It has been a long and draining season for Arizona Diamondbacks announcer and former World Series Champion, Mark Grace.  But just like any desensitized and heartbroken fan, Gracie has demonstrated a knack for finding enjoyment in everything happening in the game, but the actual game–sans Daniel Hudson and Stephen Drew.  For those who tune in to watch Gracie on a regular basis, it doesn’t take long to realize that he possesses the attention span of an excitable, 6-month old puppy.  Combine that with his alleged affinity for both alcohol and women, and you get the kind of situation that occurred during Monday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark.

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On August 16^th, Pittsburgh Pirates GM Neil Huntington announced that they had agreed to terms with their 2^nd round draft pick(52^nd overall) of 2010, RHP Stetson Allie.  However, due to the hype surrounding their 1^st round pick Jameson Taillon, Allie has not received the appropriate exposure for a prep whose fastball can reach triple digits.  Ranked by Baseball America as the 8^th best prospect headed into the 2010 First Year Player Draft, Allie possesses the size and strength that makes scouts drool.  At 6’4,” 225 lbs, he already has the build of a power pitcher- now it’s just a matter of whether he will best serve the Pirates organization as a starter or reliever.

As a senior at St. Edward High School in Lakewood, OH, Allie posted video game like numbers, going 9-1 with 1.29 ERA and 134 strikeouts in just 60 innings.  Even more impressive was the fact that he lead his team to a Division I State Championship on June 6^th, and was the game’s winning pitcher with a line of 6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 5 BB and 13 strikeouts.  On that day Allie put on a show for those in attendance, lighting up the stadium’s radar gun with a fastball that averaged 93-96 mph and touched as high as 101.  For the skeptics out there who might not believe that a prep pitcher hit triple digits, here is a video of Allie’s outing from the championship game:

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I just wanted to pass along the first article that I wrote for Bleacher Report called, “10 Relief Pitchers Who Will Immediately Help Your Fantasy Team.” I will continue to post any articles that I write for them and I hope that everybody enjoys them.

“10 Relief Pitchers Who Will Immediately Help Your Fantasy Team”