starts there, he posted a 1.89 ERA with 37 K's in 33 1/3 innings, good for a 9.99 K/9 at the top farm level.
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Fantasy Baseball Player Prospecting 2010: Thomas Diamond, Chicago Cubs
Diamond tries to fill shoes of Lilly (pictured)
The trade of starting pitcher Ted Lilly and DL placement of Carlos Silva (heart) opened up two rotation spots for the Chicago Cubs, who called up Thomas Diamond on Tuesday to start versus the Milwaukee Brewers. He'll presumably have a crack at a slot.
Diamond compiled a 3.16 ERA at Triple-A Iowa with 104 K's and nine homers allowed in 108 1/3 frames (21 starts) - solid numbers in the typically hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. The 27-year-old isn't necessarily a prospect anymore, but his injury-stalled career still leaves room for growth.
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Fantasy baseball: Trade deadline shakes up saves
After an earlier flurry of trade action, some saves will now be changing hands after the passing of the 2010 deadline:
Pirates ship Octavio Dotel, plan to split CL duties
The Pittsburgh Pirates have traded CL Octavio Dotel to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for SP James McDonald and minor league OF Andrew Lambo, according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman.
Pirates RPs Joel Hanrahan and Evan Meek are expected to split closing duties, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
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Fantasy baseball: early trade deadline roundup
Some of the early action from the 2010 trade deadline and more:
Ryan Ludwick to Padres, Jake Westbrook to Cardinals
The San Diego Padres have acquired OF Ryan Ludwick from the St. Louis Cardinals in a three-team deal which also involved the Cleveland Indians, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cardinals received SP Jake Westbrook from the Indians while P Nick Greenwood went from the Padres to the Indians. Tap your mouse here for more »
Neftali Feliz, Neftali triste
Neftali Feliz and I have a checkered trade history this season. With a first-place standing in saves for our KFFL Internal League (where I've hovered between seventh and ninth place overall for the last few months), I traded him to KFFL's Keith Hernandez for Ryan Ludwick (pre-injury). Hernandez was in an optimal spot for me to send saves (keeping Nicholas Minnix out of moving up in the category).
With Ludwick's injury, I'm a little sad, though. "Triste," if you will.
(Still, this allowed me to swap Corey Hart to William Del Pilar for Dan Haren yesterday - I had another outfielder capable of producing a suitable second half once he comes back from the DL. My shaky SP made this move necessary.)
Chicago White Sox closer job "open"
Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said the team's options at closer are open and no longer exclusively RP Bobby Jenks, the Chicago Tribune's Mark Gonzales reports. "His velocity is not there, they feel very comfortable against him," Guillen said. "I keep saying, closing is not an easy job. But in the meanwhile, even yesterday when he got people out we made a couple plays on the field." Tap your mouse here for more »
Stephen Strasburg, All-Star? Can you squeeze any magic out of Wandy Rodriguez?
Why not put Stephen Strasburg in the All-Star Game? It's for the fans, anyway. It's what they want. It's good for ratings. It'll help the NL "make it count" in that exciting sixth-inning Midsummer Classic tension, right, Bud? Imagine Stras pulling a 1995 ALDS Randy Johnson and trotting out onto the field in relief.
OK, maybe it wouldn't be that exciting.
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