TopProspectAlert.com

AAA
Pedro Alvarez Pittsburgh Pirates – Home Run #1

Valentino Pascucci New York Mets – Home Run #12 & #13

Steven Lombardozzi Washington Nationals – Home Run #2

Johnny Giavotella Kansas City Royals – Home Run #8 & #9

Clint Robinson Kansas City Royals – Home Run #18

Trayvon Robinson Los Angeles Dodgers – Home Run #23

Jai Miller Oakland Athletics – Home Run #23

AA
Tyler Moore Harrisburg Senators – Home Run #20

Roger Kieschnick San Francisco Giants – Home Run #11

Johermyn Chavez Seattle Mariners – Home Run #12

J.D. Martinez Houston Astros – Home Run #11

Wilin Rosario Colorado Rockies – Home Run #15

High-A

Cesar Puello New York Mets – Home Run #6

Khris Davis Milwaukee Brewers – Home Run #15

Marcus Lemon Atlanta Braves – Home Run #1

Michael Wing Los Angeles Dodgers – Home Run #8 & #9

Michael Choice Oakland Athletics – Home Run #26

Bobby Borchering Arizona Diamondbacks – Home Run #18

Kiel Roling Colorado Rockies – Home Run #10 & #11

Low-A

Jake Marisnick Toronto Blue Jays – Home Run #11

Jurickson Profar Texas Rangers – Home Run #10

Adam Duvall San Francisco Giants – Home Run #20

Sean Coyle Boston Red Sox – Home Run #8

Longtime Florida Marlins minor league shortstop Ryan Klosterman who retired from baseball last week has joined the coaching staff at the University of Central Florida. Klosterman was in the middle of his third season at Triple-A New Orleans where he was hitting just .156 at the time of his retirement. Originally a 5th round pick of the Toronto Blue Jays, Klosterman was a career .242 hitter in eight minor league seasons. Klosterman talks about his playing career and his enthusiasm for his new role as a college baseball coach.

After minor league career, Klosterman joins UCF as assistant

New Jersey Star Ledger writer Andy McCullough documents on film his trip to Wyoming to do a story on 2011 Mets 1st Round pick Brandon Nimmo. The first half of the video shows the crazy weather that McCullough ran into. The second half is a sit down with Nimmo who talks about overcoming the odds to be drafted without having played high school ball (they don’t have high school baseball in Wyoming), and the huge reception he has received from Mets fans. The video link is on the right column of the story.

Mets draft pick Brandon Nimmo talks about the five tools — NJ.com

A must read piece by Amy Brittain of the New Jersey Star Ledger provides an in-depth look at the storied Newark Bears independent league franchise that is trying to be taken off of life support by it’s new owners Doug Spiel and Danielle Dronet who hope to turn the franchise and their own family lives into a reality show. The article also looks into the behind the scenes turmoil the organization has faced in the last couple of years which looks like a reality show in and of itself. Like I said it is a must read piece.

Newark Bears: A tale of a sidetracked baseball franchise — NJ.com

Fireworks night is a staple of all minor league baseball teams. The Triple-A Memphis Redbirds do a great job with theirs given the the fact that they have to shoot them off from the field itself due to city ordinances. This is what you would have seen if you were one of the 12,000 plus to attend their game against the Round Rock Express last night at Autozone Park.

List compiled by our prospect ranker J.P. Schwartz. Follow JP on twitter @Jaypers413

Kyle Lobstein – Tampa Bay Rays – High-A
Manny Banuelos – New York Yankees – Double-A
Garrett Gould – Los Angeles Dodgers – Low-A
Patrick Corbin – Arizona Diamondbacks – Double-A
Allen Webster – Los Angeles Dodgers – Double-A
Brody Colvin – Philadelphia Phillies – High-A
Matt Moore – Tampa Bay Rays – Double-A
Adam Warren – New York Yankees – Triple-A
Andy Oliver – Detroit Tigers – Triple-A
Trey McNutt – Chicago Cubs – Double-A
Stetson Allie – Pittsburgh Pirates – Short-A
John Gast – St Louis Cardinals – Double-A
Jake Odorizzi – Kansas City Royals – Double-A
Trevor Reckling – Los Angeles Angels – Double-A
Zach Stewart – Toronto Blue Jays – Double-A
Juan Oramas – San Diego Padres – Double-A

Note: List is gathered at MILB.com, is tentative, and all of the day’s starting pitchers may not have been revealed at post time.

Bowman Chrome Autographs have long been the king of the baseball card prospecting world. Many buy and sell these cards as if they were stock, buying low and selling high, and turning a nice profit to do it all over again with the next wave of prospects, upon each subsequent Bowman Chrome release. In this article, I have found 10 players, whose Bowman Chrome autographs recently ended for $5.00 delivered or less on Ebay, who I believe are great low risk buys for the Bowman Chrome prospector. The list is below is in no particular order.

Ryan Wheeler Arizona Diamondbacks: Lost in the shuffle of the Diamondbacks group of hitting prospects that includes Paul Goldschmidt, Marc Krauss, Bobby Borchering, Matt Davidson and a host of others, Wheeler is having a career year at Double-A Mobile. The third baseman is hitting .302 with 20(2B), 11HR, and 63RBI through 89 games. The 11 Home Runs are one off the 22 year old’s career high.
— Ryan Wheeler 2010 Bowman Chrome Autographs On Ebay

Jonathan Villar Houston Astros: The 20 year old was recently promoted to Double-A Corpus Christi and is one of the youngest players in the Texas League. While he is hitting just .233 combined (.201 in AA) and striking out in nearly a third of his at-bats, Villar has 13(2B), 5(3B), 7HR, and 35RBI as well as 26 stolen bases on the season. If he can get his strikeouts down and his average up over the next couple of years, this card could see some great growth.
— Jonathan Villar 2011 Bowman Chrome Autographs On Ebay

Adron Chambers St. Louis Cardinals: At 24 Chambers is one of the oldest players you will see on this list, however being on the St Louis Cardinals, a team that tends to do well in the hobby, could allow this bargain basement prospect to see a nice spike immediately after his big league debut. An against all odds player, Chambers was 38th round pick back in 2007. Since then he’s hit under .270 just once in the minors. This year for Triple-A Memphis, Chambers is hitting .274, 9(2B), 2(3B), 9HR, and 32RBI. He also has 11 stolen bases on the year. Not a long term hold by any means, but he should be a very nice buy low, flip high player this September.
— Adron Chambers 2011 Bowman Chrome Autographs On Ebay

Allen Webster Los Angeles Dodgers: The 20 year old right hander is following up a solid Low-A campaign in 2010 with nearly as good numbers at the higher levels. He earned a promotion to Double-A in late May after going 5-2 with a 2.33ERA in the hitters friendly California League. Since arriving in the Southern League, Webster has gone 2-1 with a 3.69 ERA in 46 innings. Opposing batters are hitting a combined .226 off of him. Dodger Stadium could come calling for a spot start or two should anyone get hurt down the stretch. Webster has both a 2010 Bowman Platinum Autograph as well as a 2011 Bowman Chrome Autograph which both sell under $5.00.
— Allen Webster 2010 Bowman Platinum and 2011 Bowman Chrome Autographs On Ebay

Jeurys Familia New York Mets: Durability issues are a bit of a question, he just got put on the DL with a right shoulder impingement this morning, but when he is healthy, Familia has been pretty dominant. This year he is a combined 3-3 with a 2.63ERA and 100 strikeouts in 92.1 innings pitched between High-A and Double-A. Opposing hitters are batting just .214 on the year. If his arm holds up, Familia could compete for a starting job with the Mets next season.
— Jeurys Familia 2010 Bowman Chrome Autographs On Ebay

Corban Joseph New York Yankees: Like Adron Chambers, Joseph makes the list as a buy low, sell high flip. With Robinson Cano blocking his path to the bigs, there is not a high likelihood that Jospeh ends up doing much longterm, at least in the Yankee organization. However the the 22 year old is putting up solid numbers at Double-A Trenton, batting .282, 27(2B), 7(3B), 4HR, and 36RBI, and the Yankees usually reward young players like this with September call ups or as injury replacements. One big hit in the Bronx will send Joseph’s chrome autographs into the $15-$20 range overnight.
— Corban Joseph 2010 Bowman Chrome Autographs On Ebay

Jefry Marte New York Mets: The 20 year old third baseman has done a respectable job in his first go-around in the Florida State League hitting .270 with 18(2B), 5HR, and 41RBI. He has 11 stolen bases and only been caught once, and struck out just 55 times in 318 at-bats thus far, which is not bad for being one of the younger players in the league. His numbers this season are nearly identical to fellow Mets prospect Wilmer Flores who has been the recipient of loads of hobby love in the past.
— Jefry Marte 2010 Bowman Chrome Autographs On Ebay

Scooter Gennett Milwaukee Brewers: There aren’t a whole ton of prospects left in the Brewers organization and there are likely to be fewer as the big league club continues it’s now or never run at the post season in what is likely Prince Fielder’s final year with the club. That being said, Gennett may be a little overvalued as a top 10 organizational prospect in a barren farm system, however Gennett is holding his own in the Florida State League batting .281 with 11(2B), 3(3B), 5HR, and 32RBI. He’s struck out just 42 times in 359 at-bats this season. If he can develop 12-15 Home Run power at his second base position over the next couple of years as he climbs the ladder, Gennett could find himself being a Danny Espinosa (who is 3 years older than Gennett) type by the time he reaches the big leagues.
— Scooter Gennett 2010 Bowman Chrome Autographs On Ebay

Trayce Thompson Chicago White Sox: Thompson is the ultimate all or nothing guy in this group. He’s in his second year of Low-A ball as a 20 year old after his first season at Kannapolis was cut short by injury. He’s hitting just .224 this year and has yet to finish a year above .229 as a pro. However Thompson can hit a ball very far. This year his power continues to develop and he has 20(2B), 15HR’s and has drove in 50 runs thus far. He has also struck out 114 times in 340 at-bats. If he can get his plate discipline under control he could be scary good as he progresses through the White Sox system. If he cannot, he will be the latest version of former Braves all or nothing prospect Cody Johnson.
— Trayce Thompson 2010 Bowman Chrome Autographs On Ebay

Adrian Cardenas Oakland Athletics: I will probably get flack for this, but I am still a buyer on Adrian Cardenas. Yes he’s been around forever, but he’s still only 23 years old. He’s never hit below .295 in a season in six years as a pro. In his first full season in Triple-A Cardenas is hitting .305 with 17(2B), 2(3B), 3HR, and 30RBI. He’s walked 35 times and struck out just 28 times in 308 at-bats. Chicks dig the long ball and so do prospectors, but I say at some point in the next year or two, Cardenas chrome autographs are selling for well above the $.99 level he is at right now.
— Adrian Cardenas 2006 Bowman Chrome Autographs On Ebay

Fresh off a Derek Jeter appearance at shortstop and a Phil Hughes appearance on the mound, Trenton Thunder fans welcomed Shane Victorino and Brad Lidge who were rehabbing with the visiting Reading Phillies. With Trenton being less than an hour from Philly and about an hour and a couple hours from New York, the team has welcomed droves of Yankees and Phillies fans looking to see their stars up close and personal. In the story below Lidge and Victorino talk about what it’s like to play in the minors in front of the rabid fans.

Rehabbing Phillies Lidge, Victorino thrill fans in Trenton — Press Of Atlantic City

Found this story about some of the baseball lifers who have been fans & employees of their hometown Harrisburg Senators for the last couple of decades. If you’ve been going to watch your hometown minor league baseball team for any length of time, I’m sure you can relate to those profiled in the story. I know I sure can.

Harrisburg Senators baseball team has become part of the community — PennLive.com

Look at the task of Buffalo Bisons’ general manager Mike Buczkowski and his staff as they prepare to host the 2012 Triple-A All Star game, the 25th anniversary of the event. Buczkowski was at this year’s event and talks about what he learned and how his staff is preparing to host the 2012 version of the Triple-A All Star week.

Now the real work begins for Bisons’ Buczkowski — BuffaloNews.com