Jay Bruce OF Cincinnati Reds Jay Bruce may be the best offensive prospect in baseball right now. He combines tremendous physical skills, and very good baseball instincts, with a strong work ethic to produce the total prospect package …

Clayton Kershaw - SP LA Dodgers The Dodgers were impressed with Clayton Kershaw's 13 scoreless IP in spring training this March and so were we. Kershaw allowed just 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 15 but the

Good Morning and Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Josh O'Beckett played come catch with Red Sox pitching coach John O'Farrell on Sunday throwing 46 tosses from 60 and 75 feet. This was the first time Josh threw since he left

Lets start here ... there isn't too much about baseball I don't love. But there is nothing better than spending time in a minor league park, minutes from the B&M Baked Beans factory in Portland Maine, or the Brewery Exchange

Good news for Chad Tracy owners. He is expecting to go off of his blood thinning medication on Friday which would mean he could start taking live BP for the first time this spring, possibly as early as the

Fantistics 22608 Reports out of Minnesota say that Joe Nathan and the Twins aren't exactly close of a proposed contract extension. In fact they are one or two years apart and have been that way for the better part

News and notes from around spring training ... "If it blows out it's going to blow out, you can't control that." ... Not words that warm the hearts of the Cardinals, or their fans, or Albert Pujols owners on a

  Peter Moylan could be Bobby Cox’s first option for saves as Rafael Soriano faces a potential suspension this weekend (work on Soriano’s appeal of his 4-game suspension is due today). In 89 IP this year Moylan is 5-3

I was only a week or two into my Lamaze classes in preparation for the birth of my first child, my now 12-year-old daughter Sarah, in the late winter of 1995. As a first-time-parent-to-be who came from a small

Felix Hernandez held the Tribe to 3 runs in 7 IP on Tuesday. He gave up 8 hits without a walk while striking out 2. He also threw 12 GBOs and of course, he did not hand out a

Ouch. The Mets fans cannot be feeling any better than Red Sox fans this morning after watching what the Mets pitching staff coughed up yesterday. Mike Pelfrey continues to struggle, giving up 7 runs, 6 earned over 5.2 IP

I thought we’d mix up this week’s schedule a bit. If you are still playing fantasy baseball this morning, you are likely playing for a championship and trust me, everything counts (more on that later in the week).  

As we look to the bullpens for the final week of the regular season, we see one structural change and a lot of static.   Brian Wilson all but assumed the role of primary closer in San Francisco with

It was an interesting pitching matchup in LA last night as Greg Maddux and David Wells hooked up at Chavez Ravine.  Wells got the better of this one as Greg Maddux gave up 6 runs in 3.1 IP on

Good morning everyone!   The days are getting shorter and so is the calendar for your fantasy baseball team. There was a little bit of movement at the end of a couple of bullpens since we last spoke in

It is hard to imagine, given the 19 runs scored in game #1 of yesterday’s doubleheader … and the 25 hits … and the 35 players used … but the Rangers starting pitcher, Vicente Padilla pitched pretty well, tossing

The signs of fall are everywhere.   The days are cooler. The leaves here in New England are turning. I am up at 5:30 am to get my kids to school every day. The Patriots are humiliating the Jets.

(Editors note: This is only a sneek peek at this week's entire Prospect Central sent to our members via e-mail. Not a member yet? Visit Insiderbaseball.com today and see what else  you are missing! ) Have you ever noticed

It is early September and stability reins in major league bullpens … Ok, perhaps “stability” is strong … but there have been no major structural changes this week.   The biggest bullpen news of the week may be the

Jeremy Guthrie held the Rays to 3 runs in 6 IP on 8 hits, 4 walks and 5 K but did not figure in the decision on Tuesday. In the midst of the great season for Jeremy his starts have

Good morning everyone! Today we will continue the recap of players in their contract years in 2007 that we started last week with the hitters. Of the 50 hitters we looked at last week, 13 performed better than we

(Editors Note: This is a sample sneek peak of Prospect Central this week. Members of Insiderbaseball.com have seen in-depth profiles of over 130 prospects this season and the rest of this week’s report was e-mailed to them this morning.

Hi all … I am traveling to Yankee Stadium for today’s Red Sox/Yankees tilt so this morning’s Closer Look was produced last night. Make sure to check your Daily E-mail Update from Insiderbaseball.com this morning for any last minute

Carlos Pena grew up playing high school baseball three walking minutes from my house. My near-teenage daughter was a baby in a stroller when I used to walk her down to watch Carlos play. I interviewed him the day

Every year at some point, I get into a discussion about Contract Year Theory.   I am usually put in the position of having to defend the unpopular position that it is a myth. We hear all the time

(Editors note: This is a partial preview of Insiderbaseball.com's Prospect Central, emailed to our memebers each week. Not a member yet? Go to Insiderbaseball.com today and join! And tis the season, so make sure you visit Insiderfootball.com before your

Will Inman – Brewers Starter – Throws Right – 6-0, 200 – 2/6/1987 Will is a very good test case for personal philosophies in regards to pitching prospects. To me he is simply not the type of guy I

Chad Billingsley collected his first win in a month with 7 strong innings against the Phillies on Thursday. He held Philadelphia to 1 run in 7 IP on 4 hits, 2 walks and he struck out 7.  Chad also

Once again this week we find the closing situations in Major League Baseball to be stable.   The big bullpen news wraps around a return from injury.   Before we get to that however we look to SF where

  Jon Lester got the win last night for the Red Sox thanks to a healthy offensive outburst. For his part Jon allowed 5 runs all earned in 5.1 IP to the Rays on 4 hits, 4 walks and

Good morning everyone!   A little mail bag this morning but first a couple of things …   Football season is approaching (for some of you quicker than others) and some of you rookies may not know that Insiderfootball.com

(This is a partial free look at Insiderbaseball.com's Prospect Central report which is e-mailed to our members each Sunday. Members also have access to our entire database of reports this season. Not a member? Go to Insiderbaseball.com and join

Wandy Rodriguez went 5 innings last night allowing 4 runs, only 2 earned. On 5 hits and a walk while striking out two. Mike Lamb contributed errors at first base in the 5th and 6th as Wandy fell to

It has been a very quiet week at the back end of baseball’s bullpens.   There was movement in Oakland last night however as Huston Street recorded his first save since coming off the DL last month.  Alan Embree

Daniel Cabrera kicked of the Orioles combined shutout of the Yankees on Wednesday with 6.2 shutout innings in which he allowed just 2 hits … but he walked 6 … ! … That is a season high and it

Eric Patterson - Cubs Outfield - Bats Left - 5-11, 170 - 4/8/1983 This profile would have looked a lot better if Eric Patterson could play second base. The younger brother of Corey Patterson started the season as a

A little mailbag this morning .... Dear Sweet Lou, I too am a fellow New Englander, living here in the great state of Connect-eh-cut, in Storrs. I thoroughly enjoy your wit, savvy & journalistic style very much. Keep it up!

(Editors Note: This is a partial look at the Prospect Central reports that our members recieve via e-mail. Not a member yet? Want some of this great Fantistics insight to help you with your fantasy football season as well?

The MLB non-waiver trade deadline usually shuffles the deck of at least a couple of rosters and this year it rearranged some bullpens as well.   The trade of Eric Gagne to the Red Sox left the Rangers closer

Kason Gabbard moves to Texas as part of the Eric Gagne deal on Tuesday. Kason upped his trade value considerably with two perfectly timed strong starts in mid July. He had his strong change working in both of those

It is time to dumpster dive for starts! Want to know how I can tell? Congratulate me, I am now the proud owner of Jesse Litsch! My league has 5 reserves and currently all 5 of my reserves, Carlos Beltran,

The big news at the end of the bullpen this week comes from Baltimore where closer Chris Ray was felled by a bone spur in his elbow.  He is gone for at least a month it would appear. The

John Rheinecker went 7 innings against the M's on Tuesday in his second MLB start of the season, allowing one unearned run on 6 hits and a walk while striking out 4. He earned his first win of the year,

Today we are going to take a look at some of the players we haven't profiled yet that show up on Baseball America's mid-season Top 25 (or so) prospects. Jacob McGee  - Rays Starter - Throws Left - 6-3,

Keep your eyes open for the most predicable injury in sports history. With two phony baloney homers yesterday Barry B*nds moves to within two homers of a tying Hank Aaron on the All-Time homerun list, the most predictable sham

A couple of returns highlight this week’s Closer Look.   In Tampa Al Reyes returned from his rotator cuff strain on the first day he was eligible. He returns to the closer’s role in Tampa replacing veteran Gary Glover

It was a great pitching duel at the Dome on Tuesday as Nate Robertson and the Tigers beat Matt Garza and the Twins 1-0. Nate went 7 shutout IP allowing just 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5.

I have often felt that fantasy baseball presents a good analogy to financial investing. The players of course would be the stocks and our teams would be our portfolios. I know next to nothing about evaluating a stock but I

(Editors Note: This is not the complete Prospect Central Report that is e-mailed to  Insiderbaseball.com's subscribers today. It is an edited version.) This week my son and I attended the Eastern League (AA) All-Star Fogfest at Dodd Stadium in

  Manny Parra – Brewers Starter – Throws Left – 6-3, 200 – 10/30/1982   Manny caught everyone’s attention on June 25th when he retired 27 straight hitters against the Round Rock Express to record the 8th perfect game

Brad Penny developed a blister in the first inning of last night's start against the Braves and limped to his worst outing of the season, allowing 6 runs, all earned in 4 IP on 9 hits, 4 walks and 5

Injuries and ineffectiveness have shuffled the deck in a couple of MLB bullpens as we take a post-July 4th Closer Look. Devil Ray's closer Al Reyes was placed on the 15-day DL on Wednesday with a "mildly"strained rotator cuff. The

Happy July 4th everyone! Having faced yesterday's opposing pitcher Ryan Feierabend in the minors, Billy Butler knew what to expect and he entered the game in a comfortable state of mind. The result was a 3- for -5 performance with

This week we will pick up some players from the Futures Game rosters that haven’t yet appeared in Prospect Central, and introduce you to a rising young star in the Red Sox System… Keep in mind that our Prospect

It is dateline Chicago once again as we review the big bullpen news of the week. Ryan Dempster was placed on the 15-day DL on Tuesday with a strained left oblique. With Sweet Lou's alleged "closer in waiting"Angel Guzman also

My base of minor league operations sits on the banks of the meandering Merrimack River in Manchester New Hampshire. The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are the AA affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, playing in the Eastern League. Their new

Rodrigo Lopez improved to 4-0 on the year with a win over the Yankees on Thursday. He went 5.2 IP, allowing 7 hits and a walk while striking out 3. Rodrigo lowers his ERA to 2.93 on the year in

It is another slow week in the back end of Major League bullpens this week. Of course, the injury to Brad Lidge tops the closer headlines. Before he could collect his first save of this tour of duty as the

Chad Durbin limited the Nationals to 1 run over 6 IP at RFK on Tuesday. He gave up 5 hits without a walk and struck out 5 to improve to 6-3 on the year with a 4.37 ERA. Chad is

When last we talked I set out some offensive team splits so we could identify particularly good or bad matchups for your pitchers.   This morning let’s check out the particularly good and bad matchups for hitters. Here are

Felix Pie – Cubs Outfielder – Bats Left – 6-2, 170 – 2/8/1985 2006 pretty much constituted a “Take 2” in Felix Pie’s pro career. After an ankle injury sidelined him for half of the 2005 season the Cubs

We are starting the second half of what has been another relatively stable week in MLB bullpens. The major news among closers happened at the end of last week when the Astros returned Brad Lidge into the closer's role. The

We are starting the second half of what has been another relatively stable week in MLB bullpens. The major news among closers happened at the end of last week when the Astros returned Brad Lidge into the closer's role. The

A.J. Burnett left last night's game after 4.2 IP with what is being termed a "shoulder strain". "They don't think it's any big deal," manager John Gibbons said. "It's a mild strain. You're always concerned when a pitcher feels something

The 2007 MLB First Year Player Draft is in the books and we all want to look ahead to see what the prognosis is for the highest selections. ESPN2 televised the first round of the draft live for the first

Lots to chew on in last night Great Adventure between the Jays and Rays but Roy Halladay's pitching line is what stands out to most fanatsy owenrs. Eight runs allowed, 7 earned, on 12 hits, a walk and one K

For the first time this season, there no major changes to report in this week’s Closer Look. All of the pitchers who held the primary closer roles for their teams last week at this time are still seated, but

Josh Beckett was outstanding in his return from the DL on Tuesday limiting the Indians to 2 runs on just 3 hits and a walk while fanning 7 over 7 IP. He improves to 8-0 and becomes the first Red

The Actual Art of the Deal Itself In the first two parts in our series on trading, we talked about how perceptions can skew player values and how you should use that to your advantage. And we offered ideas on

Jay Bruce – Reds Outfielder – Bats Left – 6-2, 206 – 4/3/1987  The Red’s first round pick in 2005 should be on everyone’s radar by now when considering top offensive prospects. Last year all Jay accomplished was the

This week’s closer’s report centers around Chicago where I warned you earlier that Lou Piniella was about to start flailing. Sweet Lou is considering moving Ryan Dempster to the starting rotation in the near future and using 25-year-old Angel

Corey Patterson was told to sit in the corner last night and think about what he's done with his last 17 ABs which is nada. He is down to .219 on the year. No word as to whether he'll

Shaking the Trade Tree In the first part of our series, we talked about how one critical aspect of the trading game is being aware that every player has more than one absolute value. He has, in fact, a different

Jesse Litsch – Blue Jays Starting Pitcher – Throws Right – 6-1, 175 – 3/9/1985 The 22-year-old right-hander was strong in his MLB debut against the Orioles on May 15th, holding them to 1 earned run on 4 hits

Plenty of hope for us sub-6-footers in Houston last night where Tim Lincecum and Roy Oswalt put in a show. Roy went 5.2 IP without allowing a hit. In the end he went 7 shutout innings, allowing 4 hits

Lots to talk about when we take a Closer Look this week, starting in Oakland where Huston Street hit the DL with an ulnar nerve irritation on Tuesday.   Justin Duchscherer becomes the primary closer while Street is sidewalked

Felix Hernandez seemed a bit rusty in his first start for the M's since April 18th. He went 3.2 IP allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks while striking out 5. Felix only used his strong slider a

Homer Bailey – Reds Starting Pitcher – Throws Right – 6-3, 190 – 5/3/1986 The Reds’ first round pick in 2004 out of La Grange Texas has been considered as one the top pitching prospects in baseball. As a

There is a power shift in Washington this morning as Jon Rauch takes over the closers role in place of Chad Cordero who has been placed on the bereavement list.   Rauch’s indicators hardly spell c-l-o-s-e-r. This year in

I'm sure Cliff Lee is breathing easier as his abdominal strain fades in the rear view mirror, and now his owners can breathe a bit easier as well. Lee held the Angels to 1 one on 3 hits and 2

Good Morning! We are supposed to be preaching patience to you. We are supposed to tell you not to panic and not overvalue what are still some pretty meager statistical samples when we look at our rosters. That is always

Hunter Pence – Astros Outfielder – Bats Right – 6-4, 210 – 4/13/1983 The Astros finally figured out that Chris Burke was a problem. It just took them a bit longer than the rest of us.  That brings up

Matt Cain had his issues with the Phillies on Thursday allowing 7 runs, all earned in 3 IP on 8 hits and 4 walks. Matt struck out 2 while falling to 1-2 on the year. His ERA chinned over

This week we start with Tom Gordon heading back to Philly to have his painful right shoulder examined. The Phillies say that Gordon will not be with the team this weekend in San Francisco. We are early in this

Jarrod Washburn was strong against the White Sox on Tuesday, holding them to 2 runs in 7 IP on just 4 hits and a walk while striking out 4. Both runs came on solo homers as Washburn improved to

Your fantasy offense is an Army. It is, hopefully, a relentless snowfall of stats that accumulates into major problems for your opponents. However, your pitchers are different. Your pitching staff is instead an orchestra. It is helpful to be aware

The headline news in the bullpen this week comes from Texas where Eric Gagne was placed on the DL with a strained hip/glut. Akinori Otsuka returns to the closer role which he handled quite well last season, recording 32

Jorge Cantu was recalled by the Rays on Tuesday after a tumultuous spring and a limp minor league stint in which he hit .267 without a homerun. He didn't play in yesterday's game against the Yankees and it's hard

A little mailbag this morning … This subscriber didn't want his letter published so I will paraphrase his questions to protect the innocent … Dear Lou,   I enjoyed your article about the value of analyzing splits to make

This week we look at some of the hottest prospects around.    Tom Gorzelanny and Adam Lind are in the majors now but the rest of these guys can best be described by Dennis Leary’s first catch phrase …

On the trick or treat scale that John Patterson seems to be skipping around so far, this start landed squarely in the "Trick"  area. He allowed 3 runs, all earned, in 4 IP on 7 hits and 4 walks

The big ninth-inning story in baseball right now plays out north of the border in Toronto where primary closer B.J. Ryan came up with an elbow injury.  Jason Frasor is the man for the Jays for now and he

Gustavo Chacin out dueled Daisuke at the Roger Centre last night limiting the Red Sox to 1 earned run over 6.2 IP. He allowed 6 hits, including Wily Mo Pena's monstrous third-inning solo homerun, without a walk while striking

It's not as if we all need to wear name tags or anything, but there's a certain "getting to know you"atmosphere around most fantasy baseball teams this year. Of course, we know most of the names and the stat lines

Prospect Central Week #3 Welcome to Prospect Central for Week #3. Today we will look at some players doing it … or not doing it … or sort of doing it, on the MLB level. Today it is a

A Closer Look - Week #2 If you had Brad Lidge in your Closer Death Pool you cashed a check this week but you may have been only days ahead of Jorge Julio in Florida. Manager Fredi Gonzalez has blown

The new and improved Josh Beckett made his second start for the Red Sox in their home opener in Tuesday pitching very effectively against the Ms. Beckett held Seattle to 1 run in 7 IP on just two hits without

We talk about numbers all the time here ...   They are important to what we do. The key to this whole game we play is to determine which numbers more accurately indicate performance and which numbers more accurately

Welcome to Prospect Central for Week #2! Today we look at a few prospects who earned a spot on the major league team's Opening Day roster and some that could have, and probably will before the summer is out.

Jason Marquis who led the NL in losses in 2006 had a solid debut for the Cubs on Thursday limiting the Reds to 1 run on 4 hits and 2 walks over 6 IP. He only fanned one but

Good morning everyone!   A couple of years ago I asked the publishers for the First Pitch feature to get a couple of chances a week to just free form and rant a little bit. But we now live

Like Curt Schilling before him on Monday, today's start for Josh Beckett allegedly unveils a revamped and revised edition of the pitcher for 2007. Beckett and new pitching coach John Farrell have apparently hit it off and Farrell has convinced

We spend a lot of time fretting about how well a pitcher is going to adjust to a change in leagues. We treat the AL and the NL like two separate animals when we consider such a switch, and with

Welcome to another season of Prospect Central! Here is where you find breakdowns of Insiderbaseball.com's Top 100 Prospects. Each week you can also check out our Prospect Central Spreadsheet with rankings and updates on our top 50 pitching and hitting