Independent Professional Leagues

Independent Professional Leagues

For some the dream of getting called up to play in the MLB is more of a long shot than for others. There are proffesional teams around the country that have no connection to the organizations around them in Major or Minor League Baseball. These teams collect ball players who want to continue traning and developing their skills. 

I was fortunate enough to become close friends with a player from the Washington Wild Things of the Fronteir League. Through working for the team I was able to often interact with the players easily because of our age similarity and our common interest in baseball. CJ Batey plays outfield. He was oringinally drafted by the Chicago White-Sox organization, yet chose to come play for the Wild Things so that he could get more on field experience. Players rarely are called from independent leagues, but it does happen. CJ hopes to reenter MLB scouts thoughts and return to the minor leagues. 

The dreams of going to the big show will never die for a lot of players. It hasn'd yet left my heart and I havent played any serious baseball in years. I hope to make a career in baseball, marketing and communication, so that I can always be around the game. 

Blog Inspiration

Baseball is a childrens game. It is more mental than physical, yet it is simple enough for kids to understand. It is an innocent game, yet one that can force grown men to feel so much emotion that it brings them to tears, or in some cases fist fights. It makes sense that I would write a blog about baseball, as I have mentioned in another inspiration blog.

I have a special interest in young ball players. It is the ones who work hard every day, without having anyone know their names, that make the game great. Those who are at the top of the All-Star list in the MLB would not be there if they did not have rising stars pushing them to stay at the top of their game. Minor league baseball is an interesting concept. These are professional athletes, getting paid crazy money to play baseball, two or sometimes three levels below the MLB, and making a living through it. From working with a team in the Frontier league I have realized that a lot of minor league players have to leave their loved ones to go play baseball in some random small town in a place that is far from home for many of them. It is inspiring for people outside of baseball to work hard and follow your dreams when you consider what a lot of these guys are doing.

I am inspired by sports and by the stories of those who play them professionally. They give up their time to entertain us. Although they are getting paid heavily to do so, it must be a real challenge to be at the top of your game and have a constand spotlight on your life.

SPECIAL: Steven Matz..... Call-Up to WS Starter

Steven Matz

Seems like something out of a ficitonal novel that a kid with the name Matz from New York would eventually pitch for the New York Metz in the World Series. He was drafted the second round of the 2009 draft when he was only 19 years old. Matz signed with the Mets for a minor league contract just under a million dollars just ten minutes before the deadline for draft picks to sign. He had an MLB debut to remember, when he got his first victory and also recording four RBI's from the plate. His record was only 4 wins a zero losses in the regular season when he was placed into the spotlight of being the starting pitcher in the World Series. He did not recieve a win or a loss but pitched a solid five innings while only allowing two runs. 

Steven Matz

Southpaws to look out for

Southpaws to look out for 

Left Handed Pitchers

Twenty-two year old Sean Newcomb is built like a linebacker and is an intimidating presence on the mound. He is a part of the Atlanta Braves minor league system. He has posted consistently low Earned Run Average statistics throughout his minor league career. He has the velocity to be a great starter in the big leagues yet his command still has room to be improved. Newcomb is the number one ranked prospect in the Braves system and the third ranked left handed pitching prospect according to Major League Baseball.

Sean Newcomb

The second ranked pitching prospect who is also covered in our next special is Steven Matz. Matz is still considered a prospect because he is still signed to a minor league contract. His call up to the MLB during the 2015 season resulted in one of the best stories in the recent history of baseball. Matz is only 24 years old and in his first trip to the big leagues, he was blessed with a trip to the postseason. The New York Metz won their way into the World Series where Matz pitched game 4.

Steven Matz

The top left-handed pitching prospect is also the youngest among those featured on this page. His name that you will want to remember is Julio Urias. The 19 year old was purchased from the Mexican League to play in America. He throws a mid-90's fastball with two devestating off-speed pitches. The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Urias when he was only 16 years old. They are trying to keep his innings count low in order to preserve the youth in his pitching arm. Urias is one of the highest ranked overall prospects in baseball and certainly the hottest phenom.

Blog Inspiration Topic

Blog Inspiration Topic

The inspiration behind my blog is simple. Baseball has always been a top subject of interest for me. Researching who the next big names in Major League Baseball are going to be is exciting. As a big fan of playing, watching and learning as much as possible about the game of baseball, it was easy to choose this topic because I will not lose interest in it whatsoever. 

I have enjoyed following prospects ever since I was old enough to know about the structure of minor league baseball. It is an exciting time to watch a player with big league All-Star potential move through the ranks and build his baseball resume until scouts finally decide that he is ready to move onto the big stage. A ball-players debut can be one of the best days of their life. Careers can be 20 years long, and some players may only get into the MLB for a few games, but either way the excitement of what could be is one of the best things to experience along with the players. 

Blog Typography Inspiration

Blog Typography Inspiration

Typographic elements of the world create the most basic messages. Text that is read easily and has a look that provides feeling is most effective in creating a mood for what is being read. Some fonts may be more serious, while others will look more playful. Depending on the word or phrase being presented it is wise to choose a font that best fits the intended mood of the text. The same theory of application must go toward color choices. Colors provide a feeling to anywhere that they are applied. Typography arrangement must consider the color of a text so that it meets the desired feeling to a message. You wouldn't create a graphic using the word "Lucky" without most likely making it the color green. 

Inspiration for typographical design can come from anywhere. If a designer wants his message to have the mood of cold or night they may use a dark background and light color font and simple font to look like stars in the sky. If a message is intended to be scary or evil a design may be in a radical or crazy looking font with reds oranges and blacks to give a look like fire and smoke. 

Typography can take the form of different shapes. It can be very effective to shape a message in a way that it looks like something related to the theme of the text. For example a world map created by each country's typed out name. It is simple yet effective. In my opinion all typographic inspiration can be traced back to what feelings we have set as a culture for different messages and words. It is easy to create a design as long as you know the way that your audience will most effectively receive the message. 

Blog Colors Inspiration

Blog Colors Inspiration

Using the colors white and red for a baseball blog was a fairly easy decision. Baseball's themselves are red and white, and there are many teams in professional baseball that utilize the colors red and white in their uniforms. Baseball is America's most cherished game as far as national history goes, and in every stadium you'll see a large American flag on display, two of its main colors are of course red and white.

St. Louis Cardinals Uniform

Cincinnati Reds Uniform

Philadelphia Phillies Uniforms

Boston Red Sox Throwback Uniforms

  

Blog Design Inspiration

Blog Design Inspiration

The inspiration for the design of this blog has been in my head for as long as I can remember. Each desktop background on computers that I've used since childhood has displayed a picture of a big pile of baseballs. Since the blog is focused on baseball I figured a background with a series of circles fit nicely along with the red and white theme of the page (colors of a baseball). 

The blog is designed to go through each position on a baseball field and touch on the top three prospects at each position, as well as featuring special reports on some prospects who are making big news.

 

No Fly Zone.......... Outfielders on the rise

No Fly Zone.......... Outfielders on the rise

As if playing in the New York Yankees system isnt enough pressure for a young man to deal with, Aaron Judge is also the third ranked outfield prospect in all of Minor League Baseball. Judge is a staggering 6 feet 7 inches tall and brings unreal power to the plate. His skills projec that he may only need another year or so in the minors to develop into a major league threat.


Aaron Judge

Nomar Mazara is the second ranked outfield prospect. At only 20 years old he recently signed a $4.95 bonus in the Texas Rangers system, which is a record for international prospects. The Rangers believe his frame has potential to produce power numbers with his above average strength. His outstanding arm strength makes up for his middle of the pack speed on defense, and his great jumps on fly balls protect gaps and lines against doubles.

Nomar Mazara

Byron Buxton has more than just an amazing superstar name, he also broke out of the prospect ranks by making his debut with the Minnesota Twins for a few dozen games in the 2015 season. He is ranked as the top outfield prospect and is expected to get his first full season in the bigs in 2016. He has the skill set to be a middle of the order bat and and starting center fielder for many big league teams already, and is said to be a five tool player that is only growing in talent.

Byron Buxton

Paulo Orlando, Rookie and World Series Champion

Paulo Orlando, Rookie and World Series Champion

Paulo Orlando, a rookie, became the first Brazilian born player to win the MLB World Series last week with the Kansas City Royals. He was added to the Royals opening day roster for 2015 as he showed great potential in the minor leagues and his few Major League appearances in 2014. It is rare that a 30-year old is a rookie in any professional sport, but it shows that he has persistence. His skills to not show that he will ever be an all-star or a big name player, yet he has accomplished something that many Hall of Famers have not done by being a part of a World Series Championship team. Paulo is also a regular representative of the Brazilian national team in the World Baseball Classic.

Paulo Orlando

SPECIAL: Michael Conforto

SPECIAL: Michael Conforto

Currently the Major League Baseball World Series is being played between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets. One player on the Mets has been a major league prospect, and has been playing in World Series' since he was just a kid. 

Michael Conforto

Micheal Conforto has played in the Little League World Series, the College World Series and is now lucky and talented enough to be playing for the Major League Baseball World Series. He is only the third player to do so, and is the first player ever to record an RBI (Run Batted In) in all three of his appearances in the various World Series performances. 

First Base Phenoms

FIRST BASE PHENOMS

A player who is just starting his professional career is already ranked third among prospects at first base. Dominic Smith is only in advanced-A ball, yet his work throughout his progression of growing older has impressed scouts across the board. Smith is said to have very mature eyes and hand eye coordination, along with an advanced recognition of the strike zone. He is playing in the New York Mets system, and they believe as he continues to move through the minor leagues that his power numbers will improve.

Dominic Smith

A more typical professional first-baseman is the second ranked prospect at the position. A.J. Reed is 6 feet 4 inches tall and a whopping 240 pounds. He is said to be too slow to play any other defensive position, but his defense is not what got him to be held in such high regard by scouts. His name became known because he not only started at first base at the University of Kentucky, he also was the teams ace pitcher. His power at the plate makes him too valuable to only be in the lineup once a week as a major league pitcher. He plays in the Houston Astros system. He has a strong arm at first base due to his pitching background.

AJ Reed 

It gives me great pleasure to know that the number one prospect at first base is a player in the Pittsburgh Pirates system. Josh Bell has worked his way to Triple-A and looks to make his mark in the majors very soon. He is a nearly a five tool player, but needs work on his ability to field batted balls. He has the power and speed to be a deadly extra-base hit threat and his .347 batting average with the Indianapolis Indians means that he can also hit for contact.

Josh Bell

A Glimpse of the Big Show...

A Glimpse of the Big Show

A minor league baseball player is used to being moved around from one team to the next. No call is more exciting than the one a minor leaguer can recieve that says they have been called up by the team in which their contract is ultimatelty signed. Some are lucky enough to play entire seasons as a rookie, and some only get to play and handful of games when they get that glorious call. 

These are those of the top 10 overall MLB prospects who made their MLB debuts in 2015.

BYRON BUXTON
Buxton played 46 games in the MLB for the Minnessota Twins during the 2015 season. His statistics during those games show that he could still use some improvement offensively if he wants to find a job as an outfielder in the Big Leagues.

COREY SEAGER
Seager played 27 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015. His impressive numbers of these games prove that he may soon be ready to be an every-day player in the MLB. He produced 17 RBI in his limited number of games and finished with a .337 batting average.

JOEY GALLO
Scouts view Gallo as the hitter with the most raw power amongst all minor leaguers, and some say all professional players including MLB players. He is young, like most of the prospects listed here, and in his 36 games he produces a BA in the low .200's with just 6 homeruns. He will continue to produce power when he does make contact with the ball, however he has some work to do in regards to overall productivity at the plate.

Second Basemen on the Rise

Second Basemen on the Rise

The third ranked second base prospect on the rise in baseball is Alen Hanson. Hanson is only 22 years old but has been signed to a major league contract since 2009. He is not a very large man, yet he has started to show extra-base power. Scouts say that he has the athletic ability and range to be a top-notch shortstop but he does not have the strongest arm across the infield. He plays in the Pittsburgh Pirates system, who have been showing a pattern of growing their talented players for a rather cheap price. Hanson could earn a big MLB contract one day, but still has some work to do.

Alen Hanson

Jose Peraza burst in the MLB in 2015. He was fortunate enough to play in seven big league games this year but did a majority of his work in the minor leagues. He is the second ranked second base prospect, and has incredible speed. This speed makes up for his lack of power at the plate, as he mostly hits the ball on the ground since most things hit in the air will not be going very far. He is anticipated to play more and more in the majors.

Jose Peraza

The number one prospect at the second base position is Yoan Moncada. He is only 20-years-old and should be entering the MLB in the next few years. He has already signed a 63-million dollar contract making him the highest paid amateur player in history. He has an arm athletic skill that will allow him to fill any position that a team needs, yet he is best fit in the middle infield. His numbers from the plate are much better than most second basemen or shortstops. The Boston Red Sox hope to get the production out of him for the money they have already spent.

Yoan Moncada

Captains of the Infield.

Captains of the Infield...

With the third overall pick in the 2015 draft, the Colorado Rockies system selected Brendan Rodgers. With his powerful swing and better than average glove work, some say he may be better fir to play third base. However, Rodgers is very athletic. Enough so that covering the range needed to be a Major League shortstop should not be a problem for him. He brings a great arm across the infield, and the 19 year old has become the top ranked prospect in the Rockies system. He is ranked third among all shortstop prospects according to Major League Baseball.

Brendan Rodgers

The 2013 winning of the Gulf Coast League batting title, is the second ranked shortstop by MLB. J.P. Crawford is 20 years old and the top prospect in the Philadelphia Phillies farm system. He has played in the futures all-star game two years in a row and has shown off his skills enough to reach double-a already. His smooth defense makes it a no-brainer that he is fit to play shortstop at the Major League level, and with no big names at the position ahead of him Crawford should look to move up into triple-a and MLB in the near future.

J.P. Crawford

A multi-position playing power hitter is the top ranked shortstop according to MLB. Corey Seager looks to make a move similar to recently emerging shortstop stars Addison Russel of the Cubs and Carlos Correa of the Astros. He is the number one ranked player in the Los Angeles Dodgers system and capable of playing shortstop or third base due to his excellent footwork and athletic ability. He is a good fit at third because of his size, as he has displayed great power and bat speed at the plate.

Corey Seager

The Hot Corner

The Hot Corner

Ryan McMahon is a 20 year old third baseman in the system of the Colorado Rockies. He is scouted as a player who has a very high ceiling in all five of baseball's most sought after skill sets. His defense is said to be already at a major league level. The Rockies hope that McMahon will continue to mature into the player they hoped he would be when they drafted him, and because he is so young there is much room to improve on this already phenomenal third baseman's game. His power swing is what is desired in a third baseman, and his ability to hit for average is a work in progress. McMahon is the third ranked third base prospect of Major League Baseball.

Ryan McMahon

 An 18 year old, is the second ranked third base prospect. Rafael Devers smashed pitching in Rookie-ball. He is a power hitter very highly regarded by the Boston Red Sox. He watches pitches well and has a good recognition of where an umpire will be calling balls and strikes. His display of talent in the international market lead him to make it to the United States by the age of 17. Scouts aren't sure if Devers will always play third base because of footwork issues, but as he matures physically he will find his way into a fitting position because of his threat at the plate. 

Rafael Devers

 The top ranked third base prospect in Major League Baseball is Joey Gallo. He made his major league debut in 2015 for the Texas Rangers after a legendary showing of skill and power going all the way back to his high school days. He hit a Nevada high school record 65 home runs. At only 21 years old he broke into the major leagues and quickly people took notice of Gallo's second greatest tool. He can bring a 98-mph fastball that looks like a laser moving across the infield from third base. He will likely have a great career in Major League Baseball for years to come.

Joey Gallo

Youth on the Hill... (Right-Handed Pitchers)

Youth on the hill... (right handed pitchers)

Alex Reyes in only 21 years old. However, he has been signed to a major league baseball contract since 2012. The St.Louis Cardinals have him listed as their most valued pitching prospect in their farm system and they will continue to allow his skills to progress. With a fastball in the mid-90's and a hard biting off-speed pitch, minor league hitters swing and miss often. He is the third ranked right-handed pitching prospect according to Major League Baseball.

Alex Reyes

From the batters box, a 6'8" pitcher can seem like he is standing on a mountain throwing down at you. That is why the Pittsburgh Pirates value their righty, Tyler Glasnow, very highly. He brings a fastball that can reach the upper-90's. Tyler throws a curveball and change-up that are scouted as needing work, but already both are noted to be average by Major League standards. Glasnow is ranked second among right-handed minor league pitchers and is expected to break into the MLB in the near future.

Tyler Glasnow

Throwing a baseball 100 miles per hour is an accomplishment that most only dream about. Lucas Giolito can touch the century mark with his fastball, and brings a devastating curveball that can make the best hitters off balance. As the number one right-handed prospect, the Washington Nationals believe that this 21-year-old can develop into an ace pitcher that will strengthen their already dominant pitching rotation.

Lucas Giolito

The Next Great Catcher

The Next Great Catcher...

Reese McGuire

A young man by the name of Reese McGuire is not yet old enough to buy alcohol. However he is old enough, and talented enough to be ranked third among catching prospects by Major League Baseball. He is most praised for his approach and success in the batters box, and for his ability to work with pitchers to make sure they perform at their peak. His 6'1'' frame is notably athletic at 181 lbs allowing him to bounce around fluidly behind the plate and to run at an above average speed for a catcher. McGuire was drafted in the first round by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2013 ad now plays in their farm system on the Bradenton Marauders.




Taken in the first round of the 2015 draft is the second ranked catching prospect in Major League Baseball. At 6'4" 210 lbs Tyler Stephenson has an extremely high potential level even as a high school student. The 19 year old was the first catcher taken in the 2015 draft. Scouts say he has great power from the right handed batters box but due to a long swing mechanic he may have a problem with making contact with professional pitching.

Tyler Stephenson

The number one prospect amongst all minor league catchers is a 22-year-old named Jorge Alfaro. Being 6'2" 225 lbs allows his big body to be strong with blocking pitches, and his arm strength has scouts talking. He is advancing through the minor leagues more quickly than most due to his bat speed and ability to  his the ball over the fence. Alfaro has been tried at a few other positions but the Phillies system is focused on developing an all-star catcher. He is currently completing a rehab assignment and is expected to break into the MLB in 2016.

Jorge Alfaro