When pitchers start to develop their craft, the fastball is usually the first pitch they develop. A great fastball can get a pitcher attention among the baseball world and have fans and scouts debating your bright future.
However, just because someone can bring the heat does not guarantee them a long and successful career in baseball. This list consists of six pitchers who could light up the radar gun but were not able to have much success in Major League Baseball.
A little over a week from now, teams will be starting up the 2013 season and working toward the ultimate goal: claiming the title of World Series champions. Players have been working year round and spent this past winter trying to fine tune their craft and adding new dimensions to their game.
Four players have stood out so far this spring who have added to their skill set as a major league player and have already seen tangible results this spring.
Everyone knows baseball games are won on the field, but winning games is made easier if a team has a good general manager. The offseason is a busy time for front offices, as they try to construct teams that will be competitive during the coming season.
This year there have been four GMs who have really made a statement about the direction they are taking their team and have delivered with big home runs.
Even though the season has been over for two months now, this is still an exciting time with the “Hot Stove” heating up. Following the rumors swirling around free agents and potential trades will keep fans busy during the winter months.
This year’s free agency class is pretty good with some of the top players already knowing where they will be playing in 2013. Starting pitcher Zack Greinke is heading to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Josh Hamilton is on his way to the Los Angeles Angels. There is really only one marquee free agent remaining, and that is center fielder Michael Bourn.
For these rankings, I have tried to base my rankings on the perception of the free-agency class heading into that year because we do not know the impact this current class will have on their future teams. This is how the past eight free-agent classes compare to one another.
Houston Astros fans were surprised when Brad Mills announced Brett Myers would be the Astros’ primary closer heading into the 2012 season. The biggest reason was Myers was expected to be No. 1 or No. 2 in the rotation; a rotation that was atrocious last year.
Well it is hard to argue with Brad Mills’ decision thus far as the rotation is much improved and Myers has looked pretty impressive in the early parts of the season. Myers has converted both save opportunities and hasn’t given up a run yet in three appearances.
According to Mark Berman’s tweet, GM Jeff Luhnow has stated that he is not shopping Brett Myers. While it is nice to see an organization be loyal to a player, it is a mistake not to move Myers this season and sooner rather than later.
These are the seven best reasons to move closer Brett Myers.
Alfonso Soriano is having a great start to the 2011 season already hitting five home runs and 12 RBI through 15 games. He is actually on pace for 50 home runs this season if he plays 150 games.
Even though he has been playing strong, I could see Soriano end up on the trading block because of his ridiculous contract (he is in the middle of an eight-year, $154 million dollar deal). The Cubs right now are not a very talented team and Soriano’s value is at its highest since signing the contract.
These are five teams who I feel could be interested in talking to the Cubs if Soriano becomes available.
Entering the season, the pitching staff for the Astros was suppose to be a strength for this team but after two weeks the results have not been good outside of Brett Myers. The Astros have a team ERA of 5.57, which makes the team 28th out of 30 teams.
This was partially expected as some of the Astros pitchers, like Wandy Rodriguez and Bud Norris, is perennially slow starters and usually get it together the second half of the season. However, there are some pitchers within the Astros organization that could potentially help the Astros pitching staff.
One of the biggest parts of the business side of baseball for MLB teams is branding and merchandise. Every few years the majority of the teams will tweak or completely overhaul their uniforms as a way to provide fans with new merchandise and to keep their image fresh.
The problem is that the majority of sports teams at one point in time have run out some pretty ugly uniforms, like this Astros uniform from the 1970s.
These are the top 10 ugliest uniforms in MLB history.
Over the past 20 years, first base has been a strength for the Houston Astros, especially when a team replaces a player like Jeff Bagwell with Lance Berkman.
However, Berkman was traded last season, and a new era begins in 2011 with highly touted prospect Brett Wallace.
Almost immediately after the Astros traded Roy Oswalt to the Phillies they traded one of the pieces in that trade, Anthony Gose, to the Blue Jays for Wallace. With the Astros basically throwing in the towel on the 2010 season, they gave Wallace his first regular playing time at the major-league level.
It wasn’t exactly a fairy tale, as Wallace struggled to a .222 batting average with two home runs and 13 RBI.
Even though 2010 was tough for Wallace, the Astros are giving him another chance; he will enter this year as the starting first baseman.
This is what Astros fans can expect from Brett Wallace in 2011 and beyond.
If spring training is any indication how the season will go, the Astros will most likely be sellers come trade deadline time.
The Astros have given up 108 runs in 17 games, 20 more runs than the next closest team in the Grapefruit League. They are sitting currently in last place with a record of 5-12.
Even though they have struggled, they do have some players who could be attractive to teams and could help them make a push for the playoffs in 2011. Now, I don’t expect all these players to be traded, but I think the Astros would be willing to move them if the price is right.