I'm curious as to why there isn't more buzz around Bell.  He's playing CF in AA for the Red Sox organization.  Granted, he's already 25, but he seems to have a pretty fair bat, having produced (until this year) very strong contact rates for a player with above average power.  This season, he's still producing with his numbers at 286/361/479 with 13HR, 49RBI, and 3SB.  The rest of his stats can be found here : http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Bubba%20Bell&pos=LF&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=488694

I'll be the first to admit that he's got a relatively poor age relative to league, but I don't see any reason to believe that Bell won't continue to produce as he moves up the ladder.  Assuming he can stick in CF, Bell should be a solid 4th OF at minimum, with a solid chance of developing into a solid regular.  I'm curious if any of the posters here have any sort of insight or scouting impressions regarding Bell, and why he doesn't get more love?

We've reached the halfway point of the season, so I'm curious as to who you think is the best prospect in baseball.  The only requirements are that the player has not used up his rookie eligibility, is currently in the minors, and is a member or unsigned recent draftee of an MLB organization (sorry Yu Darvish).

My bet is on Clayton Kershaw.  He's got great stuff, he just acquitted himself well in a brief trial with the Dodgers, and he's got just about everything a prospect could ask for. 

Who's your pick? 

P.S. Yes, we're lumping pitchers and position players in together for the purposes of this poll.

EDIT : Added David Price to the poll.  Honestly, I just listed the top 10 prospects I could think of off the top of my head.  And if you believe the hype surrounding Inoa, he definitely belongs on this list.

"

Ricciardi slammed Dunn on his Wednesday night phone-in show on The Fan 590, a Toronto radio station. His comments came after a caller suggested the Jays acquire Dunn, who is hitting .227 with 18 homers and 43 RBIs with the Reds.

“Do you know the guy doesn’t really like baseball that much?” Ricciardi  said to the caller. “Do you know the guy doesn’t have a passion to play the game that much? How much do you know about the player?

“There’s a reason why you’re attracted to some players and there’s a reason why you’re not attracted to some players. I don’t think you’d be very happy if we brought Adam Dunn here …

“We’ve done our homework on guys like Adam Dunn and there’s a reason why we don’t want Adam Dunn. I don’t want to get into specifics.”

Ricciardi was generally sympathetic as callers vented following the Jays 5-4 loss to Milwaukee. But Ricciardi’s demeanour changed when a caller mentioned Dunn as a hitter who might “save” the Jays’ moribund offence.

“He’s a lifetime .230, .240 hitter that strikes out a ton and hits home runs,” Ricciardi said.

“Yes, he hits home runs, which none of the Toronto Blue Jays are doing,” the caller replied.

That retort triggered Ricciardi’s shot at Dunn as a player who “doesn’t really like baseball that much.”"

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/postedsports/archive/2008/06/19/jays-notebook-ricciardi-trashes-adam-dunn-on-radio-show.aspx

I find it absolutely amazing that Ricciardi would go off on ANOTHER team's player like this. Can the union file a grievance about depressing Dunn's potential FA value?  What could be the "specifics" Ricciardi is discussing?  This is just unbelievable - an MLB GM going off on another team's player.  Particularly a player who would seemingly fit the Jays so well as a high OPS type to replace Frank Thomas. What's going on with all the invective up in Toronto.  It's like some weird permutation of the old Bronx Zoo. 

What do you guys think?

P.S. I realize this has nothing to do with the minors, but I thought it really merited conversation.  Besides, if I'm a top prospect and I have the choice between a major college program and the Blue Jays organization, aren't I better off taking my chances elsewhere?  This has been an astonishing season in Toronto.

The Mets fired Willie Randolph last night. 

Without getting into the way the franchise let Willie twist in the wind, the enormously embarrassing "Willie Watch", and incredibly uncouth way they actually fired Randolph, what strikes me most is this :

Mets players learned of Randolph's firing via text message with beat writers. 

http://www.cantstopthebleeding.com/?p=13539

Nevermind that the team was coming off a win, or that it seems like Omar really didn't want to fire Willie.

The Mets didn't even tell the players.

Stay classy, Mr.Met.

Here's the draft thread.

Early thoughts and impressions :

The Pirates made a great choice here. In my estimation, Alvarez and Beckham are the two premium talents in this draft (3 if Hosmer can move to RF). I can’t help shake the feeling that Alvarez is going to be a really great hitter in MLB.

I absolutely love this pick. Yes, Smoak’s got HUGE potential, but the Giants need a sure thing here, and Posey is the surest thing available in the draft at this point. There’s also the issue of positional scarcity.

    Both of these young stars have been locked up to long term deals by their franchises.  It's obvious that both players decided to take security over a potentially larger reward down the road. 

    I'm really struck by the Braun deal.  I understand Kazmir's actions to the extent that he's probably worried he'll blow his arm out and he wants to make sure his family is taken care of.  However, Kazmir still hits FA in his 20's even with this deal.  Ryan Braun has essentially forfeited his entire prime and with it, his chance at a mega deal unless he's still solid into his 30's. I really think Braun has left an absolutely astounding amount of money on the table by giving up 2 years of FA that mean he won't actually hit the market till he's comfortably north of 30.

    These were both obviously great deals for the Rays and Brewers, but the hat tip really must go to the Brew Crew for the best young player deal since Omar bilked Reyes.

    There's a pretty good write up of Kershaw's mechanics here : http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/is-clayton-kershaw-worth-the-hype/

    I'm enthralled by Kershaw, and I think he is the absolute best pitching prospect in baseball and likely the best overall.  I don't know much about mechanics, but I haven't seen too many red flags. 

    I think we're all looking forward to see how the Dodgers will handle Kershaw.  I don't know that I'd put him in AAA, as opposed to just jumping him right up to the majors.  Jason Schmidt's rehab is coming along nicely, so I doubt the Dodgers will need to throw Kershaw into the fire from the start.  I'd be inclined to put him in the bullpen, where he could effectively turn Dodger games into a 6 inning affair (Kershaw-Broxton-Saito). 

    What do you guys think of Kershaw's mechanics? and his future prospects?

In his latest Rumblings and Grumblings, Jayson Stark had this to say :

"The next big thing?: It's 10 years ago now since the Yankees handed a $1.52-million signing bonus to a 16-year-old Dominican pitcher by the name of Ricardo Aramboles. It's believed that no Latino pitcher (non-Cuban division) has topped that bonus since. But there's so much buzz about a Dominican right-hander named Michel Inoa, it looks as if Aramboles' record is in serious danger this summer. More than a dozen teams are in on Inoa, who is already hitting 94 on the gun -- at age 16."

I'm wondering if there's anything you guys know about Inoa?  Anything you could enlighten me with in terms of what else he compliments his fastball with, his projectability (which I imagine is terrific), and things of that nature would be appreciated. 

I'm curious as to how the community feels about bringing up pitchers.  Given a top prospect fresh out of high school, what do you think is the best way to bring the pitcher along?  Furthermore, I'm curious as to how you guys who would handle your major league staff if it was carrying a young starter or two, like the Yankees. 

This season seems to represent a swing in the pendulum against pitch counts and inning caps, as the Rangers have decided to unbridle their farmhands to a certain extent, the Phillies are letting Cole Hamels go deeper into starts, and most notably, Roy Halladay is (efficiently) throwing a ton of innings. 

Teams remain loathe to incur the Year After Effect for most of their starters, but we seem to be seeing a move back towards heavier use of their starters.

Personally, I'm giddy to see pitchers more willing to work with a mind towards relying on their defense so they can go deeper into games and spare the bullpen.  And I'd definitely run my farm to build up arms as much as possible, even if that means running the risk of incurring some injuries along the way.

So, I figured we could use an Oscars thread.  Here are my picks :

Who I want to win?
Best Picture : Michael Clayton
Best Actor : Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Supporting Actor : Hal Hollbrook
Best Actress : Ellen Page
Best Supporting Actress : Cate Blanchett
Best Director : Jason Reitman, Juno

Who do I think will win?
Best Picture : Atonement
Best Actor : Daniel Day-Lewis (maybe Tommy Lee Jones)
Best Supporting Actor : Javier Bardem
Best Actress : Marion Cottilard
Best Supporting Actress : Ruby Dee
Best Director : The Coen Bros.

And Juno better win for soundtrack!

What do you guys think? Who are your picks?  What's your commentary?  Insert question here