That said, there is no need to fall into a state of morose.  Baseball continues in Cuba, Australia, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico and Puerto Rico, with many of the prospects that play in the summer leagues also participating in the winter leagues.  Veterans who have found themselves on the way out may join a team to show that they still have something left and prospects play to enhance some of their tools that are not quite there yet.

Carlos Gonzalez from the Rockies was solid in Venezuela last winter.  He seems to have done pretty well in the major leagues this year.  Stephen Strasburg created quite a buzz in the major leagues but many could have seen him in the Arizona Fall League parks and not fight with the crowds to watch him pitch.  Josh Thole had a nice break out season in Venezuela, hitting .381, and now he is scheduled to be the starting catcher for the Mets in 2011.  You can follow all the Caribbean and AFL action via MLB.com at Arizona Fall League and Caribbean Baseball.

Many of us have been amazed at the blazing fastball of Aroldis Chapman or were impressed with the season that Kendry Morales had in 2008.  Yuniesky Maya will be in the Nationals starting rotation in 2011.  These players just didn’t drop from the sky to play in the major leagues.  They competed in one of the more competitive baseball leagues in the world, the Cuban baseball league.  Pedro Luis Lazo, the winningest pitcher in Cuban baseball is retiring, and many of the current or future stars leave for the United States for the big bucks, but there still is a plethora of talent there.  You can follow Cuban baseball at Baseball De Cuba and Beisbol Cubano.

A new league is starting in Australia and the many Australian prospects that are toiling in the United States minor leagues will be in their homeland enhancing their tools.  Glen Williams and Dave Nillson will be managing two of the six teams there.  You can follow all of the ABL action here.

Another site to keep your eye on to follow the Latin stars of today become the superstars of tomorrow is BaseballLatinAmerica.com.  Perhaps you may learn a bit about the baseball that is played in Brazil.

And finally, it is not the winter league, but the Dominican Prospect league that is developing the baseball stars of tomorrow and you can follow them here: DPLBaseball.com.

There are probably other leagues that track the winter season so if anyone has any links to share, let me know and I will pass them on.  

Bob, My World of Baseball

Davis impressed a host of Mets brass that were all on hand to watch the Arizona native go 4-6 at the plate including two doubles and a mammoth grand slam homerun. Davis has six RBI’s in the game.

According to Adam Rubin, among the Mets in attendance were GM Omar Minaya, assistant GM John Ricco, top deputies Sandy Johnson and Bryan Lambe, Adam Fisher and virtually every professional scout from the organization.

I would have to believe that they were all their to see what they had in Ike Davis as they decide whether they need a one-year stop gap at first base or something more. As I’ve said before, Daniel Murphy is trade fodder and not the solution the Mets are looking for at first base. The Mets may keep him in a role similar to the one Dave Magadan used to have with the team, but I continue to believe he will be included in some sort of trade this off season to help fill another area of concern on the team.

Getting back to Davis, the former first-round pick that came to the Mets as a compensation pick, via the Atlanta Braves when they signed Tom Glavine, has shown an explosive bat and could have overtaken Fernando Martinez as the Mets best hitting prospect.

“It was a blast,” Davis said of his AFL debut. “We have all these different teammates, different jerseys. It felt like kind of an All Star Game.”

Technically for Davis, it was the 24th homer of the season as he belted 20 homeruns between Single-A and Double-A, three more while playing for Team USA in the World Cup last month, and then of course the grand slam in his AFL debut.

Most of you who read this site know of my skepticism regarding many of the prospects the Mets have hyped in the last three years. I questioned all of the Eddie Kunz, Fernando Martinez and Wilmer Flores hype, and couldn’t understand why such mediocre numbers in the minors translated into top prospect status. Sure they have great tools and thus the enthusiasm, but why the lofty expectations?

Ike Davis on the other hand looks polished. He looks real. He looks legit.  

Other Mets who played included left fielder Lucas Duda who went 2-5 with a double, two RBI and a walk, and shortstop Ruben Tejada who also went 2-for-5 with a stolen base and an RBI double.

Mets top pitching prospect Jenrry Mejia is due to start today’s game, with Scott Moviel, Eric Niesen and Josh Stinson assigned to the bullpen.

One other note, shortstop Reese Havens, will be getting experience at second base during the Arizona Fall League.