Opening Day tickets at SunTrust Park would make great birthday gift

Bright and early on Monday morning, Baseball America released its latest list of Top 100 Major League Prospects, and fans of the Atlanta Braves will be pleased to hear that the Braves had eight players on that list.

In fact, outfielder Ronald Acuna, who is currently with Atlanta’s Triple-A team in Gwinnett, was the No. 1-ranked player on the list. Others on the list included pitcher Luiz Gohara at No. 23, pitcher Mike Soroka at No. 27, pitcher Kyle Wright at No. 34, pitcher Ian Anderson at No. 42, third baseman Austin Riley at No. 54, pitcher Kolby Allard at No. 65 and pitcher Max Fried at No. 72.

Anyone taking a close look at the paragraph above, will notice a trend. Of the eight players mentioned, six of them are pitchers, which indicates to me that Atlanta has a lot of pitching talent making its way up through its farm system. I say let’s bring up some of these guys next season and let’s see what they’ve got to offer.

I’m especially big on Kyle Wright, a native of Huntsville, who played his high school ball at Buckhorn High School in New Market, up in Madison County. Many will remember him starring at Vanderbilt before the Braves made him their first-round selection in last year’s June draft. Currently, he’s playing for the Florida Fire Frogs, a Class A team down in Kissimmee, Fla.

I always look forward to the start of the Major League Baseball season, and the start of this year’s season is really right around the corner. Atlanta will officially open its season on Thurs., March 29, when they play the first game of a three-game series against the division rival, Philadelphia Phillies, in Atlanta.

(My birthday is around mid-March, so if you want to get me a good gift, tickets to the March 29 game would be a good one because I’ve never been to an Opening Day game or to a game in Atlanta’s new SunTrust Park. Hint, hint.)

Alabama and Auburn will get their baseball seasons underway much sooner than the pros when they start their seasons on Feb. 16. Alabama will play Valparaiso in Tuscaloosa, and Auburn will play Longwood that same day in Auburn. All of which leads to the next question: Who the heck are Valparaiso and Longwood?

Longwood University is located in Farmville, Va. and the Longwood Lancers baseball team competes in Division I’s Big South Conference. Valparaiso University is located in Valparaiso, Indiana, and the Valparaiso Crusaders baseball team competes in Division I’s Missouri Valley Conference. Both of these teams should provide good season-opening games for Alabama and Auburn as they prepare for conference play.

Alabama will open SEC play on March 16 when they play Georgia in Tuscaloosa. Auburn will play their first conference game that same day when they take on Texas A&M in Auburn. Alabama and Auburn will wrap up their regular season schedules on May 19 and the SEC tournament will begin on May 22.