Minors: Independent Audit

2011 All-Independent Leagues Team
Oct. 27, 2011
Our picks for the best in independent leagues in 2011. [...] Continue Reading »

2011 Independent Leagues Player Of The Year: Chris Colabello
Oct. 27, 2011
Chris Colabello is the 2011 Independent Leagues Player of the Year. [...] Continue Reading »

2011 Independent League Top 10 Prospects Chat
Oct. 11, 2011
JJ Cooper answered independent league questions on Oct. 11 [...] Continue Reading »

2011 Independent League Top 10 Prospects
Oct. 11, 2011
It's a pretty bleak year for scouting independent baseball. The shift to more veteran-laden independent league lineups, a reduced number of independent league teams and an increased number of affiliated teams that scout independent baseball have left the shelves as bare as a Toys-R-Us on Christmas Eve. This year's list lacks the clear-cut No. 1 prospect of past years when prospects like Daniel Nava or Reynaldo Rodriguez were clearly at the top of the list. [...] Continue Reading »

Life On The Road For Indy Players Isn't Easy
Sep. 12, 2011
The San Angelo Colts life on the road is filled with long bus rides and and ever-changing roster. [...] Continue Reading »

Chico's Jason Stevenson Happy For A Second Chance
Aug. 23, 2011
Jason Stevenson needed a second chance after giving up on the game years ago. [...] Continue Reading »

Money Troubles Doom Lake County Fielders' Season
Jul. 26, 2011
The Lake County Fielders' shotgun marriage with the North American League is getting rockier by the minute. [...] Continue Reading »

Normal's Ryan Sheldon Doesn't Let Bad Break Stop Him
Jun. 13, 2011
Ryan Sheldon's baseball career was supposed to have ended years ago. Don't tell that to the rest of the Frontier League, where Sheldon went 9-5, 2.21 last year as a rookie. After developing a cutter midway through the season, he had a 0.47 ERA for the rest of the season. [...] Continue Reading »

Affiliated Clubs, Indy Ball Teams Face Off
Jun. 2, 2011
At the business level, Organized Baseball and independent baseball are much like Bobby Cox and umpires—they just don't mix. But when you move down to the level of the players and coaches, it's a different story. Baseball is baseball, and as a pair of North American League teams found during spring training, teams like competition, even if it's spanning the gulf between affiliated and indy ball. [...] Continue Reading »

Independent Leagues Ready For Season After Wildest Winter
May. 11, 2011
As the 2011 independent leagues seasons begin, teams and leagues are still recovering from what was the wildest winter in indy ball history. [...] Continue Reading »

Independent Leagues Top 10 Prospects Chat With JJ Cooper
Oct. 14, 2010
JJ Cooper chatted about indy prospects on Oct. 14. [...] Continue Reading »

Independent Leagues Top 10 Prospects
Oct. 14, 2010
Here's a look at the top 10 independent league prospects who were unsigned by affiliated clubs at the end of the 2010 season. The list was limited to players age 25 and younger. [...] Continue Reading »

2010 All-Independent Leagues Team
Oct. 14, 2010
Our selections for the 2010 All-Independent Leagues Team. [...] Continue Reading »

Sioux Falls' Torbert Finds Success By Relaxing
Oct. 14, 2010
Sioux Falls outfielder Beau Torbert is our 2010 Independent Leagues Player of the Year. [...] Continue Reading »

Dillas Roll To Third Straight United League Title
Sep. 24, 2010
Brady Bogart has a soft spot for the underdog, because he remembers being in that position himself. [...] Continue Reading »

Prior Sees Golden League As A Last Chance
Sep. 7, 2010
Nearly five years after he last pitched in an official game, Mark Prior signed with the Orange County Flyers to try to resurrect his career. [...] Continue Reading »

Lowey's Fastball Is Getting Noticed
Aug. 13, 2010
If Jason Lowey was 21 instead of 25, there's no way that he'd be an independent leaguer. [...] Continue Reading »

Gailen Forced To Play A Waiting Game
Aug. 4, 2010
Perserverance has never been a problem for Blake Gailen. The Chico Outlaws (Golden) outfielder's career has seen him travel all around the country, through three different independent leagues in less than three years, in hopes of attracting the attention of an affiliated team. And just when he was putting together the kind of season that couldn't be ignored, he literally ran into a wall. [...] Continue Reading »

Guerrero Joins Rare Club With Five Straight Home Runs
Jun. 29, 2010
Cristian Guerrero has reached Triple-A. He's part of one of the most famous baseball families of this generation (cousins Vladimir Guerrero and Wilton Guerrero are both big leaguers), and he could defy odds make it back to affiliated ball and make it to the big leagues himself. But even if all that happens, he'll never have a day like he had on June 9. [...] Continue Reading »

Golden Baseball League Brings Pro Ball Back To Hawai'i
May. 11, 2010
For the fourth time, professional baseball is returning to Hawai'i. The Maui-based Na Koa Ikaika Maui is one of two new franchises that will debut this season in the independent Golden Baseball League, which begins play May 19. [...] Continue Reading »

Indy Notebook: New Northern League Manager Counting On Frontier Leaguers
May. 10, 2010
When Fran Riordan was hired by the expansion Lake County Cornbelters (Northern) in the offseason, it marked the end of an era. Riordan had either played of managed in the Frontier League since 1997, winning three league titles as a manager. But he hasn't forgotten his Frontier League roots, and he brought along a core of his final Kalamazoo Kings team to prove it. On Feb. 1, Riordan swung a 11-player swap with his old team to bring seven ex-Kings to Lake County. [...] Continue Reading »

Independent Leagues Top Prospects Chat With J.J. Cooper
Oct. 16, 2009
J.J. Cooper chatted about the indy leagues on Oct. 16. [...] Continue Reading »

Independent League Top Prospects
Oct. 15, 2009
For the fourth year, we present our survey of the top talent in the independent leagues. After talking to scouts and independent league commissioners and managers, here is the list of unsigned independent leaguers who may deserve a first or second chance at affiliated ball. [...] Continue Reading »

2009 All-Independent Leagues Team
Oct. 7, 2009
Out picks for the best performers in independent baseball in 2009. [...] Continue Reading »

Worth Sticking Around
Oct. 7, 2009
After leading the American Association in most offensive categories, Greg Porter is the 2009 Independent Leagues Player of the Year. [...] Continue Reading »

For The Love Of The Game
Sep. 3, 2009
While his teammates are focused on returning to affiliated ball, Chris Buglovsky is content to pitch in front of his family and friends, even his first-grade teacher. [...] Continue Reading »

Try, Try Again
Aug. 5, 2009
Isaac Hess will pick up his glove and head to the mound for the Victoria Seals, just as he has 11 times before. It's everything that had gone on since his last start that may make everything feel a little different. [...] Continue Reading »

Nice Move
Jul. 14, 2009
As a former big league manager with the Indians, San Angelo skipper Doc Edwards has a pretty good idea of what kind of player he's looking for when he heads to a tryout camp. But he can't take credit for finding Bryan Frichter. [...] Continue Reading »

Their Last, Best Chance
Jul. 13, 2009
When the final pick of the 50th round of the draft has been called out and more than 1,500 players have been selected, there are still hundreds of players left disappointed. Last year Mike LaLuna was one of them. The shortstop at New York Tech headed into his senior season knowing that he needed to build on a .317/.377/.427 junior season. Instead he slumped to .268/.360/.411 as a senior and watched whatever hopes he had of being drafted disappear. [...] Continue Reading »

Bad Time For Indy Ball
May. 7, 2009
The current recession has cost millions of Americans their jobs and has cost the U.S. Treasury billions of dollars in deficit spending. And as you would expect, it's causing headaches for independent leagues as well. All sports have been affected by the economic downturn, but the effects may be felt especially hard in some of the independent leagues, where the margin between success and dissolution is smaller. [...] Continue Reading »