Let’s be honest, a 5-1 NL win isn’t all that exciting. Adrian Gonzalez’s early home run off Cliff Lee put the AL on the board, but once Prince Fielder hit his 3-run home run, there was this feeling that the game was over. The NL ran out a terrific pitching staff, and adding 2 more […]

It’s easy to overlook short players (all puns intended), and it’s actually for a pretty good reason. As a general rule, you want baseball players to be between 6’ and 6’5”. They’re tall enough to get good leverage and not too tall as to have significant coordination issues. Sure, tall guys like Michael Pineda and […]

Everyone likes a little attitude from their players, but sometimes youngsters straddle the line between immature and obstinate. Drafted in the 8th round in 2007 by the Tampa Bay Rays, Matt Moore was one of those players. Immensely talented and confident, Moore’s attitude was a cause for concern as the Rays coaches tried to smooth […]

Even before Shelby Miller threw three straight no-hitters, he was a big-time prospect, but when he intimated a high price tag and had a brief period of wildness, his stock dropped him out of the very top draft picks in 2009. The St. Louis Cardinals, however, took him with the 19th pick and banked on […]

Sometimes good prospects fall to the later rounds of the draft. Trayvon Robinson was one of those guys. Drafted in the 10th round of the 2005 draft, Robinson has taken his time moving up the ladder, further proof that not everyone can zip through the system. He began as a raw athlete with many tools […]

Behind a strong pitching performance from Derek Lowe and some offensive help from Freddie Freeman, the Braves finished off the sweep against the Seattle Mariners 5-3. Even after beating the likes of Erik Bedard, Michael Pineda, and Felix Hernandez, the Braves virtually gained no ground on the Phillies in the NL East, and it got […]

After a successful career at the University of Mississippi, Zack Cozart was drafted in the second round of the 2007 Draft by the Cincinnati Reds. Signing quickly, he was placed on the High-A Dayton team, but he struggled in his debut to the tune of a .239/.288/.332 line. Cozart repeated the level the following season […]

When it comes to college basketball recruiting, there’s nothing wrong with being from the Northeast, but when it comes to baseball, the New England area does draw the attention of scouts. The reasons are fairly obvious. It’s colder, longer, so the season doesn’t start as soon as other prospect hotbeds such as Florida and California. […]

The term “Bronx Bombers” is often thrown around in regard to the New York Yankees, but it is quite the apt description for this year’s club. Unfortunately for Derek Holland and the Texas Rangers, the Yankees were at it again last night as the Yankees added four home runs to their already impressive total. Mark […]

Do you ever wonder if those guys picked in the last few rounds of the draft ever amount to anything? After helping Kyle Drabek lead their high school team to a national championship, Paul Goldschmidt was selected in the 49th round of the 2006 draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Goldschmidt, not surprisingly, decided to […]

During last night’s ESPN Wednesday Night Game pitting the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, IIATMS and Fire Brand of the AL had a live chat, and being a writer for IIATMS, I was a part of it. Because of a dinner engagement, I was a little late to the game when they were […]

When it comes to getting major-league talent from the draft, you’ll find most of it in the first round. Sure, there are several players on each team that are from different rounds, but a disproportionate amount of roster spots end up in the hands of first round talents. This shouldn’t be surprising. The guys drafted […]

So who’s winning and should they be? American League Catcher – Russell Martin (1.8 fWAR) is a deserving start at catcher, but Alex Avila (1.6 fWAR) isn’t far behind. Best pick: Martin. First Base – Mark Teixeira (1.8 fWAR) leads the voting, and while Adrian Gonzalez (2.0) and Miguel Cabrera could be better picks, it’s […]

Drafted 37th overall by the Seattle Mariners in 2003, Adam Jones made his way through the prospect ranks quickly. He was in AAA at the age of 20, but even after a pretty good year, he spent all of 2007 in AAA as well. During the following off-season, he was traded along with George Sherrill, […]

In an effort to keep you well-informed on all fronts of the baseball world, we’re going to begin a series for Monday of each week in which we discuss an up-and-coming prospect that may not be the Bryce Harpers of the world but may be making an impact fairly soon. This week we’ll focus on […]