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Bryce Harper Up in 2012?? Thomas Boswell, Washington Post The Nats' decision to make a major free...

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Bryce Harper Up in 2012?? Thomas Boswell, Washington Post The Nats' decision to make a major free agent splash this winter, rather than next, is probably connected to Harper's strong showing in the Arizona Fall League. Only the rare Mickey Mantle or Ken Griffey Jr., has proved to be big league ready at age 19. But the Nats have opened the door for the possibility. Wow. I had the thought that Harper would be up in mid-2012, but this leads me to believe that he could start the season in Washington, and possibly in centerfield. I will post something on this on Minor League Ball on Sunday. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/15/AR2010121506833.html

Top Guys In the Minors Kevin Goldstein, ESPN Bryce Harper, OF Washington Nationals No pro...

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Top Guys In the Minors Kevin Goldstein, ESPN Bryce Harper, OF Washington Nationals No pro debut is more anticipated than that of Harper, who remains possibly the most hyped prospect in the history of the game. The terrifying thing about him is this: from his amateur career, to his one year of junior college baseball to his brief stint in the Arizona Fall League, he's exceeded nearly unrealistic expectations at every opportunity, so the same could occur at Low-A Hagerstown, which is Harper's most likely starting point. Forty home runs is hardly out of the question. 40 Homers this year? Where does he end the season? High A or AA?

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove10/insider/news/story?id=6098276

Neftali Feliz to start in 2011? Nick Cafardo, Boston Globe The big spring decision will be whether...

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Neftali Feliz to start in 2011? Nick Cafardo, Boston Globe The big spring decision will be whether to transition Rookie of the Year closer Neftali Feliz into the rotation. That would push Derek Holland back to the bullpen, and Frank Francisco and Alexi Ogando would compete for the closer role. "As of right now, we’re going to bring [Feliz] into camp and give him an opportunity to stretch himself out,’’ said Washington. "And if he shows us he’s better fitted with our ball club to start, then we’ll go in that direction. "If not, we know he can close ballgames and we’re very happy with that.’’ Frank Francisco, Alexi Ogando or Tanner Scheppers to close? www.bostonglobe.com

Jim Callis' Top 4 Prospects for 2011 My top four, in order: Trout, Harper, Montero, Teheran....

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Jim Callis' Top 4 Prospects for 2011 My top four, in order: Trout, Harper, Montero, Teheran. @diooony: Best prospect in baseball? #Angels #Nationals #Yankees #Braves about 17 hours ago via HootSuite I am not surprised with his Top 4. Curious where Dom Brown would be? 5? Jim Callis' Top 4 Prospects for 2011

Cincinnati.com's John Fay on Reds second base prospect Billy Hamilton I think the surprise on...

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Cincinnati.com's John Fay on Reds second base prospect Billy Hamilton I think the surprise on Baseball America’s list is having Billy Hamilton at No. 2. Hamilton may be the most interesting prospect in the system because of his potential to be a leadoff man. He opened some eyes with the year he had at Billings — .318/.383/. with 48 steals in 69 games — but I would not have guessed he would have moved that far up the list. During an online chat, J.J. Cooper, who wrote the Reds’ piece for BA, was asked about Hamilton being ahead of Devin Mesoraco. Cooper’s answer: "Understandably that is probably the one "surprising" ranking in the Top 10. I can definitely see arguments for Mesoraco at No. 2, after all, you’re comparing a guy who slugged .600+ and made it to Triple-A versus a guy who’s yet to play full-season ball. But everyone I talked to couldn’t stop raving about Hamilton and his potential. Several scouts I talked to viewed Hamilton as having more long-term potential than Mesoraco, and said they have Hamilton ranked higher than Mesoraco. That’s not meant as a rip on Mesoraco, but there are some reasons to be concerned still with the catcher. Before his outstanding 2010, Mesoraco had struggled at the plate for most of the previous 2 1/2 seasons and he’s had a series of injury problems. And as mentioned before, there are scouts who think he still has some work to do on his receiving before he’s big league ready. Mesoraco is definitely a safer pick as the No. 2 guy in the system, but this is more of a case of Hamilton’s significant potential more than a knock on Mesoraco. I’ll be the first to say I could be wrong, but I expect Hamilton to be one of the breakout prospects of the 2011 season." Hamilton has at least 3 years before he sees the majors, but in 283 at bats in 2010, he stole 48 bases. Um, that's alot! http://cincinnati.com/blogs/reds/2011/01/06/surprised-by-hamilton/

Future Shock: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Top 11 Prospects On Trout - In speaking with scouts,...

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Future Shock: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Top 11 Prospects On Trout - In speaking with scouts, does he have the best chance of any minor leaguer to become a 30-30 guy? Better hitting Grady Sizemore, are you referring to his futre batting average and do you believe he's a guy that can hit .300+? Jan 06, 2011 07:10 AMlinkinappropriate?rating: 0 ( + / - )Post Reply Kevin Goldstein BP staff (27460) I think he's going to have a very interesting career path, and we talk about it in-depth in this week's podcast. I think He's going to be a 20/40 type when he gets to the bigs, peak around 30/30 and then the speed with slide (not that he'll ever get slow or anything). A healthy Grady Sizemore, huh? 20-40!! Does he get drafted in mixed leagues this year? http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=12680

Baseball predictions for 2011 Joe Sheehan, SI Breakout stars. We thrilled last season to the...

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Baseball predictions for 2011 Joe Sheehan, SI Breakout stars. We thrilled last season to the emergence of players such as Joey Votto, Carlos Gonzalez and David Price, all taking steps forward to become stars, even award candidates. Players who may make that leap in 2011 include Braves starter Tommy Hanson, Rockies center fielder Dexter Fowler, A's starter Brett Anderson and Reds center fielder Drew Stubbs. I will post something similar in 2011, along with sleepers and bust candidates. I agree with 3 of the 4 players he lists will breakout in 2011. Just not sold on Fowler yet. I've been wrong before. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/joe_sheehan/12/20/2011.predictions/index.html#ixzz19o1KFaW5

Domonic Brown to start 2011 in AAA? The Zo Zone Todd Zolecki Interestingly, Amaro spoke of a...

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Domonic Brown to start 2011 in AAA? The Zo Zone Todd Zolecki Interestingly, Amaro spoke of a potential platoon in right field involving Ben Francisco and Ross Gload - not mentioning Domonic Brown, who hit just .069 in nine Dominican Winter Ball games before returning home last week. Asked if he would prefer Brown to play every day than split time in the big leagues, Amaro said, "If we had our druthers we'd rather put Domonic in a position to get the at-bats that he kind of lost last year and prepare himself to improve his outfield play, base running, etc. In a perfect world, we don't need Domonic to make our club, unless he really pushes us, unless he shows us in Spring Training that he's ready to take that next step." Amaro has only himself to blame after not sending Brown back to AAA when Shane Victorino returned from the DL in August. http://zozone.mlblogs.com/archives/2010/12/winter_meetings_day_1_so_far.html

Dee Gordon Responds to Fake Teams article Man, I'm excited - http://sbn.to/e9UbWH about 9 hours...

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Dee Gordon Responds to Fake Teams article Man, I'm excited - http://sbn.to/e9UbWH about 9 hours ago via web And Dodgers fans are excited to see you in the next year or so, Dee. http://twitter.com/deegordon

ESPN's Jason Grey on Mariners hitting prospect Dustin Ackley Ackley's plus speed -- he has been...

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ESPN's Jason Grey on Mariners hitting prospect Dustin Ackley Ackley's plus speed -- he has been timed at 4.12 from home to first base here, making him close to a 70 runner on the 20-to-80 scouting scale in terms of raw speed -- wasn't necessarily reflected in his 10-for-13 steals numbers this year in 134 games, but I do expect him to make base-stealing a bigger part of his game this season, and he did mention he's starting to look for more opportunities. Ackley could see some time in Seattle in the second half of 2011 if he can show some improvement at second base. He appears to be a .300 BA, .400 OBP and 20+ SB guy at second base, with little power.