By Danny Wild / MiLB.com
I thought we’d check in with some No. 1 prospects this week. For example, Phillies top dog J.P. Crawford really likes his gigantic Game of Thrones direwolf dog:
Game of Thrones trivia: Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark) adopted her direwolf, Lady, after Season 1:
Dylan Bundy is still Baltimore’s top prospect, and he’s just staying cozy and warm in front of his really nice stone fireplace and decorative table balls:
Byron Buxton, the oft-injured Twins top prospect, shows off his current injury (and his child):
Top Tigers prospect Derek Hill is surrounded by bats.
Here’s a rendering of what his life is probably like right now:
You’re welcome.
No. 1 Red Sox prospect Henry Owens lashes out at TV producers:
Top D-backs prospect Archie Bradley is stuck in traffic:
Chicago’s top arm, Carlos Rodon is hungry:
But no one comes close to No. 1 Cubs prospect Kris Bryant:
You may have already heard about Bryant (pictured above alongside girlfriend Jessica and some guy in sunglasses Usher) and Bryant’s recent Twitter awesomeness, in which a totally random fan asked him to basically authenticate an $850 game-used bat he found on eBay. Instead of confirming it was his lumber (or just ignoring him), Bryant instead mailed the guy — who wasn’t even a Cubs fan — a personalized, autographed game-used bat for free:
So, Kris Bryant. Hero to baseball fans everywhere (just please don’t harass him on Twitter now, asking for more equipment). To further make Cubs fans swoon, Bryant also ordered himself some customized Adidas sneakers which he created by uploading a cell phone photo of the iconic ivy at Wrigley Field:
He also golfs in really scenic places:
And he is a master pumpkin carver. Who knew?
Just how irresistibly adorable is Kris Bryant? His girlfriend (yes, again, sorry ladies) tweeted that the third baseman wanted to take his new glove out to dinner last month:
She also had to hold herself back when a “Cubs fan” (air quotes), who apparently somehow hasn’t heard about how ridiculously stacked and talented Chicago’s system is, dissed her pumpkin-carving man:
In non-Kris Bryant news, Astros first-rounder Jiovanni Mier regrets his movie decision:
What a relief:
You could wear them to Chipotle:
So last week we chronicled San Diego slugger Cody Decker, flexing his Twitter and social media muscles (and his Prince dress-up fascination) as he clawed back and beat up Jeremy Barfield in a poll of the fans’ favorite Minor League Twitter personalities. Decker got support from folks like Keith Olbermann and Adam Baldwin to pull away:
“How did I not know?” translates to “I, Keith Olbermann, don’t visit MiLB.com.” Thanks, Keith. Although I, in no way, mean to antagonize Keith Olbermann:
Jeremy Piven was, for the record, not one of Decker’s celebrity endorsers. He also doesn’t know how to spell Halloween:
Not to pile on the Decker goodness, but the guy has been on fire this week. First, he lost a bet with a buddy and was forced to wear a Chargers jersey (which, honestly, is less embarrassing than wearing a Raiders jersey — they started off 0-10, Cody).
Feeling miserable about his lost bet, he took out his misery on those around him:
And then he enjoyed a quiet moment in his Mexican hotel room:
OK, enough of Cody Decker. Twins prospect and DJ Trevor May has sworn off sugary caffeinated drinks (until he finds out they’re bringing back Surge):
Luke Jackson lashes out at those who use pencils and crayons and pastel crayons and maybe colored sidewalk chalk:
Some Minor Leaguers have embraced the cherished offseason activity of sleeping:
Here’s the proper way to give your dog a bath. Some free advice:
You’ve been warned, people who eat mystery raw fish from our vast and polluted oceans:
Maybe from people like you who order extra ranch on your chicken sandwiches?
Clint Robinson doubled up on the processed meat at Subway and didn’t regret a thing:
Nick Gordon Selfie of the Week
Nick better watch himself. He might get an entire blog post devoted to his endless string of portraits:
Jeremy Barfield, who was knocked down by the aforementioned Cody Decker, also got some love from Mr. Olbermann last week:
He’s also unemployed after being released by Oakland. Things are getting weird:
Lance Durham, who led all Minor Leaguers in games played as a designated hitter in 2014, prefers ESPN’s parent company to ESPN:
Reds third baseman Brent Peterson can’t sing, and his dogs know it. Seriously, how often do dogs smell bacon and run away?
Vic Black is kinda borderline here for Minoring in Twitter eligibility, but come on. Rockettes:
Todd Van Steensel probably has a closet full of pink Taylor Swift backpacks in his house.
In other Van Steensel news, he vomited, ate Taiwanese fast food and took more selfies in bed:
Blue Jays Minor League first baseman Matt Hague posed for a photo with NL Cy Young Award winner and MVP Clayton Kershaw, who for some reason, is in the Dominican Republic and didn’t tie his shoes:
Another Jays farmhand, Ryan McBroom, also posed with a former Cy Young winner:
Yes:
Rangers prospect Alec Asher retweeted this photo of a pizza made of french fries. Coming to a Minor League ballpark near you, maybe?
Times are tough in the Dominican Winter League, where Estadio Cibao went up in smoke:
Daniel Rockett visits a friend after surgery:
Attention ladies: Twins pitcher Jake Reed plays baseball, surfs and has a puppy:
Cory Aldridge meets a young fan:
Apparently Giants prospect Matt Lujan fancies himself quite the Bobby Flay with this upscale homemade food and recipe blog:
Chipotle Tweets of the Week
