For the fourth year in a row, pitcher Dylan Bundy has been ranked the Orioles' No. 1 prospect by Baseball America, which released its latest list of the top 10 Orioles prospects today. You can read the full list here (subscription required). Last year, the top four prospects were all pitchers; this year, after the top two pitchers, the next three are position player prospects. Here is a look at the list with a brief comment on each player: 1) Bundy: He had a healthy year with no setbacks and...

In the past, the Nationals have leapfrogged high Single-A Potomac for prospects such as outfielders Bryce Harper and Brian Goodwin. But top pitching talent has usually made a stop in Woodbridge, Va. A new crop of top pitching prospects appear to be headed to Prince Williams County next season. The question is: Will they stop in Potomac and if so, how long will they pitch for the high Single-A club? Right-hander Lucas Giolito, the highest-rated Nationals pitching prospect, dominated the South...

The baseball world was hit with some awful news yesterday, as Cardinals prospect Oscar Tavares and his girlfriend were killed in a car crash in his native Dominican Republic. Tavares was just 22, and only two weeks ago, he hit a game-tying home run late in Game 2 of the Cardinals' National League Championship Series against the Giants, leading to an eventual St. Louis win. It was Tavares' first career postseason homer, and if not for this tragic accident, quite a few more were likely on the...

The Giants had must-win games in the World Series the past two nights, and they won. Going back to Kansas City doesn't seem quite as daunting when you're up 3-2. And imagine if they could squeeze another start out of Madison Bumgarner. I'd find a way. Bumgarner is an absolute stud, one who's truly worthy of the "Big Game" moniker. He certainly was worth the 10th overall pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft. The nine players chosen before him? David Price (Rays), Mike Moustakas...

Later today, Baseball America will release a new Orioles top 10 prospects list and we'll find out who's in and who's out. We know for certain that three members of last year's top 10 will not be on the list today. Kevin Gausman, who was No. 2, and Jonathan Schoop, who was No. 5, now have too much major league time to qualify for the list. Pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez, No. 3 last winter, was traded to Boston for Andrew Miller. Last year, the top four on the list and six of the first eight were...

Yesterday, I discussed the Nationals bullpen, and how they could look to add to that already strong group this offseason, either via free agency or a trade. The Nats have plenty of talented arms in their system, but that's certainly an area where you can never have enough talent. And don't be shocked if the Nats do choose to bolster their relief corps this offseason. As I mentioned yesterday, the Nats will have Rafael Soriano's contract coming off the books this offseason, as they almost...

If you're still hurting over the Orioles being swept by the Royals in the American League Championship Series, manager Buck Showalter feels your pain. It's fine to appreciate what the Orioles accomplished in 2014 - the American League East title, the sweep in the Division Series - but the bar finally has been raised in Baltimore. "I don't want anybody to be satisfied," Showalter said yesterday after calling into "Wall to Wall Baseball" on MASN. "I want everybody to hold us to a high...

The Orioles are going into the 2015 season in a position unfamiliar to them. They will be the chasee and not the chaser for the American League East title. The Orioles won 96 games this season and took the AL East for the first time since 1997. It was their ninth division championship. The Orioles clinched the division on Sept. 16, the second-earliest date in team history. They won the AL East by 12 games, the first division team to win by 10 or more games since the 2006 Yankees. Now the...

One thing that I've really taken note of this postseason is how a couple of teams with dominant back ends of their bullpen have really been able to shorten games in their favor and turn a one-run lead after six innings into a fairly comfortable victory. We've seen it time after time with the Royals, who have relied on Kelvin Herrera in the seventh inning, Wade Davis in the eighth and Greg Holland in the ninth. All three bring heat and all three are nearly untouchable, both over the course of...

The Potomac Nationals defeated Myrtle Beach to win the Mills Cup and the Carolina League title in 2014. It was a sweet victory for the P-Nats prospects, according to manager Tripp Keister, because he believes they kind of flew under the radar despite steadily staying at the top of the standings the entire season. In Part 3 of our series on the Potomac Nationals championship season, we will examine how this team won the title despite not having as much fire power as Myrtle Beach displayed...