Wed. 6/5: Timber Rattler Home Matinee on Tap

[Joseph Zarr]

Rund gets the fly out to RF. The groundout to 2B. AND, he takes a 3-2 count and rips a gorgeous 94 mph tailing heater to the upper corner (righty bat). What. A. MOMENT!

That's Rund's FIRST Save in affiliated baseball in his first SVO. What. A. Comeback. Opportunistic. Gritty. Never say die T-Rats. 

Flashback: Rund was signed out of the Frontier League in December of 2023. He played all of last season for the 'Florence Y'alls'. He has been consistently solid all season long for manager Victor Estevez. In 19 1/3 IP to date, he now is 1-0 with 1 S in 1 SVO. Only 3 earned runs allowed. 15 K: 8 BB. Just a really understated and undervalued pitcher coming into his own. He has a three-pitch mix he leans on and his heat has plenty of movement to cause uncertainty with hitters. He is 24 years old.

[Joseph Zarr]

Pressure is on you, now, Cedar Rapids. You trail these pesky T-Rats by 1.5 G. You are on the road at Great Lakes. 13 games remain for these Rattlers. Let's win a division half for the first time in over 12 years!

[Joseph Zarr]

I mean let's give RHP Aaron Rund some more LOVE:

First affiliated SVO. First Save earned. Check.

1-0, 1 SV, 19 1/3 IP, 1.03 WHIP, 15 K, 8 BB, 2 HB, 0 HR, 0.188 BAA

That's just fantastic production. Given he's approaching 25 mid-month, I'm imagining the Brewers are looking at him as a likely Double-A promotion candidate if he can keep this up in high-leverage spots moving forward. Slightly older for the Level. BUT, again, this is his first affiliated action in 2024 - he went to the Frontier League after finishing at Campbell University via Sacramento City College. 

The Brewers will find you. Just keep doing your thang.

[Joseph Zarr]

Nice showing for the T-Rats today. Lara had his moment. Patient AB's in the 8th. Cruz did not show well, unfortunately. Rund made his mark. Kuehner continues to validate my early faith in his tools. Love seeing the big kahunas make it upstate to watch their team!

[Joseph Zarr]

3 hours ago, damuelle said:

SS Jesus Made is staking his claim to super-prospect status on Day 1: homered first at-bat, doubled his 2nd time up.

You mean this Jesus Made? Confidence certainly wouldn't appear to be lacking. I believe!

[Ro Mueller]

When we entered 2024 with 77 DSL-level players (including 8 signed mid-to-late 2023 who had not yet debuted), then announced a 35-player signing class in January, I wondered how we'd manage the whopping 112-player base, particularly since we typically commence the season with about 69 DSL-level players (including injury placements). It looked to me like we were facing about 43 moves (total of promotions and releases).

Well, after adding 3 more signings to bring the grand total to 115, here's how it shook out:

• 60 active DSL players (this is the maximum allowed - i.e. 30 per team)
• 21 promotions (20 to ACL, Yophery to Low-A)
• 17 injury placements (4 from 2024 signings, 13 from prior classes)
• 13 releases (all from prior classes)
• 2 placed on restricted list (1 from 2024 signings, 1 from prior class)
• 2 not yet assigned (1 from 2024 signings, 1 from prior class)

[Ro Mueller]

International League’s Pitcher of the Month RHP Carlos F. Rodriguez (3.03 ERA, 0.94 WHIP with 33 Ks in 29.2 May innings) starts for AAA Nashville, which seeks to extend its home series lead to 2-0 over Reds’ affiliate Louisville. RF Joey Wiemer’s hitting streak is at 7 games. 

[Ro Mueller]

It’s 19-year old RHP Daniel Corniel (4.50 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 9.0 K/9 in 36 IP) of Low-A Carolina against 23-year old RHP Chandler Murphy, with the Mudcats needing a road win to even this week’s series 1-1. C Satchell Norman returns to the lineup after an early April injury. 

[Jim Goulart]

How about an MVP vote for the Brewers new Dominican complex?

It hosted both DSL Brewers games today! (Yes, different fields...)

[Ro Mueller]

AA Biloxi is in Montgomery this week to take on the Rays’ affiliate, with the interesting conversion of RHP Shane Smith (3.30 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 12.9 K/9 in 30 IP) to starting pitcher continuing in tonight’s series opener. It’s a pitchers’ league this year (3.82 runs/team/game), but Montgomery’s the top offense (4.90 runs/game).

[Joseph Zarr]

Boy, Cooper Pratt missed a two-run first inning HR by about 3 feet. That was a jack in most every Carolina League park. Charleston? Not so much - a known pitcher's park. He got a hold of that one. The lengthy LF'er caught it fully stretched at the top of the wall. A Yophery BB. And, now David Garcia lined a single to CF. Men on the corners. Two down. Good start considering yesterday's snoozy woozy six hit effort. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Castillo strands both on a first pitch sky high chopper to 1B. On to the bottom half where Corniel will look to bounce back from his disastrous third inning his last time out.

[Joseph Zarr]

And, after a pop up to 3B foul territory (nice charging sprinting grab by LF Yoshwar Garcia) Corniel walked the next batter on 5 pitches (none particularly close). He goes 2-0 on the next hitter and that's six straight balls. He struggles to find the zone here early.

[Joseph Zarr]

Fantastic work by Corniel to reclaim his tools and make a monument to end the inning - two swinging K's. He gets the last on a beautiful change-up that dipped outside the zone at the last second. He works around the walk and the brief inaccuracies. Let's go, young man! Find that groove!

[ClosetBrewerFan]

3 hours ago, Joseph Zarr said:

You mean this Jesus Made? Confidence certainly wouldn't appear to be lacking. I believe!

Are we suppose to be taking his name literally?  Is he that good?

[Joseph Zarr]

Just now, ClosetBrewerFan said:

Are we suppose to be taking his name literally?  Is he that good?

At this point, I think you take his name literally because that is his name. 😅

In Latin America that is likely pronounced 'Madé' with the 'e' sounding like an 'a'. 

[Joseph Zarr]

The homeplate ump takes away an early K for Corniel to start the 2nd. Instead, he induces the 6-3 groundout. Beautiful swooping slurve clearly in the zone casually called a ball in an 0-2 count. Anywho. Walling gets the groundout at 1B for the second out. They'll call that a slider, I see much more slurve action on that pitch. He's really pounding the slurve and change-up here in the second and gets another groundout to Walling at 1B. Walling certainly didn't look smooth or dialed on either play but no errors and they'll be scored outs. Let's remember: this is a new position in 2024 as he played entirely in RF in last season's ACL.

[Joseph Zarr]

Another week for Shuckers baseball. Another three up and three down frame . This one ends in a Wilken swinging K. Corniel just plunked his second batter in the 3rd when a change-up sailed into the batter's back. Carlos F. Rodriguez continues his Triple-A ascendance with a dominant first frame. Night and day difference for Cargo since the beginning of 2024. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Corniel might have trouble here after the HBP. He gives up a golfed double to the RF wall. Heck of a hit on an inside slider. 105 mph off the lumber. And O'Neal is to the mound to talk things over with his young hurler. Men on 2nd and 3rd. One down. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Hey now! Tyler Black just took a lefty inside breaker and crushed that pitch deep into the RF concession stands. Yowza. 1-0 Sounds.

AND, in Charleston, Guilarte fields a high chopper and tries to go to home plate. In a bang bang play the throw just wasn't quite good enough or Satchell Norman proves his ACL defensive stats don't lie. Hard to tell. It was a bang-bang play. Either way, Norman failed to hold onto the throw and two runners end up scoring and the batter reaches 2nd base in the process. 2-0 Mudcats trail. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Yeah, on the replay it looked like that Guilarte throw one hopped. It had to be perfect. It wasn't. It short-hopped despite what the scorer might thing or the River Dogs announcer. IF Guilarte is going Home there he has to make the perfect throw. Otherwise, just take the put out at 1B and have a runner on 3B. It's a 1-0 game.

The runner just stole 3B as well. We know Norman's potential knock is his lack of defense behind the dish. But, Guilarte is credited with the error there and that is the right call. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Corniel now has 2 BB, a HBP and he's at 47 pitches in the 3rd frame. One down. He may be facing the River Dog's hottest hitter to boot from the left side. The youngster is working out some kinks of late.

[wiguy94]

2 minutes ago, Joseph Zarr said:

Yeah, on the replay it looked like that Guilarte throw one hopped. It had to be perfect. It wasn't. It short-hopped despite what the scorer might thing or the River Dogs announcer. IF Guilarte is going Home there he has to make the perfect throw. Otherwise, just take the put out at 1B and have a runner on 3B. It's a 1-0 game.

The runner just stole 3B as well. We know Norman's potential knock is his lack of defense behind the dish. But, Guilarte is credited with the error there and that is the right call. 

It was just a bad choice to go home on that one. Just get the out at first and move on with it.

[Joseph Zarr]

Let's make that 2 HBP now with the 2 BB. Corniel already has the bullpen up again in, wait for it: his 3rd inning of work. This is almost becoming an exact replica of his last outing. The struggle is real. Get out of this without further damage? It's just a two-run rough inning. Gotta buckle down here.

[Joseph Zarr]

Just now, wiguy94 said:

It was just a bad choice to go home on that one. Just get the out at first and move on with it.

Agreed. Principally. AND, especially how the inning is unfolding. Guilarte tried to do too much. If that ball isn't a chopper I get it. 

Also, Walling really showing his wonkiness at 1B today. Nothing easy. He just destroyed any chance at a DP with a rocket launch high to 2B. Pratt grabs it. DP unlikely but after that throw? No chance. Walling has had three fielding oppos at 1B and all have been adventures.