From the Collection: Blake Stein, sp, Oakland Athletics
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Starting Pitcher Blake Stein was never a huge pitching prospect. But organization saw something in him they liked, for sure.
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Stein was a 6th-round draft pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1994. He put up strong numbers in the minors, especially in 1996, when he went 16–5 with a 2.15 ERA at High-A. That season put him on the prospect radar, and he entered 1997 as one of the Cardinals’ top 10 prospects.
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In July 1997, Stein was involved in the first of two major trades. The Cardinals packaged him with pitchers Eric Ludwick and T.J. Mathews to acquire Mark McGwire from the Athletics.
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Stein didn’t do much in Oakland, and in 1999 he was included in another trade package, this time with pitchers Jeff D’Amico and Brad Rigby, to acquire Kansas City Royals ace Kevin Appier.
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Stein also didn’t do much with Kansas City and bounced around the league until 2002. He retired with a 21–28 record. But he helped facilitate two big trades — and it’s always nice to be wanted.

New Arrival: Carlos Beltran, of, Kansas City Royals
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There was a time, I want to say roughly 2006, that you might have been hard pressed to say who was the better player, Carlos Beltran or Bobby Abreu. At that point, each had enjoyed strong careers. Beltrán, a nine‑year veteran, was a Rookie of the Year winner with three All‑Star selections, a Gold Glove, and a Silver Slugger under his belt. He had amassed 40.4 WAR. Abreu, eleven years into his career, had two All‑Star selections, a Gold Glove, and a Silver Slugger. He had amassed 49.5 WAR.
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Beltrán, in the end, simply aged better. He would finish with 70.0 career WAR to Abreu’s 60.2. It’s worth noting, though, that Abreu retired with a better OPS+ than Beltrán (128 vs. 119). While you could argue that prime Abreu was the better all‑around hitter, Beltrán had more power, hitting 435 career home runs to Abreu’s 288.
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Beltrán was a very good player for a very long time and deserved his spot in the Hall of Fame. Abreu was one of the best players of the 2000s but ultimately didn’t reach Beltrán’s level by the end of his career.

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From the Field: Gavin Balius and Brett Griffiths, Ball State Baseball
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I was looking forward to Ball State coming to town. They are a strong mid-major school—which I am always partial too—and are the alma mater of a couple of my favorite Cleveland prospects: Brad Snyder (2002-3), Perci Garner (2009-10) and Bryan Bullington (2000-2).
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Two of the biggest players I was hoping to get was infielders Brett Griffiths and outfielder Gavin Balius.
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Brett Griffiths is having a great start to the season, hitting .335 with a .444 OBP. Griffiths hitting should not be a surprise. Back in 2024, when he was a full-time starter with American River College (JUCO) he hit .371/.439/.491 with 11 SB.
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Gavin Balius is in the same boat, kicking off 2026 hitting .379 with a .424 OBP. He is a prototypical leadoff type, and it already 12/13 in stolen bases this season. He got on base twice during the Hawaii game, and you could tell UH was doing their best to keep him stuck on first. It was only partially successful—he went 1 for 2 in stolen bases. Balius is also not a just starting off the season strong, this is a par for the course with his past performances. Especially this past summer, where is had a .866 OPS playing in the Coastal Plain League.
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The only real disappointment of the night was Keegan Johnson won’t sign autographs. It’s a bummer. I don’t normally get denied. But…I guess that just the way it works sometimes.
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Anyway. They are here for three more days, and I hope to go back down to get a couple more players—the weather looks like it should hold. The series should be a good one, and I am hoping that Ball State evens it up tonight.

From the Field: Ethan Rogers, p, Wichita State Baseball
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Wichita States’s freshman pitcher Ethan Rogers is…really good. In high school he put up video game numbers, and in 2025 along struck out 126 in only 52.2 innings. He only allowed 10 hits. TEN. That is nuts. While the numbers are great, he has the stuff to back it up. Both his fastball and curveball are plus pitches–enough that he was drafted by the Tigers in the 18th round of the 2025 draft. If he develops like is expected, he could easily be drafted on the first day in a couple of years. Wichita is very lucky to have him, and I am excited to see how he develops over the next couple of seasons.

From the Collection: Paul Konerko, if, Chicago White Sox
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Back in 1997 it would have been hard to find a better hitting prospect that the Dodger’s Paul Konerko.
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Konerko spent the majority of the 1997 season with the Albuquerque Dukes and hit 37 HR with a 1.028 OPS. He was named the Pacific Coast League MVP and the 1997 Minor League Player of the Year by both Baseball America and Baseball Weekly. He was also named the Dodgers’ Minor League Player of the Year for the second consecutive year.
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In 1998 the Dodgers traded away Konerko to acquire closer Jeff Shaw from the Reds. In the short run, it was not a bad move. The Dodgers needed a closer and got one in Shaw. And from 1998-2001 he was a very solid reliver, and even an All-Star in 2001.
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Konerko would eventually be traded to the White Sox, and the rest is history. He would go on to become a six-time All-Star, hit 439 career home runs, and his strong 2005 campaign would help propel the White Sox to a World Championship. While not quite a hall-of-game career, he is still one of the most fearsome sluggers of the 2000’s.

From the Field: Jayson Jones, IF, Wichita State Baseball
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Wichita State baseball is in town. The team is almost completely different from the club that came through here last season. One of the biggest additions is infielder Jayson Jones. In fact, you probably already knew that if you follow college baseball. Jones was all over the news following Wichita State’s opening weekend against Northern Colorado, where he homered in all four games. He is easily one of the most talented players we have had come through so far this year — and probably for the entire season. And we are still, for the moment, in the Big West, so that says something.
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His performance should not come as a surprise. Coming out of high school, he was rated the No. 1 player in Texas and considered a top-flight draft talent. Prior to joining the Shockers, he spent time with both Oklahoma State and Arkansas — powerhouse Division I programs. I am sure that some MLB team is going to grab him in the upcoming draft.
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I was happy to get this autograph following the first game of the series in Hawaii, the only game I have been able to attend between bad weather and a tire that decided to blow out while I was on the way to Saturday’s game. I am hoping Hawaii and Wichita can get in the Sunday doubleheader; these games have all been fun. Plus, I am still hoping to get a couple more players, especially Josh Wulfert and Anthony Cepeda.

From the Collection: Ryan Nelson, p, Arizona Diamondbacks
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Back in 2019, Oregon Duck’s starting pitcher Ryan Nelson got the win in a game again Hawaii. He went 4 innings, allowing 4 hits, walking 5 and striking out 4. After the game I was able to get his autograph. He was nice. Actually, the whole team was cool. And good.
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Since that night in Hawaii, Mr. Nelson has gone places.
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That season, Nelson ended up going 3-4 with a 4.29 ERA/1.554 WHIP. He only allowed 60 hits over 65 innings, striking out 104.
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He would be drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2nd round of the 2019 draft.
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Neslon moved quickly through the minors and made his major league debut in 2022. This past season, pitching mostly in the rotation, Nelson had something of a breakout season, going 7-3 with a 127 ERA+ and earning 3.5 WAR. He only allowed 124 hits over 154 innings. He is firmly entrenched in the D-Backs rotation for 2026.

From the Collection: Julian Greenwell, if, Wright State Baseball
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You know who was a really good baseball player? Wright State’s Julian Greenwell. I got his autograph when the team was visiting Hawaii back in 2023. At the time, Greenwell was coming off a monster 2022 season where he hit .314 with a .442 OBP and 8 HR.
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In 2024–his last season at Wright State–he had another fantastic campaign, hitting .399 with a .474 OBP and 11 HR (all career highs). My favorite state was he walked (21) more than he K’d (16).
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Greenwell ended his college career with a line of .326/.429/.585, which are solid numbers. Unfortunately, he was not drafted. Still, he had a fantastic career at the D1-level, which isn’t nothing.

From the Collection: Trenton Denholm, p, Cleveland Guardians
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I got this autograph from pitcher Trenton Denholm while he was pitching at UC Irvine. He was a very good college pitcher and ended up going to Cleveland in the 14th round of the 2021 draft.
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Denholm has been a very solid pitcher in the Cleveland organization over the couple of seasons. Last season, between AA and AAA he went 11-8 with a 3.88 ERA, only allowing 128 hits and striking out 112 in 130 innings. He is not overpowering, but he has good control and knows how to pitch.
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This past fall, he pitched in the Arizona Fall League and was very good. Over 12.2 innings he allowed 19 hits but struck out 16 and only walked 6, good for a 2.13 ERA. The walks are worth noting since he started incorporating a knuckleball into his repertoire, which is a notoriously difficult pitch to consistently get in the zone.
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He is not really popping up on too many top prospect lists, but there is every reason to think he will be one of the first players the Guard’s call up when they need some arms.

From the Field: Sebastian Gonzalez, sp, University of Hawaii Baseball
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For years, pitching was a problem for the University of Hawaii. But gosh, that isn’t the case anymore. The team has a bunch of great pitchers, and Sebastian Gonzalez is easily one of the best.
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Last season, Gonzalez appeared in 18 games, which included 10 starts. He went 3-1 over 57 innings, allowing 62 hits while striking out 27. He was particularly good out of the pen, where he had a 1.48 ERA in his eight appearances.
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Between Gonzalez, Isaiah Magdaleno, Liam O’Brien, and Grant Garman–to name a few–Hawaii should have no problem holding their own against any team in the Big West this season.