The American League just got a whole lot better this week as 3 of the top 5 overall 2014 propsects got called up to the big leagues. #2 prospect Carlos Correa was first on Monday, and made his debut in a grand way with an RBI single in his first game as an Astro and a homerun the following day. Top overall prospect Byron Buxton was next on Saturday and scored the game winning run for the Twins on Sunday. He was hitting .283 with 37 RBI and 20 steals at the time of his promotion. Not too long after, #4 prospect Francisco Lindor got the call at shortstop for the Indians. Even though he fell down rounding first base on his first major league hit, he was also deserving of the promotion, with a career .354 OBP in parts of 5 seasons in the minor leagues, and probably the best glove of the group. Carlos, Byron, and Francisco are 20, 21, and 21 respectively, and all 3 were 1st round draft picks of their respective teams.
The future in Major League Baseball is looking very bright this year, with already 15 of the top 100 prospects making their debuts in the first 2 months of the season, and nearly all of them making a significant impact. Joey Gallo hit an upper deck homerun in his first major league game for the Rangers and already has 4 in his first 11 games. He was called up to replace Rougned Odor on the roster and there is already talk of moving Gallo to another position for Odor's inevitable return. Noah Syndergaard joined an already formidable Mets rotation last month and has shown flashes of the dominance he had in the minors, including his mythical hitting prowess (which fits for a man whose nickname is Thor). Kris Bryant Watch was the talk of the majors for the first 2 weeks of the season following his historic spring training and he has done nothing but produce for an upstart Cubs team. And if that wasn't enough, #5 overall prospect Addison Russell was right on his coattails. Joc Peterson has not just been one of the best rookie outfielders in the league this year, but one of the best outfielders in the league overall if not the best. Here in Milwaukee, guys like Tyler Cravy, Taylor Jungmann, Scooter Gennett, Jimmy Nelson, Khris Davis, and Jean Segura have all made a splash in the last couple of years, albeit with much less national media attention.
For anybody that would argue that baseball does not have the star power it once did in the wake of the ongoing PED abuse scandals, one need only tune in the next few years to watch these kids develop. Led by a still-improving Mike Trout and Bryce Harper at the front of the pack, the future of baseball looks very healthy in terms of young, marketable talent.
STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 06.15:
Brewers 24-40, -18.0 (2 v. Royals, 2 @ Royals, 3 @ Rockies)
Reds 28-34, -13.0 (2 @ Tigers, 2 v. Tigers, 3 v. Marlins)
Twins 34-28, -1.5 (2 @ Cardinals, 2 v. Cardinals, 3 v. Cubs)
2015 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 12 (+11 worked)
Peter - 20
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.
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