5/16/11

Drew Storen, Harmon Killebrew, Bryce Harper, Stephen Strassburg, Bryce Brentz, Yonder Alonso

Drew Storen: Storen, 23, wasting no time making it to the majors after being selected with the 10th overall pick in the 2009 amateur draft. He was a spot-closer as a rookie in 2010, recording five saves in 54 appearances. This year he’s taken over closing duties full-time and is next to unhittable. The righty has surrendered just one earned run all season in 19.2 innings (0.46 ERA) and has already topped his 2010 total with eight saves. This may be one of the best young closers in the game. bleacher report  



Harmon Killebrew: "It is with profound sadness that I share with you that my continued battle with esophageal cancer is coming to an end. With the continued love and support of my wife, Nita, I have exhausted all options with respect to controlling this awful disease. My illness has progressed beyond my doctors' expectation of cure. I have spent the past decade of my life promoting hospice care and educating people on its benefits. I am very comfortable taking this next step and experiencing the compassionate care that hospice provides. I am comforted by the fact that I am surrounded by my family and friends. I thank you for the outpouring of concern, prayers and encouragement that you have shown me. I look forward to spending my final days in comfort and peace with Nita by my side." mlb



Bryce Harper has received his fair share of attention over the years, coming as close to being labeled a prodigy as anyone in recent history. As a sophomore in high school, he was launching 500 foot home runs in Major League Stadiums. At 16 years old, Sports Illustrated put him on the cover of their magazine. At 17, he left high school a year early to compete with wood bats against Junior College players and hit 31 home runs, breaking the previous school record for homers in a season… which was 12. He also won the Golden Spikes award as the best amateur player in the country during the year in which he should have been a Junior in High School, and then was the first overall pick in the draft last summer. fangraphs



Stephen Strassburg: Washington Nationals righthander Stephen Strasburg is almost ready to throw off a mound as he continues to his recovery from Tommy John surgery, The Washington Post reports. Nationals pitching coach Steve McCatty told the newspaper that Strasburg "feels great." And McCatty added: "I know he's bored. I know he's probably going nuts. But he's sticking with it." Washington Nationals righthander Stephen Strasburg is almost ready to throw off a mound as he continues to his recovery from Tommy John surgery. (AP Photo)Strasburg's sensational rookie season (5-3, 2.91 ERA, 92 strikeouts in 68 innings) ended after just 12 starts last season when he felt discomfort in his elbow during an Aug. 21 outing. He had ligament-replacement surgery Sept. 3. The typical recovery and rehab period takes between 12 and 18 months. Sporting News



The Red Sox supplemental first-round pick last year, (Bryce) Brentz had a pretty disastrous pro debut—he finished the season at .198/.259/.340 with strikeouts in 29 percent of his at-bats. He's still striking out more than one would like, but he has cut his strikeout rate to 20 percent this year, and when he does make contact, he's stinging the ball. Brentz now has a 24-game hitting streak, which faced serious jeopardy on May 3 when he walked three times but managed to go 1-for-1 in his only official at-bat. He's had no such drama in the past four games with at least three hits in each game BA  


Yonder Alonso - I do believe it’s officially time to start a Free the Prospect campaign here. Alonso, the Reds’ top pick in 2008 (No. 7 overall) is just going off. Last week, he hit .433 (13-for-30) with a homer and 7 RBIs. In May, Alonso has hit .404 with a .475 OBP and .692 SLG. He’s got a 10-game hitting streak going and you can see his season stats below. Really a first baseman, he’s not going to see any time there in Cincy, so he’s been playing left field. Sure, Jonny Gomes has struggled, but there’s also Chris Heisey up there, so there doesn’t appear to be an opening for Alonso. For now, at least, he’ll have to just keep on raking in Triple-A. mlblogs  

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