Minor League Ball Gameday Discussion, March 18

Good morning and Happy Monday prospect watchers. I hope you enjoyed your weekend. Use this thread for discussion about prospect news and general spring training happenings from Florida and Arizona. Here are some items for your consideration today:

***The big news this weekend was the tragic traffic death of Cuban pitcher Yadier Pedroso, who had just gotten back to Cuba after pitching in the World Baseball Classic. This article by Peter C. Bjarkman is a must-read, as he describes in detail Pedroso's status as a star in Cuban baseball. Bjarkman knew Pedroso personally.


***The Milwaukee Brewers have made a large monetary investment in outfielder Carlos Gomez. Will his power regress in 2013? Beyond the Boxscore looks at the issue with an article by Matt Mulvenna.

***Minor transactions of note this weekend include the Miami Marlins sending Rule 5 pick Braulio Lara back to the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Seattle Mariners signing a 19-year-old Dominican pitcher named Jose Santiago.

***Dylan Bundy, Wil Myers, and Jedd Gyorko are all expected to begin the 2013 in the minors, though Myers and Gyorko should be back up soon once service time considerations are dealt with. (UPDATE: Other sources say Gyorko is going to start the year in the majors. Stay tuned)

***Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop prospect Didi Gregorius knocked three hits yesterday. Meanwhile, Braves right-hander Julio Teheran continues rolling along with one run in six innings against the Mets, fanning seven. He looks like he did a couple of years ago when he dwelt atop the prospect rankings.

***Tomorrow: Prospect Retro for Tom Glavine. Wednesday will have Randy Johnson. Also expect some off-topic Airplane Blogging soon.

***Matt Garrioch and I are working on a co-operative 2013 Mock Draft.