Opinion

With Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Jorge Soler and Addison Russell already in their lineup, seemingly the last thing the Chicago Cubs need is another talented young hitter. 

And yet there's Kyle Schwarber. He's knocking on the door to the majors, and his knocks are only getting louder.

May hasn’t been a great month for the Toronto Blue Jays, but one of the bright spots for the team has been the recent play of outfielder Chris Colabello.

When the Cubs and Nationals squared off for the first time this season on Memorial Day, each team featured their own version of a baseball phenom.

Bryce Harper and Kris Bryant don't seem like identical players off the top of the head, but the list of similarities between the two players is quite a long one.

Both grew up in the Las Vegas area, where they played with—on the same travel team, called the Ballbusters—and against each other since they were nine and seven years old. They also each have keen memories of the other.

When the Texas Rangers traded for Josh Hamilton in late April, it was easy to interpret the deal as a low-risk move that, at the least, would help generate interest in an otherwise uninteresting team.

But now, you can't help but wonder if the Rangers will end up getting more than they bargained for.

"Today, we're going to pull every fiber of our beings, collectively—I'm going to challenge each and every one of you—every fiber of your being to see yourself as a World Series champion..."—Hunter Pence addressing the crowd at AT&T Park after the final regular-season game of 2014.

At nine months apart in age, Bryce Harper and Kris Bryant ran in the same Las Vegas baseball circles as kids and teens, young prodigies with beaming futures. 

With the 2015 first-year player draft approaching, let's take a look back at how the last 10 Oakland A's first-round draft picks have fared.

Because hindsight is a beautiful thing.

For purposes of a tidy list, we'll stick with the first overall selection from each year dating back to 2005. There may be a better draft pick, a guy picked later who is playing better currently. If that's the case, that player may get a brief mention, but again, this article will concentrate on the first pick.

Garrett Jones pitched.

Got that? Garrett Jones, backup first baseman and backup designated hitter, pitched Saturday. 

For the New York Yankees.

In a real game.

And he was their most effective arm.

Garrett Jones lived out his dream...and it was awesome. He was our best pitcher of the day...and that's sad.

A year ago, Prince Fielder looked finished. Finito. Spent. And any other synonym for the word "done."

But as anybody who watched the Texas Rangers veteran first baseman in action on Friday night against the New York Yankees will tell you, rumors of Fielder's demise were greatly exaggerated.

The home run is dead. Just don't tell Bryce Harper and Nelson Cruz.