Sun. 8/28 - Mudcats Viewing Free Online, T-Rats Free on Local Cable TV

[Ro Mueller]

After letting the opening game of today's doubleheader get away from them, AA Biloxi turns to LHP Nick Bennett (5.36 ERA) for the nightcap. C Brent Diaz (.772 season OPS; 3-for-4 yesterday) and CF Terence Doston enter the lineup for Game 2:

[Joseph Zarr]

Just a quick reminder:

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[Joseph Zarr]

And, here's a look: 

 

[Brewcrew82]

24 minutes ago, Joseph Zarr said:

Ummmmmmm. Can we talk about Joey Wiemer’s series at formerly first place Durham?! My goodness. Another ding Dong?!? After a lead-off dub. This young man is something else.

Curious how you would personally rank the Mitchell, Frelick, Wiemer, triumvirate. Frelick has the higher floor imo due to his bat but Mitchell and Wiemer have the higher ceilings with their defense and raw power. Not that Frelick is a slouch on defense either. All things considered, I think they're quite close, but if I had to pick I would go Frelick, Wiemer, Mitchell. Ruiz is clearly behind all of them, but could prove to be a valuable utility player. 

[wibadgers23]

I said this in another thread but Wiemer has a chance to be the best out of the whole bunch, IMO. The combination of power, speed and elite defense is really exciting. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Boy, Taj Bradley was extremely lucky to leave the 6th with no runs crossed. Baseball. What a game. Still 3-1 Bulls. Ruiz is stranded on 3rd base after he took 2nd and 3rd for his 70th stolen base of the season. Wiemer has a second strike called on a 3-1 pitch - as he was backing out of the box his bat somehow foul tipped into the catcher's mitt. Crazy play. Singleton misses a first pitch HR to right field (that was absolutely obliterated) as it hooks foul. Then lines out hard to CF. 

[Joseph Zarr]

15 minutes ago, Brewcrew82 said:

Curious how you would personally rank the Mitchell, Frelick, Wiemer, triumvirate. Frelick has the higher floor imo due to his bat but Mitchell and Wiemer have the higher ceilings with their defense and raw power. Not that Frelick is a slouch on defense either. All things considered, I think they're quite close, but if I had to pick I would go Frelick, Wiemer, Mitchell. Ruiz is clearly behind all of them, but could prove to be a valuable utility player. 

I don't really spend much time ranking them at present, honestly. I just enjoy watching them play. They all do different things and apply pressure on the opponent in different ways. We'll simply need to wait and see how they adapt to MLB pitching, really. I mean you can not sleep on 70 stolen bases. That's patently absurd. We're in for a fun ride, though. That much is certain. This being said, I did mention to y'all in the Major League threads if anyone was going to get called up it would probably be Mitchell. And, well, here we are. Extremely happy for him - a well deserved opportunity to get his first PT up with the Big Club.

[Joseph Zarr]

Lipka just smashed a lead-off triple high off the wall in left field. Nobody down. Top of the 7th. Let's bring him home, lads!

[Joseph Zarr]

Doh. Lipka tested the wrong arm in right field with nobody down and a Dorrian fly ball skied to the foul line in middle right field. Man. Nary a run crosses. We move to the bottom half of the 7th frame. 

[Joseph Zarr]

I can't tell you how good this baseball is for Triple-A. There are MLB players galore. The quality of play is fantastic. RHP Jake Cousins is on to try and finish the seventh here after Walden grabs the first two outs. I keep looking for the Jake Cousins of a couple seasons ago - I've yet to see it. Let's hope he can find that stuff. You can see he still has the movement in the kit, it seems to be a matter of sharpening his tools - location and execution. Hopefully it comes with more reps.

 Frelick made quite a nice run down out that was tailing toward the left field foul line to get things going here. He sprinted full speed, made the grab, and lept into the padding with full force. You won't sneak any hits past these speedsters.

[Joseph Zarr]

It certainly hasn't been for lack of opportunities. After Lipka was thrown out trying to take home in the 7th on a sac fly, Wiemer pops out to the Bulls dugout and strands Frelick at third base and Ruiz at first here in the eighth frame. Still 3-1 Bulls. On to the bottom half.

[Robocaller]

Jackson Chourio has a younger brother (by 14 months) in the DSL where his OBP was well north of .400.  why didn't we sign him too?

 

[Robocaller]

Wonder if Wiemer can have another 25+HR,, 30+ SB years.  Needs 5 HR and 1 SB.

[UpandIn]

9 hours ago, Robocaller said:

Jackson Chourio has a younger brother (by 14 months) in the DSL where his OBP was well north of .400.  why didn't we sign him too?

 

I know he got a pretty big bonus...and the Brewers can only afford to get 1.2-2M out to a couple players(or at least that's normally how they operate). So you'd think that playing with his brother would be appealing, but maybe the Brewers came in well under that? He was a fairly regarded prospect(20th last year) and got 1.2M while Jackson got 1.9.

I'd love to see a trade with the Brewers acquiring Jaison...not just some pointless trade, but say hypothetically, we were to target Nolan Jones to play 3rd and the Guardians, though not lacking for prospects, BUT, if they are lacking anywhere, it'd be CF. So we take Ruiz and....Garcia or something for Jones and Jaison?

I know, never gonna happen...but it does sound like Jaison has some similar attributes. The speed, the bat speed. Just more of a natural CFer, strong arm but lacks the power. He's also only played in the DSL, so this would mostly be fun for us to follow for the next 4-5 years...which is always the best reason to make a trade!

[UpandIn]

10 hours ago, Brewcrew82 said:

Curious how you would personally rank the Mitchell, Frelick, Wiemer, triumvirate. Frelick has the higher floor imo due to his bat but Mitchell and Wiemer have the higher ceilings with their defense and raw power. Not that Frelick is a slouch on defense either. All things considered, I think they're quite close, but if I had to pick I would go Frelick, Wiemer, Mitchell. Ruiz is clearly behind all of them, but could prove to be a valuable utility player. 

Someone on Twitter was upset we didn't call Wiemer up. I thought that was kinda strange, not because he doesn't have 5 tools and maybe(probably IMO) the highest upside, but because I'm not sure he's QUITE ready(though taking a 97 MPH fastball up and away and lining it off the RF fence is MLB caliber stroke). 

Seems like Wiemer just ahead of Mitchell has the loudest tools, Frelick and Turang, both play premium positions and are more sure bets to at least be .260/.330 BA/OBP guys(and that seems pessimistic long term). 

But Wiemer...he could be a guy who hits 40HRs and steals 30 Bases.

I'll defer to Joseph Zarr, but I rank them from REALLY-REALLY good to REALLY VERY good. 

[Robocaller]

11 hours ago, UpandIn said:

Frelick and Turang, both play premium positions and are more sure bets to at least be .260/.330 BA/OBP guys(and that seems pessimistic long term). 

That's very pessimistic for Frelick. A little pessimistic for Turang if you're talking about his peak.

[UpandIn]

6 hours ago, Robocaller said:

That's very pessimistic for Frelick. A little pessimistic for Turang if you're talking about his peak.

Yeah...it is. I poorly articulated my point. 

I was just trying to convey the point that I think those two, and Mitchell, are more ready and will hit for a higher average in the near future than Wiemer. I should have said I think those two are maybe safer bets and more likely to hit for league average this year and next whereas Wiemer could take a little longer to really hit his groove and realize his potential. 

I was trying to thread the needle of saying I think they'll be competent hitters as rookies without the, "people expect too much out of prospects," follow up. 

But you're right. 

[nate82]

On 8/28/2022 at 3:21 PM, Joseph Zarr said:

And, here's a look: 

 

I never noticed this but Wiemer looks almost like a mirror of Mitchell.  Batting stances are very similar.  Wiemer holds the bat a bit higher before coming set but they both have open stances and their swing paths are very similar.  It is like watching the same player bat from both sides of the plate.  

[Joseph Zarr]

1 hour ago, nate82 said:

I never noticed this but Wiemer looks almost like a mirror of Mitchell.  Batting stances are very similar.  Wiemer holds the bat a bit higher before coming set but they both have open stances and their swing paths are very similar.  It is like watching the same player bat from both sides of the plate.  

Mitchell's swing is smoother, more level, and easeful. Wiemer's swing is quite a bit more 'violent'. Wiemer also really extends that lead leg and has a bit more lean into his stance whereas Mitchell is a bit more upright. Both are definitely open stances, however, and have some similarities. For a real wild n wooly open stance, wait until you see Tayden Hall take some swings. Quite honestly, it's one of the most unorthodox set-ups I've ever seen. And, it's certainly working for him so far.

[Jim Goulart]

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