Kuzul

The 2013 MLB Draft is rapidly approaching as only 16 days remain until the draft kicks off on June 6 in MLB Network's Studio 42 in Secaucus, New Jersey.The Chicago Cubs hold the second pick in the 2013 draft, following the Houston Astros. Pitching is always a concern, and the Cubs will have no shortage of pitching choices in 2013.Here is a look at three pitchers the Cubs should target in the 2013 draft.Begin Slideshow

The Milwaukee Brewers are mired in a Catch-22 with Rickie Weeks. The 30-year-old second baseman is flatlining on a club that was expected to contend heavily in the National League Central division. Instead, the Brewers are more than 10 games out of first place with a record of 16-24.Concerning the Brew Crew's woes, there is plenty of blame to throw around.Predictably, the bullpen has looked atrocious at times.Ace Yovani Gallardo is struggling mightily, watching his strikeout rate dip to a career low while suffering through a 1.46 WHIP.Starters Marco Estrada and Wily Peralta were expected to have large, positive roles with the staff this year. Instead, they have combined for a 6-6 record and 5.63 ERA.Let's not forget the injured Corey Hart, who has yet to hit the diamond thus far.The disappointment of the Brewers is amplified by the sluggish Weeks, though.As most fans in Milwaukee know, Weeks is touting ...

The St. Louis Cardinals entered the quarter-season mark of 2013 with the best record in baseball. To say that exceeds the expectations of some is quite the understatement. Many, arguably most, baseball writers had the Cincinnati Reds picked as clear favorites to win the National League Central Division. With the Cardinals estimated to end the season in the 85-win range, the fact that the team has amassed 25 wins by May 15 puts them well above expectations. While it is extremely early to be thinking about the end of the season, the Cardinals are currently on pace to win 100 games. Will they keep up this pace? That remains to be seen. Every team has its slumps and streaks—the 2013 Cardinals will be no exception. Remember, even a team with an amazing 102-win record still loses 60 games a year. With that said, the Cardinals have a lot of things ...

Dusty Baker's Reds currently own the third-best record in the National League, 2.5 games behind the Cardinals and one full game behind San Francisco. The Reds' regular season is 23 percent complete—breakneck speed for sports fans who dedicate their year-long activities around the baseball events.When playing in their home stadium, band box Great American Ballpark, the Reds sport an NL-leading record of 16-and-6. Away from their cozy confines their record sits at 6-10—fourth worst in the NL—ahead of only the Marlins, Mets and Padres. On the road the Reds' hitting has been nothing short of abysmal. A .224 batting average is second worst only to the Cubs. Their nine home runs rank dead last in the league. Their slugging percentage is a full .016 behind the Marlins—again, good for last in the league. When a fan's favorite team is even mentioned in the same breath as the Marlins it is ...

One day after St. Louis Cardinals rookie sensation Shelby Miller retired 27 straight Colorado Rockies en route to a one-hitter, Adam Wainwright nearly tossed a no-hitter in his own right. His bid was broken up in the eighth inning, but his dominance and Colorado's incompetence are something to behold.The dynamic pitching tandem combined to retire 40 consecutive batters, which matched a Major League Baseball record, according to MLB.com's Paul Casella.Despite the fact that the Rockies are the highest-scoring team in the National League this season with 169 runs and boast stars such as Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki, Wainwright and Miller somehow managed to make Colorado look like a little league team.After allowing a leadoff single to Eric Young Jr. on Friday night, Miller was perfect throughout the rest of the game. Wainwright added to that by carrying a no-hitter into the eighth inning before Rockies rookie third baseman Nolan ...

A broken-bat bloop from Colorado Rockies right fielder Eric Young Jr. is the only thing that separated Shelby Miller from a perfect game Friday night. The St. Louis Cardinals No. 5 starter got his fifth win, but that statement doesn’t even touch the gravity of his performance. Miller dominated from the moment he took the mound. He owned the entire strike zone with ridiculous control and maintained his velocity through all 113 pitches, topping out with a four-seam fastball clocked at 97 mph. He didn’t look like a 22-year-old rookie who was still a little rough around the edges. He looked like a seasoned veteran, well-poised and on a mission. As Miller stepped back onto the field for the final three outs of a game many big league pitchers will never experience, you could sense the energy. His team wanted it for him as much as he wanted it for himself. ...

Dusty Baker's sweet tooth for giving guys chance after chance to prove themselves capable of a role which are not well suited has driven a many Reds' fan mad. There are times where conspiracy theories pop into our heads. "How is owner, Bob Castellini paying these doozy contracts?" Bingo! He is in cahoots with Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia psych wards. Patience is a luxury for teams in a neutral or rebuilding plan—not for a team that falls into the "Win Now!" category. And especially not for a ball club who has been in that mode going on three consecutive season. If something's not working, one normally tries to fix it.When your number two hitter, shortstop Zack Cozart, has an on-base percentage .031 points lower than the 2009 Reds' lead-off man Willy Taveras, it's time to tinker the lineup and hope to find an attractive alternative.Say you have a ...

In a season where the prospect of competing is long gone by the month of May, it is hard to imagine the Chicago Cubs as "buyers" as we head into the summer months. However, Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal speculates that the San Diego Padres third baseman Chase Headley would be "a perfect fit for the Cubs." While it appears that no basis for this speculation exists, a Headley-to-Chicago deal is rather thought-provoking.Headley will turn 29 this week and the Padres organization isn't sure if they can secure Headley to a long-term deal. For a club which has the sixth-lowest payroll in Major League Baseball, the tantalizing third baseman may prove to be more valuable than they can afford.In his column, Rosenthal points out that the Cubs have three prospects that could possibly be moved in such a deal. Shortstop Javier Baez and outfielders Jorge Soler and Albert Amora are the most coveted ...

  SCORE UPDATE:  2-1 Cubs Win!!                           Two-run blast by Nate Schierholtz - 4th inning                           Solo shot by Allen Craig - 2nd inning That's a wrap, folks.  Thanks for joining me in my first foray into B\R live blogging.  Hope I get to do this again sometime soon.Go, Cubs, Go!Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The St. Louis Cardinals certainly have no shortage of young star pitching prospects in their farm system. Shelby Miller sat at the top of that list of prospects coming into this season, and he has done an outstanding job fitting into a starting rotation that is arguably the best in the entire MLB right now.The Cardinals bullpen this year has certainly not been the best in baseball, though. In fact, the Cardinals have had one of the worst bullpens in baseball this year, and it has forced general manager John Mozeliak to make some moves with the club.The Cardinals sent both Marc Rzepczynski and Mitchell Boggs to Memphis this week and they called up prospects Seth Maness and Carlos Martinez. Maness and Martinez both made their major league debuts on Friday night in Milwaukee, and both pitchers pitched one scoreless inning of work for the Cardinals.It is hard to tell ...