Sprouts: A’s Prospects, Royals Awards and Papa Lamb

Tonight there are three links to share with you in this edition of Sprouts. Two of the links are from FanSided sites while the third is a bit off the beaten path, at least for me, but the contents of the article should be read by anyone who loves baseball and has children.

First up is an article from our Oakland Athletics site, Swingin’ A’s in which Joseph Lopez touches on the seasons of prospects; Chris Carter, Michael Choice and Grant Green. Several times this summer I have wanted to sit down and dedicate articles to both Choice and Green so linking to this helps scratch that itch and gets it off my mind. Given the pile of article ideas and topics floating around in my head, this is definitely a good thing. On another note, I’m formulating a plan to do something similar for each organization this offseason and, while I am thinking of covering more than 3 prospects per team, Joseph’s article will serve as a good example in my efforts.

Clipped from: swinginas.com (share this clip)

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On Kings of Kauffman, Michael Engel writes about the Royals announcement that Johnny Giavotella and Kelvin Herrera were named the organizations minor league hitter and pitcher of the year. There’s no doubt in my mind that Johnny G. is deserving of his award, and admittedly Herrera has had an excellent season while ascending from High-A to AAA. Greg Billo however has a 1.93 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 1.7 BB/9 and 7.9 SO/9 in 135.0 innings with Kane County (A). He’s done all of this while making 18 starts among his 27 appearances. For me, Billo should be the Royals minor league pitcher of the year and it’s not even close.

Clipped from: kingsofkauffman.com (share this clip)

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Finally, I just had to link to a guest post that went up on MLB Reports today. The guest poster is James O. Lamb, who if you don’t know, is the father of Royals prospect John Lamb and a scout for the Florida Marlins. The topic is one that is near and dear to my heart since I have two boys (7 and 4 years old) and one that I feel compelled to pass along to any parents, or future parents, out there. The title, What Can a Parent Do: A Guide to Being a Baseball Parent explains just what you’re getting into before you start reading. While most of it is common sense, at least to me, I think the source lends some credence to the messages provided.

Clipped from: mlbreports.com (share this clip)

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