Minor League Ball Gameday Discussion, April 3

Good morning prospect watchers! Tomorrow is Opening Day around Minor League Baseball. As the anticipation builds, here are some links, news, and notes to keep you busy.

***Andrew Pentis at Minor League Baseball runs down the Whys and Why Nots for five Top Prospects who didn't make Opening Day MLB rosters but who will likely see major league action for much of 2013. On the list: Rangers infielder Jurickson Profar, Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras, Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado, Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, and Tigers reliever Bruce Rondon. Hard to argue with those names and Pentis looks at the arguments in favor, and against, their early placement in the majors.

***There's a lot of discussion in baseball circles right now about the alleged death of free agency. Mike Mulvenna looks at the issue for Beyond the Boxscore, referencing Jonah Keri's Grantland piece about the implications of the Buster Posey and Justin Verlander contract extensions. Keri believes we will see fewer big-name free agents in coming years and more emphasis on internal player development and farm systems.

What do you think? I think it is a nice theory and I certainly hope it is true, but Zack Greinke got a huge free agent contract too. All it takes is a couple of teams willing to throw gobs of cash around.

***Jim Callis has the 2013 MLB Draft bonus pool breakdown at Baseball America. I'll have more on this shortly.

***Bleed Cubbie Blue has everything you ever wanted to know about Chicago Cubs minor league rosters for High-A Daytona and Low-A Kane County. Dan Vogelbach! Jorge Soler! Javier Baez! The Cubs have a ton of exciting young hitters coming up. Now they have to add some pitching.