Fan News

We're nearly two full months into the 2014 season and we've seen enough from many of the Boston Red Sox's top prospects to judge their developmental progress so far this year.

Many of their starting pitching prospects have made 10-plus starts. Many of their hitters are nearing 200 plate appearances. We're even seeing some players promoted on the backs of fast starts and organizational need. The sample sizes may be too small to hold predictive value, but they're no longer too small to tell us part of a story in many cases.

Everyone has an idea of what they want to happen when their team makes a selection in the Major League Baseball draft. Some fans are looking for a quick fix, while others are happy to preach patience in hopes of landing a superstar talent that will need time to develop. 

The 2014 MLB draft class has a little something for everyone, though it's become abundantly clear as the spring has gone on that the strength of this group is on the mound. Much like what you see from all 30 teams each night, offense is hard to come by. 

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion has four multi-homer games in May, making him the first player since Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki in September 2010 to produce a quartet of multi-homer games in the same month, per MLB Stat of the Day on Twitter.

The Philadelphia Phillies scored a big 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, but the best play of the game didn't come from any of the players.

During the bottom of the sixth inning, Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz hit a foul ball to right field. The ball went right toward a beer vendor, who accidentally ended up catching it with the beer bucket on top of his head.

In a move that was surprising and seemingly came out of left field, the Arizona Diamondbacks announced last Saturday that the organization hired Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa to become the team's newly created chief of baseball operations.

Never a stranger to injuries over the past two seasons, Hanley Ramirez was scratched from Saturday's lineup with a sore left calf. 

Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times provided the news:

With the 2014 MLB draft just about a month away, the Cubs once again have a top-five pick. Last season they appeared to hit a home run by taking 3B Kris Bryant with the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, and this season they hold pick No. 4. There are several different directions the club could go, but pitching is likely to be a top priority. 

Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre is apparently not a fan of people touching his head.

During Friday night's game between the Rangers and Detroit Tigers, Miguel Cabrera decided to have some fun with Beltre, patting him on the head while standing at third base. Beltre didn't seem to like that too much, as he retaliated with an attempted shot below the belt.

In baseball, a day doesn't go by without a new story, narrative, ascending club or major injury to dominate the news cycle. It's easy to get lost in day-to-day headlines on the long, winding path of the 162-game season.

When taking a step back, however, the most interesting performances and images can emerge from a season that's barreling toward the summer months.

The full story of the 2014 season still hasn't been written, but characters are emerging, and subplots have taken shape.

Everyone loves yard work.

That is, when it's referring to monster home runs. The following rundown provides a ranking of the 10 biggest shots of the 2014-15 MLB season. The types of home runs that make the cut fall into three general categories.