Shohei Ohtani

Don't go getting all excited. I'm not updating my rankings quite yet. That will come around the All-Star break. What I am doing is taking a look at the top minor league pitching prospects to see how they're performing in the minor leagues so far this season. Think of this as one of the appetizers to my mid-season rankings update. The side salad with ranch dressing on the side, if you will. Around this time next month, you'll get your second appetizer, likely some soup, before getting the prime rib of prospect updates in…

Recent Injuries Elvis Andrus – Elbow Injury (Fracture) No fracture is ideal, but this particular spot is troublesome (see image below).Return to the field takes a little longer due to the challenge of regaining full flexibility of the elbow. Early reports suggest 6-8 weeks, but I'd err closer to eight weeks than six in most cases. Estimated Return: Early to Mid-June Josh Donaldson – "Dead Arm" As I mentioned two weeks ago, a trip to the DL wasn't out of the question for Donaldson if his velocity didn't return. He…

You have to love the fact that the beginning of baseball season is one of the signs that spring is here. Unless, of course, you live in one of the parts of the country where it's 3o degrees and snowing. So let's pull the shades down, put on some baseball, and pretend like spring is here.Sometimes, it takes pitchers a little while to warm up, and that can take a toll on a team's pitching staff. So far in 2018, we’ve seen three position players take the mound. Phillies center fielder Pedro Florimon became the first…

It was amazing to see how many people on social media borrowed the lyrics from the classic Andy Williams' Christmas tune "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" and turned it into a song for the MLB Opening Day 2018. Forget the day after the Super Bowl becoming a holiday. If MLB continues to schedule all of the teams for this day, MLB Opening Day should become the new sports-related holiday.Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ started out this day by hitting a home run on the first pitch of the first game, which leads us…

This edition could have easily had a Star Wars-inspired titled called Spring Training III: Revenge of the Injury Bug. It seems that a great deal of news this week concerns injuries. This has some wondering if Spring Training is too long. Some feel that, even in a year like this one when it is somewhat shorter than usual because of an early start to the regular season, everyone who was going to get their timing down well enough to make a big league roster has already done so. Therefore, we would be able to bypass the…