Baseball America

Five new teams joined the Baseball America College Top 25 including Georgia Southern, making it's first appearance since 1990.

The Athletics' busy offseason continued with the trade of 2009 fifth-rounder Steve Parker to the Brewers for righthanded reliever Darren Byrd, who spent last season in Double-A.

Virginia Tech junior third baseman Chad Pinder has become accustomed to flying under the radar. He did it in high school, when he wasn't a highly scouted prospect and graduated without being drafted. And he has continued to do so as a key contributor to a Hokies program that doesn't traditionally churn out premium draft talent. In fact, Virginia Tech has the fewest draft picks in the Atlantic Coast Conference over the past 10 years (20, tied with Duke).

Riding a pitching staff that gave up just two runs in its last 44 innings, the Dominican Republic won its first World Baseball Classic championship.

It's easy to see why Dillon Overton and Jonathan Gray are best friends. Both have easygoing, gregarious personalities. They like to laugh, and to make others laugh.

Isotopes Park in Albuquerque will use a humidor this season in an effort to become less hitter-friendly. Even if they succeed in scaling back offense, the park still will play differently than parks at lower elevations and with thicker, more humid air. That diversity of ballpark context adds a layer of fascination to the minor leagues.

The Mariners skipped Taijuan Walker past High Desert and straight to Double-A last season, begging the question: Has the California League's reputation as a hitter-friendly circuit prompted organizations like the Mariners to skip their frontline pitching prospects over the league?