It was not until Curtis Granderson’s fourth full season that he cracked 30 home runs for the first time. Even in his (somewhat injury-shortened) debut year at Yankee Stadium, Granderson hit only 24 homers. One of the first things he said after officially signing with the Mets was that he does not consider himself a home run hitter.

Byron Buxton isn’t the only reason things are changing rapidly in the Twin Cities as general manager Terry Ryan has the Twins on the fast track to contention. There was added confirmation of that on Thursday, when Buxton was placed atop the latest Top 100 Prospects list.

Justin Verlander is still early in the recovery process from core muscle surgery, and general manager Dave Dombrowski told MLive.com on Thursday there is a possibility the right-hander could miss the beginning of the season.

MLB.com’s new Top 100 Prospects was released Thursday, with Minnesota outfielder Byron Buxton as close to a unanimous top prospect as there’s been in recent memory. There were 35 newcomers named to the list this year.

MLBPipeline’com’s Jim Callis breaks down the best tools among MLB.com’s Top 100 Prospects, looking at the top-rated player for each tool, along with the three players who follow in the ratings.

Joe Maddon went ahead and said it Thursday afternoon at the Tampa Museum of Art: Grant Balfour will be the Rays’ new closer, the leader of quite possibly the deepest bullpen Tampa Bay has ever had.

Masahiro Tanaka’s most heartfelt thank you ought to go to Yu Darvish.

The eyes of the international baseball world is on the Dominican Republic this week as Major League Baseball opened its third annual Amateur Prospect League International Showcase on Wednesday in San Pedro de Macoris.

Phillies relief prospect Ken Giles, whose fastball has been clocked in excess of 100 mph, was limited in 2013 to just 25 2/3 innings over 24 appearances with Class A Advanced Clearwater because of two oblique injuries. A seventh-round pick in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, Giles is no stranger to overcoming untimely injuries.

Masahiro Tanaka has made his decision, and after a round of secretive negotiations with several big league clubs, the prized right-hander is headed to the Yankees.

The Yankees are back. Didn’t take long, did it? Go ahead and admit you missed them. Hey, we all did. Seems like forever since the Bombers made the playoffs. Was it really only 2012? Anyway, welcome back, boys

When MLB announced last week that expanded instant replay had been approved for the 2014 season, Braves president John Schuerholz spoke repeatedly about its potential impact. One call could make the difference in one game, which could make the difference in reaching the playoffs, which could make the difference in having a chance to win the World Series

Our Top 10 Prospects list of outfielders is brimming with talent. It starts with the consensus best prospect in baseball, the Twins’ Byron Buxton, and the best pure hitter in the Minor Leagues, the Cardinals’ Oscar Taveras. It also includes a player who nearly had the first 40-40 season in the modern era of the Minors, the Astros’ George Springer, and the most devastating runner in the game, the Reds’ Billy Hamilton.

Oscar Taveras is the best prospect to come through the Cardinals’ system since Albert Pujols. He could be the best hitting prospect to come through the Minor Leagues since Pujols graduated to St. Louis in 2001.

A trade to bring utilityman Logan Forsythe to the Rays is soon to be announced according to a report. In exchange, Tampa Bay will reportedly ship left-hander Alex Torres to San Diego, and other prospects are involved in the deal. Neither team has announced the deal.

Reds Minor Leaguer Felix Perez had three hits, and Milwaukee’s Juan Francisco hit a solo home run as Licey took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-nine championship series on Tuesday in the Dominican Winter League.