Kuzul

In my mind, Chris Parmelee is like a baby Trevor Plouffe. This is confusing, of course, because the latter is occasionally referred to as Babe Plouffe due to his ability to hit the long ball (and because of his Ryan Gosling looks). Plouffe, by the way, is a baby Josh Willingham. All three players are selective with what pitches they hit, occasionally get beaned and are power hitters at heart. Willingham, of course, is nobody’s baby because he is all that is man. Willingham is the master; Plouffe and Parmelee are his disciples. So, just to keep everything straight: Parmelee is 25, Plouffe is 27 and Willingham is 34, or as the good book says, “Willingham begat Plouffe who begat Parmelee.” It may be hard for people to believe that I am comparing Parmelee to Plouffe. After all, Plouffe hit 24 home runs last year and Parmelee hit five. But ...

The Detroit Tigers have quite a few glaring weaknesses for a team that leads its division by 4.5 games, namely struggling closer Jose Valverde and an anemic offense that only shows up for six innings a night.Manager Jim Leyland has come under scrutiny in recent weeks because of these woes plaguing a team that should be competing for the best record in baseball behind Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander, Prince Fielder and co.Leyland has two issues on his hands right now and it's tough to figure out which he should try to address first. Let's break down both issues and try to make sense of the mess in Detroit. The Struggling OffenseLet's start with the issue of an offense that apparently can't hit relief pitchers.The Tigers have the best 3-4 punch in the MLB behind Cabrera and Fielder, and the offense appears to be just fine when you look at its league-leading ...

Player: Torii Hunter Jr. Drafted by: Detroit Tigers (No. 1,056 overall) Position: CF DOB: 6/7/1995 (Age: 17) Height/Weight: 6'1"/175 lbs Bats/Throws: R/R School: Prosper (Texas) HS College Commitment: Notre Dame   Background It is strange to think that Torii Hunter has a son eligible for the draft, but that is just another way to make you feel a little bit older. The younger Hunter is one of the best raw athletes in this draft, with a football scholarship to the University of Notre Dame. Hunter Jr. also plans to play baseball in college, which will help him get drafted when his name comes up again in three years. He will hear his name called at some point in this year's draft, but it won't be soon enough to get him out of college, as he broke his leg back in January, and scouts haven't seen him play since last year.   Full Scouting ReportNote: Numerical scores are on the ...

Player: A.J. PukDrafted by: Detroit Tigers (No. 1,056 overall) Position: LHP DOB: 4/25/1995 (Age: 18) Height/Weight: 6'6"/205 lbs Bats/Throws: L/L School: Washington HS (Iowa) College Commitment: Florida   Background A.J. Puk is one of the better two-way prospects in this draft class, though his future clearly lies on the mound. With the bat in his hands, he can show some power, but his overall skill set in that regard is lacking. As a pitcher, Puk is a top-100 player in this class. He is a tall lefty who can generate plus velocity on his fastball and gets good plane on the pitch. His commitment to the University of Florida, one of the best programs in the country, could make him a difficult sign.  Full Scouting ReportNote: Numerical scores are on the conventional 20-80 scouting scale, where 50 is average, with the current score first and projected score second.Body/Mechanics:Very projectable 6'6" frame; a little too trim right now but ...

There was a time, not all that long ago, when Max Scherzer was about as predictable as the weather. If you were Tigers manager Jim Leyland, you trotted Max out every fifth day and closed your eyes. There’s nothing that will turn a manager’s hair gray faster than not knowing what he’s going to get from his starting pitchers from one outing to the next. Leyland didn’t know what he was going to get from Scherzer inning to inning—sometimes, from batter to batter. Scherzer’s right arm was full of what baseball people like to say is “good stuff,” only he didn’t know how to harness it. His arm was as volatile as nitroglycerin. The Tigers acquired Scherzer from the Arizona Diamondbacks in the three-team trade that sent Curtis Granderson to the New York Yankees after the 2009 season. The Tigers needed Scherzer as another starter to replace the departed Edwin ...

Player: Wil CroweDrafted by: Cleveland Indians (No. 921 overall)Position: RHPDOB: 9/9/1994 (Age: 18)Height/Weight: 6’3”/225 lbsBats/Throws: R/RSchool: Pigeon Forge (Tenn.) HSPreviously Drafted: N/A BackgroundThe 2013 Gatorade State Player of the Year, Crowe put on quite a performance in his senior season. The right-hander went 16-1 with a sub-1.00 ERA and nearly 200 strikeouts. His final outing was a 15-strikeout, 157-pitch gem that clinched Pigeon Forge High's first-ever state championship. Earlier in the season, he tossed a mercy-rule, game-shortened perfect game and a no-hitter in another.Next season, assuming he doesn't sign professionally, Crowe will be headed to the University of South Carolina where he will likely emerge as the staff ace in no time. If he doesn't sign, he'll likely be a top-10 candidate for the 2016 draft.  Full Scouting ReportNote: Numerical scores are on the conventional 80-point scouting scale, with the current score first and projected score second.Body/Mechanics: Impressive overhand delivery; strong, thick physical build; doesn't have much ...

Player: Logan ShoreDrafted by: Minnesota Twins (No. 860 overall)Position: RHPDOB: 12/28/1994Height/Weight: 6’2”/190 lbsBats/Throws: R/RSchool: Coon Rapids (Minn.) High SchoolPreviously Drafted: N/A BackgroundThe University of Florida "Gator Nation" extends far and wide and has it's tendrils in cities and towns all across the country. Thanks to Logan Shore, "the Nation" now also includes Minnesota. The Gators fought hard for Shore's services, and thanks to his two-way capability, they're getting a heck of a deal.Shore is one of the top two-way players in this year's class, but he's likely to end up on the mound as a pro. Minnesota's high school season begins in late April, so most teams have yet to get a real good look at Shore, but those who have have witnessed an incredible athlete capable of producing easy low-90s heat. Shore became the first freshman in Coon Rapids High's history to make the varsity squad. Full Scouting ReportNote: Numerical scores are on the conventional 80-point scouting ...

Cleveland Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera was in obvious pain after grounding out on Monday night. Jordan Bastian confirms that he'll be sidelined at least 15 days with a strained right quad: As expected, Indians place SS Asdrubal Cabrera (right quad) on 15-day DL; recall AAA SS Juan Diaz. More on MLB.com soon.— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) June 4, 2013 The Tribe fell to 30-27 following a 7-4 loss, but they're still comfortably sitting in second place in the AL Central.So can Cleveland tread water without its Venezuelan All-Star and stay above .500 and within sight of the Detroit Tigers?The answer depends on how much time Cabrera misses.That's tricky to calculate because the severity of quad strains can vary. Mike Morse, for example, went down with the same thing on May 28. The Seattle Mariners have yet to make a roster move because they consider him day-to-day.But this certainly won't require surgery. Barring any setbacks, ...

Every year, I make the proclamation that this is the year the Kansas City Royals contend. Every year it turns out the same way. Again the Royals have fallen on hard times, losing 14 out of their last 17 ballgames. The Minnesota Twins, on the other hand, have hit a little bit of a hot streak by winning seven of their last 10 ballgames and pulling within 4.5 games of the first-place Detroit Tigers. Sure, the Twins are still four games below .500, but they are within striking distance of first place. The question is, how long will they stay there? The first step for the Twins is to dominate this Royals series. On Tuesday, the Twins start a three-game set against the Royals in Kansas City, and it is absolutely crucial to sweep this series if the Twins want to be in the conversation at least until the All-Star break. ...

The Cleveland Indians were the hottest team in all of MLB at the start of May, going 15-4 for the first 19 games and grabbing first place in the AL Central.The team has since cooled to 3-8 for the last 11 and has relinquished the top rung to the Tigers, but they had a solid month. The Indians had plenty of star players for the period but also had underperformers as well.There were players who really shined including some walk-off heroes and some pitchers who delivered some outstanding performances on the mound.This slideshow will detail the performances of my choices for the three stars for May along with the three biggest stiffs who didn't deliver. I will also detail three players who just missed out on both categories and mention some other notables.The No. 3 star will be my choice for the worst of the best, if you will, and ...