The 2015 Major League Baseball Player Chatter, News and Fantasy Thread

[koz-man]

Cubs down Brewers 1-0

Two notable milestones from this one: Rookie Addison Russell slugged his first MLB HR and Jon Lester won his first game as a Cub.

Lester earns first Cubs victory

It took 5 starts, but Jon Lester (1-2) officially won a game with Chicago. The Cubs beat the Brewers 1-0 Friday.

• Today vs. MIL: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER (0.00 ERA)
• First 4 GS: 21.2 IP, 29 H, 15 ER (6.23 ERA)

[Andy117]

Yeah, I hope he bounces back from the surgery like Matt Harvey has/did.

Yeah, it sucks to have a guy lose a season+ due to injury.

[MexicanStallion]

Prospects galore this year.

Sean McAdam of CSN New England reports that Blake Swihart is expected to join the Red Sox on Saturday.


While Swihart is expected to be recalled, the Red Sox are said to still be exploring external options. According to McAdam though, former Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia is not expected to be among those names being considered. Should the Red Sox refrain from adding another catcher from outside the organization, Swihart immediately gains mixed league relevancy.

[EmpireMaker]

Chris Young pitched five no-hit innings, but he knew he would not be permitted to go the distance Friday night.Young, making his first start of the year, struck out nine and walked three before exiting with his pitch count reaching 81

Nice effort stretching out. I'm going to keep an eye on him.

[Chi_archie]

Wow, what a great first start!

[mpaschal34]

Chris Young pitched five no-hit innings, but he knew he would not be permitted to go the distance Friday night.Young, making his first start of the year, struck out nine and walked three before exiting with his pitch count reaching 81

Nice effort stretching out. I'm going to keep an eye on him.

Wow, how old is this guy now....seems like he has been around a long time (and usually hurt).

[Chi_archie]

He will be 36 this month

Young started out with pirates farm club, they basically have him away

[Shortstop]

Marlins starting pitcher Jose Fernandez faced live hitters for the first time since having Tommy John surgery nearly a year ago, per the team's official website on Thursday. Fernandez, who threw 50 pitches in a bullpen session on Monday, tossed approximately 15 pitches at the team's complex in Jupiter, Fla.
"It was competing and it felt really fantastic," Fernandez said, per MLB.com. "Command of the ball was [good], except for one or two pitches that were up in the zone a little bit. [I] was sticking my fastball really well. Breaking ball was good. Changeup was good. And I was really happy with the way everything came out today."
When asked about his timetable on Wednesday, Fernandez refused to speculate when he'll make his season debut.
"Everything depends on [Thursday] and three days after that. That's the approach that I'm taking," Fernandez said, per MLB.com. "I don't want to go crazy and start thinking about a day because it's going to change. I don't want to disappoint myself. ... I feel fantastic. Knocking on wood right now. I feel like I haven't left the game. I do what my doctor says. I've just got to follow a plan, follow the rules the way that I have to."

I hope this kid can come back to be as good as he was before. He has the chance of being someone special.

Me, too! I completely agree.

Yeah, I hope he bounces back from the surgery like Matt Harvey has/did.

Exactly! What Harvey has been able to do is fantastic and good for baseball.

It gives a lot of hope and faith to all those who have to go under the knife for TJS.

[Shortstop]

Looks like Reds pitcher Homer Bailey is headed for Tommy John surgery....

Hopefully these young guys step up.

I tell you what, Cincinnati's offense is there. If you all can get some solid pitching, this will be a very scary team!

[Robber]

Lots of starting pitching issues in NL central with injuries

[Shortstop]

Lots of starting pitching issues in NL central with injuries

So true. I'm thankful the injury bug hasn't hit Pittsburgh...

*KNOCK ON WOOD!*

[EmpireMaker]

racking prospects is a favorite pastime for many on the ol' Internet and for those people, Friday brought some fun news. Dodgers' hotshot shortstop Corey Seager is headed to Triple-A.Seager, 21, was ranked as the fifth-best prospect in baseball by Baseball America heading into the season. Given that Kris Bryant and Addison Russell are already in the bigs, Seager is now a top-three minor-leaguer along with Byron Buxton (Twins) and Carlos Correa (Astros).
And per ocregister.com, Seager has gotten the call to join Triple-A Oklahoma City.
In 20 games in Double-A this season, Seager hit .375/.407/.675 with seven doubles, a triple, five homers and 15 RBI. He's only played in 58 career games at Double-A, but the former first-rounder owns a career Double-A line of .355/.390/.583. He closed his Double-A career with a home run (hat-tip: True Blue LA):
Your browser does not support iframes.
Seager will now take his talents to the Pacific Coast League, a notorious hitter-friendly league. So if you play in a Triple-A fantasy baseball league, go get Seager. I kid!
Seager -- the younger brother of Mariners All-Star Kyle Seager -- is still viewed as a long-term shortstop, but the Dodgers have started to work him in as a third baseman as well.
Given the presence of Jimmy Rollins at short and Juan Uribe at third, don't expect Seager to be getting the call to the majors anytime soon, but if he crushes the ball in Triple-A while there's a major injury, a call in 2015 isn't out of the question. Both Rollins and Uribe are free agents after this season, too. So Seager isn't too far away.

[Chi_archie]

Go little seaagar'

[Chi_archie]

Three games in a row of Pittsburgh pirates and cardinals tied 1-1 after. 9 innings

unreal

[Robber]

Red Sox called up a top catching prospect
Starting here

[MexicanStallion]

I tell you what, Cincinnati's offense is there. If you all can get some solid pitching, this will be a very scary team!

Meh. The offense was looking good with Hamilton and Votto hitting 1st and 2nd. Price is blah to me and now is counting on Cozart as our 2. Mesoraco has been a National League DH too.

[EmpireMaker]

SAN DIEGO -- Austin Hedges, regarded as one of the top catching prospects in baseball, will join the Padres on Monday before they open a series at AT&T Park against the Giants, according to a source.
Hedges, 22, has long been regarded as a top defensive catcher. He was hitting .343/.413/.552 in 75 plate appearances this season with the team's Triple-A affiliate in El Paso. He also had two home runs and 15 RBIs.


Hedges, rated No. 50 by MLB Pipeline, will serve as the backup to Derek Norris.
Hedges was a second-round pick in 2011 out of Junipero Serra High in San Juan Capistrano, located about an hour north of San Diego.
Hedges was regarded as a strong defensive catcher when the team selected him and has since become better under the tutelage of several in the organization, like Brad Ausmus and A.J. Hinch, who have moved on to become managers of the Tigers and Astros, respectively.
"I hate to anoint a Minor League player anything prior to his time, but there's no reason why he can't play in the big leagues for a long time," Ausmus told MLB.com in November 2013.
Hedges' Triple-A manager, Pat Murphy and, most recently, roving catching instructor Ryley Westman have helped the youngster as well.
This season, his hitting has improved after two rough seasons in the Texas League, where he hit .224 in 2013 and .225 a year ago.
Hedges was 0-for-4 Sunday playing for El Paso in a game in Sacramento. After the game, he was informed by Murphy that he was headed to the big leagues.
Known for his strong arm, ability to control the running game and receiving skills, Hedges had thrown out five would-be base stealers in 16 attempts, ninth-best in the Pacific Coast League.
This winter, Hedges spent time at Petco Park working with hitting coach Mark Kotsay, leaving the team encouraged that bigger things could be ahead.
"This year, I notice more maturity. He's still young, but he's getting closer to the big leagues. I think he is starting to understand our message of the pitcher-catcher relationship," Padres manager Bud Black said in February.
Hedges, regarded as the Padres' No. 2 prospect according to MLB.com, realized that many thought that his star had faded some because of his offensive struggles the past two seasons, as his name slipped down and, in some cases, off the list of top prospects in the game.

[Chi_archie]

Red Sox called up a top catching prospect
Starting here

got his first hit in!

[koz-man]

I tell you what, Cincinnati's offense is there. If you all can get some solid pitching, this will be a very scary team!

Agree, much better than last season.

[Shortstop]

Three games in a row of Pittsburgh pirates and cardinals tied 1-1 after. 9 innings

unreal

I wonder if that has ever happened before? Odds have to be hugh for something like that to happen!

Worst part is, the Buccos lost all three!

[koz-man]

Its great to see Votto start off the season like he has. esp because of the injuries last year.

Phillips is off to a little slower start. I would like to see his power increase.

[Shortstop]

Hanley Ramirez had 10 HR's and 22 RBI's in April for the Red Sox.

Han-Ram is apparently liking his new digs in New England!

[Shortstop]

What do you all think about Houston's torrid start?

Will they continue to play well or will they begin to fade?

Honestly, I haven't seen them play enough to make any sense of their recent play...

[Shortstop]

Its great to see Votto start off the season like he has. esp because of the injuries last year.

Phillips is off to a little slower start. I would like to see his power increase.

I think Phillips will be fine. He's just another star off to a sluggish start. He'll turn it on soon I'm sure.

Now the Pirates offense is really in a funk! The pitching has been solid, but the sticks have been awfully cold!

[mpaschal34]

Hanley Ramirez had 10 HR's and 22 RBI's in April for the Red Sox.

Han-Ram is apparently liking his new digs in New England!

He he left the game with a sprained shoulder tonight. Hopefully he will be OK. Saw the text come in from MLB....but haven't seen the highlights. Not sure if it is serious or not.

[Andy117]

He he left the game with a sprained shoulder tonight. Hopefully he will be OK. Saw the text come in from MLB....but haven't seen the highlights. Not sure if it is serious or not.

Didn't he have shoulder problems in the past?

[Shortstop]

He he left the game with a sprained shoulder tonight. Hopefully he will be OK. Saw the text come in from MLB....but haven't seen the highlights. Not sure if it is serious or not.

He ran into the wall while making a catch. Strange seeing him play left instead of short!

Day-to-day with a shoulder sprain. Doesn't appear to be too serious...

[Shortstop]

Didn't he have shoulder problems in the past?

You're correct. He's had two surgeries on his left shoulder already...

[mpaschal34]

just saw the highlight.....didn't look that bad, but his reaction was bad. hear it's only a sprain....but not official

[EmpireMaker]

Hanley Ramirez @HanleyRamirez · 1h 1 hour ago A bit sore, but back soon. Hang in there #RedSoxNation, and thanks for all the prayers

[Chi_archie]

I wonder if that has ever happened before? Odds have to be hugh for something like that to happen!



Worst part is, the Buccos lost all three!

time for a sweep of the reds

[BigSpoon]

What do you all think about Houston's torrid start?

Will they continue to play well or will they begin to fade?

Honestly, I haven't seen them play enough to make any sense of their recent play...

They will certainly fade, they are on pace to win 112 games. They do need to be taken seriously though since 85 wins might be good enough to win the AL West.

[koz-man]

I think Phillips will be fine. He's just another star off to a sluggish start. He'll turn it on soon I'm sure.

Now the Pirates offense is really in a funk! The pitching has been solid, but the sticks have been awfully cold!

Ain't that the truth. Its one or the other.

The key is to have the hot bats & solid pitching at the same time..

Easier say then done of course.

[koz-man]

time for a sweep of the reds

I heard they ran out of brooms in Pittsburgh. lol

The Bucs get to face Leake and the 2 youngsters this series.

No Cueto this series.

[MexicanStallion]

Such a waste of a season.

According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Devin Mesoraco still hasn't tried squatting and is trying to avoid surgery for his left hip impingement.

Mesoraco hasn't started a game since April 11 due to the hip impingement, yet the Reds have opted against placing him on the disabled list. He will be able to DH during the Reds' upcoming weekend series against the White Sox, so a decision on a potential surgery will presumably be held off until then. Mesoraco would be out for four months if he does ultimately have to go under the knife.