Minor League Gold Glove Award winners
There are prospects who can flash the leather, and then there are these guys: the cream of the crop. Now they own some hardware for defensive excellence. Two Top 100 prospects – including baseball's top overall prospect – headlined the nine-player crop of 2024 Minor League Gold Glove Award winners,
Twins' Rosario refining swing just in time to defend AFL HR Derby title
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Finding ways to stay focused and present when you’re the designated hitter can be tough. It's even more of a challenge when you’re used to playing in the field regularly. Then there are games like the one in which Twins outfield prospect Kala'i Rosario served as DH
Angels' late bloomer Natera Jr. starting to flip script in Fall League
MESA, Ariz. -- Angels left-handed pitching prospect Samy Natera Jr. understood why doubters said the things they said, but he made it his mission to prove them wrong. He may be at the early stages of a breakthrough that will silence them permanently. Natera didn’t even start pitching until he
Arizona Fall League Week 4 top performers
Here are the top performers from the fourth week of AFL action:
D-backs prospect Amendt not cooling off one little bit in the desert
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Life as a Minor League reliever has thin margins. Your ERA can be torpedoed by one bad outing. There’s also the obvious caveat that the fewer innings you throw, the less often scouts, evaluators and members of the organization get to see your stuff. But the quickest
Unsatisfied with natural gifts, O's prospect Willems focusing on all facets of his game
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Creed Willems had a chance to play hero, coming to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning and two out, the score tied, 6-6. Instead, he beat one into the ground to end the inning and send Saturday night’s Peoria-Surprise Arizona
Yankees prospect Durbin trying to swipe his way to 40-man spot
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Fall League has never seen a base stealer like Caleb Durbin. The Yankees prospect added another notch to his stolen-base prowess during Salt River's 8-3 win over Mesa at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on Saturday afternoon. By virtue of three stolen bases, Durbin
Lone Star foes becomes allies as Rangers hurlers twirl gems to Astros catcher
PEORIA, Ariz. -- Here’s something you don’t see every day. A trio of Rangers pitching prospects worked with an Astros catcher to carry a no-hitter into the eighth inning on Friday night at the Peoria Sports Complex. Alas, a single by Luis Lara (MIL No. 17) prevented the Surprise Saguaros
Here are 10 of the top Minor League jerseys in 2024
Fans typically buy a sports jersey because of who's wearing it. But in the Minor Leagues, what’s on a jersey can often mean so much more. Teams have a way of making fans part of franchises by bringing local culture into their jersey and theme nights. “It's taking pride in
The Show Before the Show: Episode 480
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
From Division II to the Fall League, Giants' Pleasants looks to be a keeper
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – On June 9, Elijah Pleasants had his best outing of the year with nine strikeouts over six frames of two-run ball. The fact that his landmark outing of 2024 came for the Oakland Ballers of the Pioneer League set the stage for a whirlwind ride. Three days
Mey Days: Reds reliever proving unhittable in the Arizona Fall League
GLENDALE, Ariz. – One reason why teams send players to the Arizona Fall League is because a decision has to be made about putting them on the 40-man roster or leaving them exposed to December’s Rule 5 Draft. This last stretch of performances, and how a player responds to the
This Midwestern city's Minor League park set the standard
This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE. The following ballpark road trip recap is presented by Wyndham, proud sponsor of Minor League
Trekking parallel paths, Caglianone & Kurtz heating up in desert
PEORIA, Ariz. -- The similarities between Nick Kurtz and Jac Caglianone are almost too numerous to recount. Both are left-handed-hitting first basemen with a ton of power. Both played for a big-time Division I program: Kurtz at Wake Forest, Caglianone at Florida. Both made it to the 2023 College World
Padres' De Vries youngest to homer in Fall League since Harper
Leodalis De Vries hasn't completed a full year as a professional yet, but he has already amassed an astounding list of firsts and the “youngest-to” designations in 2024. During Peoria’s 12-5 loss to Surprise on Thursday afternoon at the Peoria Sports Complex, he added another: Youngest player to homer in
Mets' Williams, Gilbert strengthen bond in the desert
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – No tricks here, just a sweet treat for Mets fans. The organization's top-ranked position players, Jett Williams and Drew Gilbert, hammered solo home runs during Arizona Fall League action Thursday afternoon, leading the Scorpions to a 10-1 victory over the Desert Dogs at Scottsdale Stadium. While the
All-American Women's Baseball Classic honors -- and makes -- history
Young girls and their dads made their way to Durham Bulls Athletic Park, but they weren’t there to watch the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate play ball. They arrived at the stadium to watch the All-American Women’s Baseball Classic over the weekend of Oct. 11-13. The tournament was created by Sue Zipay,
A's Kurtz ending long and eventful year on a high note in the desert
MESA, Ariz. – Nick Kurtz's first official home run of the 2024 season came on Feb. 17. More than eight months later, much has changed, but one thing has remained consistent: the 21-year-old can still hammer the baseball. Kurtz teed off on Arizona Fall League homer No. 1 on Wednesday
Painter dominates with all four of his pitches in latest sparkling AFL start
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The Andrew Painter comeback tour continued on Wednesday afternoon. The fourth Arizona Fall League start for the No. 32 prospect in baseball delivered similar results to the Phillies phenom’s previous outing: three scoreless innings, three strikeouts, no walks and one step closer to being ready for a
Here are the Arizona Fall League's top Statcast performers
This fall, for the first time, the majority of Arizona Fall League stadiums are outfitted with Statcast technology. That enables us to peek under the hood and get a better sense of how some of the game’s best prospects are performing on the annual elite prospect circuit. With that in