Team by team MLB draft rankings: Best drafts of the last 10 years Posted by Anthony Stalter (06/09/2009 @ 12:15 pm)
With the 2009 MLB Draft set to kickoff at 6:00 ET tonight on the MLB Network, SI.com did a cool feature in which they rated how each club has fared over the past 10 years when it comes to the draft. The Brewers were rated number one and it’s hard to argue with the ranking after looking at the names Milwaukee has drafted over the years: Prince Fielder, Corey Hart, J.J. Hardy, Manny Parra, Rickie Weeks, Ryan Braun and Yovani Gallardo. Amazingly, this club also drafted Hunter Pence (Astros), but couldn’t sign him. The Red Sox were rated No. 2, with Kevin Youkilis, Jonathan Papelbon, Dustin Pedroia, Jon Lester and Manny Delcarmen leading the way, but the site left off a glaring omission: Jacoby Ellsbury. The Rays actually drafted Ellsbury in the 2002 draft, but never signed him. The Sox then nabbed him with the 23rd overall pick in 2005 and he’s currently their starting centerfielder. Speaking of the Rays, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Tampa ranked higher than No. 4 in the next couple of years. Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton, James Shields, Andy Sonnanstine and David Price are just some of the names they’ve drafted in the past 10 years. Don’t forget that they were the team that also drafted Josh Hamilton before he got injured and then became the poster child of what not to do when you’re an inspiring ballplayer with loads of free time on your hands. You look at a club like the Nationals ranked No. 8 and you wonder why they’ve been so awful over the years despite drafting so well. Then you realized they dealt Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips all in the same trade for Bartolo Colon and it all starts to make sense. If you’re wondering whom SI had ranked last, it was the Astros; only Hunter Pence was worth noting of the players Houston drafted the past 10 years. The White Sox were second to last, although if Josh Fields, Chris Getz, Clayton Richard and Gordon Beckham develop like the club hopes, I highly doubt Chicago will be ranked that low again if SI does another ranking like this in the next couple of years. Posted in: MLB Tags: 2009 MLB Draft, Andy Sonnanstine, B.J. Upton, Best MLB drafts, Best team MLB drafts, Boston Red Sox, Brandon Phillips, Carl Crawford, Chicago White Sox, Chris Getz, Clayton Richard, Cliff Lee, Corey Hart, David Price, Dustin Pedroia, Evan Longoria, Gordon Beckham, Grady Sizemore, Hunter Pence, J.J. Hardy, James Shields, Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, Josh Fields, Kevin Youkilis, Manny Delcarmen, Manny Parra, Milwaukee Brewers, MLB Draft, Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals, Which MLB teams have had the best drafts?, Yovani Gallardo
2009 MLB Preview: #5 Los Angeles Angels Posted by Anthony Stalter (03/27/2009 @ 1:08 pm)
Click Here to see Previews of all 30 MLB Teams Offseason Movement: The Halos added outfielder Bobby Abreu for cheap and also signed former Colorado reliever Brian Fuentes to replace long-time closer Francisco Rodriguez. Along with K-Rod, the club also lost Garret Anderson, Jon Garland and Mark Teixeria via free agency. Top Prospect: Nick Adenhart, RHP Some feel as though Jordan Walden is the Halos’ best prospect, but Adenhart is the one that will have the opportunity to make the big league roster this year as a fourth or fifth starter. With Ervin Santana, Kelvim Escobar and John Lackey all sidelined due to various injuries, Adenhart will likely start the season in the starting rotation. He could be sent down as soon as the rest of the starters get healthy, but if he does well he’ll no doubt earn a future spot in the rotation. Thus far in spring training, Adenhart has displayed good command and struggled just once in five outings. Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: MLB Tags: 2009 MLB Predictions, 2009 MLB Preview, 2009 MLB Projections, 2009 MLB Team Previews, AL East Predictions, AL West Predictions, Andy Sonnanstine, Bobby Abreu, Brian Fuentes, Chone Figgins, Dustin Moseley, Ervin Santana, Francisco Rodriguez, Garret Anderson, Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders, John Lackey, Jon Garland, Jordan Walden, Kelvin Escobar, Mark Teixeria, MLB Preview 2009, MLB Season Predictions, Nick Adenhart, Shane Loux, Torii Hunter, Vladimir Guerrero
2009 MLB Preview: #6 Tampa Bay Rays Posted by Anthony Stalter (03/27/2009 @ 10:39 am)
Click Here to see Previews of all 30 MLB Teams Offseason Movement: The Rays hope the signing of OF/DH Pat Burrell will add a little more pop to their lineup, although it could sink their team batting average at the same time. The club also added a slew of pitchers including Lance Cormier, Jason Isringhausen, Joe Nelson and Brian Shouse, and acquired outfielder Matt Joyce from the Tigers in exchange for RHP Edwin Jackson. Top Prospect: David Price, RHP The Rays never seem to have a shortage of top prospects at their disposal and Price clearly tops a group that also includes RHP’s Wade Davis and Jeremy Hellickson. Some believe Price is the best pitching prospect in baseball and he should have gotten the opportunity to prove that this year at the big league level. But the Rays optioned the talented youngster to Triple-A Durham recently for reasons unknown to Price and the rest of the baseball world. Tampa could be regretting the decision if the Yankees and/or Red Sox take early lead in the highly competitive AL East. Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: MLB Tags: 2009 MLB Predictions, 2009 MLB Preview, 2009 MLB Projections, 2009 MLB Team Previews, AL East Predictions, Andy Sonnanstine, B.J. Upton, Ben Zobrist, Carl Crawford, David Price, Evan Longoria, Jason Isringhausen, Joe Nelson, Lance Cormier, Matt Garza, Matt Joyce, MLB Preview 2009, MLB Season Predictions, Pat Burrell
Game 4 was a must win for Rays Posted by Anthony Stalter (10/26/2008 @ 11:02 pm) My title is stupid – all wins in the World Series are “must wins.” But surely you catch my drift – the Rays dropping Game 4 to the Phillies was incredibly detrimental to them winning a championship. Even though Tampa isn’t used to the weather they’ve seen the past two games, the cold had nothing to do with why they lost 10-2 Sunday night. Philadelphia was just better and Joe Blanton (a castoff in Oakland before he was traded at the deadline) deserves a ton of credit for mixing up his pitches and keeping the Rays’ hitters off balance the entire night. Tampa just has to tip their hats to the Phils tonight for knocking around Andy Sonnanstine, who is a young, developing pitcher who had won each of his previous two postseason starts. There’s no other way to put it – the Rays are in major trouble. Not only are they down 3-1 in the series, but they also have to face Cole Hamels – who has been nothing short of sensational – on Monday night. Crazier things have happened, but playing at home and with Hamels on the hill, the Phillies seem destined to close this thing out. It’s all about the pitching Posted by Christopher Glotfelty (10/09/2008 @ 12:01 pm) “Momentum is always as strong as your starting pitcher is the next day.” – Joe Maddon Leave it to the well-read Rays manger to come up with such a profound statement. Chances are this saying is nailed up in his teams’ clubhouse alongside others from the likes of Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre. Maddon’s right, and he’s used this pitching-first philosophy to propel his team into the ALCS. If there’s one quality that ties each of the remaining four teams together, it’s that each of them can hit. They each have at least two big bats, lead-off men that can hit for average, and a bottom of the order that can consistently do some damage. When teams are this evenly matched at the plate, it’s often a single blunder on the part of a pitcher that can decide a game. As we’ve seen in the Division Series between the Angels and Red Sox, it comes down to the pitching. Both teams boasted fabulous rotations and excellent hitting, but it was the Red Sox middle relief and closer that really won the games. Read the rest after the jump...Posted in: MLB Tags: ALDS, Andy Sonnanstine, Boston Red Sox, Brad Lidge, Carlos Zambrano, Chad Billingsley, Championship Series pitching, Chan Ho Park, Charlie Manuel, Chase Utley, Chicago Cubs, Clayton Kershaw, Cory Wade, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Dan Wheeler, David Price, Derek Lowe, Grant Balfour, Greg Maddux, Hiroki Kuroda, Hong-Chi Kuo, J.P. Howell, James Shields, Jimmy Rollins, Joe Blanton, Joe Maddon, Joe Torre, Jon Lester, Jonathan Broxton, Jonathan Papelbon, Josh Beckett, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Manny Ramirez, Matt Garza, NLDS, Philadelphia Phillies, Rich Harden, Ryan Dempster, Ryan Howard, Scott Kazmir, Takashi Saito, Tampa Bay Rays, Terry Francona, Tim Wakefield, Troy Percival, World Series
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