Talk about being under a microscope. Last season, the New York Yankees traded Shane Greene away as part of a three-way deal that brought Derek Jeter‘s heir apparent to New York. Didi Gregorius — who had never experienced a .300 season, nor October baseball — was expected to fill the void left by the only guy in Yankees lore to capture 3,000 hits and was nicknamed Mr. November and The Captain.
Talk about pressure.
Suddenly, it seems like Sir Didi has the knight stuff.
Jake Thompson has been somewhat of a nomad since being drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 2012. Now in Philadelphia, after a string of solid outings, he may finally be knocking on the door of the big league rotation.
Keep reading for more on Phillies next possible starting pitcher.
Kris Bryant. Kyle Schwarber. Addison Russell. Albert Almora. Now, Willson Contreras. The Chicago Cubs have not been short on providing Major League Baseball with some of the most exciting young bats in the game over the past two seasons.
When I headed out to Rome to watch Max Fried and the Braves last Thursday, I wasn’t expecting much from their opposition. After all, John ranked the Miami Marlins farm system 29th out of 30th for the second season running, so to temper my expectations of the Greensboro Grasshoppers seemed right.
I was impressed with a few things I saw. I saw Marlins 2015 first-round draft pick Josh Naylor steal a base, to improve to 9-for-11 on the season, which still boggles my mind considering he is 6-foot, 225 pounds with what many have labeled Grade 20 speed. I saw Anfernee Seymour rip a gapper and drive in two, continuing to make himself look like a nice find in the seventh round of the 2014 draft. And I saw Cody Poteet totally control the strike zone.
Keep reading for more on one of Miami’s under the radar prospects.
The 2013 MLB Draft was big one for the New York Yankees, as it was the beginning of the youth movement currently transpiring within the organization. Aaron Judge, Ian Clarkin, and Tyler Wade are all atop the Yankees top prospect lists, Nick Rumbelow already got a taste of the big leagues and Eric Jagielo was one of the pieces that helped acquire Aroldis Chapman.
Later in that draft, in the 18th-round, the Yankees chose Dustin Fowler out of West Laurens High School in Georgia. A 2015 breakout season saw Fowler springboard up the Yankees’ farm and become one of the top ten Baby Bombers in the system.
Keep reading on the latest Yankees prospect gaining momentum.
Taking a look at the Salem Red Sox record, you can easily see that they are one of the top notch teams in the Carolina League. Sitting at 41-24 heading into Thursday night’s action, you can make the argument that they are one of the elite teams in all of Advanced-A. When you break down their lineup, you can make the argument that they are underachieving.
That’s just how good they are.
Max Fried was the big chip acquired by the Atlanta Braves in the Justin Upton deal two offseason ago. Just 20-years old at the time of the trade, Fried was one of the most exciting left-handed prospects in baseball, hovering around the Top 50 slot just two years after being drafted seventh overall by the San Diego Padres.
The only problem was, Fried was coming off Tommy John surgery and wouldn’t pitch at all last season.
Coming off of two scoreless outings, I headed out to Rome to check out Fried’s recovery in person and I caught up with him after the game to discuss life as a Brave.
It’s borderline hilarious how people are coming to the defense of Pete Rose after Ichiro Suzuki’s little nub shot back to the pitcher. For those of you living under a rock, Ichiro “tied” Rose yesterday for the most “professional” hits of all time.
Continue reading for more on Ichiro.
It looked like maybe the bright lights of being the top pitching prospect in baseball may have been too much to handle. Lucas Giolito — arguably the best overall prospect in all of the minor leagues — looked lost at the start of the season, like a pitcher much different than the one that had struck out 241 batters over the past two seasons. Luckily for the Washington Nationals, the old adage that patience is a virtue has paid off, as Giolito has turned the corner in a big way.
The Pittsburgh Pirates were handed a bit of blow late last week when Gerrit Cole left a game early with tricep soreness, and took a hit when Cole was placed on the DL yesterday. It’s seemingly all ok, however, because Jameson Taillon is here to save the day.
![Meet the Atlanta Braves Max Fried [Interview]](https://waynecavadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/img_2584.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
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