HBT: Jose Reyes denies the team's diagnosis  that he has an overactive thyroid

HBT: Twins closer Joe Nathan has a torn UCL, and the team will let him decide whether to have surgery. But it doesn't look good.

VIERA, Fla. -- Stephen Strasburg made that look easy. Facing major league hitters for the first time, the ballyhooed righthander pitched two scoreless innings against the Tigers with little trouble and no 100-mph fastballs.

The phenom had a pretty good idea where his pitches were going Tuesday.

Aside from the overflowing photograph wells and overcrowded press box, this was not unlike a typical Tuesday afternoon spring-training game. Sun Coast Stadium was a little more than half-full, the temperature was in the mid-60s, and any buzz in the park likely was felt only by those enjoying their adult beverages.

Still, he was glad to have his first outing out of the way, even if it was just spring training.

"Absolutely," he said. "There was a lot of anticipation going on. It's in the books, and now I can worry about my next outing and what I can do to prepare for that."

Strasburg allowed a couple of two-out singles to Tigers backups in the second inning and fell behind the next hitter, Brent Dlugach, 3-0. Then the 21-year-old with the $15.1 million contract got serious. The next three pitches were called strikes -- the last two nasty changeups -- and Strasburg's debut was done.

Two innings, two hits, two strikeouts, zero walks. His performance was over in less than half an hour.

According to stadium scoreboard readings, Strasburg's first pitch was clocked at 97 mph, and he touched 98 a couple of times but didn't reach triple digits on this day. He threw 15 strikes among his 27 pitches.

His most effective pitch was a 98-mph high fastball that struck out slugger Miguel Cabrera. "He threw me two breaking balls in a row, so I was waiting for the fastball, but when you're out of balance, it's tough to hit," Cabrera said. "What you read about him is true. He's real. You don't see that kind of pitcher every year."

Starting for the Tigers was Rick Porcello, who actually is younger than Strasburg but already has pitched a full year in the majors. Porcello won 14 games with a 3.96 ERA as a 20-year-old rookie in 2009. Any advice for a fellow phenom?

"It looks like he has a pretty good idea right now," Porcello said.

Good enough to make his debut look routine.

Stan McNeal is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at smcneal@sportingnews.com.

VIERA, Fla. — Top draft pick Stephen Strasburg has made his spring training debut for the Washington Nationals, pitching two scoreless innings against the Detroit Tigers.

Starting for Washington, Strasburg threw 15 of his 27 pitches for strikes and allowed two hits, successive two-out singles by Don Kelly and Alex Avila in the second. But the right-hander finished off Brent Dlugach with a bending, 81 mph breaking ball for an inning-ending strikeout.

Strasburg's four-seam fastball was consistently measured in the 97-98 mph range and he struck out two Tuesday. But he had some problems with location and threw first-pitch strikes to only two of the eight batters he faced.

Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

There isn't an "under new management" sign hanging at Wrigley Field, but the Cubs finally have a new owner in place in Tom Ricketts. Ricketts has big plans for stadium improvements, with the clubhouse apparently first on the list in terms of upgrades. Players no longer will have to walk on eggshells now that the brief Milton Bradley era is history. The biggest question about the Cubs, of course, remains the same: Is this the year?

P Carlos Zambrano is one of two high-profile Cubs who shed weight in the offseason.

1. Who will hit leadoff?
For the first time since 2007, it won't be Alfonso Soriano, at least according to manager Lou Piniella. Miscast as the table-setter for several seasons -- often out of necessity because of the team's lack of alternatives -- Soriano was dropped in the order during the 2009 season and now is penciled into the sixth spot. Soriano's knee problems will limit the stolen-base ability that once made him attractive atop the order, and his power will result in better run production in the heart of the order.

One thing is clear: The team needs improvement from the 1-hole. Last season, Cubs leadoff hitters finished 27th in the majors with a .249 batting average and 21st with a .335 on-base percentage. Ryan Theriot is the front-runner for the job because, unlike Kosuke Fukudome, he will be an everyday fixture in the lineup. Theriot did a nice job -- .283 average, .354 on-base percentage -- in 194 plate appearances as the Cubs' leadoff man in 2009.

2. Will less mean more?
Each trying to bounce back from a forgettable season, ace Carlos Zambrano and catcher Geovany Soto, the 2008 NL rookie of the year, worked hard to get into better shape over the offseason. Soto dropped close to 40 pounds, after dropping 67 points from his batting average last season. Zambrano, whose nine wins in 2009 were a career low for a full season, lost about 15 pounds.

Fitting into their skinny jeans is a nice payoff, but the main thing to glean here is the players' dedication to improvement. Especially in the case of Zambrano, whose stuff and ability have been questioned far less than his drive. "I can tell you he's got a lot of pride and he took to heart what happened last season," pitching coach Larry Rothschild said. As for Soto, he might not hit 23 homers (as he did in 2008), but his .381 slugging percentage is bound to tick upward.

3. Is the ninth inning in safe hands?
The Cubs ended the Kevin Gregg experiment by mid-August last season, following his sixth blown save. Carlos Marmol assumed the ninth-inning duties at that point and went 11-for-11 in save opportunities to finish the season. However, he wasn't always squeaky-clean in the process. The knock on Marmol -- and perhaps the reason he didn't begin the 2009 season in the closer role -- is his questionable control. During his impressive end-of-season run, he walked 13 batters in 17 2/3 innings. For the season, he issued 65 free passes in 74 innings.

Not only does the recent shoulder injury to setup man Angel Guzman significantly weaken the team's eighth-inning situation, it eliminates a potential Plan B if Marmol should struggle.

Projected lineup
1. SS Ryan Theriot: Averaged 24 SBs past three seasons.
2. RF Kosuke Fukudome: .164 AVG vs. lefties; .270 vs. righties.
3. 1B Derrek Lee: Career-high 111 RBIs in '09; in contract year.
4. 3B Aramis Ramirez: Career-best .389 OBP in injury-marred '09.
5. CF Marlon Byrd: Led Rangers with 89 RBIs last season.
6. LF Alfonso Soriano: Career-worst .726 OPS in '09.
7. C Geovany Soto: Hit into 19 double plays (second among Cs).
8. 2B Mike Fontenot: .246 OBP vs. lefties.

Projected rotation
1. RHP Carlos Zambrano: 1.37 WHIP worst among Cubs' 09 SPs.
2. RHP Ryan Dempster: 4.09 ERA in first half; 3.15 after break.
3. RHP Randy Wells: Rookie's 3.05 ERA was rotation's best in '09.
4. LHP Tom Gorzelanny:5.19 ERA after trade to Cubs last season.
5. RHP Jeff Samardzija: 10.80 ERA in 2 starts in '09.

Projected closer
RHP Carlos Marmol: Held hitters to a .170 AVG

Offense: B. The Cubs went from second to 22nd in runs scored and from third to 16th in OBP last season. If Soriano and Aramis Ramirez are healthy, the lineup compares favorably to any in the NL, especially after the offseason addition of Marlon Byrd. But those are big "ifs," as is the production at the bottom and top of the order.

Pitching: C. The big concern is Ted Lilly, who is expected to begin the season on the disabled list after offseason shoulder surgery and knee problems this spring. But the developing late-inning drama also is a worry.

Bench: A. Xavier Nady was signed as the fourth outfielder but should be no worse than a platoon player in right field (and perhaps the starter). On the infield, Jeff Baker is in a similar situation, as he could overtake Mike Fontenot for the starting job at second. Micah Hoffpauir provides pop and can play first base as well as the corner outfield spots.

Manager: B. Lou Piniella has guided the team to the postseason twice in his three seasons at the helm, but has no playoff wins to show for it. This could be his final season in a Cubs uniform, and he has enough talent – and doesn't have the Bradley headache -- for another postseason run.

Sporting News prediction: After winning back-to-back NL Central titles in 2007-08, the Cubs are destined for a second consecutive second-place finish. But they should be squarely in the mix for the NL wild card.

Coming Wednesday: Brewers preview.

Chris Bahr is a senior editor for Sporting News. E-mail him at cbahr@sportingnews.com.

The Jackie Robinson Foundation will honor Selig at its awards banquet tonight in New York with a Robie Award, given to "individuals who embody the humanitarian ideals of Jackie Robinson." Selig, a self-described American history buff who calls Robinson breaking baseball's color barrier in 1947 "one of the most important moments of the 20th century," recently spoke about the honor -- and its namesake -- with Sporting News' Ryan Fagan.

Bud Selig has been baseball commissioner since 1992.

Bud Selig: I've often said that I think baseball's proudest, most meaningful moment was April 15, 1947. When I think what Branch Rickey did, who I have deep admiration for, after all, think about this: He did it before the Civil Rights movement, per se, he did it before Harry Truman desegregated the United States Army, he did it before the famed Brown vs. the Board of Education decision. It's remarkable.

And Jackie, under incredible pressure, pressure that -- I've talked to a lot of people about this over the years -- was just stunning. And he made it, and it was just a remarkable chapter in baseball history.

So here, a man that I admire so much and to get their historic lifetime achievement award, given how I feel, I must tell you, is a wonderful honor. And I'm really deeply touched by it.

SN: Baseball retired Robinson's number in 1997. Where does that rank on the list of accomplishments during your time as commissioner?

BS: Very high. I'm very proud of the wild card and revenue sharing the interleague play and the whole restructuring of the game, and our Internet company and our channel. But the favorite part of my career, which is 45 years old now, is what I call the sociological part.

The impact that this sport has in society is remarkable, absolutely remarkable. Its history is revered like no other history. Here's the whole Jackie Robinson situation, which I don't think had been really properly honored. So that was a decision, when you look back on it, you wonder why there was ever any hesitation. I'm obviously very proud of it.

'It was remarkable what a great athlete he (Jackie Robinson) was,' Selig says.

BS: Courage. I did something way back when in my career; I talked to a lot of people who played with him, played against him or had roles in either a negative sense or who had been sorry for what they had done. I wanted to hear from people who witnessed the abuse that he took, witnessed the pressures.

I don't think he'd mind if I tell you, but Dixie Walker, who was with the Milwaukee Braves in the '60s when I was just breaking in -- I got to know Dixie real well. I used to talk to him about that because I was fascinated back then about Jackie Robinson. I was fortunate to see him here, and in Brooklyn, I went to some games in the late '40s, and I saw him play in Chicago. I saw him play in Wrigley Field in 1947, the first trip in. A friend of mine went down to the game, as we often did.

I must tell you, one thing I say about (Jackie), and against the Braves, even against the great players like (Warren) Spahn and (Lew) Burdette ... he was the most electrifying player I've ever seen. He wasn't the greatest player I've ever seen, but certainly a Hall of Famer. And think about this, what a great athlete he was. Didn't get his chance in the big leagues until I believe he was 28. But in football, there were people who said he was better than Kenny Washington. Think about that. Kenny Washington was a great player, and he was just ... it was remarkable what a great athlete he was.

SN: What else comes to mind?

BS: He took a lot of abuse, even in the service. You read the stories -- and I've read every book on Jackie Robinson, and I've talked to (his wife) Rachel about it -- about the trip in '46 when he first went to get ready for the International League season, and how they had to ride buses and they were rejected out of homes they had to live in.

But think of the pressure on him, and because he made it, there was a Hank Aaron, who happens to be a very close friend of mine as you probably know, and Willie Mays and Bob Gibson and Willie Stargell and on and on and on. He really changed America in so many ways. To get an honor like this from the Jackie Robinson Foundation is very, very meaningful.

Ryan Fagan is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at rfagan@sportingnews.com, and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ryan_fagan.

Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Rockies

From now through the beginning of the regular season, we will not be posting in-depth round-tables previewing each division like we have in years past. Instead we will feature brief back-and-forths with "stakeholders" from all 30 teams. A collection of bloggers, analysts, mainstream writers and senior front office personnel will join us to discuss a specific team's hopes for 2010. Some will be in-depth, some light, some analytical, some less so but they should all be fun to read and we are thrilled about the lineup of guests we have teed up. Today it's Oakland Athletics Assistant General Manager, David Forst.

Patrick Sullivan: Well David, the bad news for 2009 was that you were a last place club. But a 17-10 record in September, just a -2 run differential for the year and a lot of young talent say to me that there's reason for optimism in Oakland . Are you guys comfortable with how you're currently positioned?

David Forst: Well, I think the nature of this job is such that you?re never comfortable where you?re at and that you?re always looking for a way to improve. Having said that, I think we were all happy with the way the team performed over the last two months of the 2009 season and particularly how some of our individual young players progressed at the Major League level. That?s not to say that we don?t still have a lot of work to do as an organization - we play in a division that has the potential to be the most evenly-matched from top to bottom in the game. And, despite having added some important veteran pieces (Ben Sheets, Coco Crisp, Kevin Kouzmanoff, et al) this winter, we are still a young team. But, it?s a young team that we?re excited about seeing on the field in 2010 and certainly beyond that.

PS: The AL West is getting ridiculous. Texas comes off 87 wins, adds Vladimir Guerrero and Rich Harden, and develops/graduates yet more top homegrown talent. Everyone knows about what Seattle has done this off-season, and I am convinced that the Angels one way or another will never again win less than 85 games. I can't imagine it changes your approach, you always want to be as good as you can be, but can you speak to the competitive dynamics taking shape in your division?

DF: You?re right ? it doesn?t change our approach. We just don?t have the resources to react to every move our competition makes the way some of the teams in the AL East do. But, it?s also not like we got caught by surprise by the fact that there are other teams in our division who have money to spend and have smart people making the decisions on how to spend it. And that?s why we had to be somewhat pro-active this offseason in identifying pieces that fit what we?re trying to do and then be aggressive in pursuing them. Some of them worked out; Jake Fox, Coco Crisp, and Adam Rosales were all players we had discussed even before 2009 ended as guys we wanted to find a way to acquire. Some of them didn?t happen; it?s no secret we pursued players like Marco Scutaro, Adrian Beltre, and Aroldis Chapman, only to lose out after making what we thought were very competitive offers. But, the other piece of that puzzle was being in a position to pursue a guy like Ben Sheets. We?ve spent a few years now developing young, major league-ready players to fill our roster so that, when the time came to outbid everyone on a top of the rotation guy like Ben, we?d have the financial flexibility to do it. So, to answer your original question ? we definitely know what a competitive and evenly matched division the AL West is going to be, not just in 2010, but in the years beyond, and we?re constantly doing what we can to be competitive for the long term.

PS: Without venturing into the proprietary or confidential, can you talk about Ben's medicals? What ultimately gave you guys the comfort to pull the trigger there?

DF: First of all, any time you?re talking about pitchers, there?s no such thing as a guarantee when it comes to medicals. Plenty of pitchers who have been healthy for years are just one throw away from something that?s going to force them to miss time. So, it?s all degrees of confidence and certainty when you?re talking about investing significant dollars in a pitcher. In Ben?s case, we were obviously comfortable enough with what we read and what we saw to make the financial offer that we did. Without getting too much into details, we sent two people (Billy Owens, our Director of Player Personnel, and Gil Patterson , our Minor League Pitching Coordinator) to see Ben throw only after our trainers and doctors had read his medical file and signed off on it to that point (almost 11 months post-op). What we were hoping to see was a workout that matched what we were reading on paper, and that was part of why we sent Gil. He has as much experience with rehab, both as a pitcher himself coming up in the Yankees system and as a coach who has helped numerous pitchers come back from surgery over the past 25 years, as anyone in the game. What we saw on video and got back in the form of a report was that, what Ben was able to do off the mound that day in Monroe was just as good an indicator of how healthy is he as the written medical files were. Add to that a positive exam and MRI with our orthopedist in Oakland , and we were as comfortable as we could possibly be with Ben. Like I said earlier, all you can do with pitchers is just be as certain as possible. The next person who comes up with a fool-proof way of predicting every injury will be the first.

PS: Can we talk about your outfield? Would you have traded Aaron Cunningham without Coco Crisp in the fold? What are you guys thinking about for a Michael Taylor ETA? Whither Travis Buck? How pissed will you be if even one fly ball lands on the outfield grass? I imagine you guys are excited about your outfield defense with Rajai Davis and Ryan Sweeney flanking Coco. I'm throwing a lot at you, but just some general thoughts about the state of the A's outfield would be great.

DF: Well, I will admit, it certainly looks crowded out there right now. But, as we?ve found out the last few years, these things have a way of sorting themselves out. There?s no doubt that outfield defense (and defense in general) was a priority for us of late, and with the possibility of Sweeney, Crisp, and Davis out there at the same time, we feel really good about the prospects of turning some doubles into outs. The rest of the candidates out there are no slouches either ? we think Taylor has a chance to be an above average corner guy, Travis has put a lot of effort into his defense over the last year and made a lot of improvement, and Gabe Gross has always done a good job at all 3 OF spots. Bob has a lot of good options when it comes to the outfield, and we always say that having too many good, healthy major league players is never a problem.

PS: Thanks a lot, David. To wrap things up, could you just discuss what, if any, overarching goals the A's Baseball Ops staff has on a year to year basis? I am from Boston and a lifelong Red Sox fan, and we hear Theo discuss the goal of putting a product on the field every year capable of winning 95 games. Understanding you don't have Boston's resources at your disposal, 95 wins annually may be too much of a stretch. But what is it that you guys are trying to do year in and year out?

DF: Without sounding incredibly boring and cliché, our goal every year is to win the division. That?s what we get paid to do and that?s what our fans expect. Last time I checked, they don?t hand out trophies for Best Trade or Best Looking Prospects or Most Marginal Wins by Payroll (trust me, we?ve tried on that one). At the same time, we are aware of our resources and the balancing act that needs to be done so that we?re not sacrificing the success of future teams. Every front office in the game wants to have a team that is competitive each and every season. But, in a market like ours, if we misread where our club is in the ?Success Cycle,? we run the risk of setting the franchise back years. So, we?re constantly assessing the current club, the options available to us to make improvements for the ?now? and for the future, and having to decide what gives the A?s the best chance to be successful for an extended period of time. I hope that helps explain at least a little bit what we?re ?trying to do year in and year out.?

PS: Thanks again, David, and good luck to the A's in 2010.

Some of the rationale for extending Josh Beckett that I have come across hinges on comparing Beckett to his new teammate, John Lackey. This makes sense, since they are just about the same age and are similar pitchers in many regards. The conclusion most often drawn, however, looks off-base to me. Yes, the Beckett decision has a lot to do with Lackey. No, the Red Sox should not sign Josh Beckett because they signed John Lackey.

Each off-season presents its own set of challenges and opportunities. This off-season, the Red Sox thought that allocating a large chunk of their free-agent spend towards a marquee starting pitcher on the wrong side of 30 was a good idea. Since Beckett is probably a tick better than John Lackey and is himself set to enter free agency after the 2010 season, one school of thought is that the Red Sox? logic would somehow be inconsistent were they to choose to let Beckett walk just one season after bringing aboard Lackey. It?s a dream storyline for talk radio, and you can be sure they?ll be ready to pounce in 2011 and beyond should Lackey falter and Beckett excel wearing some other uniform.

All a front office sets out to do is maximize their team?s chances for short term and long term success. And as I noted the last time I addressed the topic of a possible Beckett extension, signing pitchers over the age of 30 to long-term contracts is risky. Signing two of them, having as much as 25% of your annual payroll tied up in two aging starters, is even more risky. Should Beckett walk, it?s no indictment of his pitching. Instead, it will have simply been the wrong time for the Red Sox and Beckett to strike a long-term deal. Given a choice of Beckett or Lackey for the next five seasons, maybe Boston would have chosen Beckett if he was a free agent after 2009. But he wasn?t, Lackey was, the Red Sox wanted another pitcher and Lackey was available. Now Boston must manage their longer-term prudently, which could mean letting Beckett go.

And so while the sports radio guys salivate at the chance to tell you that ?YOU HAVE TO SIGN BECKETT IF YOU SIGN LACKEY?, the reality goes something more like this. If you sign Lackey, you had better think long and hard before you decide two aging starting pitchers should account for 20-25% of your payroll. As Craig Calcaterra said on the topic, ?it?s just business.?

Last week, we took a look at the Rookie of the Year candidates in the National League. This week, we're looking at the top MLB-ready (or almost ready) prospects in the American League. There are some impressive players on the cusp on the Major Leagues for 2010 so it should be an exciting race in the season to come.

Early 2010 Rookie Favorites

Brian Matusz, LHP, Baltimore
2009 Peak Level: Majors
2010 Roadblock: David Hernandez

One of the top 2008 draft picks, Matusz more than held his own in an eight-game trial at the Major League level in '09. He posted a 4.08 FIP in 44.2 innings. The southpaw showed solid control with a walk rate of 2.82 BB/9 and he missed some bats (7.66 K/9). On the downside, he allowed a lot of hits (52) and produced a low ground-ball rate (31.2%), which led to a HR/9 rate of 1.21. With that said, he's well positioned to take over the No. 4 starter spot - right behind Brad Bergesen and one spot ahead of sophomore Chris Tillman - in the Orioles rotation in 2010.

Scott Sizemore, 2B, Detroit
2009 Peak Level: Triple-A
2010 Roadblock: Ramon Santiago

The Tigers organization has not afforded many opportunities to rookies over the past few years but Sizemore is one of two prospects that should see regular playing time in the field. The 25-year-old second baseman will be making his MLB debut if he makes the club out of spring training as expected. Last season, he split the year between double-A and triple-A. At the senior level, he hit .308/.378/.473 in 292 at-bats. Overall, he slammed 17 homers and stole 21 bases (in 25 tries) on the year. Sizemore saw an increase in both his power and speed numbers in '09 so we must be cautious in our expectations: a .270 batting average with 10 homers and 15 steals is probably a good start.

Austin Jackson, OF, Detroit
2009 Peak Level: Triple-A
2010 Roadblock: Clete Thomas

Part of the loot for Curtis Granderson, the 23-year-old outfielder spent all of '09 in triple-A but would have reached the Majors in '09 for most clubs. Jackson hit .300/.354/.405 in 504 at-bats. His power numbers were down last year (.105 ISO) but he showed good speed on the base paths and nabbed 24 bases in 28 attempts. On the downside of Jackson's game, he doesn't walk enough for a top-of-the-order hitter (7.2%) and he strikes out too much for his modest power (24.4%). Defensively, he has good range in center field.

Wade Davis, RHP, Tampa Bay
2009 Peak Level: Majors
2010 Roadblock: Andy Sonnanstine

Davis, 24, impressed a lot of people with his first six MLB starts. In 36.1 innings of work, he allowed 33 hits and posted a walk rate of 3.22 BB/9. He also had a solid strikeout rate at 8.92 K/9 and his FIP was 2.90. There is some concern around the fact that he allowed a 25% line-drive rate and he'll likely need to use his secondary pitches a little more in '09 after favoring his heater (74.2% of the time). When he used it, his curveball was a valuable pitch. The Rays have an exciting, young rotation with James Shields, Matt Garza, Jeff Niemann, David Price, and Davis. Right-hander Jeremy Hellickson is also not far away.

Neftali Feliz, RHP, Texas
2009 Peak Level: Majors
2010 Roadblock: Tommy Hunter

After a lights-out debut as a reliver in '09, there has been some talk that the Rangers should just leave Feliz, 21, in the 'pen so he can dominate hitters. Luckily, the club has decided not to do that, though. Feliz' ceiling is even higher than Joba Chamberlain (who has been in a similar situation with the Yankees) but the Rangers organization desperately needs reliable starting pitching. In '09, Feliz gave up just 13 hits in 31.0 innings and showed good control for his experience level (2.32 BB/9). Along with a .129 batting-average-against, the right-hander posted a strikeout rate of 11.32 K/9 and had a tiny line-drive rate of just 4.6%.

The Sleepers

Michael Brantley, OF, Cleveland
2009 Peak Level: Majors
2010 Roadblock: Matt LaPorta/Russell Branyan

The recent signing of Russell Branyan hurts Brantley. The outfielder could now lose playing time to Matt LaPorta (a natural first baseman) who will likely get at-bats in left field in 2010, like he did in '09. Brantley will certainly not push Grady Sizemore out of center or Shin-Soo Choo out of right. As the fourth outfielder, though, Brantley could still be a valuable player and is one injury away from significant playing time. The rookie is a rare young player who truly understands his game. With zero power (.094 ISO in triple-A), Brantley's game is to get on base and use his legs (46 steals in 51 tries). He's done a nice job of actually walking more than he strikes out in his minor league career (1.23 BB/K in '09).

Michael Taylor, OF, Oakland
2009 Peak Level: Triple-A
2010 Roadblock: Rajai Davis

Taylor was busy this past winter, going from Philadelphia to Toronto to Oakland during the Roy Halladay trade (He was flipped from Oakland in a rare prospect-for-prospect trade that saw Brett Wallace land in Canada). The 24-year-old outfielder spent much of the '09 season in double-A where he hit .333/.408/.569 in 318 at-bats. He also appeared in 30 games in triple-A and he was a 20-20 player on the year. Taylor has the potential to be a very good player but he's currently blocked at the MLB level by both Rajai Davis and Ryan Sweeney - two inferior players. Expect Taylor to break through sooner rather than later.

The Second-Half Reinforcements

Brett Wallace, 1B/3B, Toronto
2009 Peak Level: Triple-A
2010 Roadblock: Lyle Overbay

Toronto tried unsuccessfully to trade incumbent first baseman Lyle Overbay during the off-season. However, he's in the last year of a multi-year deal so it's possible that the rebuilding Jays will be able to find a taker in the second half of the season. Wallace has the potential to be a .280-.300 hitter with 20-plus homers. He's definitely not a third baseman so first base (or DH) is his future destination.

Kyle Drabek, RHP, Toronto
2009 Peak Level: Double-A
2010 Roadblock: Various

With the trade of Roy Halladay, the Jays club has few proven arms in the starting rotation, which will benefit Drabek as he attempts to break through to the Majors. On the downside, he's low man on the totem pole with quite a few arms ahead of him, including Marc Rzepczynski, Brett Cecil, Brad Mills, David Purcey, Zach Stewart, etc. Drabek's fastball/curveball combination could help him reach the ceiling of a No. 2 or 3 starter.

Carlos Santana, C, Cleveland
2009 Peak Level: Double-A
2010 Roadblock: Lou Marson

The talented Santana will not be held off for long by fellow rookie Lou Marson. Santana is an offensive juggernaut with the ability to hit .300 with 20+ homers. He's also a proven run producer (97 or more RBI in the past two seasons) and he gets on base at a crazy rate thanks, in part, to his walk rates of 15-16%. The only hole in his game right now is his defense, as he was converted to catcher just a few years ago.

Tyler Flowers, C, Chicago
2009 Peak Level: Majors
2010 Roadblock: A.J. Pierzynski

Another offense-first catcher, Flowers received his first taste of MLB action in '09. Veteran A.J. Pierzynski is signed through 2010, which is really the only thing keeping this prospect from blooming in the Majors this season. The slugger is similar to Carlos Santana in the fact that he gets on base a lot (18.0% in double-A) with power (.246 ISO) but he's not going to hit .300 in the Majors. The Braves organization will likely regret trading Flowers more than Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Jesus Montero, C/DH, New York
2009 Peak Level: Double-A
2010 Roadblock: Jorge Posada

As scary as it is to consider, Montero's bat may be MLB-ready right now. And that's keeping in mind that he has just 44 games above A-ball and he's just 20 years old. With that said, his defense behind the plate is definitely not ready. As such, and considering that the club is not desperately in need of offense right now, there is no harm in keeping Montero is the minors where the organization can only hope his defense improves enough to make him a future backstop in the Majors.

Chris Carter, 1B, Oakland
2009 Peak Level: Triple-A
2010 Roadblock: Daric Barton/Jack Cust

Another slugger, Carter is suffering the same fate as Michael Taylor; the first baseman has no where to play right now, although he may be MLB ready. Carter can only hope that Daric Barton (or Jack Cust) will have a slow start to the season. A .250-.270 projected hitter in the Majors, the former White Sox prospect could hit 30-40 homers with massive strikeout numbers.

Desmond Jennings, OF, Tampa Bay
2009 Peak Level: Triple-A
2010 Roadblock: Matt Joyce

Jennings is a step behind Matt Joyce, who already has his own sabermetric fan club. However, a slow start could mean disaster as Jennings is all but ready for a MLB shot. The prospect showed improved power in '09 while also hitting above .320 with 52 steals (in 57 tries). If Jennings makes it to the Majors and shares the outfield with B.J. Upton and Carl Crawford, the Rays may have one of the best defensive (and speediest) outfields in all of Major League Baseball.

Jeremy Hellickson, RHP, Tampa Bay
2009 Peak Level: Triple-A
2010 Roadblock: Wade Davis

The future sure is bright in Tampa Bay. Hellickson is another Rays prospect that is blocked by other young players. Just 22, he's shown consistently-good control throughout his career and he posted a walk rate of 2.35 BB/9 in nine triple-A starts in '09. He also managed a strikeout rate of 10.99 K/9. On the year, right-handed hitters batted just .164 against Hellickson. One thing he needs to work on, though, is his ground-ball rate, which was just 39.9% combined between double-A and triple-A.

Justin Smoak, 1B, Texas
2009 Peak Level: Double-A
2010 Roadblock: Chris Davis

Smoak got off to a good start in double-A in '09 and he hit .328/.449/.481 in 183 at-bats. He also produced an outstanding walk rate of 17.2%. When he moved up to triple-A, Smoak found the pitching a little more challenging and his triple-slash line dropped to .244/.363/.360 in 197 at-bats. His BABIP went from .375 to .293. Once he shows a little more pop against southpaws (.214 average vs LHP, .326 vs RHP), the smooth-fielding Smoak should take over first base.

I often get emails from my readers here and at fangraphs asking how they can access the Pitchf/x and batted-ball location data I use in my posts. In the past couple months a host of new tools have become available online that make the data much more accessible. So in this post I thought I would highlight these new, and the longstanding, online tools for accessing the data.

The Basics

So let's look at the online tools to address each of these potential stumbling blocks. First off actually finding the .xml files and making sense of them. The best place for this is Alan Nathan's tutorial. He directs you to the site and then clearly defines each of the values in the pitchf/x data set.

Web Tools

Another easy resource are the pitcher pages at FanGraphs. Each pitcher page has a 'PitchFX' section that, like Brooks Baseball, gives charts for individual games (they do not have the strike zone plots like Brooks but add a release point chart). Beyond the individual game section they have an overview section with the percentage thrown, average velocity, and horizontal and vertical spin deflection for each pitch the pitcher throws. Finally they have season-long velocity charts for each pitch type. So you can see, for example, how Jon Lester gained speed on his fastball through 2008 and kept those gains in 2009.

Recently two new tools allow you to slice the data a little finer. The F/X tool by TexasLeaguers allows you to split out any pitcher's data by batter handedness, count, and date range. They produce similar plots as Brooks (pitch location, horizontal by vertical spin deflection, also release point and pitch trajectory) but for the range of dates considered rather than a single game. In addition it gives results (percent swing, whiff, in play) for each pitch type. This site also has pitch data for batters: percentage of each pitch type seen and statistics against them each of them. For batters it also creates graphs with batted ball locations and swing/take/called strike zone charts. Again you can split out by pitcher handedness, count and date range.

But if you would rather get the data in excel and create your own charts or do your own statistics you can use Joe Lefkowitz's pitchf/x tool. Here you can slice and dice the data in innumerable ways (pitcher, batter, pitching team, batting team, umpire, date, pitch type, runners on ?) and then choose which pitchf/x numbers you want spit out into an excel file.

Another new tool to view the batted ball data (whose locations are from the MLBAM's gameday) including the ability to overlay an individual player's or park's locations on a different park's outline can be found here here. Peter Jensen showed that these batted-ball locations are not terribly out of line from BIS and STATS's, which unlike the MLB's are not free. But that does not mean we should take them as gospel, there is a great discussion of the limitations of this type of overlaying of data over at the Book Blog, particularly germane are the concerns of Nick Steiner and Greg Rybarczyk. Still a very cool site that promises more in the future.

Edit: One addition from the comments. The site boxscore-junkie has live boxscores for each game with a 'pitches' option. Click there and you can see the pitchf/x data (location, speed, spin deflections) for each pitch in the game. A really nice way to browse all of the day's pitchf/x numbers. Beyond that this is a nice opportunity to say the the pitchf/x system is installed in two spring training parks, Surprise (Rangers and Royals) and Peoria (Padres and Mariners), so the box score from today's spring training game between the Padres and Mariners has pitchf/x data.

Getting the Raw Data

Still if you want to have the data updated daily you need to scrape it for yourself. So that brings us to Mike Fast's instructions to scrape the data using a perl script and then get it into a MySQL database. These are an incredibly helpful set of instructions have been around since almost the beginning of the pitch/x era and helped many current, including this one, get access to the data. Nick Steiner used them as a guide to show how to do it with a Mac.

Finally as of just days ago Josh Hermsmeyer, who brought us the injury database, has a pitchf/x and MILB data extractor for Mac users. The extractor is built on PHP rather than perl and has GUI interface that probably makes it easier to use that command-line based systems. I have not tried it yet, but it looks great to me and would love to hear how it works.

Anyway I hope that helps. If there are any other tools I am missing please mention them in the comments and if I have incorrectly stated what one of these data sources offers people email me or tell me in the comments to I can correct it.

The PITCHf/x system uses two cameras to track pitches between pitcher and batter, determining the coordinates of the ball x(t), y(t), z(t) at times t in 1/60-sec intervals. The resulting trajectory is a nine-parameter (or 9P) fit corresponding to constant acceleration in each of the three coordinates. The 9P fit is an approximate solution to the exact equations of motion. All quantities reported in the PITCHf/x data base, such as the pitch speed, the location of the pitch as it crosses the plate, the break (or pfx) of the pitch, etc., are derived from the fitted trajectory rather than from the original data. -- Alan Nathan

Velocity, movement, location, release point are age old-terms in the baseball lexicon that have been quantified thanks to pitchf/x. Chris Moore in August published a groundbreaking study ranking the best fastballs in baseball using factors given by pitchf/x including velocity, horizontal location, vertical location, horizontal movement, and vertical movement. I will try my hand at a similar analysis. The goal is to measure a pitch's quality using only the inputs provided by pitchf/x. I've decided to use the same five parameters as Moore, also opting against adjusting for release point, and instead simply excluding all pitchers I classified as sidearm. I've tried to control for count and handedness as well. I'm calling the metric fxRV, as its units are in terms of run value.

Top Five Fastballs

Matt Thornton has top five stuff of any reliever in baseball and Justin Verlander has top five stuff of any starter. That type of velocity from a respective lefty and starter is unparalleled. Clayton Kershawas a left-handed starter will be entering that territory soon with his 94-MPH fastball. Verlander elevates his fastball more than just about anyone in the game with the exception of Kevin Millwood. According to FanGraphs, Lance Cormier has increased his cutter percentage each of the last four years to the point that he is now throwing it over half of the time. And looking at his pitch type values, he might want to entirely scrap his four-seam fastball, since it has never been an above average pitch while his cutter was fantastic last year. I'm puzzled by Motte's poor run value on his fastball. He's too good to fail as a reliever. Patience, TLR.

My numbers say that Danys Baez' fastball is in line for some regression this year, despite successful results. At the other end of the spectrum, Baez' teammate Chris Tillman has a quality fastball, even though it was ten runs below average last year. And Barry Zito's fastball is aggressively bad.

Top Five Breaking Balls

Erik Bedard* and Gio Gonzalez both have big yakkers. Watching these guys on TV is fun, since a sweeping curveball from a left-handed pitcher as viewed from the off-center center field camera appears to be heading right for a left-handed batter's skull only to break over the inside part of the plate, hopefully as the batter's knee buckles: the old Barry Zito phenomenon. Joe Posnanski has called Zack Greinke's slider "devastating," "the best in the American League", and "his "God-given gift." It's a good pitch. Bronson Arroyo is to pitch classification systems as Bronson Arroyo's name is to Tim McCarver's brain. Nevertheless, his curveball(s?) are good pitches.

Kevin Jepsen didn't qualify for the leaderboard, but his curveball is superb. It gets similar movement to Bedard's curve, but comes in six miles per hour faster, albeit from the right side. Jepsen gets his curve down in the zone very well, too. He also throws a 96 MPH fastball and 90 MPH slider. I'm very, very high on Kevin Jepsen. Jonathan Broxton's four-seam fastball and slider were both within a spot of the top five. Daniel Cabrera? Yeah, he's bad.

*Ironically**, there's also a Canadian speed skater named Eric Bedard. If short track were regularly televised, I swear I would watch.

**I find it ironic that I don't know what irony means.

Top Five Off-Speed Pitches

The four pitchers besides Brandon League are all on this list because they can command their off-speed pitches. Nothing in my system accounts for the deception of a change. League's splitter, however, was labeled by Matthew Carruth as the toughest pitch in the league to hit because of its 35% whiff rate. Burke Badenhop does a terrific job of getting his changeup down and away from opposite-handed hitters, and his pitch has a lot of "sink." Jered Weaver and Sean O'Sullivan generate a lot of "rise" on their changeups, though that's not necessarily a good thing, since Clayton Kershaw gets the second most rise on his change in the league, but it's a highly crude pitch. He can't locate it either.

Interestingly, Jonathan Papelbon had one of the worst splitters in baseball last year. He rarely threw it in the strike zone. I was happy to see that Daniel Ray Herrera's screwball was listed as a quality off-speed pitch. The world needs more screwballs.

Dustin McGowan pitched a two-inning simulated game Tuesday morning, trying out a new curve ball on some minor league prospects and moving toward reclaiming a spot on the Jays? starting rotation.

Scouts behind home plate trained their radar guns on Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman as the left-hander prepared to throw. When the ball smacked the catcher?s mitt, they?d glance back at the gun and find an eye-popping number.

Joey Gathright knows he?ll never live down his YouTube fame -- where he leaps over parked cars -- so he has just stopped trying.

A Toronto sports doctor at the centre of drug probes said Monday he treated Alex Rodriguez after the Yankees slugger had hip surgery last year 

Two pitches into his first at-bat against Detroit starter Jeremy Bonderman in Sunday's 8-5 win over the Tigers, Blue Jays leadoff man Jose Bautista stepped from the batter's box just long enough to hear a Tigers fan heckle him.