St. Louis Cardinals fans didn't really have a dog in this minor league fight--the World team featured top prospect Oscar Taveras, who went 1-3 with a single and played some center field--but the 2012 MLB Futures Game was hardly neutral, by the time the ninth inning rolled mercifully around: Team USA dropped 17 runs on the World squad on the way to a bruising 17-5 victory (you can find the box score tucked away on MILB.com), crushing Los Angeles Angels prospect Ariel Pena for eight runs in a third of an inning in a sixth inning that seemed to never end.
The Cardinals prospect on the right side of the bludgeoning, second baseman Kolten Wong, started and went 0-2, reaching third base and eventually scoring thanks to an error caused by Cincinnati Reds super-speedster Billy Hamilton. He also turned a neat backflip, earning another year or two of Ozzie Smith-styled accolades.
The Futures Game MVP award went to USA DH (and Detroit Tigers third base prospect) Nick Castellanos, who went 3-4 with a home run and three RBI. After hitting .405 across two months of Florida State League games, Castellanos is presently playing in the AA Eastern League.