Minor League Ball daily notes, April 4, 2016

Good morning everyone and welcome to Minor League Ball daily notes for Monday, April 4th, 2016. Here are some baseball news links and items for your consideration, edification, and amusement.

****The Pittsburgh Pirates signed outfielder Gregory Polanco to a five-year contract extension worth at least $35 million with another $25 million in potential option values. Charlie Wilmuth at Bucksdugout believes this is a great deal for the Pirates:

The upside here is great. The risk is small. And a deal that keeps Polanco in Pittsburgh longer makes the Pirates' future that much brighter. Let's hope this deal goes half as well as McCutchen's and Marte's have.

****The Reds have put right-hander Homer Bailey on the disabled list and have promoted right-hander Robert Stephenson to replace him. Stephenson is expected to make his major league debut on Thursday and we will have a "What to Expect from Robert Stephenson" article posted before he pitches.

****At FakeTeams, Jason Hunt provides a useful preview and guide to the 2016 Pacific Coast League.

****Dan Farnsworth at Fangraphs reviews the Tampa Bay Rays system. His commentary on prospects Jake Bauers and Casey Gillaspie are particularly notable.

****Hard-throwing Minnesota Twins relief pitcher prospect Nick Burdi is out at least two weeks with a minor forearm injury of some type, though reports are a bit contradictory as to exactly what's wrong. He's already done some flat ground throwing and it is possible the Twins were just being very careful.

****The crew at Baseball Prospectus has a list of Top 175 players age 25 or younger.