Big Bad Brad Zunica Earns Frontier League Player of the Week Honors
TROY, NY - Tri-City ValleyCats First Baseman Brad Zunica has been named the Frontier League’s Player of the Week, and joins Josh Hiatt as the first players in franchise history to receive a weekly award from the league in their respective categories. Zunica led the league in batting average over
TROY, NY - Tri-City ValleyCats First Baseman Brad Zunica has been named the Frontier League’s Player of the Week, and joins Josh Hiatt as the first players in franchise history to receive a weekly award from the league in their respective categories. Zunica led the league in batting average over the course of the last seven days, tallying a whopping .500 AVG, while leaving the yard three times, earning him a first place tie for most home runs in the league this week. Big Bad Brad recorded twelve hits, seven RBI, and crossed the plate eight times to help the Cats remain atop the Atlantic Division, and secure two consecutive series wins, including this weekend’s sweep of the visiting Sussex County Miners.
Zunica was drafted in the fifteenth round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres. Over his six years in the organization, Zunica made it as high as Double-A before signing with the ValleyCats earlier this season. Zunica currently leads all qualifying Tri-City batters in AVG, and has moved into sole possession of fourth place on the ValleyCats’ HR leaderboard following his three long balls this week.
Frontier League Weekly Awards are chosen by Pointstreak. Pointstreak provides the league with its statistical software and in-game scoring applications. They aim to deliver “fast scores and cool stats to players, parents, fans, scouts and media.” For more information on Pointstreak products visit them at www.poinstreaksolutions.com or www.pointstreak.com.
Big Bad Brad and the Tri-City ValleyCats are back in town this weekend to take on the Sussex County Miners, featuring Stranger Things Night on Friday, along with a visit from famed MLB player and skipper Lou Piniella and fireworks on Saturday. Saturday’s post game fireworks are proudly presented by Price Chopper - Market32! Click here for tickets.
Dodgers greats Newcombe and Campanella made history as Minors teammates
A version of this story originally appeared on MiLB.com in 2006. We present it here once more as Minor League Baseball celebrates Black History Month with stories of Black baseball pioneers.
15 prospects primed for a bounceback season from injury
A lot of players will be getting a fresh start heading into the 2025 season. Prospects who missed significant time due to injury have had upwards of six months between regular-season games to return to health. Now they'll be looking to re-establish their value and maybe even reach new heights.
Check out the newest Minor League team logos for 2025
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Here are 18 prospects who also starred on the gridiron
The two-time defending-champion Kansas City Chiefs are set to meet the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, and plenty of baseball prospects will be keeping a close eye. After all, many current Minor Leaguers played football at a high level before committing fully to the diamond. No, there aren't any
Did you know the Superdome was once home to a Minor League team?
On Sunday, one of the world’s most-watched sporting events will take place at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Believe it or not, decades before Super Bowl LIX came to town, the same building was home to a Minor League Baseball team for one season. The 1977 Triple-A New Orleans Pelicans
How a Black pitcher's brief PCL stint in 1916 generated a historic card
A version of this story originally appeared on MiLB.com in 2010. We present it here once more as Minor League Baseball celebrates Black History Month with stories of Black baseball pioneers.
The Show Before the Show: Episode 489
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Minors legend Jones still holds batting record
A version of this story originally appeared on MiLB.com in 2008. We present it here once more as Minor League Baseball celebrates Black History Month with stories of Black baseball pioneers. Grover "Deacon" Jones spent more than a half-century in baseball, serving the game at almost every level and in
Hooks have a new look -- and more -- on the line for 20th season
In advance of a milestone season at Whataburger Field, the Corpus Christi Hooks are making a change. The Houston Astros' Double-A affiliate unveiled new logos and uniforms on Friday evening, marking the first time they have significantly altered their look since debuting in 2005. According to Hooks general manager Brady
Here's how Jackie Robinson fueled Montreal to a Minor League title in 1946
A version of this story originally appeared on MiLB.com in 2006. We present it here once more as Minor League Baseball celebrates Black History Month with stories of Black baseball pioneers.
They're due! MiLB's longest active title droughts
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
These players could earn teams extra Draft picks in 2025
Since the Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI) was implemented under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, four players have earned their clubs extra Draft picks. The PPI rewards teams for promoting their best prospects to the big leagues at the start of the season, enabling them to earn a Draft pick if
Each team's best non-Top 100 prospect
There just isn't enough room to fit all the worthy talents on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list. We unveiled our latest rankings last Friday, and now we're going to spotlight the best prospect in each farm system who couldn't quite make the cut. We undertook the same exercise last
MiLB collaborates with Stand Up To Cancer
Minor League Baseball announced a new collaboration with Stand Up To Cancer® (SU2C), an organization that funds the development of new and promising cancer treatments to help patients today. Founded in 2008, SU2C raises awareness and funds research to detect and treat cancers with the aspiration to cure all patients.
These are the best tools on the new Top 100 Prospects list
Players featured on last year’s edition of the best tools among Top 100 prospects should look familiar to even casual baseball fans at this point. Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes (best fastball, slider) took the Major Leagues by storm as the NL Rookie of the Year, thanks to his hard-throwing ways
Answering your Top 100 Prospects list questions
MLB Pipeline released its new Top 100 Prospects list on Friday, and it was met with a bevy of questions and comments about fans' favorite prospects. To help make sense of all the inquiries, Pipeline's Jonathan Mayo took to Reddit and responded to fan questions in a Top 100 Prospect-focused
Here are every organization's Top 100 prospects for 2025
MLB Pipeline’s 2025 Top 100 Prospects list went live on Friday night, led by the newest Dodger, right-hander Roki Sasaki, Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony and Twins outfielder Walker Jenkins. There’s a lot of offensive firepower throughout the list, beyond those two outfielders at the top, but while the bats
Check out MLB Pipeline's 2025 Top 100 Prospects list
He was one of the most sought-after talents this offseason, and he hadn’t even played stateside ball yet. Now, he can add another bullet point to his already lengthy baseball resume. Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki tops MLB Pipeline’s 2025 preseason ranking of the Top 100 prospects, followed by Red Sox
The Show Before the Show: Episode 488
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Get ready to cheer for ... the Bathtub Donkeys?
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to The Baseball Traveler newsletter here.
These are MLB’s No. 1 prospects at each position
MLB Pipeline's 2025 rankings of the Top 10 prospects at each position are official and the 2025 Top 100 Prospects list will be revealed at 7 p.m. ET on Friday on MLB Network and MLB.com.