That Balls Outta Here » minor leagues

Darin Ruf Honored for Multitude of Skillful Minor Leaguing

Justin Klugh — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 17:50:42 +0000

26-year-old prospect awaits shot at Majors, disappointment of ludicrous fanbase

SSteve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

It was a white knuckle race, but in the end the Minor League Baseball Award for Best Offensive Player went to Darin Ruf, if you count the fans’ votes, and Wil Myers, if you count the MiLB.com vote. And what is baseball if not for the fans? Just a bunch of dudes wearing the same outfits, throwing shit at each other. So really, the fans are the only ones who count. Making Darin Ruf the sole Offensive Award-holder.

Ruf beat out Myers, the hallowed Reds speedster prospect Billy Hamilton, and the inspiring comeback story of Christian Yelich to take home the honors. Darin will approach the award slowly, being forced to slog through our syrupy, knee-deep expectations.

Tyler Cloyd also made a name for himself, vaulting from his International League Most Valuable Pitcher award with the IronPigs to finish second in the Best Starting Pitcher race behind the Orioles’ Dylan Bundy. Reading’s Justin Friend finished fifth for Best Reliever, and the IronPigs 2-6-4 triple play previously discussed on this very site wound up ranked as the fourth Best Play.

Currently, Darin is hitting .276/.344/.724 in Venezuela, with four home runs in eight games. The New York press is already calling for him in a trade involving Curtis Granderson, and the Phillies are still waiting to see what they really have. But it appears that whatever it is, it’s an award-winning home run specialist.

Is there a brilliant slugging career ahead of him? Only time, and the amorphous blob of reactionary thing-seers, will tell.

Phillies Re-Sign Nonfactor Scott Podsednik to Minor League Deal

Justin Klugh — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:22:25 +0000

Per the rule that the Phillies only sign 35-year-old men to play in their farm system, Scott Podsednik has been re-signed by the organization for another year, along with several others with even less name recognition to use for SEO purposes.

Your fondest Scott Podsednik memory is probably the one when, as a Dodger, he was chasing down Ben Francisco’s one-run double in the eighth inning of this pretty hilarious comeback win. (more…)

Phillies Add to Stockpile of Old Veteran Minor Leaguers

Justin Klugh — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 23:21:31 +0000

With every signing, there are question marks. In this case, we have “Who is Scott Elarton?”

Scott has pitched for such MLB powerhouses as Houston, Colorado, Cleveland, and Kansas City over the course of ten years. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Don’t jump to conclusions just because you’re only now realizing that “powerhouses” was sarcastic. They all have good players and stuff. Why are you acting like Scott Elarton is so bad? Just… JUST GIVE SCOTT ELARTON A CHANCE FOR GODS SAKE. (more…)