Among the Yanks' Top 30, Who Will Play for Trenton?

Although a fair distance to the west, the Trenton Thunder, a New York Yankees AA minor league affiliate, is easily accessed from several Jersey Shore communities like Belmar, Brick, Manasquan and Point Pleasant. From these areas one can take Interstate 195 West toward Trenton. From 195 drivers would get on Route 29 North. Stay left and look for 29 North/Capital Complex/Lambertville signs. After you exit a tunnel you will find the Trenton Thunder ballpark on the left side.

The Trenton Thunder blog has an entry with brief descriptions of the top 30 Yankee minor league prospects as initially detailed in Baseball America's annual Prospect Handbook. Of the top six prospects three are catchers and three are pitchers. The surnames of the three pitchers all begin with the letter B. The pitchers are Dellin Betances, Manny Baneulos and Andrew Brackman.

Jesus Montero, the Yankees top prospect, is a big catcher with an imposing bat. He and number six ranked Austin Romine could be battling for a slot with the Yankees in Spring training and Scranton is likely as an alternative place to play out the season. But if neither make the Yankees' 25 man roster then Montero would likely start the season with AAA Scranton and Romine with the Trenton Thunder.

The second ranked prospect is Gary Sanchez, a catcher who will play the 2011 season while only 19 years of age. Sanchez may start the season with the Class-A Charleston team but could progress up the ladder to Trenton if he does well.

One other prospect caught my attention. Eleventh ranked right handed pitcher Brett Marshall, has been clocked in the high 90s and had a 2.50 ERA last season. He had Tommy John surgery in 2009.

Frankie Edgar Fights for the Title in Abu Dhabi

Frankie Edgar of Toms River will have the opportunity to gain the UFC lightweight title when he squares up against lightweight titleholder B.J. Penn on April 10th in Abu Dhabi. Edgar has an 11-1 record in the UFC and recently defeated Matt Veach with a rear naked choke in the second round. Edgar's only loss came against Gray Maynard who also was victorious in his last fight and was thought by most observers to be Edgar's primary competitor for the title shot.

B.J. Penn, who is dubbed "The Prodigy," is legendary in the sport of mixed martial arts. In his last fight he dominated highly touted Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez before the fight was stopped in the third round. Frankie Edgar has earned a title shot but actually wresting the title from Penn is a tall order. UFC 112 will be something to look forward to.

The article revealing this news is at the MMA Weekly site.

Frankie Edgar: MMA Fighter and Contender

Frank Edgar is a mixed martial artist who fights within the sport's premier MMA organization, the UFC. He hails from Toms River, New Jersey and has shown that he is a legitimate contender for the lightweight crown (155 pound limit). Edgar has excellent wrestling skills and has shown good boxing prowess as well. On December 5th he stopped Matt Veach in the second round after dropping him with a good right hand. The fight went to the ground where Frankie applied a rear-naked choke and forced Veach to tap. Edgar looked impressive. I watched him on Spike TV which shows UFC bouts.

Celebrations at the Beaches and Blue Claws in the Playoffs

This blog will cover news and events which occur within the Jersey Shore area. The Labor Day weekend brings the official summer season to a close with some notable events at various beaches. A concert followed by fireworks takes place tonight at the main beach in Manasquan.

Another concert on the opposite side of the Manasquan Inlet is taking place at Pt. Pleasant Beach. There also will be fireworks there.

If you prefer baseball note that the Lakewood Blue Claws are in the South Atlantic League playoffs. An upcoming playoff game is scheduled for Friday, September 11th at 7:05 PM at FirstEnergy Park.