Joc’s 19th, three debuts, and other news

Here’s what’s new in baseball as of 6/23/2015: MLB L.A.’s Joc Pederson hit his 19th home run Monday. Less than halfway into the season, he has surpassed his full-year HR projections *** Miami family and friends came to St. Petersburg to see Toronto’s Danny Valencia play the Rays on Monday, and he rose to the occasion, driving…

Pillar/Pederson homer, Stubbs debuts, and more

Here’s what’s going on in the world of baseball as of 6/21/2015. MLB So far today (Sunday), Toronto’s Kevin Pillar has hit his 6th home run, stroked an RBI single, and walked in 3 plate appearances *** L.A.’s Joc Pederson crushed his 18th home run Saturday after a 6-game drought and walked twice *** Boston’s Craig Breslow…

Pillar and Valencia go yard, and other news

Here’s what’s going on in the world of baseball as of 6/18/2015. MLB Historic: Blue Jays teammates Kevin Pillar and Danny Valencia each homered Wednesday in an 8-0 drubbing of the Mets on Wednesday. Pillar went 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs and a deep solo shot, while Valencia went 1-for-3 with a walk and a 3-run dinger *** Oakland’s Sam Fuld…

Moscot’s injury, Lavarnway’s call-up, and other news

Here’s what’s going on in the world of Jewish baseball. MLB Reds rookie Jon Moscot dislocated his shoulder in a freak play Monday. In the first inning of just his 3rd MLB start, Moscot caught Detroit’s Anthony Gose in a rundown and injured himself making a diving tag. No word yet on how long he’ll…

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Nats nab Vandy’s Rhett Wiseman in 3rd round

By Scott Barancik, editor The Washington Nationals picked Vanderbilt slugger Rhett Wiseman on Day 2 of this year’s MLB amateur draft, selecting him in the 3rd round, 103rd overall. A 20-year-old outfielder and teammate of overall #1 pick Dansby Swanson, the Massachusetts native is hitting .318 with 14 HRs, 47 RBIs, 12 stolen bases in 14 tries,…

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Astros pick Bregman #2 overall in MLB draft

By Scott Barancik, editor The Houston Astros selected LSU shortstop Alex Bregman No. 2 overall today in the 2015 amateur draft, good enough to earn an expected bonus of $7.4-million. A 21-year-old junior on the top-ranked Tigers, Bregman was expected to go anywhere from No. 2 through No. 7 in the first round. The Albuquerque native has…

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Moscot’s MLB debut: jittery start, strong finish

By Scott Barancik, editor Cincinnati’s Jon Moscot made his MLB debut against the Padres last night, and while it wasn’t all smooth sailing, the 23-year-old finished strong. Called-up at the last minute to replace the injured Raisel Iglesias (see article), Moscot — who wasn’t even on the Reds’ 40-man roster — struck out the first batter he…

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Huge news: Reds’ Jon Moscot to take mound tonight in MLB debut

By Scott Barancik, editor Jon Moscot, a 23-year-old starter, will make his MLB debut 7:10pm ET tonight as the Reds face the San Diego Padres in Cincinnati. “Unexpected” may be the best way to describe it. Moscot isn’t on the Reds’ 40-man roster. MLB.com‘s prospect rankings for the Reds list six RHPs ahead of him….

A.M. report (6/4/2015)

MLB Dodgers rookie Joc Pederson hit his 17th HR and reached base four times on Wednesday (6/3/2015). It was his fifth straight game with a HR, something only four Dodgers had done before him. One of them was Shawn Green, who accomplished the feat in 2001 *** Toronto’s Kevin Pillar didn’t homer Wednesday, but he did go…

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Historic: Pederson, Pillar both homer twice

By Scott Barancik, editor Now here’s something you don’t see very often: two Jewish players, both centerfielders, smacking 2 HRs apiece on the same day. Dodgers phenom Joc Pederson and Toronto’s Kevin Pillar accomplished the rare feat Tuesday night. Pederson hit the more prodigious bombs, launching a 477-foot monster in Game 1 of a doubleheader against…

Sam Fuld conquers Hill; Decker knocks one out (A.M. report, 5/19/2015)

MLB news Oakland’s Sam Fuld continued his slump at the plate in Monday’s 2-1 win over Houston, but he helped preserve the win by robbing George Springer of an extra-base hit in the 8th atop Minute Maid Park’s infamous Tal’s Hill. Fuld had rehearsed on the Hill during batting practice. Said Springer: “That’s obviously a hell of…

Borenstein’s cycle; Kinsler’s double vision (A.M. report, 5/18/2015)

MLB news Detroit’s Ian Kinsler is one shy of 300 career doubles. He doubled in a run Saturday for his 299th *** Kinsler is homerless in 148 at-bats this season, but he’s hitting .311 — well above his .274 career average — and leads the A.L. with 18 multi-hit games *** In case you missed it,…

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LSU’s Bregman likely to go early in 1st round

By Scott Barancik, Editor Alex Bregman, a junior at No. 1 ranked Louisiana State University and the team’s star shortstop (see bio), is projected to be picked no later than 7th overall in next month’s MLB amateur draft. Four top prognosticators have weighed-in on the draft in recent days, and all of them repeated the…

JBN roundup (5/12/2015)

JBN roundup After going hitless for three games, Toronto’s Kevin Pillar went 2-for-4 Monday with his 10th double — tying him for third most in the A.L. — and 6th stolen base in a 5-2 loss to Baltimore *** Speaking of doubles, Oakland’s Ike Davis went 1-for-2 with his 9th two-bagger in Monday’s 5-4 loss…

P.M. report (5/9/2015)

Today’s news Ian Kinsler went 4-for-4 with a walk, a double, a 2-run single, and a rare walk-off bunt single in Detroit’s 6-5 win Friday over the Royals. The victory eased the Tigers into 1st place in the A.L. Central, half a game ahead of Kansas City *** Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun reached base 4 out…