OK, so he isn’t American, nor did he play for team USA.  BUT, it’s too rawsome (raw+awesome = Rawsome) to not share with the masses.

Meet Yoenis Cespedes.   Right-Hand hitting outfielder and star of the Cuban National Team.  Long lost offspring of Sammy Sosa and Terrell Owens.

Now that you’ve watched the entire 20-minute highlight reel of everything that is Yoenis, what do you think? He seems to be a new name to the 2012 international free agents and an intriguing one to boot.  We can clearly see the power and athleticism in his game, but one must question his mental state (really…? posing and pointing to god before every rep in the gym? Yikes.).  He’s apparently looking at a $30MM contract and the rumored interest lies in Miami (no shocker there).

Before I can gather my own thoughts, I’ll leave you with a fantastic read from Baseball Prospectus.  Not only do they talk about the player, but they also go in-depth with the breakdown of the entire video.  The music choices alone would make George Steinbrenner roll over in his grave.

OK, so the title sounds a bit wrong.  Get your heads out of the gutter people.

Bryce Harper is enjoying his time in the Arizona Fall League, so much so that he took some time to share his love for internet idiocy.  Here he is seen doing the “Tebow” in a public place.

First we had planking.  Now we have a tribute to an overrated and underachieving megastar. When the times get tough you take a moment a reflect to the gods.

Hopefully, Bryce Harper has a better start to his Major League career than Tim Tebow in the NFL.

[Source]

We’re a little late posting the week #8 USA Collegiate Update from Prospect Nation, but it’s still something you should read.  There is quite a bit of draft player information, about some of the best names through the first half of the season.

Get ready for another 9-innings of collegiate action…

1^st: UCLA junior RHP Trevor Bauer is starting to run away with the 2011 Strikeout Crown and now sits just 3 K’s away from hitting the century mark for the second consecutive year; this past weekend, Bauer pitched a complete game (2^nd over the past 3 starts),  fanning 15 of 33 batters, while allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks; with the season at the halfway point, Bauer figures to pass the 165 K’s he posted last year; just a couple more starts like this and he will be very close…

[LINK: Cougars can’t decipher Bauer]

2^nd: UCLA junior RHP Gerrit Cole took part in the one-up-manship with teammate Trevor Bauer over the weekend as he also tossed a complete game; Cole, however, allowed just 1 unearned run on 5 hits and 1 walk while fanning 7 of the 32 batters he faced; this marked Cole’s second straight complete game (he has 3 on the season) as compared to Bauer’s 2…

[LINK: Cole dominant in complete game win]

[LINK: 2011 Draft – Catching up with Gerrit Cole]

3^rd: Clemson junior SS Brad Miller was named both the ACC Player of the Week and Collegiate Baseball’s National Player of the Week award; these accolades were the result of a 14-for-21, 2 2B’s, 2 3B’s, 7 RBI’s, 4 stolen bases and 8 run effort; his defense wasn’t too shabby as he flawlessly fielded 28 hits with no errors…

[LINK: Miller named both National and ACC Player of the Week]

4^th: Bethune-Cookman junior C Peter O’Brien is widely regarded as the best hitting catcher in the NCAA and looks to be a 1^st-round draftee come June (see article below); on the week, O’Brien was 8-for-20 with 2 2B’s, 1 HR (10), 7 RBI’s, and scored 4 times; his 10^th HR ties him with LSU’s Mikie Mahtook for the group lead…

[LINK: O’Brien a diamond in the rough *Recommended]

5^th: Arizona sophomore OF Robert Refsnyder raised his cumulative batting average a total of 16 points (0.347 to 0.363) after a terrific week at the plate; Refsnyder was 8-for-17 with a 2B, HR (4), 7 RBI’s and a SB…

[LINK: Stereotypes don’t bother adopted Refsnyder]

6^th: We knew that Miami freshman LHP Bryan Radziewski was special when the Hurricanes gave him the season opening start; Rad has been their Friday ace ever since and has rarely disappointed;  this past Friday, he tossed 5.2 IP and allowed just 1 unearned run on 3 hits; he didn’t walk a single batter and fanned 8 of the 21 he faced; investors, get on-board the Bryan Radziewski train now…

[YouTube: Post-game press conference with Bryan Radziewski]

7^th: LSU freshman RHP Kevin Gausman has had his ups-and-downs this year, but his “ups” are what has everyone in Baton Rouge excited; this past weekend was definitely an “up” as Gausman delivered 8-innings of shutout baseball; he gave up just 5 hits and 1 walk while striking out 5 of the 28 batters he faced en-route to his 2^nd win on the year; BTW, there’s a Kevin Gausman train with a lot of potential ; )

[LINK: Terrific performance by Gausman not enough as Tigers lose heartbreaker]

8^th: Vanderbilt junior RHP Sonny Gray has flat-out gotten it done this year; many nay-sayers knocked his size and mediocre curveball before the season began; but Gray has consistently silenced the critics throughout the year (see total weekly stats below); his most recent victory, a 6-inning technical shutout (no earned runs, but 2 unearned runs) where he allowed 4 hits and walks and struck out 4, demonstrates a WHIP of 1.33; not bad, but it’s well over his cumulative season WHIP of 1.03; Gray looks to be a Top 5 pick in June’s MLB Draft; Baseball America’s Jim Callis states, “Gray’s fastball-curveball combination is as good as any in this draft, and don’t bet against him as a starter despite his small frame.”…

[LINK: Vandy romps Tide behind ace Sonny Gray]

9^th: Florida sophomore LHP Brian Johnson combined-on-shutout over the weekend; Johnson tossed 6-scoreless-innings, allowing just 6 hits while fanning 3 and walking none; Johnson’s 2.54 ERA and 5-1 record is a big reason why the Gators have done so well this year…

[LINK: Johnson leads Gators to 18-0 win over Bulldogs]

Below are the interesting Q&A’s from the April 11th Baseball America College Top 25 chat.  They covered multiple top players from the USA family tree, which should give you all some good insight.  Highlighted below are the most informative pieces on some of our favorite college pitchers and coincidentally top 2011 MLB Draft Prospects.  The battle for NCAA supremacy lies between these three aces and UVA’s Danny Hultzen.  While two of them are surging up the draft boards, another one is slowly losing steam, creating an interesting potential slide down the draft board.

TREVOR BAUER, RHP, UCLA

Trace (Fairfax, VA): John Savage has been giving Trevor Bauer a long leash when it comes to his pitch counts, averaging 122 per start for the year and leaving him out there for 134 on Saturday. Do you think this will affect how teams view Bauer on draft day?

Aaron Fitt: There is simply too much gnashing of teeth out there about pitch counts. Every pitcher is different, and Bauer is most different at all — he is conditioned to throw a lot. He’s so much like Tim Lincecum in so many ways, and this is one way. Lincecum also threw a lot of pitches in college, and he has not broken down in pro ball. There is no evidence that throwing 122 pitches per game once every seven days makes a guy more likely to break down than throwing 100 pitches every five days, like they do in pro ball. The guys who rail against college coaches over pitch counts need to get a life.

MATT PURKE, LHP, TCU

Taylor (Houston): What is Purke's draft status right now? I know he's maybe slid a bit, but is he still top 5? Top 10, top 3? Thanks.

Aaron Fitt: Slid out of the top 3, but still safely in the top 10, it seems. The consensus seems to be that he’s been passed by fellow lefties Hultzen and Jed Bradley, at least for now. A big thing I’ve heard: Bradley does a much better job pitching inside to righthanded hitters than Purke, who has had some trouble commanding to his glove side. But his fastball velocity has been fine.

GERRIT COLE, RHP, UCLA

steve (York pa): Could you please grade out Gerrit Cole using 20-80 scale? Thanks for chatting.

Aaron Fitt: I think he projects to have an 80 fastball, 65 slider and 65 changeup — a true big league ace. The stuff really does compare pretty well with Strasburg’s stuff. Strasburg’s breaking ball was a little better at the same stage, and I think Strasburg was able to command within the zone a little better, but Cole is really special, too.