Articles from May 2011

With a quarter of the MLB season in the books, and some of the baseball’s best prospects now suiting up for their respective big league squads, it’s time to reflect on the performances of our Top 50 Prospects.  Today we look at 29-25, which includes: Brett Lawrie, Martin Perez, Devin Mesoraco, Jason Kipnis and Zach Britton.

29. Brett Lawrie, 2B/3B, Toronto Blue Jays

Triple-A: .342/.401/.638, 16 2B, 3 3B, 12 HR, 39 RBI, 16 BB, 39 K, 10-for-11 SB

28. Martin Perez, LHP, Texas Rangers

Double-A: 1-0, CG, SHO, 2.31 ERA, 46.2 IP, 23 BB, 48 K, 1.286 WHIP, 0.2 HR/9

27. Devin Mesoraco, C, Cincinnati Reds

Triple-A: .288/.371/.473, 12 2B, 5 HR, 22 RBI, 18 BB, 32 K

26. Jason Kipnis, 2B, Cleveland Indians

Triple-A: .292/.368/.497, 10 2B, 4 3B, 5 HR, 29 RBI, 20 BB, 31 K, 8-for-8 SB

25. Zach Britton, LHP, Baltimore Orioles

MLB: 5-2, 2.35 ERA, 65 IP, 21 BB, 35 K, 1.123 WHIP

With the 2011 MLB draft very quickly approaching, I wanted to take a little bit of time to write about a New Mexican kid not named Blake Swihart.  Alex Bregman of Albuquerque Academy and the Albuquerque Baseball Academy, of which Swihart and Max Walla (2009 2^nd Round, Brewers) have helped make famous around club baseball circles, is already a 2-time All-State 1^st Teamer.  He likely will be selected to his third one in the next couple of weeks after a monstrous 2011 with Academy that ultimately ended in crushing defeat to Farmington’s Piedra Vista High in the title bout at Isotopes Park two Saturdays ago.  Bregman had a nice day at the plate with multiple XBH’s, but a costly error in the first inning which saw him turn an easy 2-ball into a 2-base throwing error.  Nevertheless, he was the best player in AAAA and will likely be in 2012 barring a meteoric rise from PVHS’s CF Shilo McCall.

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Each season I always manage to make at least one deal where I move a large amount of players, vastly altering the look of my team.  As I have mentioned before, trading players, and acting like a GM, is one of my favorite parts of fantasy baseball.  Thus, it is logical to see that I derive immense amounts of pleasure from trading big name stars.  To get a deal of this magnitude done, it requires extensive negotiations, a willing partner, and usually some adult suds to push the deal through.  (Sounds vaguely familiar to late-night exploits during my freshman year at U of A.)  Fellow writer and Denslow Cup league member, Dee, and I finally swung a deal through last night and if weight is the term I am using to describe it, this deal is heavy.  Let’s take a look and break down the trade.

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With nearly a quarter of the MLB season in the books, and some of the baseball’s best prospects now suiting up for their respective big league squads, it’s time to reflect on the performances of our Top 50 Prospects.  Today we look at 34-30, which includes: Kyle Gibson, Kyle Drabek, Yonder Alonso, Matt Moore and Lonnie Chisenhall.

34. Kyle Gibson, RHP, Minnesota Twins

Triple-A: 1-3, 4.25 ERA, 42.1 IP, 8 BB, 41 K, 1.181 WHIP, 6 HR (1.3 HR/9)

33. Kyle Drabek, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays

MLB: 3-3, 4.34 ERA, 56 IP, 37 BB, 38 K, 1.66 WHIP

32. Yonder Alonso, 1B/LF, Cincinnati Reds

Triple-A: .331/.393/.543, 15 2B, 3B, 5 HR, 23 RBI, 17 BB, 24 K, 5-for-7 SB

31. Matt Moore, LHP, Tampa Bay Rays

Double-A: 2-3, 3.28 ERA, 46.2 IP, 13 BB, 65 K, 1.029 WHIP

30. Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B, Cleveland Indians

Triple-A: .268/.362/.405, 10 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 16 BB, 29 K

As I sat in the left field corner of Nationals Park last Friday evening, enjoying baseball, banter and beer with friend and colleague Jimmy Chiang, I was reminded once again that watching a baseball game live at the ballpark is one of life’s greatest pleasures.  The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd, and even the occasional cry of “Get your ice cold [nine-dollar] beer here!” all make the ballpark a special place, even for those with only a passing interest in the game.

In my 24 years, I’ve been fortunate enough to visit the home venues of ten of MLB’s thirty teams.  While each may provide a different type of baseball atmosphere, some ballparks are certainly better than others, so as I wait to add to the list, I decided to rank the ballparks I have already visited.  Rankings are based not only on the quality of the parks’ bricks and mortar, but also on the experience each provides on any given night at the ballpark.  I am hopeful to one day compile a comprehensive list of all thirty ballparks, but now that I am a third of the way there, here is how each of the first ten stacks up:

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