Apparently he's had his visa revoked and is facing a 20 year prison sentence for killing a man in a bar fight. I guess all that speculation on his upside and power potential was wasted effort.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091113&content_id=7664896&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb&partnerId=rss_mlb

"Angel Villalona, a top prospect for the San Francisco Giants, has been stripped of his U.S. visa after he was charged with killing a man in his Caribbean homeland, The Associated Press reported Friday.

Pablo Peguero, the Giants' representative for Latin America, told the AP that Villalona, 19, can't join the team in the United States because the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic has revoked his visa."

Coming into this season, Cahill was seen as one of the most exciting pitching prospects in baseball. He produced a lot of praise on this website (with many Brandon Webb comps) and then the predictable back lash.

The praise arose from his excellent k/9 numbers, his low ERA and his outstanding GO/AO ratio while pitching against competition several years his senior. He looked to be the rare bird that strikes out a lot of guys while also keeping the ball on the ground.

Despite only 6 starts at AA, he broke camp with the A's and has stayed in their rotation all year long. As a 21 year old, he has been brilliant at times and really struggled at other times. I remember doing some math during the first two months of the season and, taking away two horrific starts where he left very early, he had something like a sub-3 ERA and a WHIP around 1.15. I know I was cherry picking, but the idea was that he's going to suffer through some rough outings due to his youth and inexperience, but the other starts show a very talented pitcher.

However, since that time it appears he's regressed, at least in regards to his production. He has allowed a lot of hits and his control hasn't been very good. Additionally, his K rate has been very disappointing at 4.5 per 9.

Now I realize he's a very young pitcher having his first go around in the majors and bumps in the road are to be expected.

My question to everyone is, what kind of production do you expect from Cahill next year and in the next few years? Will he become that ace that many projected or will it take a few years for him to iron things out or will he never be that guy many thought he'd become?

Below are his numbers from the minors and this year, courtesy of baseballcube.com

Today is his 20th birthday and Jason Heyward continues to prove that he's the top prospect in baseball. After an impressive debut season, he's taken it to another level this year with his power really developing. Although it's only been 30 games at AA, Heyward has been out of this world at the level typically considered a proving ground for prospect legitimacy. 

I dare anyone to find a prospect better than Jason Heyward.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=518792

I know this is a minor league baseball blog, but I thought this recent piece of news deserved a thread. For those of you that don't know, Cincy Reds beat writer Hal McCoy is being forced into retirement at the end of this season. It appears the Dayton Daily News is following the lead of several newspapers across the country and will stop traveling with the Reds to save on money. And McCoy is being forced into retirement, likely with the same thought in mind.

Not only is the game losing a Hall of Fame reporter, but we are all being reminded of the disintegration of the newspaper business. So many people are losing their jobs and I forsee a lot of additional changes in the way everything, including sports, is covered. Pretty soon we'll be lucky to have more than one voice at any sporting event.

Today is a sad day for baseball and is likely just another sad day in a continous cycle that our nation is undergoing.

I, like many people on this board, were VERY high on Kris Davis coming into the year. Although his K numbers were high, the mighty bat and long track record of decent or better averages made me think he'd be able to put up big numbers this year. 

Instead, he's hitting right around .200 with a a record-setting-pace of K's. Granted he is showing power but when you're hitting .200, that just won't cut it.

The Rangers finally had enough and demoted the Human Fan to AAA last night to make room for Josh Hamilton.

Supposedly they just want him to go down and work on "things" and then they will call him right back up. 

What does the community think? Is he going to end up a perpetual bust? Or is he going to revamp his swing and return better than ever, terrorizing balls and exciting the hearts of many fantasy owners?

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090706&content_id=5721028&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

So I got swept up in the hype and jumped aboard the Travis Snider train to start this season. After a decent start, he suddenly forgot how to hit a baseball and promptly got sent down to the minors. After posting a .686 OPS in the majors, he's managed to do worse in AAA (granted it's only eight games but a .614 OPS is just stupid). Not only is he hitting in Las freaking Vegas, he's in the PCL. He isn't hitting for average or for power and has a 9-35 bb-k ratio this season between the two levels. So what's going on with him? Is he hurt? Did the Blue Jays rush him? Is he just not that good?

The Pirates, who have averaged 89 losses since 1993, sank to the deepest part of Pittsburgh's Three Rivers on Thursday after one of its split squads lost to Manatee (Fla.) Community College during a fundraising exhibition game.

In some ways, the top of the box score says it all: Manatee C.C. 6, Pittsburgh 4.

The Sarasota Herald-Review, however, ran a very detailed story — almost 1,000 words, for your Bucco masochists — about how the Lancers did the unlikely at McKechnie Field in Bradenton.

It's only fair to point out that the Pirates lineup was filled out by guys who missed the cut in spring training. Several of the team's best players, including Nate McLouth, Ryan Doumit, the LaRoches and Stewcast guest Freddy Sanchez, did not play in the game.

Yet several guys who have logged big league minutes — like Mets' killer Steve Pearce, Brian Bixler andRobinzon Diaz — were in the no-win situation lineup, as was prized prospect Jose Tabata.  Virgil Vazquez, who contended for Pittsburgh's fifth starter spot this spring, started the game for Pittsburgh on the mound.

OK, so your aunt was in contention for that fifth spot, too, but that's not the point. These were real, live Triple-A (perhaps even Class 4A) players.

And these junior college Manatees managed to beat ‘em!

Whatever excuse you want to drum up for the Pirates — spring training's almost over, the scrubs played the final five innings,  the juco players wanted it more — we still say it's not good enough. Get ready Pirates, we'd like for you to take on our office softball team. 

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Manatee-Community-College-forces-Pirates-to-walk?urn=mlb,152646

As a White Sox fan and Beckham fantasy owner, I'm very interested in what kind of a player he could develop into. 

BP has his upside at Chase Utley and I've also heard Michael Young comps. 

I asked John during his Q&A hour and he said Beckham could be like Chase Utley at SS or M. Young. 

With Alexei Ramirez moving to SS, it appears that Beckham will be playing 2B. It was generally assumed that he would start the year in the minors (probably AA) and maybe make the majors next year.

However, Beckham has played pretty well so far, or at least better than Getz and Lillibridge, and it appears the Sox are considering breaking camp with him starting at 2B.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/whitesox/chi-09-white-sox-chicagomar09,0,2643671.story

My question for the community is what kind of production can I expect to see out of him during his peak and what about this year if he makes the team?

Remember, opinions are like noses...... (they all blow) --- sorry, couldn't resist. I see that put at the bottom of so many posts and I find it stupid and redundant.

So I was reading an article by Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports and came across this.

OK, so Arizona doesn’t want to get stuck with Adam Dunn next season at the $15 million or so he’d get through arbitration. Fine. It’s a short-sighted maneuver not to offer arbitration – he’s bound to get a multi-year deal somewhere – but with the Diamondbacks offering arbitration to Orlando Hudson, Juan Cruz and Brandon Lyon, one scouting director wondered whether it was to avoid a glut of draft choices and the signing bonuses that accompany them.

While two sources dismissed the idea, one pointed out that with Dunn, Hudson and Cruz all Type A players likely to sign elsewhere, it would have left the Diamondbacks with seven high picks, including their own first-rounder, and eight if Lyon doesn’t accept arbitration. According to Baseball America, Arizona spent only $4.49 million on its draft choices last season, the seventh-lowest number in the game.

Still, the specter of high draft picks, which most teams consider extremely valuable, did not scare off the Brewers or Dodgers. Each is in position to have six top picks if they cannot re-sign their eligible free agents, all of whom are unlikely to accept arbitration.

It seems odd that a team wouldn't want a bunch of high draft picks, since young players that suceed are much more cost efficient than veterans. Granted, many high draft picks end up busts, but I'd think the risk/reward ratio would end up favoring the team. Maybe the D-Backs have some financial limitations that are forcing their hand on this, but it seems awfully short sighted to me, especially with the current state of their minors.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-arbitrationroundup120208&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Hi Guys,

So here's the deal. I'm the owner of a pretty successful baseball keeper league team that allows us to keep 12 players. The categories are AVG, OPS, R, HR, RBI, SB and 6 pitching categories (that part doesn't really matter).

My offense is stellar and my only real question mark is 2b. I have Rickie Weeks, who I've held onto the last three years after trading a couple of pretty good players for him. I keep waiting for him to bust out and live up to his potential. However, he's about to finish his fourth full year and is batting around .230, which would be the the third year he's done so with one .270 a couple years back.

I like to think I have a lot of patience (I'm still giving Delmon Young the benefit of the doubt). Anyway, what I wanted to ask the community is how much more patience should I use with Weeks?

I'm starting to question whether he'll ever live up to that potential that I've heard so much about. I see him hit and he seems to the bat speed that would make him a star. Yet all he's done is struggle, get hurt and it looks like lose his job down the stretch to Ray Durham.

So should  I continue to hold onto him or is it time to cut my losses and work on finding a new 2b for my team? Is he ever going to live up to his potential or is this what he is, a low avg, decent power and speed guy?

I appreciate any thoughts any of you may have.