Baseball and Stuff – NL Starters, Tyler Pastornicky, Erik Komatsu, Matt Moore

Baseball and Stuff –  NL Starters, Tyler Pastornicky, Erik Komatsu, Matt Moore

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        Fangraphs ranked what they feel are the top NL pitchers, by tier level:

Tier One - Clayton Kershaw,  Roy Halladay

Tier Two - Cliff Lee, Tim Lincecum, Cole Hamels, Madison Bumgarner, Zack Greinke, Yovani Gallardo

Tier Three - Matt Cain, Matt Garza, Stephen Strasburg, Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, Mat Latos

Tier Four  - Jordan Zimmermann,  Adam Wainwright,  Tommy Hanson,  Gio Gonzalez,  Brandon Beachy

Tier Five - Cory Luebke,  Josh Johnson,  Johan Santana,  Anibal Sanchez,  Shaun Marcum,  Jaime Garcia

Tier Six - Mike Minor, Johnny Cueto, Juan Nicasio, Wandy Rodriguez

Tier Seven - Edwin Jackson, Jair Jurrjens, Jhoulys Chacin, Ted Lilly, Mark Buehrle, R.A. Dickey

Tier Eight - Ricky Nolasco, Ryan Dempster, Bud Norris, Vance Worley, Edinson Volquez

Tier Nine - Jonathon Niese, Erik Bedard, Drew Pomeranz, James McDonald, Dillon Gee, Trevor Cahill

Tier Ten - Mike Leake, Tim Stauffer, Randy Wolf, Tim Hudson, A.J. Burnett, Ryan Vogelsong, J.A. Happ

Tier Eleven  - Joe Blanton, Chad Billingsley, Jeff Samardzija, Jeff Karstens, Carlos Zambrano

Tier Twelve - Kyle Lohse, Paul Maholm, Bronson Arroyo, Clayton Richard, Tyler Chatwood,  Mike Pelfrey

·        Tyler Pastornicky, SS, Atlanta: Drafted in the fifth round by Toronto in 2008, Pastornicky came to Atlanta in the trade that sent Yunel Escobar to the Blue Jays for Alex Gonzalez. Gonzalez never panned out for the Braves, but Pastornicky begins this season as the team’s shortstop. A career .278/.345/.374 hitter in the minors, the 22-year-old is a line-drive hitter who makes consistent contact. He is an above-average defender who needs to show more consistency with his arm. He likely would have been called up to the major-league club last September had not a high-ankle sprain ended his season early  - link

·        Bobby Valentine signs with ESPN-1050 for weekly segment with M Kay 


      Torii Hunter - @toriihunter - My alarm went off in my house while I was in it. 20mins later I saw cops checking out the scene. Went outside and they drew thier guns on me. They didn't believe I lived here in Newport coast so they walked me upstairs at gunpoint to get my ID. When I showed him my ID, he said I'm an angel fan hope u guys have a great season. ARE U KIDDING ME!!!!!! Lol

·        The Cardinals placed Allen Craig on the disabled list, paving the way for Erik Komatsu to make the club as a reserve outfielder. St. Louis last carried a Rule 5 pick in 2008, when it kept another reserve outfielder, Brian Barton, for the entire season. Komatsu stole a team-high six bases this spring, and told MLB.com that speed is "a big part of my game, and I wanted to showcase that. With me being a guy who's on base a lot, my job is to get to second any way I can." The Brewers dealt Komatsu to the Nationals for Jerry Hairston Jr. at the trade deadline last year, and he batted .277/.367/.382 with 64 walks and 66 strikeouts in 448 at-bats for a pair of Double-A clubs. link

·        Matt Moore, LHP, Tampa Bay Rays -  Best Case: MLB.com's No. 1 prospect begins and ends the season as the Majors' best No. 4 starter in the Majors' best rotation. The lefty proves that his seven innings of two-hit ball opposite the Texas Rangers in the 2011 American League Division Series was merely a preview. He receives most of the AL Rookie of the Year votes and even steals a few in the Cy Young Award race from teammates David Price and Jeremy Hellickson. They forgive him. -  Worst Case: Moore's fastball straightens out, allowing batters to ignore his unhittable curveball. The 22-year-old hits a wall, is replaced on the staff by Wade Davis and finds himself back at Triple-A Durham looking for answers. He reaches his innings limit, in the range of 175, before he figures things out in time to help the Rays toward another postseason push. link