Several former West Virginia Black Bears on Street & Smith's Top Prospect List

America's baseball bible, Street and Smith's includes several former West Virginia Black Bears on their Pittsburgh Pirates' top 20 prospects list.

If you include prospects who have spent rehab assignments in Morgantown, eight of the twenty players on the list are former Black Bears.

The list includes:

#1   Mitch Keller (rehab 2017)
#3   Austin Meadows (rehab 2016, 2017)
#4   Ke'Bryan Hayes (2015)
#7   Kevin Kramer (2015)
#8   Kevin Newman (2015)
#11 Will Craig (2016)
#12  Luis Escobar (2015-16)
#18  Steve Alemais (2016)

 

Photo credit: Street and Smith's

Black Bears Tracker is not affiliated with Minor League Baseball, the New York-Penn League, or the West Virginia Black Bears

In search of Barbudos - my recent trip to Cuba

Back on January 23, I posted a tweet: “In Miami. Leaving for Cuba in the morning in search of Barbudos. Will be incommunicado for the next several days….”

If you are wondering, what is a Barbudo? It is a bearded revolutionary. The term was used to describe Cuban revolutionaries in the 1950s. Shortly after taking power, Fidel Castro played in a baseball exhibition with members of the 26 July Movement in uniforms with “Barbudos” across the front of their jerseys (rumors that he was scouted by MLB are untrue).

Barbudos

My wife and I had a very enjoyable trip to Cuba (our third visit), but I did not find any “Barbudos”. Cuba is in transition and soon they will have a new president. For the first time since 1959, a Castro will not be the leader of the Cuban government. That should be a good thing. But the embargo continues and current U.S. policies are having a chilling effect on travel to the island, thanks to Little Marco and the Donald.

Baseball is the national sport in Cuba and was introduced to the island in the 1860s by students returning from colleges in the United States.

Although we were unable to see any Cuban games live, I watched parts of a couple of the playoff games on television and saw Granma win the Cuban Championship over LaTunas. You can follow Cuban baseball at this link.

We arranged this trip through Roads Scholar and it is a good travel option to see the island and interact with the people of Cuba. We were able to walk the shoreline of the Bay of Pigs and visit the cities of Cienfuegos, Trinidad, and Santa Clara, in addition to my favorite city of Havana. Here are some photos from the trip. Enjoy….

Cienfuegos

Bay of Pigs

Hemingway's Boat (Pilar)

Havana

Cuban Capitol Building, Havana

Havana

Photo credits: newyorktimes.com; NY-Penn League News

NY-Penn League News is not affiliated with Minor League Baseball or the New York-Penn League.

There will be minor league baseball in Batavia in 2018!

Great news. In case you missed it, there will be minor league baseball in Batavia, New York in 2018. The New York-Penn League will operate the team this season and have named long-time baseball man Dave Chase as general manager. Read more at the The Batavian and The Daily News.

Logo credit: MiLB.com

NY-Penn League News is not affiliated with Minor League Baseball or the New York-Penn League.

The latest regarding the Batavia Muckdogs

Sources in upstate New York have added little new information regarding the status of the Batavia Muckdogs for the 2018 season.

Here is what we know:

• The operating agreement between the Genesee County Baseball Club (GCBC), owners of the Batavia Muckdogs and the Rochester Red Wings expired back in 2017.
• The Rochester Red Wings tried to negotiate an agreement to continue to operate the Muckdogs, but the New York-Penn League (NYPL) declined their offer.
• Back in December, 2017, the GCBC announced that control of the franchise was been transferred to the NYPL.
• The NYPL is seeking a buyer for the franchise. Under terms of the transfer, the Rochester Red Wings, who have managed day-to-day operations of the club since 2008, will receive 50 percent of any sale price, and the GCBC will receive the other 50 percent, minus legal fees and the 10 percent share of sale proceeds that will be kept by the league. The sale price for the team is expected to be around $6 million. The name “Muckdogs” will remain property of the GCBC.
• Sources indicate that there is currently no one at Dwyer Stadium managing operations of the Muckdogs (I confirmed this by calling the Dwyer Stadium ticket office number and there was no answer). 
• Sources indicate that the NYPL is taking over operations of the Muckdogs, but the status for the 2018 is unknown. The NYPL website has a master schedule for the 2018 season that includes Batavia.
• Sources indicate that the NYPL has made contact with Batavia officials about a one-year lease of the stadium, but nothing has been finalized.
• Sources anticipate some announcement soon from the NYPL regarding the 2018 season.

Here are articles about the situation:

The Daily News: link
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle: link
The Batavian: link
auburnpub.com: link

Logo credit: MiLB.com

NY-Penn League News is not affiliated with Minor League Baseball or the New York-Penn League.

An Open Letter to all New York-Penn League Fans:

I am writing to request that you consider taking a road trip during the upcoming season to Batavia, New York and attend a Muckdogs game.

Batavia is the last of the original cities of the New York-Penn League, which was founded at a meeting in the Hotel Richmond in Batavia and began play in 1939 as the PONY (Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York) League.

The Muckdogs may not survive in Batavia much longer. Attendance has been down for several years and the Muckdogs averaged 806 fans per game during the 2017 season. Fan support for the Batavia franchise is needed now more than ever.

Recently, it was announced that the Rochester Red Wings will no longer manage the day to day operations of the Muckdogs and control of the team has been assumed by the New York-Penn League. See an article regarding this here. The Player Development Agreement between the Miami Marlins and Batavia expires after the 2018 season.

Please help keep minor league baseball in Batavia and take a road trip to see the Muckdogs this summer!  Muckdogs' ticket information is available here.

See you in Batavia,

#SupporttheMuckdogs

NY-Penn League News is not affiliated with Minor League Baseball or the New York-Penn League.

Hot Stove: Former West Virginia Black Bears on Several Pirates Prospect Lists

Several former West Virginia Black Bears are moving up on the Pittsburgh Pirates prospect lists. Here is a summary of players who have played in Morgantown from four prospect lists. I have included players who spent rehab assignments with the Black Bears. Click on highlighted players names to see their complete stats at MILB.com.

MLB.com Pirates Top 30 Prospect Watch. See entire Pirates list at this link.

1.  Austin Meadows (rehab 2016, 2017)

2.  Mitch Keller (rehab 2017)

5.  Ke’Bryan Hayes (2015)

6.  Ryan Newman (2015)

7.  Will Craig (2016)

9.  Kevin Kramer (2015, rehab 2017)

16. Luis Escobar (2015-16)

21. Stephen Alemais (2016)

22. Edgar Santana (2015)

23. Brandon Waddell (2015, rehab 2017)

25. Dovydas Neverauskas (rehab 2015)

29. Dario Agrazal (2015)


Fangraphs Top 25 list published on December 28, 2017. 

1.  Mitch Keller

2.  Austin Meadows

5.   Ke’Bryan Hayes

8.   Luis Escobar

9.   Kevin Newman

11. Stephen Alemais

12. Kevin Kramer

17. Will Craig

20. Dovydas Neverauskas

21. Edgar Santana

23. J.T. Brubaker (2015)


Baseball America published their Top Ten Pirates prospects for 2018 in October.  Read the entire article at this link.

1. Mitch Keller

2. Austin Meadows

4. Ke’Bryan Hayes

5. Kevin Newman

7. Luis Escobar


Pirates Prospects Top 50 Prospects. Pirates Prospects is a subscription only site and is highly recommended for Pittsburgh Pirates fans who want to follow what is happening down on the farm throughout the year. The Pirates Prospects 2018 Prospect Guide can be purchased at this link.

1.   Mitch Keller

2.   Austin Meadows

5.   Ke’Bryan Hayes

6.   Kevin Newman

10. Luis Escobar

14. Kevin Kramer

16. Edgar Santana

21. Dario Agrazal

22. J.T. Brubaker

23. Dovydas Neverauskas

24. Will Craig

25. Stephen Alemais

26. Brandon Waddell

36. Tristan Gray (2017)

39. Logan Hill (2015)

44. Deon Stafford (2017)

45. Tanner Anderson (2015)

48. Bligh Madris (2017)

49. Ike Schlabach (2017)

Photo Credit: NY-Penn League News

NY-Penn League News is not affiliated with Minor League Baseball, the New York-Penn League, or the West Virginia Black Bears

My 2018 IBWAA Hall of Fame Ballot

Here is my Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) Hall of Fame (HOF) ballot for 2018.

I took the advice of the great Joe Morgan and didn’t vote for any suspected PED abusers. I won’t debate the issue here. That’s my position and I’m sticking to it. I’ll consider voting for PED users when Shoeless Joe Jackson is eligible for induction to the HOF.

Clicking on each player’s name will take you to Baseball-Reference.com where you can look at their statistics.

Trevor Hoffman

Chipper Jones

Jeff Kent

Fred McGriff

Mike Mussina

Jim Thome

Billy Wagner

Larry Walker

If you are wondering about the IBWAA, here is information from the organization's website:

“The IBWAA seeks neither to replace nor disparage the BBWAA, but does offer distinctions. While the BBWAA requires ten years and hundreds of dollars of paid membership for writers to earn a Hall of Fame vote, the IBWAA has no waiting period, with a $75 lifetime fee.

“In the vast majority of cases, the BBWAA requires the tying of a writer’s online work to a print publication for admission; the IBWAA does not. The IBWAA believes that the hoops an applying writer has to jump through to join the older organization are too many and too narrow, and welcomes all Internet baseball writers. Those with his or her own baseball website of any kind or scope are invited to join, as are those who contribute the written word anywhere within the baseball blogosphere.

"The IBWAA votes for Cooperstown in December, and during September of each championship season holds elections for the Most Valuable Player, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year Awards. In 2010, the IBWAA began voting in its own relief pitcher category, establishing the Rollie Fingers American League Relief Pitcher of the Year and the Hoyt Wilhelm National League Relief Pitcher of the Year Awards.

“The IBWAA endeavors to be nimble and inclusive, and encourages members to participate as much or as little as they like. All suggestions are welcome always. Minimum age requirement is 18.

“For more info, please contact IBWAA Director, Howard Cole, info@ibwaa.com."

Photo Credits: IBWAA

 

NY-Penn League News is not affiliated with Minor League Baseball or the New York-Penn League.