From Dr Pepper Ballpark in Frisco, TX. The North Division won, 2-1. Corey Smith of Northwest Arkansas was the only player with 2 hits as pitching dominated. He also scored a run and drove in another late in the game. Midland's Josh Horton doubled in the only run for the South Division. Springfield's Trey Hearne started and pitched 2 innings to get credit for the win while Midland's Jason Fernandez, who also went 2 innings, gave up an early run that saddled him with the loss.

Ever since I saw pictures of this ballpark a couple years ago I'd hoped to get a chance to see a game there in person. When I found out earlier this year that the Texas League All-Star Game would be played there I made it a goal to cover it. Fortunately that worked out, I took my trip to the Dallas area last week, caught a Rangers game on Monday (and marked one more MLB park off my list of places to visit), then worked this one on Wednesday.

When a league has an All-Star Game where just its own divisions face each other it means a lot more players from those teams are involved than you get with the California/Carolina League game or the Pacific Coast League/International League game, which has a max of three players per team this year. Maybe it waters down the talent a bit but in this case it gave me the chance to see a number of A's prospects from Midland's team along with others as well. I'd been thinking of trying to catch a game in Midland but the timing didn't work out, though they do have an airport nearby so I wouldn't have to drive five hours or so once I got into Texas.

So far that's two minor league ASGs with 2-1 finals. I'd bet the last one I'll be at in Portland will have a few more runs scored than that. The dugout steps were a little steep and I wanted to be a bit safer from foul balls so I shot from inside the dugout itself, close to the steps, and it let me get ground-level angles for everything I did from the sides. I like being that low if I can. One thing I did more of this time was take shots of pitchers from off to one side of home plate as they warmed up between innings. I also like them wearing their team uniforms so much better because it makes it a lot easier to remember who's who later on when you have more than just a hat to go by. There are 115 shots here, including a number of ballpark pics, and some of my favorites follow.

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Hi Everyone,

I am the producer of a documentary about baseball in the Dominican Republic and I wanted to spread the word about a film that I think you'll really enjoy.  It is called ROAD TO THE BIG LEAGUES and it is all about the journey for Dominican born baseball players that are trying to make it to the BIg Leagues.  

The film follows superstars like Big Papi and Vladimir Guerrero but it's main focus is on the young ball payers that are trying to make it to the pros today (i.e HOOP DREAMS).   Anyway, to see the trailer and check out the DVD go to http://www.roadtothebigleagues.com

Thanks for your time and if you watch it I'd love to hear your thoughts!

I just wanted to pass on good wishes to community member Spoondoggies who has been diagnosed with a severe case of the swine flu.  Spoondoggies, who is a member of the Super Sickels Keeper League created by Dewey Finn, is a huge baseball fan and I know he is probably either watching TV or on his laptop checking the latest minor league baseball news.  A long time friend, I know that Spoony will beat this flu and be out of the hospital in a few weeks.

Take care Spoony and get well!!!!!

Fausto Carmona has been a nightmare for the past 1.5 seasons.  How could someone who looked like one of the better young arms in baseball during 2007, become so craptastic?  Was 2007 a straight up fluke?  I remember Torii Hunter saying that hitting his sinker was like hitting a bowling ball.  These days, its apparenlty more like tennis balls.

Anyways, do you think he can turn his career around and possibly recapture some of his 2007 success?  He was sent down to the minors to work on a few things, and so far the results have been very promising.  His stats are:

3 Starts: 0.98 ERA, 0.60 WHIP, 18.1 IP, 11 Hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, 17 K, 1.71 GO/FO

Very encouraging signs.

What are your thoughts on Fausto?

Tyler Pastornicky.

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My criteria for this list is 130 AB's for position players (which is why Andrew McCutchen and his 126 AB's are on this list) and 50 IP for Pitchers.

1-Matt Wieters-C-Orioles

2-Tommy Hanson-RHP-Braves

3-Jason Heyward-OF-Braves

4-Mike Stanton-OF-Marlins

5-Madison Bumgarner-LHP-Giants

6-Andrew McCutchen-OF-Pirates

7-Gordon Beckham-SS-White Sox

8-Jarrod Parker-RHP-D-Backs

9-Tim Beckham-SS-Rays

10-Justin Smoak-1B-Rangers

11-Pedro Alvarez-3B-Pirates

12-Eric Hosmer-1B-Royals

13-Buster Posey-C-Giants

14-Yonder Alonso-1B-Reds

15-Jesus Montero-C-Yankees

16-Chris Tillman-RHP-Orioles

17-Mike Moustakas-3B-Royals

18-Josh Vitters-3B-Cubs

19-Brian Matusz-LHP-Orioles

20-Desmond Jennings-OF-Rays

21-Fernando Martinez-OF-Mets

22-Tim Alderson-RHP-Giants

23-Casey Kelly-RHP-Red Sox

24-Carlos Santana-C-Indians

25-Aaron Hicks-OF-Twins

26-Austin Jackson-OF-Yankees

27-Lars Anderson-1B-Red Sox

28-Ben Revere-OF-Twins

29-Michael Bowden-RHP-Red Sox

30-Brett Wallace-3B-Cardinals

31-Logan Morrison-1B-Marlins

32-Danny Duffy-LHP-Royals

33-Angel Villalona-1B-Giants

34-Josh Reddick-OF-Red Sox

35-Matt Moore-LHP-Rays

36-Tim Melville-RHP-Royals

37-Chris Carter-1B-A's

38-Neftali Feliz-RHP-Rangers

39-Mat Gamel-3B-Brewers

40-Jeremy Hellickson-RHP-Rays

41-Matt LaPorta-OF-Indians

42-Wilmer Flores-SS-Mets

43-Martin Perez-LHP-Rangers

44-Lonnie Chisenhall-3B-Indians

45-Jason Castro-C-Astros

46-Aaron Poreda-LHP-White Sox

47-Dominic Brown-OF-Phillies

48-Kyle Drabek-RHP-Phillies

49-Jordan Lyles-RHP-Astros

50-Jenrry Mejia-RHP-Mets

I'm in a keeper league, and I'm wondering who the list of the best prospects available are. The ideal prospects are guys who will be in the majors within a year and a half.

Any help is really, really appreciated - I could really use it.

Those who are unavailable:

Wade Davis, Antonelli, Matusz, Yu Darvish, Posey, Bryce Harper

Hosmer, Chris Marrero, Brett Wallace, Tillman, Feliz, Jarrod Parker

Alvarez, McCutchen, Dominguez, Carlos Santana, Desmond Jennings, Holland

David Price, Strasburg, Alonso, Logan Morrison, Smoak, Viciedo

Austin Jackson, F-Mart, Chacin, Wilmer Flores, Deolis Guerra

Montero, Jose Tabata, Daniel Bard, Hanson, Aaron Hicks, Ben Revere, Bumgarner

Jake McGee, Weiters, Kyle Blanks, Moustakas, Lars Anderson, Chris Carter

Carasco, Stanton, Villalona, T. Beckham, G. Beckham

Vitters, Halman, Arrenciba, Heyward, Alderson

No, this post isn't about Matt Wieters, Jason Heyward, Stephen Strasburg or even Bryce Harper.

This post is dedicated to my all time favorite prospect, Josh Womack

Womack hits a home run about every 100 at bats and is 25 years of age. In fact, double checking, I don't even think he's still playing pro baseball. His career batting average is .257 and slugging percentage is shy of .400.

So why do I value this everyday minor league?

http://www.break.com/index/cool-spinning-baseball-bat-trick.html

His incredible batting ritual.

An "A" prospect if you ask me.

http://startelegramsports.typepad.com/foul_territory/2009/07/smoak-to-triple-a.html

He was due for this because it seemed like he had nothing left to prove in AA. The only thing that held him back was the injury. I wonder how long it will be until he cracks the majors. Any guesses? With the continuing struggles of Chris Davis, I'm not sure how long they can keep him down, especially if they want to contend this year.

1) Matt Wieters

2) Jarrod Parker

3) Tommy Hanson

4) Justin Smoak

5) Jesus Montero

6) Michael Stanton

7) Jason Heyward

8) Chris Tillman

9) Buster Posey

10) Madison Bumgarner

11) Lars Anderson

12) Gordon Beckham

13) Jenrry Mejia

14) Andrew McCutchen

15) Carlos Santana

16) Fernando Martinez

17) Brian Matusz

18) Pedro Alvarez

19) Martin Perez

20) Mat Latos

21) Neftali Feliz

22) Matt LaPorta

23) Jhoulys Chacin

24) Derek Holland

25) Vin Mazzaro

26) Jake Arrieta 

27) Tim Alderson

28) Yonder Alonso

29) Brad Holt

30) Kyle Drabek

31) Dominic Brown

32) Brett Wallace

33) Tyler Flowers

34) Michael Saunders

35) Desmond Jennings

36) Jordan Lyles

37) Jason Knapp

38) Derek Norris

39) Michael Taylor

40) Tim Beckham

41) Josh Vitters

42) Lonnie Chisenhall

43) Carlos Carrasco

44) Brett Cecil

45) Kyle Blanks

46) Casey Kelly

47) Aaron Hicks

48) Jordan Danks

49) Carlos Triunfel

50) Nick Weglarz

Rock 'N' Roll McDonaldz~