Home MLB Mark’s Web Pick: Minor League Ball

Mark’s Web Pick: Minor League Ball

by Mark George

BaseballGB Web Pick

As the first-year player draft is now under way, and while we wait to find out how much it will take for Stephen Strasburg to sign with the Nationals, there’s no better time to use a BaseballGB Web Pick to highlight a site all about MLB’s future.

 
I’ve been visiting Minor League Ball – www.minorleagueball.com – for several years now and have thoroughly enjoyed the range of articles posted by the site’s creator, John Sickels. 
 
I first visited the site when preparing for a fantasy baseball minor league draft a few years ago, when a league of 16 teams would be picking 10 players each.
At that time, I knew very little about the minor leagues, aside from my Dodgers’ top prospects and a few other big-name prospects.
 
This site was of massive use to me, as it is full of mock minor league drafts, notes on players and plenty of prospect lists, be it by position or organisation.
 
The search facility is also very good, making it quick and easy to pinpoint articles about specific players and there are plenty of forums to talk about prospects with other fans.
 
There are also a number of Prospect Retro features, which can be interesting to read whether it’s about a highly-rated player who never lived up to expectations or a guy who was under the radar and turned out to be a good MLB player.
 
The articles also help give an indication of what stats to keep an eye on – for example, one trend seems to be a player with a good on base percentage and/or a good walk to strikeout ratio seems more destined for MLB success than a free swinger.
 
Combining this website with statistical research elsewhere on the web made what was a daunting task ahead of my 10-round draft not only a lot more manageable, but also very enjoyable.
 
The same fantasy league now conducts a one-round draft for first-year players every summer and a five-round minor league draft over the winter, and I still use Minor League Ball to help me make my picks.
 
It’s a great way to learn about baseball’s future stars, and I thoroughly recommend adding it to your favourites.

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