Clowning Harper

BRYCE HARPER IS OFFICIALLY

BIG LEAGUE

 

That's a clown question bro

It's confirmed Bryce Harper is one big Douche Bag. A Toronto media Station was talking to him after the game last night that saw Harper go 3-4 with a Bomb by the way. The Station asked Harper if he would go out for a celebratory beer since the legal age in Canada is 19.  From there the Nationals PR guy stepped in and said not to answer that question. He should of listened.

 Harper shot out an instant classic quote. A quote that could follow him his whole career as a blooper. His epic response was "That's a clown question bro"  Shortly after Twitter blew up showing Harper getting punked more than Lebron after the Heat loss . 

UPDATING MLB TOP 10 UNDER 25

UPDATED: THE TOP 10 PLAYERS UNDER 25 IN BASEBALL RIGHT NOW

IS ANYONE SURPRISED WHO TOPS THE LIST?

NOT YET KID...SOON.

again...Rankings were determined using a matrix involving:

Projected Fantasy Rankings in a 5x5 roto

Dynasty LeagueKeeper Value

Position Scarcity

Value to current MLB team

Mr Resentments personal bias

JUST MISSED...

Yu Darvish. Texas Rangers P The Japanese import has finally arrived. Darvish a Professional since age 18, makes the move to the Bigs at the age of 25. A 93-38 record with a 1.99 ERA in Japan Yu uses 5 pitches all of which can be nasty.  Currently 7-3 with Rangers with a ton of K's and a respectable 3.34 ERA/ 

Freddie Freeman. Atlanta Braves 1B Now that Prince and Pujols are gone the NL is looking awfully thin at 1B. Orange County grown Freeman could be the next Mark Grace. Player of the Week early in the season. Has battled eye issues this season and has seen his average drop. 

Carlos Santana. Cleveland Indians C powerhitting left handed hitter smashed 27 bombs last season to go a long with 35 doubles. A proven major league commodity he is already the no. 2 ranked catcher on the offensive side. Talks of him moving to 1B will have his value plummet so enjoy his fantasy ranking now while its at its peak. Only a career .244 hitter then again he is a 25 year old catcher.

TOP 10 

10a. Starlin Castro. Chicago Cubs SS only one other shortstop in the history of baseball has more hits before turning 22 and that is Alex Rodriguez. Already considered a premiere fantasy baseball SS coming off a .307 22 SB and 10 HR year, this could be one of baseball's elite SS for the next 15 years.
Currently hitting 

BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG
.305	4	32	.319	.423

10b. Matt Wieters. Baltimore Orioles C has already logged over 1400 plate appearances at the age of 25. His power numbers doubled last year as he ended with 22 HR and 28 doubles. The 6 foot 5 inch switch hitting Catcher is poised for a breakout season and gets the nod over Santana because he is not a defensive liability and there has been no talk of him moving out from behind the plate. 
Currently hitting 

BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG
.244	9	24	.330	.449

9. Elvis Andrus. Texas Rangers  SS. a veteran now at the age of 23. One of the hardest guys in the league to strikeout. Currently hitting over .300 makes him valuable member to the powerhouse Rangers lineup. 40 SB capability a long with a solid .280 average makes this Shortstop something special.
Currently hitting

BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG
.311	1	26	.393	.421

8. Buster Posey. San Fransisco Giants C  A much better player than currently ranked a year ago he would of been in the top 5. You have to question if he can come close to ever feeling 100% healthy again. If Posey can stay in the lineup he  becomes a MVP candidate for the Divison challenging Giants.
Currently hitting 

BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG
.295	6	29	.362	.462

http://thebiglead.com

7. Bryce Harper. Washington Nationals OF 19 years old, he is the Lebron of Baseball. The greatest thing ever before he has done anything. That horrible magazine Sports Illustrated dubbed him The Chosen One, when he was in High School. Many regarded him as the no. 1 prospect at the minor league level. Tremendous power he had 17 bombs at the age of 18 in minor leagues. Many scouts see him being the best player in the game before he reaches 25. 
Currently hitting 

BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG
.288	5	12	.380	.542

6. Mike Trout. LA Angels OF might one day be the best player in baseball. He is already playing like an all-star. Highly touted the blazing fast OF has all the tools. The kid has been amazing and is a main reason the Angels have jumped back into the AL West. Who would of thought Mike Trout would be the Angels best player so far this season. If this list is done again at the end of the season we might be looking at a new number 1 in Trout, the perfect blend of speed, power and ability to make plays. 
Currently hitting 

BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG
.338	5	22	.388	.559

5. Andrew McCutchen. Pittsburgh Pirates OF Coming off a 20/20 2011 season, one of only 12 MLB guys to to do so, he could have a chance at going 30/30 this season. This guy is a category filler. Good for 90 rbi's 90 BB and 90 runs scored makes Cutch an all be it sneaky, top 30 fantasy perfomer. A .259 hitter last year due to a dismal second half that will have to be improved. 
Currently hitting 

BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG
.337	9	30	.396	.565

4. Stephen Strasburg. Washington Nationals P Facing a innings limit yet again this season caps his worth, but if you are in a keeper league there is not to many guys more valuable for the coming seasons. A career record of 12-5 but that doesn't tell the whole story. A under 1 WHIP for his career a long with a much higher than one K an inning makes this arm very valuable. 
Current Pitching Stats

ERA	W-L	SO	WHIP	BAA
2.35	6-1	79	1.05	.218

3. Justin Upton. Arizona Diamondbacks OF   31 HR with 21 SB and a .289 last year gave everyone a taste of what the much better Upton brother can do. 90 career bombs and almost 300 rbi's this 5 tool player has everything going for him. Already a premiere RF in the baseball he is just now set to enter his prime power years. He could be a consistant top 10 in the MVP voting for the next decade.

Currently hitting 

BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG
.243	5	20	.340	.365

2. Giancarlo Stanton. Miami Marlins OF 22 years old and already one of the most feared hitters in the game. 56 HR career bombs already. He hit .262 overall last year but at such a young age for a power guy batting average is an after thought. Sure he strikesout a lot, but he is on his way to being a 40 plus home run guy sooner rather than later. 40 bombs a year for 15 years you do the math. Potential Hall of Famer.
Currently hitting 

BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG
.295	13	40	.370	.575

http://dodgersphotog.mlblogs.com

1. Clayton Kershaw. LA Dodgers P the 23 year old LHP and current Cy Young gets the top spot on my top 25. A career 2.88 ERA he nearly struck out 250 batters last season. With all the talk about Strasburgh, Kershaw flew under the radar of many up until last season ...of course. Kershaw has more than 40 wins more than Straus in his career, a lead that seems insurmountable for Stephen to ever catch him . A .98 whip last season helped him go 21-5 for the dreadful Dodgers last season, which made him one of the most valuable players in all of baseball. Many feel he is the top fantasy pitcher in baseball going into this season. We are looking at the next Sandy Koufax right now. If baseball is ever going to see a 300 win pitcher again this could be the guy.
Current Pitching Stats

ERA	W-L	SO	WHIP	BAA
2.55	4-3	69	1.01	.216

MLB POWER RANKINGS: JUNE 4

MLB POWER RANKINGS EARLY JUNE

CAN'T SPELL CLASS WITHOUT LA.

Credit: Jill Weisleder/LA Dodgers

FALLING.
Baltimore Orioles. Lost last 4 Series going 3-9 in that 12 game stretch. Holding onto 2nd place.
Atlanta Braves. They had an 8 game losing streak, dropping 2 back in the crowded NL East. 
St. Louis Cardinals. Mets just schooled the defending World Champs as the Cards drop to .500

RISING..
Boston Red Sox. A ton of injuries and they managed a 16-7 stretch which saw them get right back into the AL East only 3 games back of 1st. Pedroia on his way back to the line up. 
San Francisco Giants. Surging at 7-3 they are closing in on the Kemp-less Doyers fast. They went 6-1 last week. If that Lincecum guy ever figures it out the Giants might be back to an elite team again.


TOP 10 
10. New York Yankees. (29-24) 7-3 in last 10 games. If you been paying attention the Yanks you know they can't get a hit with a guy in scoring position. How long is that going to last? Jeter, Granderson, A-ROD, CANO, TEIX... The Offense doesn't worry me. Has Phil Hughes found his form again? The Yankees are the Yankees they will be in at the end of the season and will somehow most likely not get in the playoffs.  Waiting on returns of Brett Gardner and David Robertson. 


9. New York Mets. (31-24) 7-3 in last 10 games. Well its no secret the Mets love playing at home. 14-6 in last 20 home games. They have to pitchers pitching like Aces right now, Santana and yep R.A. Dickey. David Wright is a top 5 contender for the NL MVP right now. Can it last? Side note: Ike Davis is shooting for the worst season in the history of baseball. 


8. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. (28-27)  8-2 in last 10 games. All of a sudden the Angels are only 4.5 back. Took 2 of 3 from the Rangers this weekend which felt like playoff games at the stadium. The Angels are hot, Tori Hunter however is not. 1-150 1-15 since returning from his sons issues.  Mike Trout is the greatest player to ever step on the field. Albert Pujols woke up from his hibernation and is now hitting a ridiculously blistering .235 Take that Ted Williams.  The pitching rotation is just to deep I look for them to stay in the top 10 the remaining part of the season. 


7. Tampa Bay Rays (31-23) 5-5 in last 10 games. While playing .500 ball the Rays actually shoot into first place in the East. The offense is horrible but EVAn Longoria should be back soon and that should help out a bit. Matt Joyce is once again having another All-Star season. The staff is what the Rays rely on. 
Question mark. Fernando Rodney... it's only a matter of time people. Think last year.


6. Cincinnati Reds. (30-23) 6-4 in last 10 games. Cardinals smashed by injury the Reds aren't ashamed to take advantage. 3 games up in the Central. The offense is obviously led by Joey Votto 62 hits, .342 but Jay Bruce has 12 HR and a 100 Total Bases already. Johnny Cueto while only 5-3 has a 2.54 ERA and is eating up innings for his team. Ardolis Chapman is unhittable to close out games. Can he keep throwing strikes? If he does the Reds could be sneaky. 


5. Chicago White Sox. (31-23) 9-1 in last 10 games.17-9 on the road is best in the Bigs people. I hate to put them in my rankings. They are not sexy. How the hell is this happening? "This" being the White Sox winning a lot of games. 2.5 up on Cleveland but more importantly 6 games up on the Tigers. Adam Dunn is back and hitting home runs and striking out a whole bunch. The most underrated star in sports Paul Konerko is hitting .366 with 11 home runs. De Aza and A.J the Ahole  Pierzynski are hovering around .300 All of a sudden Chris Sale is the Randy Johnson btw the kid is 23 years old. 


4. Texas Rangers. (32-22) 5-5 in last 10 games. They have not been playing well. The first time they are out of the top 2 spots this season. People over hyped Derek Holland as he has been getting lit up like the 4th of July lately. Save your Harry Caray impersonation for someone who thinks its funny. Hamilton has cooled off as he is all the way down to .354 with just 21 HR. Elvis Andrus is an all-star this year hitting .311 right now. Both Darvish and Harrison are 7-3 while Darvish carries a Texas respectable 3.21 ERA. The West should come down to the wire both Angels and Rangers are elite. 


3. Washington Nationals. (30-22) 5-5 in last 10 games.  The Nationals are about to get Morse back a big bat that they can throw back into the middle of the line up. The Pitching is outstanding. They might have the top 2 candidates for this years Cy Young leading their staff. Gio has 7 wins with 84 K's already. 


2. Miami Marlins. (31-23)  7-3 in last 10 games. The Marlins hit the lotto with Zambrano so far. He has ate up over 70 innings with a 2.81 ERA. Anibal Sanchez has been the teams ace up til this point. Hanley Ramirez is back people. Crushing 400 ft bombs, swiping bags, not pouting in the corner. He has his average up to .276 12 for his last 24 with 4 HR. "Giancarlo doesn't strike out much" - Adam Dunn.


1. Los Angeles Dodgers. (33-21) 3-7 in last 10 games. Still a nice 21-9 at home this season.  3 win in last 10 games and yet they still have the best record in baseball. They have lost Matt Kemp the best player on the planet for a month. They need to bite the bullet and go get Kevin Youkilis from the Red Sox to add some offense. Did you know LA is fourth in Batting Average? not as horrible of offense as you thought. The Dodgers and Giants should be in a battle all year. Andre Either is back this year hitting .320 The real question will be can Chris Capuano 7-2/2.50ERA maintain anywhere near those numbers. The Dodgers have the best player and best pitcher in the game. They will need to pull off a trade to maintain a World Series contender but right now they hold on to the no. 1 spot. 

WORST TEAM IN MLB?

BATTLE FOR THE WORST

TEAM IN MLB

SAN DIEGO PADRES (18-36) 2-8 in last 10 games. Last Place in the NL West.  A brutal 5-19 on the road. 15.5 games behind Baseball's best the Dodgers. The Padres rank near 30th in most offensive categories. You could say they have the worst offense in recent memory and no one would bother to argue. They have no regular hitting over .280, Yonder Alonso is currently toeing that line. Will Venable is leading the Padres in SLG at .454.  The numbers are soft. Cameron Maybin has been struggling and Chase Headley (7 HR)  isn't any good. Who leads the Padres in wins? You would think it would be a starting pitcher right? The fire throwing future closer, Andrew Cashner has 3 wins. The Padres do have a bunch of nice young arms (Edison Volquez 3.42 Era and 60 K's  on their staff so they certainly could turn it around and be able to compete in the NL West as early as next season. 


CHICAGO CUBS (18-34) 3-7 in last 10 games. Last Place in the NL Central. 6-19 on the road. 12 games back in the Central. The Cubs rank 27th in runs scored and 26th ERA. Aside from their cornerstone Starlin Castro hitting .316 the Cubs would likely be willing to deal anyone else on the team. Bryan LaHair is having a nice little season with 10 HR but the offense overall is horrible.  Soriano hitting .267, Ian Stewart under .200. They are currently without a closer and we all know how committee's work. Matt Garza (2-4) will soon be traded and Ryan Dempster (2.90 era) might go as well. So it is likely to get worse before it gets better. The Cubs need to get real lucky on these upcoming trades and maybe grab a star free agent next offseason. Good Luck Theo. 


MINNESOTA TWINS (19-33) 4-6 in last 10 games. Last Place in the AL Central.  10.5 games out of 1st place. The Twins rank 25th in runs scored and 30th in ERA that makes it hard to win games. Denard Span and Joe Mauer are hitting around .300 the major problem is they only have 3 guys with more than 5 HR. Josh Willingham currently has 10 one more than Mourneau. Relief Pitcher Joe Gray leads the staff in wins at 3. Carl Pavano the clear cut "Ace" to this point has thrown more than 20 innings more then anyone on staff and is sitting at a 6.00 ERA. Francisco Liriano has been a huge disappointment 8.78 ERA. Really just a horrible looking roster it doesn't take a genius to see why the Twins after being a contender for so long is in trouble.  

Announcer Smashes Umpire

HAWK HARRELSON VS MARK WELKE

ANNOUNCER BLOWS UP UMPIRE

Chicago White Sox announcer and former All-Star 1B absolutely lit up Welke earlier this week. If you missed it, well it was bad good enough for Bud Selig, the Commissioner to call him up and lay into him a bit.  "We had a talk," he said. "Actually, Bud talked and I listened. If it was a prize fight, they would have stopped it in the first round."

"YOU GOT TO BE BLEEPING ME..." 

MLB TRADE RUMORS

TRADE WARS.

THIS IS HOW RUMORS GET STARTED

*  Just UPDATED:  Teams interested in Red Sox 3B Kevin Youkilis. In no particular order.  Dodgers, Phillies, Rangers, White Sox, Diamondback's, Giants. 

* CBSsports.com Danny Knobler said the Dodgers will be interested in pitching as well as trying to get a hitter. He wouldn't be surprised to see them go after the Cubs Ryan Dempster.  The Dodgers also have some interest in Kevin Youkilis, as do many teams. 

* Sources are saying Bryce Harper is not the long term fix in Center Field for Washington. The Nationals are interested in Angels Center Fielder Peter Bourjos and the Twins Denard Span, this according to MLB.com Bill Ladson. 


* The NY Yankees are eyeing the Cubs Matt Garza putting him on the top of their wish list even over Milwaukee's Zack Greinke. 


* The White Sox and Rangers have shown interest in Boston 3B Kevin Youkilis. 


* Chicago Cubs have been letting teams know that all players except Jeff Samardzija and Starlin Castro. Matt Garza is available for the right offer, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter links). 


* David Wright is going to stick it to the Mets and not discuss any contract extension during the season. 

HARPER VS TROUT UPDATED

HARPER Vs TROUT

WHO WILL DETHRONE MATT KEMP AS THE BEST PLAYER IN BASEBALL... FIRST? 

Who do you think will have the better career? Trout looks to be a little more polished at this point but scouts like Harper's upside. I say it doesn't matter they both are already franchise players.  

AB 113 

HITS 31

AVG. .274

HR 4 

2B 6  3B  4  

RBI  11 

SB 2 

OBP .357  SLG .504  OPS  .861

Coming off a nice stretch off games Harper closes the statistical gap. He had his average up to .287 at his peak. 2 SB's

AVG. .303

HR 5

2B 7  3B  2  

RBI  16 

SB 8

OBP .366  SLG .521  OPS  .887

Trout is maintaining a .300 average and still holds the edge in the power categories while stealing 8 bags.