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Mike and Paul

MiLB Notes: Eastern League Prospects - Shortstop

I love going to minor league games and shortstop is my favorite position.  So it made sense for me to combine the two in a post.  We live reasonably close to Akron, where the Cleveland Indians Double-A affiliate Akron Aeros have a beautiful park and a fun team to watch.  Last year I was also able to catch Orioles third baseman Manny Machado shortly before he was called up (and still playing shortstop).  It's fun to see the write ups you read online come to life on the diamond.   When Machado threw to first base from the hole at short, my buddy and I kind of turned and looked at each other like a couple of scouts in the movies.  You could just tell it was a big league cannon.

This year I am hoping to catch some more popular prospects in Akron who are either playing for the Aeros or may just be coming to town for a series or two.  More importantly, I am looking forward to taking my son to the games with me to see the Aeros for the first time.  

Here are five shortstop prospects that I am hoping to get a chance to see play over the next couple of years (no particular order):

Roto Notes: Using Projections

This is about the time of year when many teams start taking a look at what they have to work with on their fantasy squad before making final decisions on keepers and preparing for draft day.  There is a ton of information out there: magazines, websites, podcasts, television "countdowns" just to name a few.  The information folks seem to be most interested in is projected stats.  What numbers is Player X going to put up this year?But how do you know which projections to trust and how do you account for a range of projections for one player?  What do you do with the stats once you have them?  There are many ways to go about preparing for a draft using projections, but this is what works for me.

Roto Notes: A Valentine For Chase Utley

                                   Photo by Googie Man

I have always had a man crush on Chase Utley. I love watching him play baseball and I can't wait to take my son to a game so that he can see my favorite second basemen too (yes, my son's name is Chase). 

He does everything right on the diamond, and if i had to choose one play that illustrates Utley as a player it would be this. Reports in 2011 that he was having knee problems were cause for concern. It got even worse last year when he only played 83 games.  I feared it could be the beginning of the end for my favorite player.

New Links Added

The "links" page has been updated.  We will continue to add more links to baseball sites and blogs.  Any suggestions for sites to add to the links page are welcome!

MLB Notes: Matt LaPorta - Prospect Purgatory



                                           Photo by Keith Allison

2012 saw Mike Trout and Bryce Harper reach the majors and make it look easy.  We are now officially spoiled as people go searching for the next Trout.  A rookie year like Trout's isn't exactly the norm.  Whether it's injury, lack of opportunity, personal problems, etc. we can all name a bunch of prospects that didn't quite live up to their hype. The Tribe's recent signing of Jason Giambi had me wondering what happened to one such prospect:  Matt LaPorta. 

Pitchers and Catchers Report

The four words you love to hear if you're a baseball junkie.  Perfect place to start.