Kuzul

You can make the argument that baseball’s rookie class of 2010 is the best ever.

It boasts arguably the best pitching prospect ever in Stephen Strasburg, who would be a shoe-in for the ROY award if he wasn’t on such a strict innings limit. It also gave us the best rookie bat to come along in at least a decade in Jason Heyward, who would be a shoe-in for the award if he could just stay on the field long enough.

Aside from Strasburg and Heyward, it also boasts the pitcher with the tenth best ERA in all of baseball (Jaime Garcia), five pitchers with WHIP numbers under 1.45, eight hitters with more than 10 home runs, and eight guys posting averages above .300.

And this class isn’t short on star power either, with names like Mike Stanton, Mike Leake, Brian Matusz, Buster Posey, Pedro Alvarez, Starlin Castro, Austin Jackson, Gaby Sanchez, and Brennan Boesch all gracing the glossy Topps rookie cards this year.

But, there are a ton of rookies who are having fantastic seasons under the radar. You can argue that some of these guys are having better seasons than Heyward or Strasburg, but because they lack the name recognition, they aren’t necessarily getting the attention they deserve.

Here they are. Shower them with adoration.

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The top half of this week’s “who’s hot and who’s not” has a rather familiar feel to it, with five of the first seven players occupying spots in my preseason Top 30 rankings, including an old familiar face who hasn’t seen this much attention in a few years.

The bottom half is a who’s-who of new faces, including a few recent draftees, and a ton of late-round fliers, including 30th, 34th, and 43rd round picks, in addition to a few undrafted players.

Get used to these names, because a lot of them will be occupying spots on my postseason All-Organization team, with maybe one of them receiving top billing as an Orioles player of the year.

Enjoy!

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The Orioles completed a trade, sending Miguel Tejada out West once again.

In case you don’t remember, this is the second time the O’s have traded the third-baseman. The first time came in December 2007.

The team shipped Tejada to Houston for a whole host of players, including Luke Scott, Mike Costanzo, Troy Patton, Matt Albers, and Dennis Sarfate. Costanzo is the only player who is no longer in the Orioles system.

This go-around, the O’s shipped Tejada to San Diego, where they hope Tejada can revive his bat, and show form similar to his past two seasons, when he hit 13 and 14 home runs, and drove in 66 and 86 runs.

This time the Orioles didn’t rob the opposing team blind, getting Wynn Pelzer in a straight-up, one-for-one deal.

If you’ve never heard of Pelzer, don’t beat yourself up over it.

Just read this and find out what he’s like, how good he can be, and where he’ll end up.

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There’s still five more days until the Major League Baseball trade deadline, but the biggest news so far, has been the lack of any blockbuster trades. Cliff Lee-for-Justin Smoak almost qualifies, but aside from that there isn’t really another trade that measures up.

Of course, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a talented bunch of players on the move. Several of the players dealt have legitimate big league futures.

And there could be even more on the way, if the rumors of Adam Dunn, Roy Oswalt, and any number of Orioles have any truth.

But, since you can only work with what you have, here are the top ten prospects that have been dealt so far, along with ETA’s and the percent chance you’ll see them in the big leagues in a recognizable form.

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The Major League Baseball draft is well on its way to becoming similar to the NFL draft. There is no off-season.

And in the case of most of these players, that’s the actual truth. While the best players college football has to offer are currently sitting in their dorm room’s playing video games, the best that college and high school baseball has to offer are out in the summer heat, working their butts off.

Some are pitching for Team USA in Cary, NC, while others are touring the country playing in the various All-Star showcases, but there aren’t many who are just sitting pat, knowing every little bit of work they put in can be seen by scouts and draft-niks who can help improve their stock.

Take UConn’s George Springer for example. The five-tool center-fielder has out on a display in North Carolina that has teams re-evaluating him as a top ten pick.

Or Henry Owens, who has been mowing down hitters as a part of Team USA’s under-18 squad.

Both have generated enormous momentum that will hopefully carry over into their 2011 seasons, and culminate in high draft slots.

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Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced yesterday that, effective immediately, minor league baseball players will be subject to mandatory, random testing for HGH.

“The implementation of blood testing in the minor leagues represents a significant step in the detection of the illegal use of human growth hormone,” Selig said in a statement. “HGH testing provides an example for all of our drug policies in the future.”

In case you haven’t taken the time to think about it, this is a packed statement issued by the commish, and is the first real step taken by MLB to get HGH testing on the books in Major League Baseball as well.

In fact, this statement affects just about everyone involved with the game in one way or another. Here’s how.

It affects the head honchos at MLB. By virtue of the fact that they have finally realized that since the MLBPA doesn’t have any real sway over the minor leagues, they can pretty much have free reign to test out whatever they want on minor league players.

This actually isn’t the first time that Major League Baseball has done this. In fact, several things over the past 10-15 years have actually been tested down in the minor leagues first, such as mandatory suspensions for performance enhancing drugs.

However, this is the first major step MLB has taken in the minors, and the decision will have a widespread effect on just about anyone and everyone else involved in baseball here in America and around the world.

This decision also affects the Major League Baseball Players Association. As of yesterday, the union’s executive director Michael Weiner was claiming that as long as there was no “scientifically validated” test that could be administered “without interfering with the player’s ability to compete,” the union wouldn’t consider adhering to a policy that made such a test mandatory.

They did also state they had not been privy to how MLB will administer the HGH testing on minor leaguers, and they were very interested in discussing the specifics of the testing with Selig and his crew.

Here’s what the union should really be thinking, and probably is: Selig called their bluff, and by enacting testing in the minor leagues, he is creating an environment where testing is a commonplace, accepted practice in the minors.

In two, five, or maybe even 10 years, when he wants to once again push the issue with the union, many player reps will have been subjected to the test and will be more amicable on the issue, meaning we could eventually see HGH testing in the big leagues, regardless of whether the test is “scientifically validated.”

Not only are MLB and the players union affected, but the players of both leagues also need to pay attention to this.

In the minors, players who have been using HGH, and still are, should be running scared. Gone are the days of Sammy Sosas and Raffy Palmeiros, testing positive for PEDs at the big league level.

We’re now in the age where big leaguers are smarter, and if they’re on anything, it’s going to be something that can sneak through the tests. But minor leaguers make very little money thanks to no standing agreement with the MLBPA, and if they’re looking for an illegal edge, HGH is where it’s at.

Get used to the idea of your team’s up-and-coming, can’t-miss prospect being shelved for 50-100 games because he tested positive.

In fact, this statement probably has the biggest impact on minor league players, or rather, anyone who is NOT on a big league club’s 40-man roster. 

For years, minor leaguers have gotten bottom-of-the-barrel pay, with many receiving less than $30,000 a year to play ball below Triple-A. The reason that clubs can get away with this is because minor leaguers aren’t covered under any sort of agreement with the Players Association. They are their own entity, governed by Major League Baseball. Essentially, they have no rights.

After this statement, that could very easily change.

The reason that MLB has gotten so huge, and salaries have gotten so out of control is due to the part played by the Players Association. They have fought, tooth and nail, for better pay and less restrictive testing for years. Now, with the future of their product (the minor leagues) being threatened, we might see the MLBPA try to bring minor league baseball and its players into their fold.

They have now seen how MLB is trying to indoctrinate minor leaguers into having testing as a commonplace act, and they would be wise to try their own indoctrination, bringing them under their protection, and taking up residence on the player’s other shoulder so they can whisper into their ears.

It does have a minor (no pun intended), somewhat lessened impact on big league players as well. Not only could they be subject to HGH testing in just a few years, but now they have seen their union taken to school by MLB, having their bluff called.

And last, but not least, this statement affects you, me, and all the other fans, casual or diehard, around the world.

Over the past decade, minor league baseball has thrived due to its affordable prices and fantastic product, not to mention amazing giveaways, fireworks nights, and promotions. Minor league baseball has become a haven for fans who want to take their children to the ballpark, have a hot dog AND a drink (because you can afford it there), and enjoy how baseball used to be.

Part of the reason fans have been able to enjoy minor league baseball is because, for the most part, steroids scandals and stories about PEDs haven’t found their way to Durham, NC, or Greenville, SC, or the minor league park near you. There’s something about minor league baseball that just seems more honest, more clean.

Not anymore.

This statement has thrown MiLB into the spotlight, and since HGH is the new money word, you’ll be sure to hear, and read about, the next young hot-shot prospect who tests positive, and it will be just one more thing that dads will have to explain to their young children when they ask, “Dad, why isn’t (insert can’t-miss prospect’s name here) playing today?”

As a minor league fan, I’m all for the testing of HGH in the minors. Baseball has already taken so many steps to ensure that fans and other players aren’t cheated by cheaters, including mandatory testing for all international signings, and this statement is just another step in the right direction.

But, I’m also somewhat of a baseball purist, who thinks of Hank Aaron as the career home run king, Roger Maris as the single-season record holder, and who idolizes Cal Ripken, Jr.

I’m sure Ripken would agree this is in baseball’s best interest.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

So by now I’m sure you all know that the 2010 All-Star game received the lowest ratings ever. Like, ever ever. 

And now, the head honchos and suits at MLB are sitting around a table, wondering what they could have done differently, and what they can do next year, to ensure that baseball doesn’t continue to fall by the wayside, a sloppy second to the NFL.

Well, I have an idea for you MLB!!! You should have allowed Stephen Strasburg to take part in the festivities.

And not just because he throws over 100 miles per hour.

And not just because he sold out a Nationals game, and had fans risking urinary tract infections.

And not just because he drew season-high crowds to Cleveland and Florida.

And not just because, at the time of the break, he had an eye-popping 61 strikeouts in 42.2 innings, and a WHIP near 1.00.

And not just because he has brought excitement to a city that hasn’t had any since the Redskins won the Super Bowl in 1991.

Oh, wait…yeah, it is for ALL of those reasons.

The National League had no problem sending rookie-sensation Jason Heyward, who has 123 fewer at-bats than Martin Prado, 85 fewer than Ryan Theriot, and 28 less than fellow rookie Ike Davis.

But Strasburg, who had only made seven big league starts, and had already proved to be one of the top five pitchers in all of baseball gets shafted because the coaching staffs and baseball felt he didn’t have enough playing time under his belt.

I can understand if Charlie Manuel was trying to win the game to get the Phillies home-field advantage if they somehow manage to sneak into the playoffs, but wouldn’t you want a guy who could come in and shut down a potent AL offense with 100 mph heat in the ninth inning?

And if the players and coaches, and baseball for that matter, are just still treating the All-Star game like a glorified exhibition game, then wouldn’t you want a player who already ranks as one of the most marketable players in all of baseball?

I guess not.

And because of it, MLB has to worry about fixing the lowest-rated Midsummer Classic ever.

Honestly, though, wasn’t the most exciting part of the All-Star game, for those of us who watched it, getting to see a handful of guys who throw harder than anyone else in the game (Roy Halladay, Ubaldo Jimenez, Josh Johnson, and David Price)?

Toss Strasburg into that arena, and the game becomes a baseball fan’s wet dream.

I guess we’ll all have to settle for next year.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Maybe you haven’t heard, but Anthony Rendon , the slugging Rice third baseman who many believe will be the No. 1 pick in next year’s MLB draft, broke and dislocated his ankle, eliminating any chance of him playing for either Team USA’s collegiate squad, or any other summer league.

The ankle injury is Rendon’s second in as many years, requiring a second surgery. Just like last summer injury, though, Rendon is expected to return to the diamond before Rice’s season starts next February.

I once saw the Orioles taking Rendon No. 1 overall as a given, but now I’m not so sure. He still is the best bat available, college or prep, and it would be really hard to pass on his skills and tools.

Rendon features a big bat that hits for average and power, and combines that with Gold Glove-caliber defense at the hot corner. He’s already set all sorts of records at Rice and going into his junior year, he has a career average of .391, and has 46 homers and 157 RBIs. More impressive is his outrageous strikeout-to-walk ratio: 96 to 45.

Looking for a comparison for Rendon? Try Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria.

That’s all fine and dandy…but if you can’t move around because of a chronically hobbled ankle, then what good is a solid bat and excellent defense? Goodbye Evan Longoria, hello Jeff Nettles.

So, what are the other options at No.1?

The list starts with Matt Purke , the Baseball America Freshman of the Year, and quite possibly the most talented pitcher in the 2011 draft. Purke throws hard (92-95 mph) and has excellent command (34 walks in 116.1 innings), and can be sensationally overpowering at times (142 strikeouts in 116.1 innings).

Purke was drafted 14th overall in the 2009 draft, and went to college instead of taking the Rangers’ best offer, and as impossible as it seems, has generated even more helium going into next year’s draft, when he will be a draft-eligible sophomore.

After Purke comes Gerrit Cole , who, like Purke, decided for college rather than signing out of the 2008 draft. Cole made huge headlines during UCLA’s College World Series run a few months ago.

His overpowering stuff, including a mid-90s fastball, above-average slider, and average changeup, make him the most likely candidate. He is built a lot sturdier than Purke, and looks to be a real innings eater. Anyone who watched his gusty effort against TCU knows he has ace written all over him.

Recently, the No.1 pick has been all about projection, as seven of the last 12 No.1 picks have been high schoolers, although the 2011 draft doesn’t offer a standout player worthy of the first pick…yet.

Prep stars Daniel Norris , Henry Owens, and Archie Bradley could eventually generate that kind of helium, but as of right now, it looks like the No. 1 pick is coming from the college ranks.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Cape Cod Baseball League is one of the most historic and prestigious summer leagues out there.

And every year, dozens upon dozens of players, looking to improve their draft stock, head to the Cape, to try to make an impression on scouts, who descend upon the area like no other event.

Some players are looking to prove they can make the transition to wooden bats from aluminum, while others are small college names looking to prove that they can pitch against the big boys.

A recent study of Major League players found that one in seven at one time or another played in the Cape League and past alumni of the Cape Cod League include recent names like Buster Posey, Gordon Beckham, Justin Smoak, and Ike Davis.

The Cape doesn’t just boast a handful of new fresh faces, and in fact, once included Hall of Fame caliber players like Jeff Bagwell, Todd Helton, Craig Biggio, Frank Thomas, Mark Teixeira, and Chase Utley, as well as All-Stars like Aaron Hill, Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Bay, Lance Berkman, Pat Burrell, Sean Casey, Darin Erstad, Mark Mulder, Carlos Pena, Tim Salmon, Aaron Rowand, Barry Zito and Kevin Youkilis.

More recently, as of the past two or three years, the Cape has become a haven for recently drafted players looking to prove something: that they have fully recovered from injury, or that they deserve more money than their draft status guarantees them.

This season, there are a ton of big names playing on the Cape, and several are playing for improved draft status in next year’s draft, but some are playing to secure more money or prove they’re healthy.

Here’s who’s making the most noise.

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Ever since David Price’s shut-down relief pitching a few years ago in the ALCS, teams have become more dependent on hot-shot prospects down the stretch.

And you just know that’s going to be the case this season, especially with the sustained success of the rookie class of 2010, that includes Stephen Strasburg, Carlos Santana, and the possibly playoff-bound Buster Posey, Mike Leake, and Jason Heyward.

But aside from those big names, there’s several of lesser known ones that could end up playing huge roles this September for the stretch run, and on into October, once playoff baseball arrives.

Here are ten of the likeliest bets to arrive and make a major impact.

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