World Baseball Alliance

[Imperialism32]

The Last of Us Part II has severely eaten into my free time. This'll resume soon though.

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March 6, 1961

Canada Topples USA, Russia Wins in 16 on Day 1

Canada Walks Off 5-4 Over USA: The United States controlled the game for 8.5 innings, but Timothy Hammond couldn't close it out as the Canadians put three runs on the board in the bottom of the 9th to pull off the upset win. Starting pitcher Stanley Embry, who signed with the Kansas City Wheat Kings in the offseason, struck out 12 hitters in 8 innings for the Canadian team. "We always take a little extra joy in beating our friends down in America," he said after the game.

Australia Nearly Throws No-Hitter: Justin Maxx of Team Australia took a no-hitter into the 9th inning against the Ukraine, and they held on to win a 1-0 nailbiter. Maxx did issue six walks, including one in the 9th to put the winning run aboard, but the bullpen came to the rescue to secure the win.

Russia Prevails In 16 Innings: Team Russia surprisingly advanced to the knockout stage last season and they got off on the right foot today -- narrowly. They won a wild 8-7 decision over Poland after trailing by a run going into the bottom of the 15th and three runs going into the bottom of the 16th. The teams combined for six home runs including the 2-run walkoff shot by Yevgeni Sarenko.

Netherlands Wins Their "Home" Opener: The host country took care of business on Day 1, knocking off Sweden in a 4-1 game that didn't feature much drama. Olivier Roosmalen went 0-4 in his first game since last May, but they got enough offense to support a complete game effort from Boris Sanders.

South Korea 3, Japan 2: In the day's big heavyweight matchup, the South Korean team scored runs in the 8th and 9th to squeeze by Team Japan as they try to finish what they came oh-so-close to completing last year.

[Imperialism32]

March 7, 1961

Roosmalen Homers, USA Loses Again on Day 2

Welcome Back, Olivier Roosmalen: It took all of one game for Olivier Roosmalen to make his presence known. After an 0-4 yesterday, he homered against Puerto Rico to account for the only run of the game as he propelled his Netherlands team to the win and a 2-0 record in pool play. Lucas van Rijker tossed eight scoreless innings for the hosts.

USA Falls to Venezuela, Now 0-2: In a matchup of two teams that needed a win after upset losses yesterday (the USA to Canada, Venezuela to Germany), it was the Venezuelan team that prevailed with a 3-1 win despite 13 strikeouts from USA starter CJ Gorski. The United States can still push through to the knockout stage, but their margin for error has been reduced to practically nothing.

Another Day, Another One-Hitter: Yesterday it was the Australian team throwing a one-hitter. Today, the Ukraine team pulled off the feat, in 10 innings no less. A seventh-inning single was the only blemish on Vasyl Babenko's pitching line as he struck out 11. Babenko and van Rijker of the Netherlands are teammates on the Athens Hoplites, so they have to be feeling good about their rotation heading into the season.

Canada, Greece, Australia Among Surprise 2-0 Teams: Nobody is surprised that the Dominican Republic, South Korea, and Cuba are 2-0, but Canada and Greece have turned Group B on its head. The Greece team took down Germany, the surprise of last year's tournament, and Canada followed up on their victory over the USA by beating up on Nicaragua. Meanwhile in Group A, Australia has already surpassed last year's win total by winning their first two games.

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March 8, 1961

Dominican Republic Falters, USA Loses Again

You Can't Predict Baseball: The wonderful and magical thing about baseball is that anything can happen. And yesterday, anything happened. The Czech Republic upset the defending champions from the Dominican Republic, 6-5. It probably doesn't change their fortunes too much and the Dominicans remain one of the favorites, but anyone can lose on any given day.

USA Struggles Continue: The United States' disappointment has turned to outright terror as they lost their third consecutive game, this time to the German team that defeated them last year as well. It's looking very unlikely that they'll advance now, but perhaps they can at least regain some pride.

Venezuela Loses, Too: The other favorite in Pool B, Venezuela, isn't faring much better. They fell to 1-2 with a loss to Nicaragua who dominated in a 6-0 win.

[Imperialism32]

March 9, 1961

American Horror Story

Four days. Four games. Four losses.

That's been the story of the American team in this year's World Baseball Championship. Considered one of the favorites heading in, they've failed to score a win and while not mathmetically eliminated from advancing, it would take a miracle. Most experts thought that they had the roster to dominate and that they had a favorable draw in Pool B. It hasn't turned out that way.

It started with the walk-off loss to Canada, a game they led 4-2 going into the bottom of the 9th. The shocking loss has sent them into a death spiral, falling to Venezuela (3-1), Germany (6-4), and the most recent and inexusable loss to New Zealand (3-1). The Kiwis had entered that game winless as well, and they went just 1-6 a year ago.

Of course, some of this can be attributed to a small sample size, but this can't be considered anything except a massive disappointment. Team USA hyped up their "Killer J" lineup featuring Jacob Yoachum, Josh Dillow, and Jay Givens, but the offense is averaging just 2.5 runs per game. Givens has collected just three singles in 17 trips to the plate.

They still have games remaining with pool-leading England, a 2-1 Greece team, and Nicaragua. It's statistically possible but logistically unlikely that a 3-4 team will advance.

Elsewhere on Day 4, Cuba and South Korea each suffered their first loss, leaving just three unbeaten teams, and they're all European: The host Netherlands squad moved to 4-0 while England and France both sit at 3-0.

[Imperialism32]

March 11, 1961

Plenty Of Intrigue With Two Games Remaining

In Pool A, the host team The Netherlands has already clinched their spot in the knockout stage thanks to some incredible pitching. They've held their opponents to just 5 runs in 5 games, led by Boris Sanders notching two wins. They've gotten just enough offense to sneak past their opponents, led by Max Kent and his .500 OBP. Their spot is secure but it's a muddled mess after that. Five teams are still in the mix. Italy, India, and Australia are each 3-2 and Sweden and Panama are still alive at 2-3. It's been quite a disappointing run for Puerto Rico, who won their pool at 6-1 last year.

The story of Pool B has been the ineptitude of the United States team, who lost to Nicaragua to fall to 0-5. Combined with Venezuela's rather lackluster 2-3 performance so far, it's opened the door for some surprise teams. England has ridden the 1-2 rotation punch of Lenny Sloan and Henry Jones to a 5-0 record and they're all but assured of advancing. The Greece team was pegged for last place in this pool, but they're 4-1 thanks to two dominant starts by Iannis Popovic. Germany and Canada are each 3-2 and will meet on the final day to perhaps decide an advancement spot. And the USA has officially been eliminated along with New Zealand.

A trio of 4-1 teams sit atop Pool C. South Korea and Japan were the presumed favorites, and they're joined by Curacao. It's worth nothing that their one loss came to South Korea, and they've yet to face Japan. Spain scored a surprise win over South Korea and is lurking at 3-2 but they also have to face Team Japan. Russia and Mexico at 2-3 are all but doomed while 1-4 Portugal and 0-5 Poland are officially playing for pride.

And in Pool D things are suddenly tense for the defending champion Dominican Republic team at 3-2 with games remaining against strong teams in Cuba and Colombia. The French team boasts perhaps the most underrated rotation with Théo Dufournet, Arnaud Boyer, Mathieu Bour, and Mathieu Tanguay. A win against either Taiwan or Colombia would assure their advancement. The Colombians need to survive the Czech Republic before their potentially huge final game against the Dominican Republic. Cuba is also lurking at 3-2 but would have to take down France and the DR in order to advance. Belgium at 2-3 is basically out, while China, Taiwan, and the Czech Republic are officially dead.

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March 11, 1961

Knockout Stage Set

And then there were eight.

The World Baseball Alliance trophy resides in Europe, and it looks like the World Baseball Championship might be on the way. Five European teams had avanced out of pool play into the knockout stage along with two Asian teams and one Caribbean squad. The two pods of 4 teams will now play a round-robin to determine who advances to the semifinal series, which are best-of-3.

Biggest Storylines
1. Defending champs eliminated - The Dominican Republic won last year's in a thrilling series over South Korea and seemed on their way to a return trip with a 3-1 start, all three wins as shutouts. But they were shut out themselves by France and then dropped a 12-inning game to Cuba, who secured the advancement by toppling France on the final day.

2. Host magic - Just like South Korea last year, the host nation has advanced out of pool play. The Netherlands won all seven of their games in Pool A, although the last one took 14 innings against Australia to complete.

3. Four-way tie in Pool C - Speaking of South Korea, they barely made it in as one of four teams tied at 5-2 in Pool C. They scored head-to-head wins over Curacao and Japan, while Spain defeated South Korea and Curacao to earn their advancement.

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March 15, 1961

India Wins On Walk-Off... Pickoff?

This one's gonna sting for a while. England committed four errors in their game against India, including an errant throw on a pickoff attempt in the bottom of the 9th to allow the winning run to score. The English offense meanwhile managed just two hits, and they wasted some very good pitching from Lenny Sloan in the 2-1 loss.

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March 15, 1961

The Start of Something Mohr?

A sleepy Dutch crowd was jolted to life in the top of the 9th. A groundball that could have been the end of the game was booted by the Germans, putting the tying run on base. Rently van der Meyde delivered with a liner into right, plating two to tie the game. The Netherlands had collected only two hits in the first 8 innings, so when they finally broke through the crowd erupted, their first chance to rise up all day.

Geoffrey Mohr wasn't having any of it. He came to the dish with a man on and one out in the bottom of the 9th and sent a screaming line drive over the right field fence, silencing most of the 40,000+ fans and giving the German team the win. They made the Final Four a year ago and that happened with Mohr as a bench player.

In the last year, he's developed into one of the best young hitters in the game. For the Oslo Owls of the European Silver League, he hit .341/.424/.505 and stole 24 bases. He's only collected six hits during the WBC so far, but five have gone for extra bases: three doubles, a triple, and this walk-off home run. If he's able to pepper in a few more singles, he can help them advance even further than last season.

Other Scores
South Korea 3, France 1
India 2, England 1
Spain 7, Cuba 2

[Imperialism32]

March 16, 1961

England, Netherlands Walk Off In 13 Innings - In Very Different Ways

Everybody dreams of being Mel Martin. Coming to the plate in a tied game, bottom of the 13th inning. It's a 2-2 pitch and you know it as soon as soon as you hit it: that one's outta here. Ballgame.

Hardly anyone dreams of being Shawn Wijkhuize. It's still tied, it's still the bottom of the 13th. The bases are loaded, to heighten the drama even more. Of course, the dream is to be in the batter's box, not standing on 3rd base. But that's where Wijkhuize was able to trumphantly cross the plate with the winning run, sprinting -- well, he's not exactly a speedster, but he was running hard -- home on a passed ball.

Martin, of course, is known worldwide as one of the stars of the Kiev Comets lineup. Wijkhuize -- and I swear that this season I will learn to type that without having to pause two or three times -- on the other hand has not even played in a major league game. Like Germany's Geoffrey Mohr, he's considered one of the top young players on the planet. Wijkhuize was born in Bonaire, a Caribbean municipality of the Netherlands. So while he plays for a European team in the WBC, he'll play in the Caribbean League in the WBA. The 22 year-old should break in this season with the Caracas Rangers... who were the team that the Kiev Comets defeated in the WBA World Series. Baseball's funny like that.

Other Scores
South Korea 6, India 3 (South Korea 2-0, India 1-1)
Spain 8, Germany 2 (Spain 2-0, Germany 1-1)

Both England and The Netherlands needed a win after dropping their opening matchup. Cuba and France fall to 0-2 and are each eliminated. In Pod A, India will face France and England takes on South Korea. In Pod B, Germany faces Cuba while The Netherlands will try and hand Spain their first loss.

[Imperialism32]

March 17, 1961

France Tosses Shutout To Advance

The French team entered the final day of the knockout round needing to thread the needle to advance: They needed South Korea to defeat England, they needed to defeat India and do it by at least two runs in order to carry the tiebreaker.

Arnaud Boyer made sure that part wasn't an issue. The coveted free agent who signed with San Francisco a few months ago dominated Team India, scattering just six hits over 9 innings. He struck out five and didn't issue a walk. Another top free agent, Noam Abdelouahed (who re-signed with Stockholm) provided the offense: He went 2-3 with a solo home run, a double, a walk, and two runs scored.

The victory in hand, they then had to sweat out the other matchup. South Korea was already assured of advancing but they fought tooth-and-nail for an 11-inning 1-0 victory over the English team, who wasted a great start from Henry Jones.

In the other pod, The Netherlands used a four-run 5th inning to power past Spain, who had also already clinched their spot once Cuba defeated Germany to set both teams at 1-2.

So the Final Four is set: South Korea will take on Spain and France will face off against The Netherlands, each in best-of-3 series.

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March 21, 1961

South Korea, Netherlands Sweep Their Way To Finals

For the second straight year, the host nation will be in the finals of the World Baseball Championship. And also for the second straight year, so will South Korea.

Last year's hosts and runners-up, the South Korean team advanced with a 1-0 shutout win on the arm of Soo-Keun Bae, who has been even better than last year. In four WBC starts, Bae is 4-0 with a 1.10 ERA, having allowed just 15 hits while striking out 29 and walking 5 in 32.2 innings.

"It's unfinished business," he said after the game. "We can't change what happened last year, but we can make a different kind of history now."

To do so they'll have to do what the Dominican Republic did last year and get it done in enemy territory. The Netherlands dispatched Team France 7-2 to earn their spot in the finals. Their ace, Boris Sanders, has been just about as good as Bae: 32 innings, 24 hits, 40 strikeouts, 6 walks, and a 1.69 ERA. The two would be slated to meet in Game 3 of the championship series, if necessary.

[Imperialism32]

March 26, 1961

Netherlands Win The WBC On Roosmalen Walk-Off

Olivier Roosmalen could have stopped at second base.

All eyes were on Shawn Wijkhuize rounding third and heading for home, which was where the throw was headed.

Dong-Hwan Kim had been shifted over toward right center against Roosmalen, playing for the pull. But the expert Dutch hitter laced a line drive into the left field gap, rolling all the way to the wall. Daniel van Overbeek easily scored the tying run, and Wijkhuize was headed home as the winning run. The throw was cut off by Moon Thak who quickly fired home, but not before Wijkhuize crossed the plate standing up, raising his arms in triumph.

Olivier Roosmalen hadn't stopped running and so it will go down in history as a walk-off triple, propelling The Netherlands to glory in the most dramatic fashion.

"It's been a long time since everything came together," he said after the game, his voice and body language drained from the intense finish. "And then... boom, it did, just like that."

He paused a few beats, trying to come up with a way to summarize the past year: A broken kneecap just as he had gotten his batting average above .400, and then months of watching his team languish and eventually be relegated to the Silver League. Now he's on the other end of the spectrum, the toast of his nation and the sport itself, delivering in the ultimate clutch moment.

"You just keep chopping and find a way to make it work," he finally said, then shook his head in seeming disbelief. "Keep chopping."

For most of the game it seemed as though it would be the South Koreans' turn to celebrate, having been denied a year ago as the host country. They were primed to turn the tables and celebrate on Dutch soil as they defeated the host country. Soo-Keun Bae dominated for the first six innings before coughing up a run in the 7th. Wijkhuize doubled and eventually scored on a passed ball, but the Korean team held a tight grip with a 3-1 lead headed to the 9th inning.

Jung-Hyun Au remained in after tossing a scoreless 8th, but was removed after issuing a walk to the first batter he faced in the 9th. Hyeon Kwak entered and van Overbeek worked him for a nine-pitch walk, spoiling pitch after pitch by fouling it off. Then Kwak lost the strike zone completely, missing four in a row to Wijkhuize.

Dilano Salij followed by hitting a sac fly to left to cut the lead to 3-2, setting the stage for Roosmalen. He got ahead 3-1 before taking a called strike and fouling one off. Kwak tried to beat him with a fastball away but it ran back toward the plate, and Roosmalen roped into the vacant left-center gap and beginning his run for glory.

He arrived at third base just as the late throw made its way home. Half of the dugout raced toward Wijkhuize at home and half toward Roosmalen at third, the two parties eventually meeting midway for a dogpile.

Soo-Keun Bae looked on in horror. One year later, one game short. Again.

The South Korean team could not have come closer. They had two runners thrown out at home plate and another at third base, short-circuiting rallies and stopping them from growing an insurmountable lead.

"It was supposed to be us," Bae said after the game. "It's like my heart has been ripped out twice now."

[StLee]

Awww. I'm disappointed my boys in Korea couldn't pull it off. I just had the same disappointment of a walk-off loss in Game 7 of the LCS in one of my leagues.

I feel Bae Soo Keun's disappointment!

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April 10, 1961

Best Tools Report - Pitchers

Every year I talk to dozens of scouts across the globe to get their thoughts on which players boast the best tools. For even-numbered years I look at hitters and odd-numbered years are for pitchers.



Click HERE for a much larger version for better zooming.

Best Overall Pitcher
Australasian League: SP Soo-Keun Bae, Beijing Maulers (HM: SP Taki Arakawa, Mumbai Vipers)
Caribbean League: SP Leonard Cruz, Barranquilla Warhawks (HM: SP Santiago Vecchio, Caracas Rangers)
European Premier League: SP Lenny Sloan, Paris Pride (HM: SP Henry Jones, Kiev Comets)
North American League: SP Jamison Rand, Phoenix Devils (SP C.J. Gorsi, Toronto Giants)

Scout's Take: "If I had to bet my life on one guy, it'd be Soo-Keun Bae. His ERA wasn't as flashy as some others because his defense let him down, but nobody has the combination of stuff, stamina, and control that he does. You can nitpick the others: Cruz allowed more home runs in fewer innings, Sloan walks too many, Rand gives up even more homers than Cruz. Which isn't to take anything away from those guys, it's just that Bae is the complete package right now. I'd probably go with Cruz next, then Sloan, because Sloan can be a knucklehead sometimes. And Rand is the best guy no one talks about because his team isn't very good, but he deserves to be recognized.

After those guys I'd take Gorski next. Arakawa, Vecchio, and Jones are all gamers and get the most out of what they have. And obviously it worked, but if you stood them all next to each other and watched them pitch without looking at their stats from last year you'd say Gorski throws the best ball."

Best Fastball
Australasian League: SP Woo-Jae Min, Beijing Maulers
Caribbean League: SP Gene Viveros, Willemstad Wings
European Premier League: SP Lenny Sloan, Paris Pride
North American League: SP Jamison Rand, Phoenix Devils

Scout's Take: "Sloan is the hardest throw, but he doesn't always know where it's going. So I'd say Rand because he can hit 100 mph and spot it on the corner, whereas Sloan -- and Viveros too -- just kind of put it up there and dare you hit it. And when it's coming in that hard they usually can't, but still. And Min is in the same rotation as Bae, which just seems unfair. They easily have the best rotation in the game."

Best Breaking Ball
Australasian League: SP Chia-Kai Liao, Tokyo Tsunami (Knuckleball)
Caribbean League: SP Pedro Trojillo, Maracaibo Gledes (Curveball)
European Premier League: SP Theo Dufournet, Amsterdam Valley Foxes (Slider)
North American League: SP C.J. Gorski, Toronto Giants (Slider)

Scout's Take: "Is it cheating to say a knuckleballer? There are two great ones going right now in Liao and Matthew Clock but Clock will at least mix in some other junk. Liao can only throw the knuckler or his 83 mph straightball... Can't even call it a fastball. So have the kind of success he did with that one pitch is pretty incredible. Trojillo is a bit similar, without his curveball I'm not sure he'd be in the majors, but with it he's really really great. Dufournet and Sloan both throw really good breaking balls in Europe, call it a tie. And like I said before, Gorski's stuff is nearly as good as anyone in the world's."

Best Changeup
Australasian League: SP Soo-Keun Bae, Beijing Maulers
Caribbean League: SP A.J. Flair, Camaguey Terriers
European Premier League: SP Lenny Sloan, Paris Pride
North American League: SP Ben Williamson, Vancouver Bruins

Scout's Take: "Lenny Sloan has the best one in the world. It helps that his fastball is so fast, of course, but his changeup has great action to it in addition to the change of speed. Bae's is part of what makes him so great, but it's not the best thing about his game. For Williamson and Flair it is, they both live on the changeup."

Best Control
Australasian League: SP Hidenosuke Kataoka, Mumbai Vipers
Caribbean League: SP Leonard Cruz, Barranquilla Warhawks
European Premier League: SP Bram Roos, Warsaw Trappers
North American League: SP Jamison Rand, Phoenix Devils

Scout's Take: "Leonard Cruz is an artist out there. He's got terrific stuff, obviously, but the control ties it all together. The guy is allergic to walks, only 1.1 per 9 innings last year. The other guys were all in the same neighborhood but Cruz just always seems to put it exactly where he wants it just a bit more often."

Best Reliever
Australasian League: SP Archer Knowles, Canberra Rattlers
Caribbean League: SP Preston Santiago, Panama City Seabees
European Premier League: SP Ronaldo Gamez, Warsaw Trappers
North American League: SP Constantino Cordero, San Francisco Prospectors

Scout's Take: "To be honest, there was nobody who got brought in and made you say, okay, the other team has no shot. All four of these guys were great but I don't think anyone felt helpless against them. Cordero is probably the top guy, but I don't think he can go 46 innings and allow only one home run again."

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April 20, 1961

Pre-Season Projections - Austalasian League

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April 20, 1961

Pre-Season Projections - Caribbean League

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April 20, 1961

Pre-Season Projections - European Premier League

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April 20, 1961

Pre-Season Projections - North American League

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April 20, 1960

Top Prospects Report

After some more consulting with scouts from all four major leagues, I've made a list of the top 10 prospects, combined across the globe. They are presented in no particular order other than hitters first.

LF Shawn Wijkhuize, Caracas Rangers

In virtually any other organization, Wijkhuize would not only be starting in the majors, he'd be in the middle of the order. But the Caracas Rangers, last year's Caribbean League champion, have such a talent roster that they seem set to let Wijkhuize start back in A1 ball. He has little left to prove in the minors, smoking the A2 circuit for a 157 OPS+ before finishing it off with two weeks in A1, where he posted a 153 OPS+. The Bonaire-born left fielder just helped The Netherlands win the World Baseball Championship and scouts are in agreement that the 22 year-old is ready to contribute in the majors right now. He hits for contact, gap, and power and has the potential to be one of the best pure hitters in the league. He doesn't offer much on defense, but he works hard and is at least playable in left field. He doesn't run well at all, but when you can hit like Wijkhuize, does it matter?

LF T.C. Anand, Busan Mocs

Anand topped this list a season ago, and while he didn't light the world in fire in A2 (.284/.313/.381) scouts still rave about his contact/power potential. He adapted well throughout the season and cut down on his strikeouts in the second half. The focus on developing more consistent contact has come at the expense of his power stagnating, but there's still plenty of juice in the bat. He looks like he'll be back in A2 to start the season, so it should be apparent how much progress has been made from last year. He chases too many pitches and doesn't run well, but he's turned himself into at least an average defender with a chance for more.

CF Elias Caron, Paris Pride

All right, even I'm having some trouble coming up with a plausible reason for why he bounced around so much. Four teams released him for basically no reason in July and he ended up with Paris, so, whatever. Caron has plus tools across the board and is a potential .320/.420/.480 hitter from center field, which would be insanely valuable. Scouts praise his intelligence and feel for the game: he has a very good batting eye that could be elite, and he can play all over the place. He'll start the year with Glasgow in the A1 league. The Pride have Lucas Dawson in center so that might not be Caron's eventual landing spot, but with a good year he could force his way up to the majors at another position.

C Paulino de la Torre, Barranquilla Warhawks

Despite spending all of last season in the Warhawks' instructional facility, word has gotten out about the star catching prospect. He'll begin the 1961 season in A2 ball and the world will get their first look. He's got excellent bat-to-ball skills, already shows good gap power, and flashes the ability to turn it into home run power down the road. Making it all the more valuable is that he's solid behind the plate and will stick at the position. There's little to dislike about his game except the lack of foot speed, which is not a huge knock for a catcher.

3B Takao Yoshida, Beijing Maulers

From a pure tools point of view, Yoshida might be the most talented guy on the list. He's got crazy speed, a rifle of an arm, and terrific contact skills with just enough power. There are nits to pick, like that he's already almost 23 years old, but the reports on his development have been encouraging and he doesn't seem to be stagnating. Scouts and coaches also love his work ethic and think it'll help transfer those tools into results. He looks like he'll start back in A2, but should be able to earn a promotion to A1 rather quickly and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him in the majors in 1961.

RHP Reginald Ebel, Munich Hops

Ebel was clearly raw last year as a 19 year-old, but Munich saw enough to promote him from their instructional complex up to B2 ball midway. And for the most part, Ebel held his own. His inverted 25-42 K-BB ratio is discouraging, but he pitched with guile and was throwing harder than ever at 96-98 mph. He throws six pitches and would perhaps be better served by scrapping one or two, but at least a few of his offspeed offerings should develop nicely. He's got a great demeanor on and off the mound. With Munich earning promotion, Ebel will start out in the A2 league this season. He's still a couple of years away, but things are trending nicely.

RHP LaMarcus Brown, Montreal Paragons

The Paragons are taking it nice and slow with their prized pitching prospect. Brown was in the instructional complex for the entirety of last season, and he'll start this year there, too. He's still extremely raw but he has the tools to develop into a true ace. His velocity has bumped up from a year ago and he's shown better control, although it still comes and goes. Brown is a good candidate for a midseason promotion to the minors.

RHP Daniel Rocha, San Juan Salamanders

Rocha made this list last year and seemingly has little else to prove in the minors. In 160 innings in the highest level of the minors, he went 11-5 with a 2.70 ERA (163 OPS+). San Juan would be well-served to bring him up soon, because the only thing left for him to do is refine his arsenal against big-league hitters. The 6'3" 190 pound righty works off his cutter, mixing in a curveball and a forkball for some movement. His changeup needs to be cleaned up, but that's about the only knock on him.

RHP Sung-Min Lee, Guangzhou Tigers

Lee already has the stuff to compete in the majors and he should get that chance sometime this season, albeit in the Silver League with Guangzhou.

RHP Ramsden Peterman, Boston Bombers

Another repeat from last year's list, Peterman needs to iron out his control but the rest of the package is there. The 6'8" righty has top-shelf stuff and generates groundball after groundball. Even with 49 walks in 65 innings in A1 ball he still posted a 2.91 ERA.