Kuzul

The Baltimore Orioles bolstered their pitching depth by signing first round pick Kevin Gausman, who will receive a $4.32 million signing bonus, according to ESPN's Keith Law (via Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun). Kevin Gausman signed with the #Orioles for $4.32 million bonus, @KeithLaw is reporting. That's slightly above the $4.2 slot money.— Eduardo A. Encina (@EddieInTheYard) July 13, 2012 Gausman is not only a talented pitcher, but a high-character kid as well. He was very excited to sign with the Orioles, and shared his enthusiasm via his Twitter account. Happy to be the newest member of the Baltimore Orioles organization!!! Living my dream!! #GoBirds!— Kevin Gausman (@KevinGausman) July 13, 2012 Gausman, who played college baseball at LSU, has a phenomenal fastball and will be able to overpower hitters with the pitch, while mixing in some impressive off-speed pitches that are still developing.Baltimore won't be able to compete in a division that ...

The 2012 MLB Draft will be an opportunity for every team to find a player that can help them reach their goals next season.This draft class is deep with quality starting pitchers, and since many teams are looking for a future ace to build their staff around, this could be an important draft for several teams in the top 10.Let's look at a fresh first-round MLB mock draft. 1. Houston Astros (56-106): Mark Appel, RHP, Stanford  The Houston Astros need to make this No. 1 pick count, and must take a starting pitcher such as Mark Appel, who can be the cornerstone of their rotation.  2. Minnesota Twins (63-99): Byron Buxton, OF, Appling County High School (Ga.) An outfielder with the ability to hit for average and dominate the basepaths would be ideal for the struggling Twins.  3. Seattle Mariners (67-95): Mike Zunino, C, Florida The catcher position is a real issue for ...

Texas Rangers star Josh Hamilton is having a phenomenal season thus far and has been the front-runner for the AL MVP the entire year, but when the pressure heats up, he will be far less productive than he is right now.Hamilton has been a great first-half player his entire career, but his second-half performances haven't always been that great. Anyone who has owned him in fantasy baseball over the last few years will understand that.He is, of course, in a contract year, which could be one explanation for his recent dominance. Playing for a contract is a huge motivator, but it also puts a lot of pressure on you to do well. The longer Hamilton goes without a new contract, the more pressure will be on him to perform.The pressure to perform and try to do too much will likely affect Hamilton at some point, and the result could be ...

Robinson Cano of the New York Yankees is one of baseball's best players, but he doesn't get the respect he deserves. Cano is one of several infielders who you should consider with your first-round pick in your fantasy baseball draft.Let's look at a complete first-round mock draft to use as a guide for your draft. 1) Albert Pujols, 1B, Los Angeles AngelsPujols is still the best player in the game, and even though his 2011 season was one of the weakest of his career, it was still fantastic by normal standards.In the American League, Pujols will dominate in a talented Angels lineup against some very weak AL West teams.There's no reason to pass on Pujols with the top overall pick. 2) Miguel Cabrera, 1B/3B, Detroit TigersCabrera is pretty close to Pujols in fantasy value because he's an absolute beast at the plate. He will hit over 30 home runs, drive in over 120 ...

No matter the scoring style your fantasy baseball league uses, it is so important to find players who can steal bases consistently.Steals are not easy to accumulate, and many players rarely attempt to steal bases at all. Finding guys who not only can steal bases but who attempt to steal often is hard. Let's look at three speed demons who will help your team rack up stolen bases and gain an advantage over your league rivals. Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red SoxThe Red Sox outfielder has been one of baseball's fastest players since he arrived to the big leagues in 2007, but the problem was that he didn't get on base consistently.Last year, Ellsbury had a career year and batted .321 while in the leadoff spot a lot of the time. Ellsbury proved he could stay healthy last season and comes into 2012 in good health.Ellsbury stole 39 bases last season, but he ...

Having a few star pitchers leading the rotation of your fantasy baseball team is a recipe for success whether your league uses a rotisserie or points style scoring system.While it's smart to draft a star pitcher like Roy Halladay with your first or second-round pick, finding reliable starters in the later rounds that you can depend on to be consistent throughout the season is key for building a successful team.Let's look at three starters you cannot live without. James Shields, Tampa Bay RaysJames Shields is one of the more underrated pitches in baseball and is about as reliable as they come. Shields was one of the leaders in quality starts last season, while also striking out 225 batters.His 2.85 ERA was remarkable and he's also a lock to pitch at least five innings in just about any start. I wouldn't expect Shields to have the same type of season he did last year, ...

The St. Louis Cardinals are poised to strengthen their starting rotation by signing veteran free agent pitcher Roy Oswalt. The 34-year-old right-handed pitcher is reportedly close to a deal with the 2011 World Series Champions.Update: Saturday, January 28 at 2:25 p.m. ESTAccording to MLB.com, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak has denied reports that say his team is close to a deal with free agent pitcher Roy Oswalt.Reached by email, Mozeliak wrote that reports were "not true," but did not elaborate. Another club official indicated that no transactions seemed to be imminent for the Cardinals.Update: Saturday, January 28 at 12:10 p.m. ESTAccording to CBS Sports, Oswalt turned down a big contract offer from the Detroit Tigers, and has decided to focus on signing with a Southern team. The offer from the Tigers was reportedly one year at $10 million. Oswalt doesn't need the money at this stage of his ...

The St. Louis Cardinals were unable to take both games at home to start the 2011 World Series against the Texas Rangers, making Game 3 on Saturday night a must-win for the Cardinals on the road.Since the series will switch to an American League park, the designated hitter is play, which gives the already dangerous Rangers lineup another quality bat to use.After losing the first game by just one run, the Rangers survived Game 2 by the score of 2-1, and took home-field advantage with them to Texas.The Cardinals have to win Game 3 because falling behind 2-1 with two more games to play in Texas would be tough to come back from, especially since the Cardinals have just one ace who can dominate a game in Chris Carpenter.The scary thing for the Cardinals is the Rangers offense has yet to awaken, and playing in their hitter-friendly home ballpark might ...

The Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox both announced on Friday that Theo Epstein will resign as a member of the Boston staff and finally join Chicago as their new President of Baseball Operations, with a press conference set for Tuesday out of respect for the World Series.The Cubs will reportedly go after San Diego Padres GM Jed Hoyer for their general manager position. Hoyer worked with Epstein in Boston as the assistant GM before leaving for the Padres.Boston will hold a press conference Tuesday as well, and will announce Epstein's replacement, Ben Cherington, who recently served as the team's assistant GM.Typically announcements such as this are not made until after the World Series so baseball fans can focus on baseball's grandest stage, but since the Epstein-to-Chicago story has occupied the front pages of both Boston and Chicago, baseball needs to end this story now so the World Series can be ...

The Chicago Cubs are hoping that Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein will lead them to their first World Series title since 1908, but before he can do that, the two clubs must reach an agreement to allow Epstein to leave Boston, and the two sides are currently "far apart."The Red Sox clearly want a big return for Epstein, who is one of the best general managers in all of baseball. Boston would likely want a top Cubs prospect, lots of money or a combination of the two to let Epstein go. However, it's unlikely the Cubs will part with a top-level prospect for the Red Sox GM.Red Sox president Larry Lucchino is trying very hard to get the most he can out of the Cubs for Epstein, and he's making the entire process hard for Chicago.One baseball executive with knowledge of both teams said the following about Lucchino in ...