MLB 2014 season thread

Pirates use 24th pick of draft on a player who was ranked 84th by Baseball America.

Fucking baseball. The small-market teams can't even afford the Internet.

 

Yes. I think they should fire all the scouts and hire Baseball America to take care of it for them.

 

Quick someone tell David Price either he isn't a LHP or he wasn't drafted with the overall #1 pick in 2007 out of Vanderbilt. ;D


Brady Aiken was the first HS pitcher drafted with the overall #1 pick since Brien Taylor. He's also the third HS pitcher drafted with the overall #1 pick since the draft was initiated in 1965. All three HS pitchers (Aiken, Taylor and David Clyde) are/were southpaws.

 

Might not be a bad idea.

He was one of three first-round picks who was not ranked in BA's top 50 and the only one who ranked below #64.

But it's probably just the Pirates knowing more than everybody else.

 

Maybe they got so used to passing on the first-round talent that they don't know how to stop.

 

Kendrys Morales to the Twins.

Speaking of the Twins, I'm seeing them against the Rangers in Arlington later this month and was checking out their stats online. One third of the way through the season, Joe Mauer has a .343 slugging percentage.

How is this not getting more run nationally? The guy makes $23 million a year and is hitting like Casey Kotchman.

 

I guess the market wasn't as strong for Morales as we had seen reported. Certainly not the ballpark you would think he'd want to play in to build value for free agency after the season.

Mauer has been awful. I'm sure the Twins were hoping for something like what the Tigers are getting from Victor Martinez, perhaps with a bit less power. A very good hitter freed from the physical toll of catching puts up big numbers. It just isn't happening. As to why it isn't getting more attention, is he even getting criticism at home for his subpar hitting? Or is Mauer still untouchable to Twins fans?

 

Ankle injuries seem to be baseball's most devastating. Besides Morales, Matt Kemp went from arguably the game's best player to fourth or fifth outfielder on the Dodgers.

 

To be fair, Morales's injury was a pretty nasty one.

 

I guess by the 28th round of the MLB draft, teams are ready to go the hell home. The Padres used their pick in that round on Johnny Manziel.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140607&content_id=78703344&vkey=news_sd&c_id=sd

 

The Yankees took Mariano Rivera's kid in the 29th round.

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/06/yankees-draft-mariano-rivera-son

 

If Manziel were ever to go all Ryan Leaf all Tim Couch, that could turn out to be a brilliant pick. Because that would be one of the first branches he would grab onto.