Kuzul

Dice-K, Jay Bruce, Matt Wieters, Jayson Heyward, and now you can add Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout to the elite list of top prospects in all of Major League Baseball as MLB.com made the announcement Monday in their annual listing of the Top 50 Prospects in Baseball. Trout, the 25th overall pick in the 2009 MLB draft, has drawn rave reviews as a five-tool player (average, power, base running, speed and fielding), and MLB.com even considered him a six-tool ball player with character being the sixth tool. Trout has even drawn comparisons to Charlie Hustle himself, Pete Rose. Joining Trout in the top five were Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Jeremy Hellickson, Washington Nationals high school phenom Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Domonic Brown and the 2009 No. 2 overall pick, Seattle Mariners second baseman Dustin Ackley. This past season, Trout played Single-A ball for Cedar Rapids, where he hit .362 with 6 home runs, 45 RBI and 45 steals ...

I have been here for three days in Arizona to see the MLB Fall League, and I have yet to see a cloud. It is simply tremendous weather here, usually about 85 degrees during the day with bright sunshine. At night the temperatures dip to the mid-to-high 60s, and the air is slightly crisp. It is perfect baseball weather. And while the weather is great, the best part of the Grand Canyon State this time of year is the baseball games played by many of the games top prospects. I am here to follow up on my original pieces of various New York Yankee farmhands and to see some top players from other organizations, namely some guy named Bryce Harper. Today is my first day to see Harper play and he just hit four balls out in BP, and the wind is blowing in. Even the players stood around to watch him hit. However, my ...

The undisputed home run king Crash Davis! has some company. For real, Crash may be a character in Bull Durham, one of the all-time great baseball movies, but Charlie Lisk of the Frontier League has set a record himself. On Thursday night, Lisk rewrote the Frontier League record books by hitting his 87th Frontier League home run. That homer pushed him past Morgan Burkhart for number one on the list, and let me say that is something to be very proud of. Burkhart, who previously sat atop the home run leader board with 86, spent three years in "the show" (Crash Davis' favorite saying), compiling five home runs in 42 games. That may not seem like much to the average reader, but those three seasons were due to a lifetime of hard work sacrifice and ...

The Marlins, a young franchise, with two World Series titles on their resume, have to be excited for the future.  Over the years they have been the subject of ridicule for their attendance numbers and low payroll.  The fan base has witnessed not one, but two World Series teams get dismantled for financial reasons.However, now more than ever, the enthusiasm behind this team is growing and here are the ten reasons why:Begin Slideshow

Wilmer Flores is one of the Mets' top prospects and one of the top prospects in all of baseball. At just 18 years old, Wilmer has already been playing professional baseball for three years. After a strong performance in Single-A this year, Wilmer was called up to High-A ball to play for the St. Lucie Mets. At 18 years old, Wilmer is the second youngest hitter in the Florida State League. Wilmer's success continued as a member of the St. Lucie Mets. He has a .349 batting average with two home runs and 19 RBI in 29 games. Wilmer was recently kind enough to take some time out of his schedule for an interview with me. At 16, most kids are still in high school and you were already playing in the minor leagues. What was that experience like at such a young age? "You know, its not that easy playing ...

He may still only be 19-years old and developing in the low minors for the New York Mets, but infielder Wilmer Flores needs to be recognized more frequently from now on. He's putting up big minor league numbers that could give him an express ticket to pro baseball.  The Mets signed Flores as an undrafted free agent in 2007 as a very young 16-year old with a lot of upside. First off, he is flexible on defense. He spends the bulk of his time at shortstop. But he is a tremendous athlete that is fully capable of adjusting to second or third base. This will come in handy when it comes time for him to compete for a spot in the Mets infield. He is an excellent contact hitter. In 66 games with the Savannah Sand Gnats this year, he hit .278. It was good enough to facilitate his promotion to A-Adv. St. ...

The guy who looks like the Giants’ top prospect is at Class A Augusta, 20-year-old right-handed starter Jorge Bucardo, who has slumped the last two weeks.  His ERA has risen to 2.38, although he allowed only one run in seven innings pitched on Wednesday. The Giants should seriously consider reducing his work load going forward.  Bucardo is listed at 6’1″ and just 155 pounds, and has already pitched 106 innings this year, which is considerably more than the 51.1 to 81.2 IP he’s pitched the last three seasons in the low minors.  Bucardo had four consecutive mediocre outings right around the end of last season. There’s no reason for the Giants to kill the golden goose when he’s only 20 and pitching in a low, full-season league.  If the Giants shut him down completely right now, he’d still be ready for a ...

For the third time in less than a year, Cliff Lee has a new home. This time, he has joined the Texas Rangers. Lee, 31, was brought in to help strengthen a relatively inexperienced rotation as the Rangers look to make a deep run in the playoffs. Much like the past deals Lee has been involved in, the team parting ways with the star pitcher has looked for a huge haul of prospects in return. The Indians', Phillies', and Mariners' prospects arrived with the glimmer of a brighter future, as each team will expect to find their value in the years to come. This value is based upon scouting reports and potential. The potential here is the potential to become a dominant ace, a slugging monster, a slick fielder, or a great signal caller is the hook used by the teams who desire Lee's services. Thus, this renews the argument of potential vs. proven commodity. The ...

Drafted in the first round of the 2009 draft, outfielder Mike Trout instantly entrenched himself among the team’s best prospects. Opening the season at Single-A, he has done little to disappoint:   257 At Bats .370 Batting Average (95 Hits) 6 Home Runs 35 RBI 59 Runs 34 Stolen Bases .449 On Base Percentage .553 Slugging Percentage .420 Batting Average on Balls in Play There is no question about his speed, which certainly has helped him reach the unrealistic BABIP.  We all know he’s not going to be able to maintain that type of luck at the upper levels, but he certainly has the ability to hit over .300 in a season. He has a very good eye at the plate, walking (33) almost as many times as he’s struck out (39).  Obviously, the strikeout rate is likely to increase as he moves up to higher levels, but his makeup tells us that ...

Here are some of the best-looking prospects still playing in the AAA Pacific Coast League after the recent wave of major league promotions. OF Alex Gordon and 1B Kila Ka’aihue (both 26, Royals) Neither Gordon nor Ka’aihue are exactly “prospects,” since they are now both 26 years old.  However, both are really too good to be playing in the PCL as I write this. The Royals, the rocket scientists of MLB, have soured on Gordon, and are now trying to convert him into an outfielder at the AAA level.  New Royals manager Ned Yost was quoted yesterday as saying the Royals don’t plan to call up Gordon and his 1.148 AAA OPS to the majors until the Royals can find a place for him to play every day. This begs the question; who exactly do the Royals (a team that’s nine games below .500, in fourth place in their division, 9.5 games back of first ...