Daily Archives: August 12, 2012
White Sox or Tigers: Who Wins the Central?
Sunday August 12th, 2012
Jake Dal Porto: The American League Central division is shaping out to be one of the tightest races in baseball. It was the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians battling for the top spot during the first few months. Now, the favorited Detroit Tigers have climbed their way back into the thick of things while the Indians have faded. This is far from how several people predicted this race to play out, though. Preseason predictions had the Tigers penciled in to win the Central by double-digit games. I’m talking about 15-20 games.
While that’s still somewhat possible barring a late season collapse by the White Sox, Chicago is for real. Bolstering their pitching staff at the deadline with Brett Myers and Francisco Liriano, and adding a bat in Kevin Youkilis, the Windy City boys have yet to show signs of fatigue. The Tigers didn’t stand pat at the deadline, either. In fact, they might’ve made one of the best deals at the deadline, of course, only to be outshone by the bigger moves involving the bigger names. They sent top pitching prospect Jacob Turner to the Marlins in exchange for Omar Infante and Anibal Sanchez. Infante remains under control through next season, while Sanchez is strictly a rental player for the time being. The point is, both clubs made moves to help them win now. Read the rest of this entry
ATR: Ask the Reports Answers Your Baseball Questions: Lowe to the Yankees, Mauer Before Head and Shoulders, Extend Wright, Jose Canseco is Bankrupt (again) and Creative MLB Realignment
Sunday August 12th, 2012
Speaking of the Yankees, I have something important on my mind. Derek Lowe. I will never stop thinking him as a member of the Red Sox, so today’s news took me somewhat by surprise. Lowe is now a member of the Yankees. So this is not your dad’s version of Derek Lowe. No, the 39-year old Lowe is nearly done. Unless he discovers the fountain of youth…or learns to throw a knuckleball. Lowe started off hot in Cleveland, but fizzled out quickly. Going to New York, his record on the year sits at 8-10 with a dismal 5.52 ERA. He has an unsightly 1.689 WHIP. He has walked more batters than he has struck out. But yet I hold out faith. Lowe was still very good as of 2010, but the wheels came off last year and never returned.
Apparently Lowe has accepted an assignment to the pen. Heck, for the league minimum- the Yankees have nothing to lose. Pettitte may not return and now Sabathia is having elbow issues. As the Jays, Red Sox, Yankees, Rangers and many other teams have proven this year- you can never have too much pitching. Pitchers get injured. Pitchers become ineffective. Remember how many Yankees fans were booing Bartolo Colon last year? Bet those same fans would love to have him back this year. Look at Ben Sheets on Atlanta. What’s old is new again. As long as Lowe’s arm is still intact, I say throw him in there. If he can get hot for even 2 weeks- that’s all what it might take in this game. Great signing by Brian Cashman. Derek Lowe could end up being a winning lottery ticket- or simply a lost dollar. Low risk, high reward is the name of the game folks.
For our Batting Stance Guy featured video of the week, we bring you Gar’s All-Star compilation titled: “Best Batting Stances By Position”
For bonus points this week: Tell us which former MLB player Gar is hanging with…and which stance he is imitating? First correct answer gets a secret prize: e-mail your answer to mlbreports@gmail.com
Now let’s get to your top questions of the week: Read the rest of this entry
Top 5 Shortstop Prospects in Baseball
Sunday August 12th, 2012
Codey Harrison: In Major League Baseball, middle of the field players (catcher,shortstop, centerfield) are a premium position. So much so that most teams are reluctant to trade away elite level prospects from those positions. Shortstop is arguably the most important position in baseball. Every once in a while, shortstops like Troy Tulowitzki, and Derek Jeter come along and can propel a team to great success. The top prospects in baseball this year is fairly deep at shortstop with potential superstars in the making. Lets take a look at some of the best shortstops who are still prospect eligible.
1.) Jurickson Profar (Rangers AA) – Texas Rangers shortstop prospect Jurickson Profar is the best shortstop prospect in all of baseball. Profar is so highly thought of by scouts, that some believe the Rangers may end up trading 23-year-old 2-time All-star shortstop Elvis Andrus or moving him to second base, with Ian Kinsler going to the outfield. Profar has all five tools (hit, power, speed, glove, and arm) and he’s proven he knows how to use all five. He’s currently raking in AA Frisco at only 19 years of age, posting monstrous numbers of .279 AVG, .356 OBP, .458 SLG, 23 doubles, 7 triples, 13 home runs, and 53 walks to 69 strikeouts. Some scouts believe Profar has a chance to be a gold glove caliber top, or middle of the order run producing machine, that is a perennial All-Star. No prospect is a guarantee, but Profar looks to be legit as far as prospects go. Read the rest of this entry
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