Daily Archives: May 30, 2012
2012 MLB Draft Preview
Wednesday May 30th, 2012
Bryan Sheehan (MLB Writer): For those who may not know, the MLB’s first-year-player draft starts June 4th. While there may not be a huge name like Bryce Harper or Stephen Strasburg to create excessive buzz, this year’s draft should be interesting. The first overall pick belongs to the 2011 worst Houston Astros, who surprisingly have one of the shallowest farm systems in baseball. Though the Hunter Pence trade brought in their number one and two prospects, Jarred Cosart and Jonathan Singleton, respectively, the organization is lacking in prospect depth overall. Picking behind the ‘Stros are the Minnesota Twins, with the Mariners and Orioles following. Predicting a draft, especially where there is no clear-cut “number one” prospect is difficult, to say the least. Teams aren’t drafting to fill immediate needs, so much as to bolster a weak area in their organization. For example: it may seem logical for the Phillies to draft a power-hitting first baseman with the 40th pick since Ryan Howard is injured, but really a 2012 draftee wouldn’t be MLB ready for a few years and therefore irrelevant to Howard’s injury. Plus with the changes in this year’s draft as to salaries, teams will no longer have “recommended slots” to play with. Translation: signability will play a bigger part in this year’s draft than ever before. With that being said, here are my predictions for the first ten names to be called on Monday.
Jay Bruce: The Reds Have a Young Budding Superstar in the Outfield
Wednesday May 30th, 2012
Brendan Henderson: Jay Bruce, the 25-year-old right-fielder for the Cincinnati Reds is quickly making a name for himself in the baseball world. Bruce is from Beaumont, Texas and he was selected as the 12th pick in the 2005 amateur draft by the Reds. Bruce is under contract with the Reds until 2017.
Bruce made his MLB debut with the Reds in 2008 at the young age of 21 years old. He batted .254 that year with 21 home runs and 52 RBIs. Jay Bruce finished 5th in Rookie of the Year voting that year, just behind his teammate, Edinson Volquez who finished 4th. Volquez has since moved on to San Diego, in a package for top starter Mat Latos.
Many people might be wondering at this point in his career: “Is Jay Bruce the next great MLB superstar?” I will answer why he may or may not be below. Read the rest of this entry
Don Mattingly has managed The Dodgers to the ‘Best Record in the MLB’
Wednesday, May.30/2012
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)-At first glance at the LA Dodgers you will see a team that leads the Major League with a 32-17 record heading into action tonight. Matt Kemp has missed the last two weeks of action and yet the team still continues to put up wins. Before his injury, Kemp was playing like an MVP candidate and Andre Ethier has racked up 43 RBI to the lead the National League. Clayton Kershaw has been his usual dominant self. Key pitching contributions from Chris Capuano (7-1) and Ted Lilly (5-1) have paced the club in the pitching department, where they rank 2nd in a lot of categories amongst pitching staffs in the NL and the Majors.
Don Mattingly has battled several injuries, a team of platoon players, a lowered payroll due to the impending ownership changes en route to this record. It is clear why the Dodgers are winning ball games, Mattingly is making good managerial decision at the key times. When you look at how the current club is configured, you would see there is great baseball pedigree in the stable. There are 4 sons of ex major league ball players on the roster: Scott Van Slyke (son of Andy), Tony Gwynn Jr. (son of Tony Sr.), Dee Gordon (son of Tom) and Jerry Hairston Jr (son of Jerry Sr.) These guys are hardly trailblazing their way to Cooperstown anytime soon, however they play good fundamental baseball having grown up in Major League clubhouses. (On a side note, I would pay good money to see a father son game with these boys versus their fathers.) Read the rest of this entry
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