I am starting the trek back to Lawrence Monday but won't be fully operational again until Wednesday. In the meantime, here is a question for you, as I continue the process of getting to know the Minor League Ball community better.

Obviously you are here because you are interested in minor league baseball and prospects. But how many minor league games do you attend each year? What teams/leagues do you prefer? Do you study the players closely, or do you just go to enjoy the atmosphere? Do you take the family?

HUBBA HUBBA...Follow the jump for a more classic objectification.  

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Greetings from warm and sunny Austin. Saw the Texas/Iowa doubleheader yesterday and will see another game this afternoon. I am coming away with some good data and some photos, one of which you can see below the fold. A full report will follow when I get home Tuesday.

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Hello, Happy Bloggers! John's away, so that means that this blog is MINE! ALL MINE!! 

This is bound to be a busy, hectic few days here, what with kids on spring break and dogs from Hell. However, I have a few things in mind to talk about, including some beefcake for the ladies (and whomever!). 

For now, though, here's something I've been pondering, concerning newly built stadiums: 

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Whenever I do one of these either/or discussion questions, I try to pick one that I think will result in a close poll result and good discussion. We usually do get good discussion about it, but the poll results are never as close as I think they are going to be. So let's try again.

Today's topic is Tanner Scheppers of the Rangers vs. Chris Withrow of the Dodgers. Both are hard-throwing right-handers with electric stuff. Withrow is younger (born April 1, 1989, Scheppers born January 17, 2026). Scheppers is one inch taller (6-4, 195 vs 6-3, 195). Both have blistering fastballs clocked in the mid-to-upper-90s at times, though I think Scheppers may be just a hair faster. Both have strong curveballs. Both need to polish their changeups. Both have injury problems in their resume: Withrow with elbow problems in '08, Scheppers with shoulder trouble. Scheppers is considered a bit more polished in general, but Withrow has more of a pro track record to look that.

So, if you could have one guy or the other for your favorite major league organization, who would you pick?

Some Housekeeping Items

**I'm going to Austin this weekend to see Texas play Iowa Saturday and Sunday. It's a 12 hour drive so I'll be on the road and out of touch, though hopefully I'll have decent internet access at the hotel. Jeri will keep you occupied while I'm gone, but behave yourselves. I will have some discussion questions for you as well.

**Don't forget to participate in the David Price Community Projection. The more entries we get, the better.

**The 2010 Baseball Prospect Book is sold out of hard-copies. But we are selling the .pdf version now.

**My planned interview with a front office person has been postponed, but hopefully we can get that done next week. Sorry for the delay.

Travis Snider Community Projection Results:

We only had 16 entries for this, which surprised me. I thought he was an interesting candidate and one requested by several people. So far only four people have put entries into the David Price Projection, and we need a lot more than that for the project to be worthwhile.

The Travis Snider results:

143 games, 530 at-bats, 73 runs, 144 hits, 28 doubles, 1 triple, 21 homers, 57 walks, 123 strikeouts, 3 steals, 2 caught stealing, slash line .272/.348/.450 with five HBP.

Comparisons:

Community Projection:   .272/.348/.450, .798 OPS, 21 homers, 530 at-bats.
Bill James Projection:     .275/.357/.493, .850 OPS,  26 homers, 527 at-bats
CHONE Projection:        .260/.338/.458, .796 OPS, 19 homers, 415 at-bats
Marcel Projection:          .270/.346/.447, .793 OPS, 11 homers, 304 at-bats
Fangraphs Community:   .272/.349/.463, .812 OPS, 20 homers, 475 at-bats
ZIPS Projection:              .240/.332/.452, .784 OPS, 22 homers, 429 at-bats

As usual, James is the most optimistic. Our community projection is about in the middle and seems reasonable to me, though I don't know if Snider will get quite that much playing time.

CBSSports.com Fantasy League Update for Minor League Ball

Moving forward with this project. Note to owners after the jump:

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