By Scott Barancik, Editor

Minor-league baseball is in business again, and here are some highlights from the first week.

Bregman’s double-dinger heroics

Alex Bregman, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 amateur draft, is off to a fast start playing for the Astros’ Double-A club, the Corpus Christi Hooks. On Monday (4/11/2016), the 22-year-old shortstop smacked a two-run HR in the first inning and hit a second HR in the 12th inning for a 5-4, walk-off win over the Springfield Cardinals (see article). The only bad news? Bregman’s first HR came off Cardinals prospect (and fellow Jew) Corey Baker. By the way, Bregman added another home run on Tuesday (4/12/2016).

(Click to see video)

Decker’s schizophrenic series

Cody Decker, the Royals’ Triple-A prospect, had a crazy two-game arc. On Saturday (4/9/2016), Decker crushed two HRs and went 3-for-3 with 3 RBIs and a walk. The next day, the Omaha Storm Chasers 1B struck out all five times he came to the plate.

Fried’s long-awaited return

Max Fried, the No. 7 overall selection in the 2012 amateur draft, is finally back from Tommy John surgery. The Atlanta Braves prospect hadn’t pitched a regular-season game in 21 months when he took the mound Saturday for the Single-A Rome Braves. Fried gave up 3 hits, 2 earned runs, and a walk over 5 innings while striking out 4.

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