Kuzul

Frank Thomas is mediocre—at least that’s what one scout seemed to think back in 1989. 

As Frank Thomas looks forward to possible induction into the Hall of Fame, it’s fun to look back at some scouts who did their best to play baseball soothsayer with the hulking behemoth who once smashed the cover off the ball. 

Busted Coverage pored over a few reports centered on the slugger right before he took his initial steps into MLB legend. 

The following snapshot and scouting assertions come thanks to the archives of Baseballhall.org. Thomas’ page at Diamond Mines features scouting reports from five baseball prognosticators. However, we simply have to start with the most intriguing, Larry Maxie’s report from 1989 (pictured below). 

The part BC found funny and you will no doubt enjoy is the summation that, as best we can tell, reads, “.250 hitter tops, if that. But will hit HR’s (20 on bad year if he gets 500 ABs).” 

That’s essentially like saying Brooks Robinson might be able to stop some grounders from getting through the infield or that Don Drysdale had a slight propensity to throw inside when crowded. 

As we now know, Thomas finished his career a .301 hitter who clubbed 521 home runs and drove in 1,704 runs. 

While he didn’t maintain his prolific output throughout his career, a quick look at his Baseball Reference page is a nice exercise to appreciate his talent anew. 

From 1990 (his age 22 season) to 1997 (29), he managed to hit over .300 every single season, batting a career high .347 in 1997. 

He would then bat .305 and .328 in 1999 and 2000 respectively. What’s more, from 1990 to 2007, his OPS dipped below .800 just once—his 2001 season that saw him play in just 20 games. 

All of this is to say Thomas was very good for a very long time. It’s also important to note the overarching theme here: scouting is hardly an exact science. 

And really, we don’t want to give Maxie too hard a time, because it’s impossible to see every single instance of greatness with 100 percent accuracy. 

If you recall, Busted Coverage spotted a similar scouting report on another former star with eyes on a Hall of Fame prize: Greg Maddux. 

In 1985, Mets scout Duffy Dyer wrote, among other things, that Maddux was, “not strong enough to be a starter.” He also labeled him as tops a Triple-A player. 

Oops. 

To be fair, Maxie does note the otherworldly power. That’s essentially what you get from the other scouting reports as well. 

Mike Rizzo (1988) states, “power and bat are very exciting.” Donald Labossiere (1989) says it best, “Has genuine loft ML power now. His mistakes go 360 feet.” And really those are the best kinds of mistakes. 

CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa seems to think Thomas, a big man who fits the physique of someone suspected of PED use, has long been outspoken against the once popular methods of his colleagues. 

It’s that longtime vocal support for testing that, as Axisa offers, makes Thomas a far better candidate to get into the hall than most. 

The Chicago Sun-Times’ John Grochowski went a step further and proclaimed that Maddux and Thomas are the obvious worthy candidates in this year’s class. 

Regardless, it has to be an honor to merely be considered for inclusion among the sport’s best. If he does get in, it will be pretty darn good for a hitter whom one scout considered to be little more than mediocre. 

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As we officially turn the page from 2013 and plunge head-first into 2014, every team in MLB begins the new year with expectations and dreams of glory. 

The New York Yankees as an organization have created a history of success, and after a season that saw them miss the playoffs for only the second time in the past 18 years, the team certainly hasn’t rested on its laurels in trying to return to October play.

With new additions like Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran and Jacoby Ellsbury, the Yankees have put the rest of the division on notice that they have no intentions of finishing third in the AL East again.

In the spirit of New Year’s resolutions, this article takes a look at what we want to see from the Yankees in 2014.

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When the 2014 season opens for the Chicago White Sox, the composition of the 25-man roster will be quite different from the one that ended last season with a 63-99 record, and that’s a good thing for both the White Sox and their fans.

There was, after all, no way that the team could move forward without making some significant changes. They needed to upgrade in so many areas that a complete overhaul was most certainly in order.

From bringing in three young prospects and three new pitchers to hiring a new hitting coach, general manager Rick Hahn has been a busy man, and each of the moves he’s made so far have had positive and negative repercussions for the players directly and indirectly involved.

With that as a rather ambiguous launching point, let’s take a look at some of the White Sox’s winners and losers to this point, with a dishonorable mention to lead us off.

Unless otherwise noted, all statistics are courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com. Salary information is taken from Cots Contracts.

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I want to take you back to 2007. The Dodgers had a young outfielder by the name of Matt Kemp, who had just completed a very strong season in which he appeared in 98 games, hit .342, and collected 10 home runs and 10 stolen bases.

However, he wasn’t garnering very much media attention outside of Los Angeles. He was off to a fast start but hadn’t quite hit the national news yet.

In 2008, he began to show his potential. He stayed in the majors for an entire season and hit .290 with 18 home runs. He also managed to steal 35 bases, and he established his reputation as a talented all-around player.

Some players will do the same thing this season. Maybe they had promising debuts last year, but when they finally remain in the majors full time, they will show everything they are capable of.

Most of my predictions here will be based on strong showings in 2013. These seven players seem to be right on the edge of becoming established stars, and it will take just one more season to get them there.

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Everyone loves a good guessing game.

The MLB provided plenty of twists and turns in 2013 that nobody could have saw coming. The Pittsburgh Pirates were slowly revamping their squad for the better, but who tabbed them to finish with a superior record than the Washington Nationals?

Who called Chris Davis topping 50 homers, Josh Donaldson delivering MVP-caliber numbers and Shane Victorino becoming the best free-agent bargain? Probably nobody, which is why none of those types of wild predictions will be seen here.

These are big predictions, not bold ones. Some forebodings are a bit more gutsy than the others, but everything here is based on reason and rationality rather than taking wild guesses.

Here are 15 predictions for what lies ahead in 2014. The speculations includes thoughts on trade candidates and free agents, in addition to handicapping individual and team performances. That way, at least something is bound to come true.

Note: Advanced stats courtesy of FanGraphs.

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The Washington Nationals‘ offseason has kicked into high gear. 

The team has completed multiple hirings, trades and free-agent signings since the MLB regular season ended. Most of these have occurred in the last month or so. 

So who won and who lost from all these wheelings and dealings? 

To answer that question, here is a list of the Washington Nationals’ biggest winners and losers of the offseason so far. 

Note: All statistics courtesy of MLB.com unless noted otherwise. 

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The main focus of the MLB offseason will soon turn to Japanese star Masahiro Tanaka, who will be posted by the Rakuten Golden Eagles, and free-agent starters Matt Garza, Ubaldo Jimenez and Ervin Santana, who are all still on the board.

While most interested teams have been waiting to see how the Tanaka situation unfolds, top free-agent hitters Nelson Cruz and Stephen Drew are also still available, along with closers Grant Balfour and Fernando Rodney.

Aside from those players, there aren’t many available on the free-agent market who are expected to make a significant impact on a big league roster. That doesn’t mean there aren’t those who could fill an integral role and help a team in some way, even if it’s at the back of the rotation or off of the bench.

In July, contending teams will be looking for these types of players, who can be had now at a likely bargain rate. 

Here are six such free agents who are still available. 

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The New York Mets have already made some significant free-agent signings during the offseason but may still be trying to make a big trade or two to make the team even better. The Mets’ offseason is not done by any means right now, so after 2014 begins, more transactions could very well happen.

Here are the three biggest winners and three biggest losers from the Mets’ offseason thus far.

Statistics are courtesy of Baseball Reference.

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The Oakland A’s have several position players whose performances will decisively dictate the overall success of the team in 2014.

One of those key players is first baseman Brandon Moss. In 2013, Moss played a full season for the first time in his career, and he performed exceptionally. He blasted 30 home runs, drove in 87 runs and slugged .522, the latter of which was good for sixth in the American League.

Those totals came one year after Moss compiled a .954 OPS with 21 home runs in only 265 at-bats in 2012. In total, Moss hit 51 home runs in 711 at-bats between 2012 and 2013.

Moss’ breakout year in 2013 came during a season in which the A’s ranked third in the majors in home runs. However, the high total is a bit misleading.

Yoenis Cespedes hit 26 home runs, but he performed so poorly in every other hitting category (.294 OBP, 137 strikeouts) that his relatively high homer total didn’t mean a whole lot.

Josh Donaldson also added 24 home runs, but his role was clearly not that of a slugger. He was a fantastic middle-of-the-lineup hitter, but the A’s certainly didn’t expect him to hit home runs with regularity when he stepped to the plate. His .384 OBP, 93 RBI and 89 runs showed his true value: driving in runs when given the opportunity and getting on base. (He hit .336 with runners in scoring position.)

In short, Moss was the Athletics‘ de facto power hitter in 2013. And they’ll be looking for him to play that same role in 2014.

History has shown that successful teams almost always have a true slugger in the lineup. In fact, since 2000, only the 2012 and 2010 World Series-winning San Francisco Giants have lacked a 30-home run hitter among title-winning teams.

In each of those years, the Giants featured exceptional pitching, even for World Series-winning standards. Also, their World Series counterparts each year featured teams with 30-plus home run hitters. The trend speaks for itself.

Clearly, the absence of a reliable power bat on a team means they will have trouble going far in the playoffs.

That’s not to say that if Brandon Moss hits, say, 27 home runs, the A’s automatically can’t win the World Series. There is no “golden rule” that a team must have a 30-home run hitter to win the title. But it certainly makes it easier to have a hitter who can drive in runs in a hurry, and when scoring is at a premium in the postseason, that ability becomes especially valuable. As the late, great Earl Weaver once said, “The key to winning baseball games is pitching, fundamentals, and three run homers.”

Furthermore, a power-hitting bat forces pitchers to sometimes pitch around that hitter, creating more RBI opportunities for other batters. For example, on the 2013 Red Sox, Dustin Pedroia saw many additional good pitches to hit because teams were wary of walking him in front of David Ortiz’s power bat. Also, when teams pitched around Ortiz, that gave Mike Napoli, Daniel Nava and all the other succeeding hitters additional RBI opportunities.

The bottom line is that almost all successful teams have at least one big power hitter. Most even have two. For the A’s, Cespedes has shown he isn’t necessarily a reliable threat at the plate. That means Brandon Moss will have to step up this year. Again.

Luckily, a power outage won’t necessarily spell doom for the A’s. They have a solid rotation that is capable of dominating teams when the offense goes stagnant.

Yet, that rotation doesn’t quite stack up to that of the title-winning Giants. It is filled with question marks, including the performance of free-agent signee Scott Kazmir. There’s no telling whether the left-hander will have a year akin to his 2013 performance, when he was a respectable 10-9 with a 4.04 ERA, or to his time with the Angels, when he had a 5.31 ERA in 188 innings.

The lack of a dominant rotation and the historical precedent that title-winning teams almost always have power hitters means the A’s need Moss to step up this year. If his last two seasons are any indication, he should be more than up to the challenge.

All statistics courtesy of baseball-reference.com.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It’s time for Auld Lang Syne and the bubbly as we ring in 2014.

That also means the MLB hot stove is set to heat back up after the holiday lull that followed a frenzied December. With bidding open for Japanese ace Masahiro Tanaka, the entire offseason market is finally set and the remaining marquee pitchers figure to sign deals in the near future.

But that doesn’t mean we have a good idea of who has improved and which team has failed to address their roster needs so far this offseason. The new year means pitchers and catchers report for spring training in about six weeks, so let’s hand out some year-end awards for the MLB offseason thus far.

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