AGRI Biz

With the 16th overall pick in the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft, the Cubs selected Hayden Simpson, a right-handed pitcher out of the University of Southern Arkansas. The former "Mulerider" posted a 13-1 record in 15 starts to accompany a 1.81 ERA. He also threw an astounding 131 strikeouts in 99 1/3 innings while walking only 35. Simpson stands as a physically unimposing presence on the mound at 6'0", 170 ...

NEW YORK: How must teams feel coming to play the Mets at Citi Field? It's become a house of horrors for opposing teams, as only nine games have resulted in a Mets loss in their home. Asking the Mets players, none of them can come up with a legitimate reason why they can't take their act on the road. Manager Jerry Manuel, though, thinks the road wins will eventually come. "If we continue to ...

Day one of the MLB Draft has come to a close, and contrary to popular belief, there are storylines beyond Bryce Harper going first overall to the Nationals. With so many good college prospects this season, a number of All-American caliber players slipped in the draft, and big names such as Brandon Workman are still left on the board for day two. That said, there were a number of teams who got ...

Good Choice, A's. Haha, yeah, pun intended... I'm certainly not the first to use wordplay after the Oakland Athletics' selection of UT-Arlington outfielder Michael Choice with the tenth pick of the first round of the 2010 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Just 20 years old, the college star will, if signed, bring one of the most potent college bats around to the A's system. A true slugger with arguably the best power in the entire ...

The board could not have fallen more perfectly for the New York Yankees Monday night. Picking 32nd overall, they had several potential top-10 talents available for selection, including Middle Tennessee State outfielder Bryce Brentz, and LSU right hander Anthony Ranaudo. Most years, Brian Cashman would scoop up the top available talent, pay him above-slot money, and that would be that. But this was not most years. The Yankees did not go above slot with ...

Wade LeBlanc pitched another beauty for the San Diego Padres, a team that has relied heavily on a brilliant pitching staff to lead the National League West. Entering this season, I presumed the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, and Colorado Rockies would duke it out for the National League West crown. I tossed aside the Arizona Diamondbacks, and, given by their play this year, that choice was a smart one. But ...

The Red Sox have made some interesting and perhaps somewhat predictable draft selections so far in the fledgling 2010 MLB First-Year Player Draft.   Theo Epstein gambled on a future power hitter for the hot corner when he selected Kolbrin Vitek 20th overall.   While a well-developed Vitek could succeed Adrian Beltre and internally help solve a partial power outage with youth and value, the 36th-picked Bryce Brentz could soon replace the aging J.D. ...

The Texas Rangers are clearly dedicated to building from within after they traded away their franchise first baseman, Mark Teixeira, for Jarrod Saltalamacchia and four other big-league prospects. Four of the five players received in that trade (Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison, Neftali Feliz and Saltalamacchia) have made significant impacts in the major leagues and have shown Rangers fans that it is okay to trust the decisions that general manager Jon ...

It was definitely a big week for the league’s corner infielders. The names of Youkilis, Glaus, Konerko, Rolen, Kouzmanoff, and Cabrera were on the tops of all the statistics. The guardians of the baseline spoke with their bats and ruled the diamond.   Martinez, Gardner, Rasmus and Suzuki spent last week blasting the hardball. Injuries and rest days couldn’t put out their fire.     1)       C Victor Martinez Bos ...

Photo credit: Gallery 2 Images The first round of Major League Baseball’s 2010 first-year player draft featured many unexpected surprises, including the position at which Bryce Harper was drafted. As expected, the Washington Nationals made the 17-year-old Junior College standout the No. 1 overall pick Monday night. Unexpectedly, they selected the switch hitter as an outfielder instead of a catcher, the position at which Harper has played ...