Pro Baseball Blue Devils, 2016 Edition

[awhom111]

It's close enough to March, so we might as well start the thread.

Marcus Stroman of course will be expected to be a key player for the Blue Jays again.

For non-roster invitees to spring training, I have Chris Capuano with the Brewers, Greg Burke with the Phillies, Nate Freiman with the Braves, and Alex Hassan with the Dodgers.

Please let me know if I am missing anyone.

[awhom111]

Marcus Stroman starting Opening Day for the Blue Jays.

Chris Capuano pitched well all Spring for the Brewers so they made room for him on their 25 man roster.

It looks like everyone else will be minor league bound and we should get assignments soon.

[sagegrouse]

Marcus Stroman starting Opening Day for the Blue Jays.

Chris Capuano pitched well all Spring for the Brewers so they made room for him on their 25 man roster.

It looks like everyone else will be minor league bound and we should get assignments soon.

Freiman got traded to the Nationals' organization.

SI featured Stroman in its Baseball Preview of the Blue Jays:

[The Blue Jays have] a great lineup with a pretty good starting staff and Marcus Stroman as their No. 1 guy. He's a legitimate No. 1, too. He's only 5' 8", but he has intelligence, competitiveness, the ability to make adjustments, and he's got stuff. He's got a cutter, a changeup, and a really good slider.

[awhom111]

Some players have made their minor league debuts so I figured it was time for an update:

The Nationals have Nate Freiman at AAA Syracuse.
The Dodgers have Alex Hassan at AAA Oklahoma City.
Jordan Betts is back at the Red Sox High A affiliate in Salem.
The A's have Robert Huber at High A Stockton.
The Reds have Sarkis Ohanian at Low A Dayton.
The Phillies have Kenny Koplove at Low A Lakewood.

[awhom111]

Jordan Betts was promoted to AA Portland.

[awhom111]

Not a lot of good news in the minors even though things seem to be going well in the bigs.

Jordan Betts was demoted back to Salem.

Sarkis Ohanian and Kenny Koplove have headed back to extended spring training presumably to wait until short season leagues start.

Nate Freiman is now out of the system period and has been playing with Long Island in the independent Atlantic League.

[Reilly]

...

Nate Freiman is now out of the system period and has been playing with Long Island in the independent Atlantic League.

Per Wikipedia, the Red Sox picked him up yesterday and assigned him to the minors.

[awhom111]

Per Wikipedia, the Red Sox picked him up yesterday and assigned him to the minors.

After the couple of days needed to sort everything out, he made his debut at AA Portland.

[awhom111]

Kenny Koplove is playing again at Lakewood.

[awhom111]

Chris Capuano was put on the DL last week.

The A's have demoted Robert Huber to Low A Beloit.

[awhom111]

The draft starts on Thursday with MLB Network coverage starting at 7:00pm ET.

Alex Hassan was played on the DL.

Sarkis Ohanian was moved back to Dayton.

[jimsumner]

The draft starts on Thursday with MLB Network coverage starting at 7:00pm ET.

Alex Hassan was played on the DL.

Sarkis Ohanian was moved back to Dayton.

Bailey Clark and Will Benson are the names for Duke fans to watch for in the draft.

Clark is a big right-handed pitcher who just finished his junior year at Duke. He was considered a top-50 pick coming into the season but struggled with command. But he's 6-5, 225 and hits the mid-90s on the radar gun.

Benson is a 6-6, 220-pound high school player from the Westminster Schools in Atlanta. He signed with Duke in the fall but is projected to be a first-round pick, perhaps a mid-first-round pick.
Going to be tough to turn down first-round money. I mentioned elsewhere that he has talked about playing hoops at Duke. No sure how likely that would be or how much of an inducement that would be.

Grad-student pitchers Brian McAfee and (maybe) Kellen Urbon are late-round possibilities.

[jimsumner]

Cleveland picked Benson as the 14th pick in the first round.

[chrishoke]

Well damn.

[awhom111]

Rounds 3-10 will be covered on mlb.com on Friday starting at 12:30pm ET.

[jimsumner]

The Cubs selected Bailey Clark in the fifth round.

[awhom111]

Day 3 is always my favorite. Rounds 11 through 50 on mlb.com starting at 12:00pm ET on Saturday.

[jv001]

The Cubs selected Bailey Clark in the fifth round.

It can't get much worse. My Cardinals draft a pitcher from UNcheat and then the cublets draft a Blue Devil. Well, I do like the Cubs a lot more than I like the cheats. Hey, I don't even like the cheats. GoRedbirds and GoDuke!

[DangerDevil]

Cleveland picked Benson as the 14th pick in the first round.

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/183122082/indians-draft-will-benson-14th-in-first-round

"I'm definitely going to sign," Benson said at the Draft. "I'm definitely going to Cleveland. That's without a doubt."

[chrishoke]

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/183122082/indians-draft-will-benson-14th-in-first-round

"I'm definitely going to sign," Benson said at the Draft. "I'm definitely going to Cleveland. That's without a doubt."

Qualifies as a no-brainer.