Nathan, A.J. Sign, J.P. Non-Tendered

Pierzysnki and Nathan are going their separate ways

Some of the pieces to the MLB free agent puzzle are starting to fall into places while some have been added. Closer Joe Nathan, the active saves leader, agreed to a two year deal with the Detroit Tigers, catcher A.J. Pierzynski jouned the Boston Red Sox, and Toronto catcher J.P. Arencibia will be looking for a new home after the Blue Jays did not tender him a contract.

Nathan and his 341 saves was the top closer on the free agent market this off-season. I was hoping the Yankees would make a strong push for 39-year old, but you can't blame him for going to a team whose top three starters are Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and Anibal Sanchez. The deal, reported by CBS Sports' Jon Heyman, is reportedly for two years at an unspecified rate.

The Boston Globe's Pete Abraham reported that Pierzynski, who ironically was dealt from the Minnesota Twins to the SF Giants in 2003 for a package that included Nathan and played with the closer in Texas last season, is set to ink a one year, $8.25MM deal with the Red Sox. Pierzynski spent the 2013 season with the Texas Rangers after eight seasons with the Chicago White Sox. He'll replace Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who is reportedly close to signing with either the Twins or Florida Marlins.

Arencibia hit a total of 63 home runs in his first three years in the Major Leagues, but posted a .592 OPS this past season. (His career high is .720.) He also committed an AL leading 11 errors behind the plate.  The Blue Jays acquisition of veteran Dioner Navarro made Arencibia expendable, though the team was unable to trade him.

The Baltimore Orioles dealt closer Jim Johnson to the Oakland A's for second baseman Jemile Weeks and a player to be named later or cash. Johnson had a bust out season in 2012 when he saved 51 games in 54 chances. Though he saved 50 wins in 2013, he blew nine save attempts and lost eight games. Having made $6.5MM in 2013, he's set to become a free agent in 2015. He'll replace free agent Grant Balfour as closer, though set up man/some time closer Ryan Cook could still steal the job away IMO. The Orioles have stated they will look to acquire a replacement for Johnson rather than use someone who is presently within the organization.

Weeks, the younger brother of the Milwaukee Brewers' Richie Weeks, showed promise when he posted a .761 OPS in 97 games in 2011. A year later he was barely above .600 and has spent most of his time in the minor leagues since.

Game 3: Anatomy of Obstruction

Though this is not an Abby-like re-creation from NCIS, here's what happened in the 9th inning of World Series Game 3.

Dustin Pedroia's diving stop on Jon Jay

Yadier Molina tagged out at home for 2nd out

Jarrod Saltalamacchia's throw eludes Will Middlebrooks

Middelbrooks flops like a fish

Down goes Frazier Allen Craig; Joyce signals obstruction

Craig heads home; DeMuth signals obstruction

Salty tags out Craig

DeMuth signals safe

John Farrell is confused

There you have it. The best thing of all? The umpires apparently got a call correct without having to huddle up.

Cardinals Prevail; in Walk-Off Trip

I have seen a lot in over 40 years of watching post-season baseball - Jeffrey Maiers interference in the 1996 ALCS. The Bartman interference in the 2003 NLCS. Carlton Fisk's arm-waving extra inning game winning home run in Game 6 of the '75 series. Reggie Jackson sticking his hip out, much to the consternation of Tommy Lasorda in the '78 Classic, and of course Mr. October's 3-home run outburst in Game 6 to clinch the World Series the prior year.

But I don't think any of those memories come close to last night's Game 3 between the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals for a one play World Series game decider. The Red Sox had rallied from 2-0 and 4-2 deficits to tie the game 4-4 in the 8th inning.

Yadier Molina reached on a one out single off Brandon Workman to start the 9th, so Sox manger John Farrell went to his closer, Koji Uehara, to face pinch-hitter Allen Craig. The Cardinals' 1st baseman/outfielder has been hobbled by a foot injury that led to manager Mike Matheny's decision to sit him at the start of the game and save him for a situation like the one that arose in the 9th.

Craig came through with a double to put two runners in scoring position and forced Boston to move the infield and outfield in. Center fielder Jon Jay's bouncer back up the middle was stopped by a diving Dustin Pedroia, whose throw home easily beat the slow footed Molina to the plate. Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia tagged Molina for the second out of the inning, but that's when the mayhem began.

Craig broke for third as soon as he saw Pedroia throw home. A throw right at the bag would likely have nailed Craig but Salty's throw tailed away from  Will Middlebrooks ricocheted into foul territory. Middlebrooks, who should have caught the ball despite it being off course, did a belly flop and Craig slid into third. As Daniel Nava raced over from left field, Craig popped up from his head first slide and began the race to home plate, but fell over a prone Middlebrooks, who had inadvertently raised up both legs.

Third base umpire Jim Joyce immediately signaled obstruction, but the only one who saw the call was home plate umpire Dana DeMuth. Which is why everyone in the ball park was confused when DeMuth signaled safe after Salty grabbed Nava's throw home and applied the tag on Craig for an apparent third out. While the Cardinals and their fans celebrated, a confused Farrell, Pedroia, Uehara and all the other Red Sox argued and wandered in bewilderment until DeMuth and Joyce explained the call.

They might have to change the term walk-off to stumble-off for this one.

Umpires Meet the Press

Umpires John Hirschbeck, Jim Joyce, and Dana DeMuth, and league executive VP Joe Torre met with the media afterwards. Below is the transcript courtesy of mlb.com. You can view the video of the press conference by clicking here.

JOHN HIRSCHBECK:  I know you have a lot of questions, and we'll answer everything you have. But just to go over the rule quickly, obstruction is the act of a fielder obstructing a runner when not in the act of fielding a ball. It does not have to be intent. There does not have to be intent, okay? Once he has the opportunity to field the ball, he can no longer in any way obstruct the runner. That's basically the rule. So you want to go ahead and ask questions? 

Q. If you can just take us through how you saw the play develop and if there was, in fact, any incidental contact and whether or not Middlebrooks raised his legs, if you would just take us through how you saw the play develop, please.

JIM JOYCE:  Well, when the play developed after Saltalamacchia threw the ball at third base, after the ball had gone straight through, and Allen had slid into third and stood up to attempt to go to home plate, everything was off right there. And when he tried to advance to home plate, the feet were up in the air, and he tripped over Middlebrooks right there, and immediately and instinctually I called obstruction.

Q. I understand what John said, that there doesn't have to be intent, but the fact that his feet were up, did that play into it at all? And is there any wiggle room, like where else could he be after he dives for the ball, what else could he be doing but laying on the floor, if you do think there's intent?

JIM JOYCE:  No, as a matter of fact, the feet didn't play too much into that because he was still in the area where the baserunner needs to go to advance to home plate. And the baserunner has every right to go unobstructed to home plate, and unfortunately for Middlebrooks he was right there. And there was contact, so he could not advance to home plate naturally.

JOE TORRE:  And let me read, it gives the example on Rule 2, "An infielder dives at a ground ball and the ball passes him, and he continues to lie on the ground and delays the progress of the runner, he very likely has obstructed the runner."

Q. So does "very likely" mean there's interpretation?

JOE TORRE: Intentional or not intentional. He just has to clear the path. I know sometimes it's unfair because he's laying on the ground, but that's the way the rule is.

Q. Is there anything he could have done to avoid violating this rule in that position? Once he's down, what could he have done at that point?

JOHN HIRSCHBECK:  Just to get out of the way quickly and not obstruct the runner. It's really as simple as that.

JIM JOYCE:  Really, that doesn't play into that play. With the defensive player on the ground, without intent or intent, it's still obstruction. You'd probably have to ask Middlebrooks that one, if he could have done anything. But that's not in our determination.

Q. He said there wasn't anything else he could have done, that's why I asked the question.

JIM JOYCE:  But the rule is is that the runner has every right to go to home plate at that particular play unobstructed without any liability ‑‑ he doesn't have to get out of the way, he just has the baseline, and unfortunately the defensive player was there.

JOE TORRE:  And the fact that he impeded the runner, again. Didn't mean to, but it still doesn't matter, according to the rule.

Q. I know you guys obviously got the call right the other night when you all convened together on the second base play. Did you all even chat about it or have a quick conversation about it? Jim, did you ask the other umpires their viewpoint? It seems like you called it immediately and you were set with it. I was curious if I could get the other umpires' thoughts on if you thought it was the right call, done, and there was nothing else to discuss?

JOHN HIRSCHBECK:  I was on the leftfield line. Immediately after we got off the field into our locker room we congratulated Jim and said "great call." I could see it all in front of me as it happened. That was our first reaction when we got in the locker room. Mark Wegner made the comment he could see it developing from right field.

We're trained to look for these things. It's out of the ordinary, but when it happens, and it's the World Series, you expect to get it right.

Q. I'm just curious, is there any responsibility of the runner to make sure he's in the baseline? Did you guys check for that? Often a runner comes around third and circles around the third base coach's box. It seems like Craig was clearly on the inside part of third more toward shortstop. Is it the responsibility of the runner to make sure he's inside the baseline?

JIM JOYCE:  He was right on the baseline. He was right on the chalk. And so that never played into any decision, at all, because he was ‑‑ he had slid, stood up, and he was literally right on the chalk.

JOHN HIRSCHBECK:  Don't forget, the runner establishes his own baseline. If he's on second on a base hit and rounds third wide, that baseline is from where he is, way outside the line, back to third and to home plate, it's almost a triangle. So the runner establishes his own baseline.

Q. Just curious if any of you guys remember a game ending in this way, ending on this particular call in any of your experiences?

JOHN HIRSCHBECK:  Never.

JIM JOYCE:  Never.

JOHN HIRSCHBECK:  And again, Peter (Woodfork) pointed out to me to mention this, normally this play happens at second base on a steal play or something, where the ball goes into centerfield and the shortstop or second baseman obstructs the runner or stays there too long trying to hold the tag down or making believe he fell down or whatever. Not at third base.

Q. Once you make the call, he gets home and that's the end of it, right? Because there was still a play at the plate that developed. Obviously the players were playing out the play.

JIM JOYCE:  Our determination is whether or not he could have scored or not. And Dana immediately came up with, he saw me make the call. And as soon as Craig slid into home plate, Dana immediately pointed down at me knowing that we had obstruction and it impeded Allen to score the run, essentially. Dana did a great job on installing that right away. Dana did a great job signaling that right away.  

JOHN HIRSCHBECK:  And that's the last, most important part of this rule, is that the umpire has to determine ‑‑ if what you saw tonight happened and he's out by 20 feet, then the umpire determines that if the obstruction had not occurred, he would have been out, okay? But since it was right there, bang, bang play, obviously that's obstruction, definitely had something to do with the play.

Q. That's Dana's call right away?

DANA DeMUTH:  I'm going with Jim on it, so I determine when it ends at the end, about the obstruction, you know. It's Jim's call originally, but looking up there. I have to see the call, also, and agree with him. I have to know that it's obstruction.

JOE TORRE:  You remember a few years ago I think Tejada ran into a fielder and then stopped running, and even though he was pointing back, he's obstructed, but he stopped running, so he was out.

Salty Slams Yankees to the Mat

One might think the game was over Friday night after the Red Sox scored four runs in the 1st inning off of Hiroki Kuroda. But just as they had last week in New York, the Yankees rallied to tie the game at four apiece. Unfortunately, just like three of last week's games with Boston, the Yankees lost anyway.

The Red Sox have hit eight grand slams on the year, with Jarrod Saltalamacchia being the latest batter to go deep with the bases loaded. The catcher's slam came off of Preston Claiborne and turned the aforementioned 4-4 tie into an 8-4 Red Sox lead. That turned out to be the final score as the Red Sox won their 90th game and the Yankees fell two games behind Tampa Bay for the number two wild card spot.

Kuroda has been the Yankees ace since last year, but he's been extremely fatigued of late. Since he tossed eight innings of shutout ball against the Los Angeles Angels on August 12, Kuroda has not gone past 6.1 innings in any start. In fact, he recorded an out in the 7th inning only once and hasn't won since the game against the Angels. (In fairness, he was the pitcher of record in last Sunday's game against Boston, but Mariano Rivera blew the lead. The Yankees won in the bototom of the 9th on a wild pitch.)

Kuroda got into immediate trouble Friday night with a 33 pitch 1st inning. He gave up a lead off single to Dustin Pedroia, a 1-out double to David Ortiz, and an RBI ground out to Mike Carp that gave Boston a 1-0 lead. Given the opportunity to escape with a single run allowed, Kuroda got touched up for three more runs on a Daniel Nava single and a 2-run double by Stephen Drew.

The Yankees slowly chipped away against Sox starter John Lackey with an unexpected solo home run from Brendan Ryan in the 3rd inning. Lyle Overbay cut the lead in half in the 6th with a sacrifice fly as Kuroda hung tough and shut down the Red Sox red hot lineup.

The Yankees pulled even in the 7th with Ryan and Chris Stewart reaching on back-to-back singles to start the rally. With Curtis Granderson, Alex Rodriguez, and Robinson Cano due up, John Farrell sent for left-hander Craig Breslow. Breslow K'ed Granderson, but walked A-Rod to load the bases for Cano. The second baseman came through with a game tying 2-run double. Alfonso Soriano had a chance to put the Bombers ahead, but Brandon Workman induced an inning ending ground out.

The good times didn't last long- Joe Girardi sent Kuroda back out to start the 7th, but he gave up a single to Shane Victorino and departed. Lefty Cesar Cabral came on, but hit Ortiz. Claiborne, this year's Cody Eppley, wore down quicker than his predecessor after a surprisingly effective first half of the season. He was next to enter the fray Friday night and walked pinch-hitter Jonny Gomes to load the bases.

Claiborne struck out Nava, but Saltalamacchia deposited grand slam number eight over the right field fence to essentially end the Yankees night.

Burnett Even Baffles Boston

You know things are bad when A.J. Burnett shuts you down and pitches into the 8th inning. It's no dream, it's a nightmare. One that the Boston Red Sox experienced Sunday afternoon. Save for a couple of Jacoby Ellsbury solo home runs, the Sox couldn't muster anything against Burnett and the Yankees won it 6-2.

The loss was the Red Sox 16th in their last 20 games. Combined with Tampa Bay's victory over Toronto, the Boston wild card lead is down to just a half a game (one in the loss column - if the Angels win this afternoon they will be just 1.5 back). The Yankees used their speed and took advantage of the combination of knuckleballer Tim Wakefield and catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia to grab an early 2-0 lead. Brett Gardner led off the bottom of the 1st with a bunt single and quickly stole second base. Derek Jeter reached on a bunt of his own that advanced Gardner to third. Jeter swiped second and Gardner scored when Saltalamacchia threw the ball away.

Jeter advanced to third on a passed ball and scored the second run of the inning on a wild pitch. In the bottom of the third Yankees fan may have seen Jorge Posada launch a home run for the last time in Yankee Stadium. Following a one out walk to Alex Rodriguez, Posada drilled a Wakefield deliver into the right field seats for his 14th home run of the year and a 4-0 lead. He acknowledged the crowd when they cheered for a curtain call.

Meanwhile, Burnett cruised through the Boston lineup with unusual efficiency. Ellsbury had three of the Red Sox six hits, including a 1st inning single that was erased when Burnett caught him leaning off of first base. Rookie Brandon Laird threw to Jeter to put it in the book as a caugh stealing.

Ellsbury's first home run of the day got Boston on the board in the 4th, but the Yankees got the run back an inning later. Derek Jeter, who had three hits on the day to reach the .300 mark for the season, singled to left and moved to second when left fielder Carl Crawford misplayed the ball. Alex Rodriguez then singled through the right side to plate Jeter ahead of Conor Jackson's throw.

Notes

Ellsbury's second home run of the game, in the 6th inning, earned him the honor of being the first Red Sox player to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season. Quite an accomplishment for a player who missed most of last year and is now a candidate for both MVP and Comeback Player of the Year awards.

Jeter finished the scoring off with an RBI ground rule double in the 7th.

Burnett felt the love from the Stadium crowd, something he hasn't experienced too often the last two years. He left to a huge ovation after picking up the second out in the 8th inning.

Mariano Rivera was honored before the game for breaking the record for career saves. Among the gifts presented to him was a portrait with 602 printed above his head and his baseball cards surrounding him. Jorge Posada commissioned the piece and the gift was from the team.


UPDATE 6:55 PM - The Angels chances are virtually done after they allowed four runs in the 9th inning and lost to Oakland 6-5. They remain 2.5 back of Boston with just three games to play.

Yankees Walk Tightrope To Win

Whether you are a fan of the Yankees or Red Sox, last night’s game between the two was not an easy one to watch. The teams played their usual three-and-a-half hour plus game, home plate Ed Rapuano squeezed the strike zone tighter than the Boston Strangler, the benches emptied, batters were hit and not hit, and the two team’s pitching staffs escaped jam after jam. In the end though it was the Yankees doing the celebrating in a 5-2 win.

Managers Joe Girardi and Terry Francona try to publicly downplay the games between the two, but make no mistake this was an important win for the Bronx Bombers. For one thing CC Sabathia finally beat the Red Sox after losing his first four starts against them this season. The 18 game winner was far from perfect and threw a whopping 128 pitches in six innings, but left the game with a 4-2 lead.

The Yankees offense had several chances to bust the game open against Red Sox starter John Lackey, but couldn’t deliver the knockout punch. They did manage to put five runs across home plate, four of them earned, in Lackey’s seven innings of work.

Eric Chavez gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the 2nd inning, but Jorge Posada bounced into an inning ending double play with two aboard. The 3rd inning had similar results when Robinson Cano and Chavez delivered RBI hits for a 3-0 lead, but Posada once again bounced into an inning ending twin killing.

Sabathia worked his way out of early trouble, he got Jacoby Ellsbury to ground out with the bases loaded and two down in the 2nd, but couldn’t escape the 4th inning unscathed. Carl Crawford got Boston on the board with a solo home run and Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Darnell McDonald followed with singles. Sabathia struck out Ellsbury, but Marco Scutaro doubled in a run to cut the Yankees lead to 3-2. Sabathia had first baseman Adrian Gonzalez's number all night and struck him out to preserve the lead. (Sabathia would strike Gonzalez out three times.)

Francisco Cervelli led off the 5th with a solo home run and ignited some fire in Lackey and the Red Sox. As Cervelli stepped on home plate he clapped his hands together hard right in front of Saltalamacchia. Cameras caught Lackey glaring at Cervelli as he walked back to the visitor’s dugout. The next time Cervelli stepped into the box, Lackey drilled him up high and the benches empty. Cervelli had choice words for both Lackey and Saltalamacchia and Sabathia also yelled at his counterpart. (When asked after the game what he said, Cervelli said I don’t remember; I forgot English at that point and a lot of Spanish came out.)

Things settled down on the field, but Sabathia continued to walk the fine line between holding the lead and getting knocked out of the box. David Ortiz reached on a one out single in the bottom of the 5th and Jed Lowrie followed with a double to put the tying runs in scoring position. Crawford hit a bullet, but right at Cano for the second out and Sabathia struck out Saltalamacchia to end another threat.

Sabathia’s pitch count was already up to 100, but with a shortened bullpen (David Robertson was unavailable), Girardi and pitching coach Larry Rothschild needed Sabathia to work another inning and the big lefty put up another goose egg on the scoreboard.

The bullpen had no easy time of either though. With Robertson out and Rafael Soriano pushed back to the 8th inning role, the Yankees relied on Corey Wade and Boone Logan to get them through the 7th inning. Wade retired Dustin Pedroia, but walked Ortiz and gave up a single to Lowrie. Logan came on to face Crawford, whose hot hitting continued with a lined single to left-center. The Yankees caught a break when Ortiz couldn’t get a good read on the ball and had to hold up at third base. Logan bounced back and K’ed Saltalamacchia and McDonald to get out of the jam.

Soriano was hit hard in the 8th, but turned the 5-2 lead over to Mariano Rivera in the 9th. Just like the rest of the game, the final inning wasn’t smooth sailing. Ortiz led off with a single to right that Nick Swisher played into a double. Rivera retired the next two hitters before hitting Saltalamacchia to bring the tying run to the plate. Earlier in the game Curtis Granderson appeared to be hit on the hand, but Rapuano ruled the ball hit the handle of the bat. Replays showed that it may very well have done both, but after inspecting Granderson’s hand, Rapuano stood by his call. When Saltalamacchia got hit he appeared to not be able to check his swing, which would result in a strike and negate the hit by pitch. But third base umpire Mark Wegner ruled that Saltalamacchia held up. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know Girardi was about to get tossed. He was before he even reached Wegner and unloaded the night’s frustrations on the ump.

Play resumed and Rivera retired pinch-hitter Josh Reddick on a line drive to left to earn his 35th save of the season. The Yankees cutter-man is now six saves away from 600 total and seven away from tying Trevor Hoffman for the all-time record.

NOTES

Nick Swisher had a perfect night at the plate with three hits and a walk. The right fielder has a .978 OPS since the All-Star break compared to .783 beforehand.


Alex Rodriguez received a cortisone shot in his left thumb and was hopeful he could return for Thursday’s finale in Boston, though the opener of the Toronto series at home on Friday is a more likely scenario.

Hughes And Everything You Wanted To Know About TOS...

The good news is that Phil Hughes may finally have a definitive diagnosis as to why he's got no pop on his fastball. The bad news is that for the moment local specialists believe Hughes is suffering from Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS).

According to the National Institute of Health, TOS "is a rare condition that involves pain in the neck and shoulder, numbness of the fingers, and a weak grip. The thoracic outlet is the area between the rib cage and collar bone."

"Blood vessels and nerves coming from the spine or major blood vessels of the body pass through a narrow space near the shoulder and collarbone on their way to the arms. As they pass by or through the collarbone (clavicle) and upper ribs, they may not have enough space.Pressure (compression) on these blood vessels or nerves can cause symptoms in the arms or hands.

Problems with the nerves cause almost all cases of thoracic outlet syndrome.Compression can be caused by an extra cervical rib (above the first rib) or an abnormal tight band connecting the spinal vertebra to the rib. Patients often have injured the area in the past or overused the shoulder.People with long necks and droopy shoulders may be more likely to develop this condition because of extra pressure on the nerves and blood vessels."

Hughes will be visiting the "go-to-guy", Dr. Robert William Thompson in St. Louis, to have the diagnosis confirmed or ruled out. A time table had not been set as of last night. Hughes had undergone several hours of tests before it was determined that TOS was the likeliest scenario.

Physical therapy is the first order of business in such a case to strengthen the outlying areas and improve range of motion. Meds may be added, such as a blood thinner. If symptoms don't improve than surgery is performed. Here's the "not-so-great" part. Surgery is successful in 50%-80% of patients. Not exactly a "sure thing" and disconcerting for a pitcher. Also some patients experienced weakened muscles. 5% of patients experience a recurrence.

The surgery may involve removing an extra rib and cutting certain muscles; removing part of the first rib; bypass surgery performed to reroute around the compression or remove the area causing the issues.

Texas Rangers pitcher Matt Harrison, Colorado Rockies hurler Aaron Cook, and Boston Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia are among those who have undergone the surgery. (The Texas Rangers in particular seem to have a problem with TOS; Saltalamacchia was with the Rangers at the time. Kenny Rogers, Hank Blalock, and John Rheinecker have all undergone the procedure as well. Blalock was the only non pitcher/catcher).

On the bright side when Rogers had his surgery he returned with an extra 4-5 mph on his fastball. Either way the recovery time can vary. But this is indeed a delicate condition to be dealt with.

AL '09 Rookie Preview - AL West

It's hump day, which means it's the first Spring Training game for the Yankees. Unfortunately it's neither on radio nor TV (not sure about MLBTV). It also means we continue our look at the American League rookie of the year candidates, this time focusing on the AL West.

Angels

Another team filled with the veterans, the Angels don't have too many openings on their roster. But they have been a team that isn't afraid to give a youngster a chance (just look at how they turned K-Rod loose on the AL).

Kendry Morales and Brandon Wood no longer have rookie status, but have a shot to win the corner infield spots. The number 5 spot in the rotation is the only area that a rookie has a real shot of staking a claim to. Nick Adenhart was up for a cup of coffee last season and looked over matched, but he'll get a chance this spring to be in the rotation. He struggled at Triple-A as well in '08, but put up solid numbers in the past, and at just 22 years of age, is still considered a prized prospect.

Athletics

The team traded away outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, first baseman Daric Barton is injured at the moment, brought in veterans Jason Giambi and Matt Holliday, and although Billy Beane will always play kids, there are just no openings in the lineup this season.

That could change though if a starting pitcher struggles, and left-hander Brett Anderson (ranked as the 7th best prospect in all of baseball by Baseball America) continues to emerge. For now, Anderson will start the season at Triple-A Sacramento after going 11-5 last season with 118 strikeouts in 105 innings pitched.

Rangers

Texas moved Michael Young to third base in order to give the starting shortstop job to Elvis Andrus. The 20-yr old has been in the organization since he was 16 years old and has never played above Double-A. But the numbers he put up in 118 games - .295 average, 65 RBI, and 53 steals - for the Frisco Rough Riders, caught the organization's attention. They also brought in veteran Omar Vizquel to tutor him.

Andrus will have a legitimate shot to win the AL Rookie of the Year. He won't be alone though. With the departure of Gerald Laird, Taylor Teagarden will battle Jarrod Saltalamacchia for the starting catching position.

Teagarden wow the Rangers front office last season, when he hit 6 home runs and drove in 17 runs in just 47 at-bats. (Can you imagine if Teagarden, Saltalamacchia, Chris Davis, and Nelson Cruz all lived up to their power potential?).

Mariners

The Mariners are another team loaded with veterans (and looking very mediocre). They're also a team that doesn't have any rookies ready to step in to a starting position on the near horizon.


Ranking the AL Central ROY Prospects

1. Elvis Andrus
2. Taylor Teagarden
3. Brett Anderson
4. Nick Adenhart