You hear it all the time: it isn’t about velocity, it’s about location. And no one exemplifies that old adage more than Logan Verrett. The 22-year-old Texas native was taken in the third round of the 2011 draft and has been impressive at all three minor league stops. Verrett dominated A ball in 2012 in both Savannah and St. Lucie, combining to make 17 starts and finishing with an ERA of 2.70, a WHIP of 0.968, and [...]

Despite a major league pedigree and respect for his tools (Baseball America Top 15 organizational prospect three years running), Binghamton Mets outfielder Cory Vaughn had yet to put all his tools together. His power and speed didn’t show up until 2012, but he hit .243. In St. Lucie in 2011, Vaughn hit .286 before his promotion, but only four home runs. After the promotion, he more than doubled his home run total, but the batting average dipped to .219. [...]

Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus cashed in a big way by agreeing to an eight-year, $120 million contract extension. The deal hasn’t been finalized, but should be made official on Thursday. There is a clause that would allow Andrus to opt out after the fourth year if he chooses, but since the extension doesn’t kick in till after his current contract expires after 2014, that means he’s signed at least through 2018, which would be [...]

AL West At A Glance Los Angeles Angels: What’s there to say about the Angels? They have the best lineup in baseball and one of the game’s top pitchers in Jered Weaver. C.J. Wilson is solid, though there are some concerns after that. Joe Blanton, Jason Vargas and Tommy Hanson are all back end starters and there’s a huge bridge between the top two and bottom three. They should score a ton of runs, though. [...]

AL Central At A Glance Detroit Tigers: The odds on favorite to win the World Series, the Tigers aren’t just a big fish in small pond, they’re like a shark in a puddle. It took them a while in 2012 to remember they’re the Tigers, only overtaking the White Sox in late September and spending 33 days in first place, but one of those was October 4th, and that’s all that counted. Victor Martinez is [...]

AL East At A Glance New York Yankees: A lot of writers and analysts are picking the Yankees to finish third, and in the most wide open division in baseball, it’s certainly a possibility. The injury to Curtis Granderson will keep him out till May, Mark Teixeira’s injury could possibly require season-ending surgery, and Alex Rodriguez will be out till the All Star break at best. However, the Yankee won 95 games in 2012 without [...]

This year, I plan on witnessing my own little slice of history during the season. I don’t know exactly when it will occur and to be honest, I can’t guarantee it will occur, but I’m going to try my hardest to see it. This season, I plan on going to Yankee Stadium and watching Mariano Rivera nail down a save for the New York Yankees. Sure, I’ve seen it before. Most of us probably have. [...]

Welcome to the first installment of a yet to be determined number of installments Satish and I will be putting together on fantasy rankings for the upcoming season. This piece, about the top ten third basemen, will be followed by Satish’s rankings of outfielders and starting pitching, while I will subsequently add relief pitchers, as well. Since most fantasy leagues use the standard fantasy categories of runs scored, home runs, RBI, stolen bases and batting [...]

According to a report, the Cubs are willing to eat $26 million of the remaining $36 million owed left fielder Alfonso Soriano over the next two seasons, the last of the eight-year, $136 million deal he signed before the 2007 season. The contract includes a full no-trade clause, which Soriano invoked last season when he rejected a trade to the San Francisco Giants, using the negative effect the cold weather would have on his knees. [...]