How the Rule 5 Draft impacted teams' Top 30 Prospects lists
MLB Pipeline gives our organizational Top 30 prospect rankings complete refreshes twice per calendar year (once in spring, once in-season) and provides other live updates as graduations and other transactions necessitate them. In the latter category, two dates in particular are our busiest for Top 30 updates: the Trade Deadline
Here's the 2024 All-Arizona Fall League Team
Season No. 32 of the Arizona Fall League is in the books, with the Salt River Rafters beating the Surprise Saguaros, 3-2, in the Championship Game on Saturday. It was another fall full of top prospects and top performances. Below is the 2024 MLB Pipeline All-AFL Team. This is based
Cubs' Long, Tigers' Miller earn Fall League Week 5 honors
Week 5 in the Arizona Fall League was about spotlighting the best the top prospect circuit had to offer, with Fall Star festivities limiting regular-season AFL play to only four days in the desert. These two players stood out for squeezing exceptional performances into that small sample. Mesa corner outfielder/infielder
Arizona Fall League Week 5 top performers
Here are the top performers from the fifth week of AFL action:
Fall League sluggers light up the night in Home Run Derby
The 2024 Arizona Fall League Home Run Derby lived up to its billing with a last-second long ball to close things out. Yankees prospect Garrett Martin finished with a flourish in the final round, hitting his 10th tater of the session to inch past Brewers No. 8 prospect Brock Wilken
Cubs' Double-A team brings 'that Wrigley Field vibe' home to Knoxville
Prior to the 2000 season, Knoxville’s Double-A Southern League franchise relocated 20 miles east, to the town of Kodak, and christened themselves the Tennessee Smokies. Twenty-five years later, the team is going back to its roots. The Smokies return to Knoxville in 2025, operating out of brand-new Covenant Health Ballpark
Ballesteros hopes consistent power in AFL leads to winter ball, spring camp
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The rapid ascent of Moises Ballesteros continues. The Cubs landed the catcher for $1.2 million out of Venezuela in January 2021, and all he’s done ever since is hit. He reached Double-A Tennessee in 2023 as a 19-year-old, so expectations were high for the organization’s No. 4
Cubs prospect Long carving out his place on the depth chart
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The Cubs didn’t give Jonathon Long specific instructions after taking him in the ninth round of last year’s Draft. That was by design. The Long Beach State first baseman/third baseman was coming off his best collegiate season yet, hitting .312/.404/.600 with 15 homers in 55 games, but
Young slugger Ballesteros leads Cubs' AFL contingent
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Moises Ballesteros is getting accustomed to playing on loaded teams. The Cubs catcher began 2024 at Double-A Tennessee, the lone club in the Minors with four Top 100 Prospects on its Opening Day roster: right-hander Cade Horton, infielder Matt Shaw, outfielder Kevin Alcántara and second baseman James
Ballesteros' work behind plate translating into even more productive fall at-bats
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Moises Ballesteros can be found at the following address this autumn: Home Plate Valley of the Sun, Arizona MLB No. 44 overall prospect is making a residence at and behind the dish during his time in the Arizona Fall League, and as Ballesteros proved Sunday for Mesa
Here are the weirdest stats, plays from the final month of the MiLB season
Welcome to Crooked Numbers, a monthly column dedicated to Minor League Baseball on-field oddities and absurdities. The edition, rounding up the month of September, encapsulates the end of the regular season as well as the playoffs. Thanks for reading this season, and here's to an even more "Crooked" 2025.
Here's the '24 All-MiLB Prospect Team
Just think of some of the big numbers put up in the Minors this year -- 40 homers, 104 stolen bases, 202 strikeouts -- and they’re just the tip of the iceberg. Terrific performances came in a variety of shapes and sizes during the 2024 Minor League season. To celebrate
Shaw leads top Cubs prospects' hit parade for Iowa
The next crop of Wrigley Field sluggers surged in unison Sunday. Matt Shaw, Owen Caissie, Moises Ballesteros and Kevin Alcántara contributed to nine of Triple-A Iowa's runs in a 17-10 loss to Louisville at Principal Park. The Top 100 prospects combined for 13 hits -- seven for extra bases --
Watch the introductory Minor League Big Inning on Tuesday night for FREE
We here at MiLB.com can never get enough Minor League Baseball. If you're reading this, we're guessing the same can be said for yourself. Now we've made it easy for you to take in four games at a time and up to eight games total, all from the comfort of
Former FSU teammates Smith, Tibbs III hit seminal homers on same night
Many miles separate the duo that used to hit back-to-back in the Florida State lineup, but their connection seems to extend beyond that. Cam Smith and James Tibbs III both knocked their first High-A homers -- and they both went to left-center field -- on Wednesday night. Tibbs' dinger for
Here are the 10 farm systems with the best outfield prospects
Last week, we looked at the top farm systems based on infield talent. This week, let’s go from the dirt to the grass. Below is a ranking of the top 10 organizations when it comes to those who patrol the outfield, using a combination of top-end Top 100 talent and
The best Minor League ballpark promotions happening in September
Welcome to Promo Preview, a monthly roundup of Minor League Baseball promotions to look forward to. The season ends in September (dates vary, depending on the level of play), so don’t delay. Get out to the ballpark today and take advantage of theme nights and giveaways such as these:
Cam you believe it?! Smith homers in sixth straight for Pelicans
Cam Smith did it again. The Cubs' 2024 first-round Draft pick continued the hotter-than-hot stretch of his early pro career by homering in his sixth consecutive game en route to Single-A Myrtle Beach’s 5-2 win over Charleston. Smith smashed a game-tying two-run homer off left-hander Dalton Fowler (Rays), sneaking it
Cam Smith sets Pelicans record with homers in 5 straight
Cam Smith watched his latest home run leave Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Ballpark and had just one thing to say to himself before running around the bases: “Wow.” The dinger extended his streak to homers in five consecutive games during his first full month as a professional with Single-A Myrtle
Here are 11 great ways to beat the heat with Minor League Baseball
Welcome to the dog days of summer. The races for postseason spots are coming into focus in the Majors. In the Minors, top prospects are eyeballing September roster expansions. Whether you're holding on tight to the long days and balmy nights or patiently waiting for the leaves to fall and
The weirdest, wackiest stats from the past month
Welcome to Crooked Numbers, a monthly column dedicated to Minor League Baseball on-field oddities and absurdities. The edition, rounding up the month of July, features intra-organizational no-nos, wild romps, unexpected mound dominance and, of course, much more. Keeping track of this type of thing is a team effort, so get
Road to The Show™: Trade Deadline lookback
Each week, MiLB.com profiles prospects by chronicling the steps they’ve taken toward achieving their Major League dream. For more stories about players on The Road to The Show, click here. The 2024 Trade Deadline is upon us, and with it comes a slew of deals that are sure to shake
The Show Before the Show: Episode 466
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
All-Star Futures Game, Skills Showcase FAQs
Forty-nine of MLB’s top prospects will compete at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday in the All-Star Futures Game. This year’s iteration, which marks the 25th anniversary of the contest, will feature the first-ever Futures Skills Showcase, a three-challenge event that will test participants’ precision and power at
The weirdest MiLB stats, plays from June
Welcome to Crooked Numbers, a monthly column dedicated to Minor League Baseball on-field oddities and absurdities. The June edition features a doubles deluge, oppositional surnames, way too many walks and, of course, much more. Keeping track of this type of thing is a team effort, so get in touch if