Minor League Ball Gameday, April 19

Good afternoon prospect watchers. I'm sure we are all paying more attention to the events in the Boston area than to baseball today, but perhaps the games can be a helpful distraction and de-stressor.

BASEBALL THINGS THAT HAPPENED APRIL 18

***Yesterday's Gameday thread.

***The Red Sox sent struggling rookie outfielder Jackie Bradley down to Triple-A Pawtucket. No question that Bradley will be back sometime this year, but there's also no question that his bat wasn't ready yet.

***FishStripes breaks down Jose Fernandez's first bad major league start. The Marlins rookie wasn't at his best against the Cincinnati Reds, but everyone is human.

***The Milwaukee Brewers sent Mike Fiers down to Triple-A and promoted Hiram Burgos. I'll profile Burgos tomorrow. Fiers has been one of my favorites as a sleeper type but he didn't pitch well this spring.

***San Francisco Giants prospect Kyle Crick left yesterday's game after two innings for High-A San Jose with a strained oblique.

***The Minnesota Twins have promoted right-handed starting pitcher prospect J.O. Berrios from extended spring training to Low-A Cedar Rapids.

***New York Yankees prospect JR Murphy hit three homers last night for Double-A Trenton, raising his season line to .364/.442/.682 with 15 RBI in 11 games.

***New York Mets prospect Aderlin Rodriguez has homered in three consecutive games for High-A St. Lucie, though his overall line of .173/.182/.385 with 12 strikeouts and zero walks leaves much to be desired.

THINGS TO WATCH TODAY

***Today's minor league baseball schedule.

***Dodgers prospect Zach Bird takes on Indians prospect Mitch Brown in the Low-A Midwest League contest between Great Lakes and Lake County.

***Pirates prospect Andy Oliver challenges Reds prospect Daniel Corcino in the Triple-A International League game between Indianapolis and Louisville.

ITEMS OF INTEREST

***SouthSideSox has an in-person scouting report on White Sox outfield prospect Courtney Hawkins. This report includes video and quotations from Hawkins. Check it out.

***Bleed Cubbie Blue has an in-person report from Tim Huwe about his experience attending a Low-A Midwest League game between Kane County and Beloit.

***Athletics Nation looks at Josh Reddick and the issue of plate discipline.

***David Laurila at Fangraphs looks at New York Yankees outfield prospects Tyler Austin and Slade Heathcott.

***Marc Hulet at Fangraphs looks at the prospect stock of Javier Baez, Hiram Burgos, Jesse Hahn, Tyler Naquin, and Joe Ross.

***Perfectgame.org does their first mock for the 2013 MLB Draft. It is behind the subscription wall, but PG is the best draft site in the business.