MLB: July 2009 Archives

Mississippi State baseball coach John Cohen told the crowd at a recent alumni/booster club event that there's a very good chance Connor Powers will return to school for his senior season, according to The Clarion-Ledger. The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Powers, a Benet graduate, in the 11th round of last month's first-year player draft.

In the meantime, Powers was picked to hit in the Cape Cod League's home run derby before its All-Star game on Thursday night at Fenway Park in Boston.

MLB.com's Mychael Urban recently chatted with new Oakland outfielder Scott Hairston. Read the full Q&A session here.

In a move that he described as coming out of the blue, Scott Hairston was traded from San Diego to Oakland on Sunday for two minor league pitchers and a player to be named later.

The outfielder had finally developed into an everyday player with the Padres, and that's when they decided to deal him and replenish their farm system with right-handers Ryan Webb and Craig Italiano. Hairston entered Monday hitting .299 with 10 home runs in 56 games, and the move leaves slugger Adrian Gonzalez without his wingman, as Bill Center explains in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Three former Kane County Cougars were selected to next week's All-Star Game in St. Louis: Boston pitcher Josh Beckett; Oakland reliever Andrew Bailey; and San Diego first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.

Michael Bowden is working on a slider that he hopes will make him a permanent big-league pitcher. The No. 2 prospect in the Red Sox organization has an ERA of 6.42 since May 23, according to this Providence Journal feature by Daniel Barbarisi, but that's part of a learning curve.

The 6-foot-3-inch right-hander out of Waubonsie Valley is trying to develop an extra pitch that will make hitters swing and miss. Bowden's numbers are still good - opponents are hitting only .226 against him at Triple-A, and he has a 3.39 ERA overall - but he could use a slider to throw in a two-strike count.

"I think it's going to define him. I really do," Pawtucket pitching coach Rich Sauveur told the newspaper. "I honestly think that pitch is going to define him, to help him get back to where he wants to be."