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How the Rule 5 Draft impacted teams' Top 30 Prospects lists

@SamDykstraMiLB
December 11, 2024

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

November 19, 2024

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

@JoeTrezz
November 12, 2024

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

@JoeTrezz
November 10, 2024

Here are the top performers from the fifth week of AFL action:

Fall League sluggers light up the night in Home Run Derby

@JoeTrezz
November 8, 2024

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

@BensBiz
November 7, 2024

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

October 28, 2024

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

@SamDykstraMiLB
October 17, 2024

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

October 17, 2024

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

@SamDykstraMiLB
October 13, 2024

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

@BensBiz
October 1, 2024

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

October 1, 2024

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

@thevandalorian
September 15, 2024

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

@SamDykstraMiLB
September 9, 2024

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

September 5, 2024

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

September 3, 2024

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

@BensBiz
August 30, 2024

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

@Jesus_Cano88
August 25, 2024

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

August 25, 2024

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

August 22, 2024

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

Covering all the MiLB bases, from the ridiculous to the sublime
@BensBiz
August 11, 2024

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

How current Top 100 prospects have fared since switching systems
@Gerard_Gilberto
July 30, 2024

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

Cubs prospect Shaw talks Futures Game, 2023 Draft memories
July 26, 2024

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

A need-to-know guide for this weekend's prospect-laden events
@brendan_samson
July 11, 2024

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

The bizarre and bombastic happenings from around the Minors
@BensBiz
July 11, 2024

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