Major League Baseball completed its 2013 Draft this past weekend, with a total of 1,216 players being chosen in the 40 rounds, two Competitive Balance rounds and one Supplemental round. The Draft resumed in the 11th round via conference call this afternoon after Friday’s completion of rounds three through 10.

Los Angeles Dodgers rookie outfielder Yasiel Puig, who enjoyed an historic debut week, has been named National League Player of the Week for the period ending June 9th. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network. In his first week in the Major Leagues, Puig led baseball with 27 total bases and was tied for the Major League lead with four home runs. His .964 slugging percentage was second-best in the Majors and was the top mark among National Leaguers. The 22-year-old native of Cienfuegos, Cuba also ranked among league leaders with a .464 (13-for-28) batting average (2nd), 10 RBI (3rd), 13 hits (3rd), and a .483 onbase percentage (7th). Puig had multi-hit efforts in five of his seven games during the week.

The Serbian Baseball Association announced today that it was recently awarded a grant in the amount of $20,000 USD from the Baseball Tomorrow Fund (BTF), a joint initiative of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA.) The grant will support the renovation of the baseball field at Ada Ciganlija in Belgrade, by providing funding for new dugouts, fencing and spectator seating.

Astros Select Appel First Overall; Eight Players in Attendance Taken in First Round; MLB Urban Youth Academy & RBI Program Alumni Smith, Crawford Drafted in Top 16

Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Domonic Brown has been named National League Player of the Week for the period ending June 2nd. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.

In an innovative move for a governing body for sport Baseball Guyana has engaged the services of Mr. Evan Stancil, MBA. As Guyana Baseball League Inc.’s Director & Vice President of Marketing, Sponsorships & Sales.

USA Baseball announced through its partnership with the National Federation of State High School Associations, that it has provided the Guyana Baseball League with its coaching education program, “Fundamentals of Coaching Baseball.”

Houston Astros catcher Jason Castro has been named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending May 26th. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) stand is open at the SportAccord Exhibition, hosted by the Lenexpo Complex in St. Petersburg (Russia). The booth, built on the joint efforts by theIBAF and the ISF (International Softball Federation) is also a reality thanks to the support of the NPB, the professional organization of japanese baseball.

With the impressive April debut of 20-year-old Miami Marlins right-hander José D. Fernández, the roster of Cuban-born big leaguers has now edged up to 170, and several more former Cuban Leaguers (Leslie Anderson, Kenen Bailly, and Ronnier Mustilier topping the list) now also stand poised in the AAA on-deck circle. Fernández took the loss in his initial April 7 road outing versus the New York Mets and has since dropped a second decision while posting two victories as a regular-rotation starter.