In the Minors

 Amy Amanda 'Triple A' Allen - Contributing Reporter

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Big congrats season 45's Major League champion - Oklahoma City Barons!

And congrats to the Minor league champions as well:
AAA: Boston Massacre (AL)
AA: Jackson Flaxon-Waxon (AL)
A+: Jackson Flaxon-Waxon (AL)
A-: Houston Space Cowboys (AL)
Rookie: Buffalo Bison (NL)

International spending

The major league AL champs went into international spending to prove a point, spending top money ($23M) on 18 yr old pitching prospect Felipe Hernandez. Many scouts feel it was a bit of an overpayment, but hard to argue with the man behind the reigning AL champs. 10 other international players received $10M+ signing bonuses.
The top pitching prospect according to many was lefty Frank Kim by the Cincinnati Dragons for $8.3M. Many agents feel he wanted to long to make his decision and cost him ~$5-8M in bonus money. But he has great health, splits, velocity and a groundball pitcher. He should do well in the majors. However he may walk a fair share of batters as well. The games he limits those, you better watch out! 
Top international bat has been highly debated. Some think it's center fielder Julio Pascual with the Pittsburg Yinzers for $13.6M. The scouts that doubt his ability as the top bat point to his high general ratings but low arm strength and accuracy as well as his slightly above average batting ratings. Those who disagree with Pascaul typically place 3B Ignacio Estrada at the top. His contact might struggle a bit versus top ML pitchers but his power, splits, and eye favor well. He also has great speed and base running ability. 
The top glove, and likely future Rule 5 draft selection in 5 yrs was rightly Victor Castillo of the Tucson Tappers at $1.7M. 80 grade range and accuracy, 75 grade glove and arm strength. Not much is going to get past this guy in field but that's only when his health or poor bat skills allow him to find a spot. 

After speaking to a few goats, here are the best they saw at each position.
C: Vic Chavez - Florida Springbreakers - $13.5M
1B: Jose De Los Santos - Florida Springbreakers - $2.3M
2B: Hideki Gao - Helena Hot Dogs - $15.1M
SS: Yan Ozuna - Florida Springbreakers - $18.5M
3B: Ignacio Estrada - Houston Space Cowboys - $15.2M
OF: Julio Pascaul - Pittsburgh Yinzers - $13.6M
P: Frank Kim - Cincinnati Dragons - $8.3M

Collecting Cy's 

A Cobbfather first, Gerald Kojima has won the AAA AL Cy Young! You may ask, why is this import Amy; that's because it will be his 3rd Cy Young. So Dizzy never won a Cy Young, why should I care about them? That's because Gerald won the ML AL Cy Young last year, AAA AL this year. Next year I hear he's going after the AA AL Cy. Teams, are you officially on alert for next season! Unfortunately he and follow former teammates Francisco Bonilla and Del Bailey were unable to secure revenge for last  year's AAA World Series sweep as they lost to Boston in the AAA ALCS. 

And the Cobb goes to...

We've covered Kojima's AAA Cy, but what about the other awards? Who else has a bright future ahead of them? Let's start with his AAA counterparts. 
AAA
AL Cy - Kojima - NY
AL MVP - after sweeping the top 5, Francisco Bonilla came away with the award.
AL Fireman - Benji Rodriguez - Tucson
NL Cy - George Farley - Vancouver
NL MVP - Harry Gonzalez - Vancouver
NL Fireman - John Jung - Austin

AA
AL Cy - Nigel Torres - Cincinnati
AL MVP - Peaches Vaughn - Colorado
AL Fireman - Blake Spilborghs - Tampa Bay
NL Cy - Juan Rios - Oklahoma
NL MVP - Yoslan Azocar - Columbus
NL Fireman - Lyle Pennington - Austin

A+
AL Cy - Santiago Cora - Jackson
AL MVP - Harry Martin - Colorado
AL Fireman - Luigi Martin - Cincinnati
NL Cy - Victor Ortega - Scranton
NL MVP - Peter Lee - Scranton
NL Fireman - Kenny Farley - Austin

A-
AL Cy - Andy Flynn - Houston
AL MVP - Glenn Rizzuto - Charlotte
AL Fireman - William Iwamura - Houston
NL Cy - Tim Timmons - Florida
NL MVP - John Lavarnway - Washington DC
NL Fireman - Dan Giles - Austin

Rookie
AL Cy - Rodney Lord - Helena
AL MVP - Chick Pfeffer - Cincinnati
AL Fireman - Wilmer Santos - Anaheim
NL Cy - Roy Dydalewicz - Trenton
NL MVP - Grayson Lowry - Chicago
NL Fireman - Garry Beckham - Austin

Until next year, good luck to all those players try to make The Show!

Draft Round Up

Gabrielle  O. Alvarez-Tillman - Contributing Reporter

Was this just a BAAAAD draft year or does the curse of the goat live on? These are the players you lost so hard to protect, it's the PZ...protection zone. No matter what off season moves you make, these picks were yours to stay. That's the kind of protection your dad wish he would have had. 

1. Anaheim - Bonk Burnett (CF) - What a name, Anaheim fans will be going bonkers for Bonk Burnett in the near future. Only thing better than his name are all the viral videos of his bat flips. You'll find him in the middle of a major league lineup in 4-5 years, but he'll struggle to throw out a tortoise from CF. I see a move over to LF in his near future. 2B would be a nice option but last year's first round pick Shea Crowe is holding that position down as a 20 yr old. Bonk will mash...lefties, period. But his future will depend on him hitting righties and staying healthy; two major question marks in his game.

2. Iowa City - TJ Christenson (2B) - I thought everything in Texas was big? Not this guy, barely 5’-11” and a 170...wet. Here's a free hint to all the managers out there, send your lefties to go party with Dennis Rodman in Vegas for the series; they are useless here. I could see a 60/60 season if all he faced was lefties, unfortunately that won't be the case so I'll lower that down to 40/40.

3. Chicago - Rando Powell (P) - With makeup like this, how can you depend on him to defend a teammate in a bench clearing brawl? What is it with players not liking lefties in this draft? Don't expect many free passes with this guy, 80 grade control, 70 velocity, and decent 4-seam/Slider combo. A lineup full of righties could make him slightly above average at best. Don't even worry about his Change Up or Curveball; more like straightball.

4. Atlanta - Zephyr Gross (P) - What do you call a pitcher with 80 grade control, 70 grade velocity, a top tier Sinker and Circle Change? Well his mother calls him Zyphr Evelynn Gross. With the right coaching along the way, we could be looking at a future HoFer. But somebody please tell this kid he doesn't have to date girls whose looks match his last name!

5. Washington DC (P) - Avisail Mujica - Didn't this guy just win the Little League World Series as a "13 yr old"?!? I'll tell you what I told the Eastbank Little League from River Ridge, Louisiana; you want to beat this guy you're going to have to wear him out. Take every pitch you can, make him work for every inch of those 6 innings he'll throw on his best night. Coming out of the pen to bridge a team's Ace to stud closer; better close your eyes and and pray. Or bunt it back to him, he'll flub the play and you might be safe at first. 

6. Charlotte - Neil Cashner (P) - His fastball could rate as one of the best in baseball, but likely tops out at 85 mph. Proving once again the age old Korean proverb, it's not the speed but how you use it. I'm sure Gross' girlfriend will understand that. Speaking of lots of makeup, this has the it factor. He should be able to hold off decline until at least age 70; that's great news for that "fastball" of his. Get that lefty lineup ready, he'll be average at best against those guys. 

7. Pittsburgh - Banjo Urlaub (SS) - B-A-N-J-O and Banjo was his name-o! This guy will either be throwing out base runners or being tossed from the game thanks to the highest temper in the game. Vegas continues to take bets if we'll see more bats broken over his knee then the walks he takes in a season. Good speed, decent bat; won't hit lefties, but unlike Powell this guy will have a teammates back in a brawl. 

8. Dover - Dan Nixon (P) - Snooze...another pitcher. Unlike Cashner earlier, this guy has a fastball, could clock in the upper nineties. He throws so hard he might need a little extra rest between outings if he gets too taxed. His slider is something to watch as well and might help tally up a few Ks if he can find the right combination and mix them up. This guy had a lot of options enter the Cobbfather draft, one scout was even quoted as saying "He would have made a good Pope."

9. Columbus - Alan Harris (SS) - What this guy needs is a new ophthalmologist. He'll struggle his entire career figuring out what pitch is coming. Don't get me wrong, he'll make a TON of contact, I just can't promise you they will stay fair. Even Michael Jordan once hit free throws with his eyes closed. Let's just hope this guy pans out more like the basketball MJ than the baseball MJ. Aside from the sight, he potentially has make-up issues as well, but hopefully the Corgis' have Mary Kay or Avon on speed dial.

10. Austin - Lou Porozio (RF) - From the north side of Hurley, NY, there is a lot to like about this guy, including his mom’s pizzas. A lot of scouts think he'll have a great batting one, but one scout was overhead questioning it when he has to look over that huge Italian sniffer of his. I'll take this guy's .270/40 HR in his prime any day. Great health should keep him in the lineup on a regular basis as well.

11. Vancouver - Deivi Camacho (P) - Let's be gentle with this guy, he's already having to play ball in Canada. Say it with me now, 'soaree' Deivi. Not expected to walk many batters and will collect his fair share of strikeouts, but righties will mash him and he's not really from Queens, NY. Just because he can throw 5 pitches, doesn't mean he does it well. Look for him to stick with his knuckleball and curveball, I wouldn’t throw his other 3 in a little league game. Speaking of his knuckleball, it's the fastest one this writer has ever seen.

12. Florida - Joey Kubitza (CF) - He's somewhat an A-typical center fielder, I could see many future gold gloves but the awards end there for this Canadian. Did Vancouver not draft him because of a East Canada vs West Canada beef? Rumors has it, they are in need of a CF. His 4-seam fastball is better than many major league pitchers, but that won't help him at the plate. At best he's a .225 hitter with limited speed and health issues.

13. Philadelphia - Teoscar Zurbaran (P) - Teoscar ‘Two Trick’ Zurbaran has a 75 grade 4-seam fastball but a slightly above average curveball at best. Great health and durability, with just enough stamina to get through an inning but you wont' see any more than that. He should get through that outing pretty fast, according to one ex-girlfriend it's not the only thing he does by fast.

14. Tucson - Josmil Velazquez (1B) - From the squarest city in North America, easiest way to beat this guy is to challenge him to a foot race; even my grandmother could beat him. That said, he's not running out many infield hits, he'll look to use that contact and power of his in hopes to keep the balls fair. When he does, look out! Good health and good durability will keep him in the everyday lineup if he proves to hit well. Has the bare minimum to stick at 1B, but might be better suited for some DHing if he can't get that glove and accuracy to come around.

15. Seattle - Leslie McCartin (2B) - He's your prototypical average 2B; average glove, limited power, 70 game speed. This kid could steal 100 bases...if he can get on base. Debate is out on what will be higher, his weight after a thanksgiving meal or his batting average. No chance I let this guy see a left handed pitcher above High A ball.

Well if there's one thing worth while from this draft, it's the parents who named these kids. Good luck to all of these kids developments, maybe they one day live up to the hype.