Photo by Logan Stanford/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images The steady Taylor Walls completed the first half of our list. Previous winner IF Taylor Walls (S/R, 5’10 180, 23 in 2020) 2019 statistics with Class A-Advanced Charlotte and Double-A Montgomery: 423 PA, .270/.343/.452, 10 HR, 40 XBH, 28/43 SB, 10.6 BB%, 18.7 K% An injury kept Walls from really starting his season until May, but it didn’t affect him much, as he was able to finish the season in Double A. Known as one of the better defenders in the organization, he gained versatility last season, often sharing the field with other prospects who needed innings at shortstop. At the plate, he makes consistent contact, knows the strike zone, and showed a little more power in 2019. With Taylor Walls on the list, the first half of it includes 10 hitters, four pitchers, and Brendan McKay. Last year, the top half of the list included 10 hitters, four pitchers, and McKay. I’ll take up to one tester this poll. Use recommendations to determine who that player is if more than one gets nominated. LHP Anthony Banda (6’2 225, 26 in 2020) 2019 statistics with Tampa Bay: 4 IP, 6.75 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 0.0 BB%, 11.1 K%2019 statistics with Triple-A Durham: 28 1?3 IP, 6.04 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 9.2 BB%, 22.5 K% Prior to undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2018, Banda was pitching well for Durham. He returned to the mound in June and finished his season in the big leagues. In his final appearance for the Bulls, he struck out six in five innings, his longest outing of the season. His velocity was down in his brief stint in the majors, but when he’s at his best, he throws in the mid-90s with an average changeup and slider. OF Jhon Diaz (L/L, 5’11 160, 17 in 2020) Signed Aug. 29 Diaz was the Rays’ top signing in the international period, and he was ranked No. 18 in the class by MLB.com. The Yankees were expected to sign him, but the deal fell through, giving the Rays an opportunity. He’s known for his performance in games, but he has good tools too. At the plate, he should make consistent contact with a nice plate approach and potential for average power. In the field, he could play a decent center field. LHP John Doxakis (6’4 215, 21 in 2020) 2019 statistics with short-season Hudson Valley: 32 2?3 IP, 1.93 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 8.5 BB%, 23.8 K% Doxakis had a strong pro debut after the Rays made him a second-round pick, which isn’t surprising considering his success in college baseball’s toughest conference. He’s an advanced pitcher who throws strikes with a deceptive delivery. His stuff is just average across the board, although Baseball America’s most recent report ($) has a little higher velocity than its predraft report ($). He also throws a slider and changeup. SS Lucius Fox (S/R, 6’1 180, 22 in 2020) 2019 statistics with Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham: 480 PA, .221/.331/.327, 39/50 SB, 28 XBH, 12.3 BB%, 21.7 K% In an organization filled with athletes, Fox is one of the best. He has at least 29 steals in all three seasons with the organization, and he’s an efficient basestealer. His defense in the infield is among the best in the organization, and for the first time in his pro career, he played some second base and third base. At the plate, he hit for slightly more power than usual, but he generally struggled, particularly in a cup of coffee with Durham. OF Moises Gomez (R/R, 5’11 200, 21 in 2020) 2019 statistics with Class A-Advanced: 489 PA, .220/.297/.402, 16 HR, 44 XBH, 9.8 BB%, 33.5 K% Baseball America views Gomez’s power as the best in the organization, and his 16 home runs set Charlotte’s single-season record. However, his aggressive approach got the best of him in 2019, and he wasn’t able to build on his breakout 2018 season. His athleticism and defense are just average, so he’ll need to improve his pitch recognition to make more consistent contact and get the most out of his raw power. RHP JJ Goss (6’3 185, 19 in 2020) 2019 statistics with Gulf Coast League Rays: 17 IP, 5.82 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 2.8 BB%, 22.5 K% Goss improved throughout the spring, and that led to the Rays selecting him with the No. 36 pick in June. His stuff got better. His velocity improved, and his breaking ball and changeup were sharper. In addition, he was considered one of the best strike throwers in his draft class (Baseball America $). With his athleticism, he should continue to throw strikes, and his fastball may improve further as he gets stronger. RHP Seth Johnson (6’1 200, 21 in 2020) 2019 statistics with Gulf Coast League Rays and rookie-level Princeton: 17 IP, 2.12 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 4.3 BB%, 23.2 K% Despite both being college pitchers, Johnson and John Doxakis are not very similar. Johnson was a huge riser this spring as a fairly new convert to pitching after having little success as a hitter. His promise is why the Rays made him the No. 40 pick in June. He throws in the low-to-mid 90s, but the rest of his game needs refinement. His slider is his best secondary pitch, but his changeup has shown potential. RHP Riley O’Brien (6’4 170, 25 in 2020) 2019 statistics with Class A-Advanced Charlotte and Double-A Montgomery: 102 2?3 IP, 3.16 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 10.3 BB%, 24.9 K% O’Brien — a high school teammate of Blake Snell (Baseball America $) — has pitched well since he was drafted in the eighth round in 2017, but he received little attention until this season when he continued to have success at higher levels. He’s posted consistently high strikeout rates thanks to his mid-90s fastball and hard slider. His velocity wasn’t always that high. Moving forward, he has to throw more strikes. RHP Joel Peguero (5’11 160, 23 in 2020) 2019 statistics with Class-A Bowling Green: 47 1?3 IP, 2.85 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 5.7 BB%, 22.7 K% Peguero made his full-season debut in 2019, and for the first time, he pitched exclusively out of the bullpen. That was a key for him. For the first time in his U.S.-based career, he got good results. Despite his small size, he has touched 100 mph and sits in the mid-90s. However, it hasn’t yet resulted in high strikeout rates. He has to improve one of his secondary pitches. OF Nick Schnell (L/R, 6’3 180, 20 in 2020) 2019 statistics with rookie-level Princeton and Class-A Bowling Green: 226 PA, .272/.338/.455, 5 HR, 23 XBH, 5/8 SB, 8.8 BB%, 33.2 K% Injuries ended Schnell’s pro debut early and delayed his start to 2019, but when he’s been on the field, he’s played pretty well — despite a very high strikeout rate. Otherwise, he’s shown why the Rays selected him with the No. 32 pick in 2018. He’s hit well, showed power potential, and he has the chance to stick in center field with solid athleticism. Staying on the field will be key moving forward. Loading poll...

Photo by John Babiak/Bucs Nation Web links on the Buccaneers. Daniel Jeremiah’s 2020 mock draft has Bucs taking a new franchise QBCould the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wind up drafting a quarterback in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft? How the Bucs' Bert Emanuel overcame the non-catch that forged his legacy - Tampa Bay Buccaneers Blog- ESPNIt’s been 20 years since the infamous overturned catch in the 1999 NFC title game, a play that haunted Emanuel until his son taught him to embrace it. Bucs rookies claim top-10 spot in ESPN’s rookie class rankingsSee where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookies ranked on ESPN's list of the top rookie classes by team. Senior Bowl Standouts: Day 3See who stood out during the last day of Senior Bowl practices held at the University of South Alabama's indoor facility. Scott Smith Answers Questions About Free Agents, Justin Evans and the funniest playerThis week, Bucs fans have questions about draft position targets, funny guys in the locker room, Ndamukong Suh's future and more Bucs 2020 Mock Draft Roundup 1.0 | Pewter ReportPewterReport.com will scour the Internet to find the list of players that are projected to Tampa Bay and put out the list with the links.

Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images No Cirelli, no Point, and Hedman for the Langway? The PHWA released their midseason awards yesterday. Last season, the Lightning were all over the ballot with Nikita Kucherov winning the Hart, Andrei Vasilevskiy winning the Vezina, Jon Cooper nominated for the Jack Adams, and Victor Hedman nominated for the Norris. The writers seem to have a bit of Lightning fatigue this season as the only person from the organization to finish in the top three of the voting was Hedman for the Rod Langway award, which goes to the best defensive defender and isn’t even an official NHL award. Hedman is tied for third in WAR among defenders and considering he’s been nominated for the Norris three consecutive seasons, it’s surprising he didn’t find his way on to the ballot again for this exercise The nomination for the Langway is strange as his offensive impacts are much greater than his defensive impacts. And while he’s reliable shorthanded, his power play prowess is part of what makes him such a great player. Frankly, the Langway nomination seems like a cop out as a way to keep him in the conversation for an award while putting some new names on the midseason Norris list. Outside of Hedman, the Lightning have at least two other players who should have been in consideration. We wrote yesterday about Brayden Point’s case to be in the Hart conversation. And in perhaps the most egregious oversight, Anthony Cirelli didn’t make the top three for Selke voting. In fairness, several prominent writers shared that they did vote for Cirelli so perhaps he was just on the outside of the top three. Chicago writer Mark Lazarus and friend of the blog Charlie O’Connor from Philadelphia both had Cirelli on their ballots. The lack of award buzz around Lightning players fits with the theme of the rest of the season. The hockey world is treating the team as the boys who cried wolf after dominating the regular season and then getting swept in the first round of last year’s playoffs. I’m not sure anything this team does will get anyone interested enough to take notice until the playoffs start. And so no matter how well the players perform this season, they’ll have a tall mountain to climb in order to be considered for individual awards. Organization News The injury Scott Wedgewood suffered on Tuesday appears to be not as the serious as the preview one that kept him out for an extended period. That would be good news for the Crunch who have had goaltending issues all season. Wedgewood update from Stacy Roest: unavailable this weekend, day-to-day after all-star break.— Syracuse Hockey (@syrhockey) January 24, 2020 To get caught up on the Crunch season to date, check out Alex’s latest podcast. Over in Orlando, the Solar Bears picked up a much needed win over the Jacksonville Icemen 5-3. Recently reassigned forward Jimmy Huntington opened the scoring with a goal. Other Hockey News According to Michael Russo, Erik Haula is on the outs with the Canes organization. Haula was one of the players who broke out with the Vegas Golden Knights in their inaugural season. He suffered an injury last season that cost him most of the year and then the Knights traded him to the Canes as part of their cap space clearing process last summer. He only makes 2.75 million per season and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. In the year before his injury, he scored nearly 30 goals. He’s always been a solid play driver even going back to his time in Minnesota before Vegas took him in the expansion draft. For teams looking to acquire depth at the trade deadline but with limited cap space, he could be an attractive target. The Lightning seem to have plenty of forward depth but if they’re looking for another option to slot in on the third line, Haula certainly fits the bill both in terms of skill set and price.

In a wide-ranging conversation, Thaddeus Bullard, aka WWE superstar Titus O'Neil, shares insights about his career, coaching other wrestlers and more.