A tradition like no other

The Baseball America Prospect book has arrived and that means that baseball season will soon be here.

Tee Ball for beginners

For those who have never seen a tee ball game this text from a friend sums it up perfectly. 

"So Louie was on second when the last batter was up. When I say on second I mean he was a runner. The ball was hit and he fielded the ball and then proceeded to have a discussion with the other team. Then after tons of screaming at him by all the coaches and the hitter and the guy on first passed him. He finally ran home, with the ball in his hand."

Picture this and you will be laughing for days. 

Prospects Plus: Hagen Danner

Name: Hagen  Danner
Team: Huntington Beach HS (California)
Position: Pitcher
Organization Rank: One of the top prospects for the 2017 Draft (UCLA commit)
Thursday vs. Puyallup (Wash.) High School at NHSI: 13 strikeouts, 3 hits  in complete game shutout.

Positives: touched 90/91 with his fastball during his outing but can be has high as 93/94. For only being a sophomore he looked incredibly polished. Danner is no stranger to pitching in big games. Danner played and won the Little League World Series. Hagen's curveball is presently a soft hammer with projection, breaking late vertically at 79-80 mph with shape and depth. Danner even showed some feel throwing a pair of 81-82 mph changeups. His curveball was dominant as he locked up hitter after hitter. If his arm hold up he is going to be a top five pick. Looked the part of an ace despite being so young. 

Negatives: Like any players this young, you worry about his delivery and his arm holding up. 

Baseball season is coming

Went to the mailbox this afternoon and found this. It's always a highlight of year.

A long fall for the Phillies

A couple of years ago Phillies tickets where adorn with players. Today as the product on the field continues to erode, the organization has decided to out something else on their tickets: photos of the stadium. It's never good when you have nothing better to sell then your stadium. 

Prospects Plus: Pirates Dilson Herrera

Name: Dilson Herrera 
Position: Shortstop/second baseman
Team: West Virginia Power
Prospect Status: 20th ranked player in the Pittsburgh Pirates system 
Friday vs. Atlanta Braves: 3 for 4, with a double and a run scored. 

Positive: Most of Herrera value will come with the bat, which has been the story so far. He hits to all fields, and while he wasn’t projected as a guy who could hit for power, his bat speed has produced some impressive power so far in his young career.  According to Baseball America, Herrera has plus speed which makes a base stealing threat. 

During the game on Friday night, Herrera showed some good bat speed pulling the ball to left field on his first two at bats. I think that he is underrated by many scouting reports that I have seen. He could be a solid middle infielder for the next decade if he continues to develop. I've seen him twice this year and each time he has been one of the more impressive members of the prospect loaded Power. 

Negatives: Doesn't have a classic arm, which may force him to move to full to second base full time. He made a couple of really good defensive play but also showed some inconsistency.

It's never good being beat

It's never good being beat on a story and when you are ESPN, it hurts more.

Today ESPN had to credit Fox Sports for breaking the story on baseball players ring suspended PEDs.

I bet heads are going to roll at the world wide leader.

Prospects Plus: OTWT MOCK DRAFT

It's almost time for the MLB Draft and the scouting staff at OTWT has been busy breaking down film on these propects. Here is our mock first round (hopefully, it will be better than last years):

•  1. Houston Astros: Mark Appel, P, Stanford
• 2. Chicago Cubs: Jonathan Gray, P, Oklahoma
• 3. Colorado Rockies: Colin Moran, 3B/1B, UNC
• 4. Minnesota Twins: Kohl Steward, P, Texas HS (pictured right)
• 5. Cleveland Indians: Kris Bryant, 3B, San Diego
• 6. Miami Marlins:Hunter Renfroe, OF, Mississippi State
• 7. Boston Red Sox: Clint Frazier, OF, Georgia HS
• 8. Kansas City Royals: Austin Meadows, OF, Geogria HS
• 9. Pittsburgh Pirates (M. Appel - unsigned): Braden Shipley, P, Nevada
• 10. Toronto Blue Jays: Trey Ball, P, Indina HS
• 11. New York Mets: Austin Wilson, OF, Stanford
• 12. Seattle Mariners: Dominic Smith, 1B, California HS
• 13. San Diego Padres:JP Crawford, SS, California HS
• 14. Pittsburgh Pirates: Nick Ciuffo, C, South Carolina HS
• 15. Arizona Diamondbacks:Ryne Stanek, P, Arkansas
• 16. Philadelphia Phillies:Robert Kaminsky, P, New Jersey HS
• 17. Chicago White Sox: Jonathan Denney, C, Oklahoma HS
• 18. Los Angeles Dodgers: Sean Manaea, P, Indiana State
• 19. St. Louis Cardinals: Reese McGuire, C, Washington HS
• 20. Detroit Tigers: Billy McKinney, OF, Texas HS
• 21. Tampa Bay Rays: Bobby Wahl, P, Ole Miss
• 22. Baltimore Orioles: Aaron Judge, OF, Fresno State
• 23. Texas Rangers: Ian Clarkin, P, California HS
• 24. Oakland Athletics: Jonathan Crawford, P, Florida
• 25. San Francisco Giants: Chris Anderson, P, Jacksonville

Prospects Plus: West Virginia Josh Bell

Name: Josh Bell
Position: Outfielder
Team: West Virginia Power
Prospect Status: Sixth ranked prospects in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. Former second round pick.
Stats vs. Lakewood on Friday night: 1 for 4 with two strikeouts

Positives: Bell looks the part of the a major league player. Bell stands six foot four inches call and looks like he has an amazing left handed swing. During an at bat during the game on Friday night, Bell found out approximately 10 pitches before striking out. Bell has great patience.

Negatives: Since Bell was in high school he has been under scouts scrutiny. During the 2011 draft, Bell sent out a letter to all 30 teams telling them not to draft him because he was committed to University of Texas. During the draft the Pirates drafted him in the second round and paid him $5 million to sign. That amount has always put a target on his back. There are not many negatives to his game but he is going to take time for him to develop. He is currently spending his second year in South Atlantic League, which is never good.

Professional Tailgating: Dollar Dog Night

So baseball season is in full swing and the OTWT head to Philly for our first trip to Citizens Bank Park for dollar dog night. By the way the Phillies hammered the Mets 8-3 during the game but the real story was the hot dogs.

Professional Tailgating: Baseball is here

On Friday night the Only Time Will Tell Tailgating crew returned to the Lakewood Blueclaws. The gang now has a right game plan. Here are some of the sites and sounds from the game.

Professional Tailgating: The monsters first game

Last night we took in the first place Nationals game against the Phillies. It was a special day for the OTWT Tailgating Family, it was the little monsters first major league baseball game. 

Father and son walk into the ball park. 

Harry K Statue.

Today's lineups 

I was not alone in supporting the Nationals. More Nats fans there last night than I have ever seen

Seriously, Nats: It’s time for Teddy to win

With all that is going on in the world, the Washington Post  has decided to voice their opinion on the most important issue, should Teddy finally win the Presidents Race during Nationals' home games. Seriously, Nats: It’s time for Teddy to win ,  , I'm all for taking a stand on something. I can't believe they wasted their space on this issue.  

Prospect Plus: Hagerstown Sun's Matt Skole

Name: Matt Skole
Organization: Washington Nationals
Position: Third Base
Stats Tuesday against the BlueClaws: 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts

Strengths: His power is his biggest plus.  Skole, the former Georgia Tech product,  currently leads the Hagerstown Sun with 18 home runs. Hitting is his plus tool and he is considered to be a future every day regular by Baseball America. Skole has a plus arm and nice feel at third base. 

Weakness: During the game on Tuesday he looked bad on a couple of swings and looked like his power swing will lead him to striking out at the next level. Also with Ryan Zimmerman holding down third base and his bat not translating to first base, his future in the organization might be in question. He could be used as trade bait as the Nationals continue to push for the playoffs.

Professional Tailgating: Man hit the Ball

On Tuesday the OTWT headed to Lakewood for the Blueclaws game against the Hagerstown Sun. The youngest member of the OTWT Crew loves watching the "man hit the ball.''

The setting sun

A new type of ball park food: Surf Taco 

Nothing says New Jersey than a pork roll, egg and cheese race

Prospects Plus: D'Backs Trevor Bauer makes MLB Debut

The 2011 MLB Draft class was highlighted by three top of the rotation type of pitchers: Gerrit Cole, Danny Hultzen, and Trevor Bauer. On Thursday night, Bauer became the first of the group to make their MLB debut. Bauer started against the Braves and went four innings, allowing 5 hits, 2 earned runs and walking 3 on 74 pitches. Bauer Debut Doesn't Dazzle, was the headline from The Bleacher Report. While ESPN story stated that Bauer has some work to do. Its only his first start so there is time. Over the next couple of years it will be interesting to see which of the three has the best pro career.

Prospects Plus: The New Generation K

Almost 20 years ago, baseball insiders were buzzing about three over the top Mets pitching prospects that were supposed to take over baseball, Generation K. Bill Pulsipher, Jason Isringhausen, and Paul Wilson where billed as pitcher that were going to take over MLB. Injuries limited them and derailed most of their careers.

Fast forward to today and the Pirates are set to have three pitching prospects that will rival Generation K. The Pirates set of prospects include Jameson Taillon, Gerrit Cole and Mark Appel. The trio are set to rivals any groups of pitching prospects in the history of baseball.


Jameson Taillon, a 2010 first round pick, has an impressive arsenal of pitches. Taillon has  a fastball that already sits in the mid-90s with movement and a devastating curve ball — rated by most to be the two best pitches in his draft class— Taillon has two potentially plus-plus pitches in his arsenal. Taillon is currently pitching in Class A ball in the Florida State League.

Gerrit Cole (above), the first overall pick in 2011, features some of the best stuff currently  in the minors. To say Cole has outstanding stuff would be an understatement. His four-seam fastball sits 96-98 MPH touching 99 MPH frequently and occasionally flirting with triple digits. Cole attacks the zone with his four-seamer; he's not afraid to throw it up or down, inside or out. While he primarily uses his four-seamer, Cole also mixes in a two-seam fastball sitting 91-94 MPH with solid sink. His fastball command has improved greatly since his high school days and now is firmly above-average.It's very rare to say this about a pitcher who throw upper-90's, but Cole's fastball is not his best pitch; his changeup is. Coming in 83-86 MPH with rare late tumble, he has a true swing-and-miss changeup. Despite his curve flashing plus potential when he was in high school, Cole has shifted his focus to a slider in college. At its absolute best, Cole's slider flashes plus but it's more consistently a notch below that. His slider sits 86-88 MPH with above-average break, but the pitch is obviously still a little raw. Cole is currently in Double A and could be with the big club by the end of the season.

Mark Appeal, a 2012 first round pick, is one of the most complete pitchers in college baseball this year. Appeal has a fastball that sits in the mid-90 and an good breaking ball that is going to only get better. Because of his build some people compare him to Giants starting pitcher Matt Cain.

While nothing is guaranteed, the Pirates have the foundation to have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball in the next couple of years or they could end up like Generation K and give their struggling fan base shattered dreams.

Maybe Phillies fans are threatened by the Nats

For the last couple of years, I have split a 16 game plan with a bunch of people to Citizens Bank Park. As a Nats fan I always took the Nationals game.

When I used to go I would wear my Nationals hat and shirt and no one would say a world. Phillies fans thought very little of the Nats and why should they we were a terrible team. Usually people would ask I became a Nationals fan and why I would put myself through it.

Now it's a different story. On Monday I went to the Phillies/Nationals game with my father in law. I was wearing my Bryce Harper Harrisburg Senators shirt and the whole game people were giving me crap. Boy have times changed.

I guess the fact that Phillies fans are giving me crap about it means that they are scared of us. The next couple of years are going to be interesting.

Professional Tailgating: Bryce Harper meet Philly

The rivalry between the Nats and Phillies might be ready to kick off. On Monday night, the OTWT Tailgating crew headed to the Nats Phillies game to cheer on the Nationals. Here are some of the sights and sounds from the game.

Pregame meal, a Tony Luke's Pulled Pork sandwich 

Bryce Harper is introduced for his first at bat in Philly 

Harper gets a hit in his first at bat in Philly

Man of the hour, Bryce Harper standing in right field.

Nats/Phillies is set to become a blood bath

Last night, we saw what  Nationals-Phillies rivalry could turn into. Cole Hamels and Bryce Harper might prove to the people that set it off. Over the next two years, this rivalry figures to heat up and it could get nasty.