Tue. 8/5 - 2024 15th round RHP Travis Smith Makes T-Rat Debut (Along with Two Other Guys)

[Joseph Zarr]

AND, the Shuckers trail. Golf shot single on a low inside slider into LF. It's 5-4 Smokies. Manfredi with a quagmire inning. BB, HB, Throwing error, RBI single. Brutal. He's about to walk the next batter as well. Yep. He walked him. Four pitches. BRUTAL.

[Joseph Zarr]

Follows with a three pitch swinging K. Because, well, of course! Good recovery, Mark. He is at 27 pitches with two down. Men on 1st and 2nd. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Manfredi gets another K to end his work. Brutal inning but it could have been worse. He'll likely be pulled at 30 pitches. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Lara web gem saves a two-run double with two down and runners on 1st and 2nd in the bottom of the 8th. Incredible diving catch in the left CF gap. Covered a lot of ground. 

 

[Joseph Zarr]

Man, Made really is a fantastic SS. His defense today - from where it was in April - is night and day. His movement skills are absolutely elite. His hands are getting more and more natural as he gets more and more comfortable. He has the arm. He's truly an elite talent at the position. Hard to be more impressed with the growth we've seen there over the past four months. 

He has struck out three times tonight - swinging once and looking twice - getting the bat confident and swinging at pitches in the zone consistently has been a struggle of late.  Regardless, you can see all the tools at his age. Today, Peña is the better pure hitter but it's hard to sleep on the innate athletic prowess Made very clearly possesses in his body.

[Joseph Zarr]

I see Rodriguez's post-IL return downward spiral continues. Only made it 3 1/3 IP tonight and was booted after another blow up inning. 3 1/3 IP of 6 H and 3 BB is just not going to get it done. The struggle has been very real.

[Joseph Zarr]

Nicasia ends the game on an absolute web gem in right field to save Seppings from a potential blown opportunity. Sensational catch. Absolutely sensational. High risk. High reward play. When you are in the T-Rats position, you have to have him go for it and go for it he did. Seppings dealt with two men aboard in both frames. He will have to give a great heap of thanks to Kaylan. 

[Joseph Zarr]

The level of difficulty on this grab is an 11. Unreal play. Unreal especially because of the context and circumstances:

 

[biedergb]

2 hours ago, Joseph Zarr said:

And, it's off to you @biedergb. Time to pause for Farm Chores. Take us away (if you're still here - lol).

Sorry went out with family tonight. My bad - not filling in my usual duties 😉

[ghostdrew]

Is Lara the best defensive cf  in the system ?

[Joseph Zarr]

Just now, ghostdrew said:

Is Lara the best defensive cf  in the system ?

Yes. He's electric out there. 

Interestingly, Jose Anderson has actually flashed some real plus prowess out there the past couple of weeks I was unsure he had. But, yes, Lara is the best pure CF by a healthy margin. 

[Joseph Zarr]

7 minutes ago, biedergb said:

Sorry went out with family tonight. My bad - not filling in my usual duties 😉

I was alone. On an island. When I returned, I was grasping...reaching in the darkness. Then I pressed play and soldiered on. 😜

[biedergb]

1 minute ago, Joseph Zarr said:

I was alone. On an island. When I returned, I was grasping...reaching in the darkness. Then I pressed play and soldiered on. 😜

Tomorrow night. I may get a late start - and we’ll wednesdays seem to be nights to miss so maybe I’ll will it into a good night 😊 

[wiguy94]

50 minutes ago, Joseph Zarr said:

Man, Made really is a fantastic SS. His defense today - from where it was in April - is night and day. His movement skills are absolutely elite. His hands are getting more and more natural as he gets more and more comfortable. He has the arm. He's truly an elite talent at the position. Hard to be more impressed with the growth we've seen there over the past four months. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Just now, wiguy94 said:

I gave you your flowers a month or so ago. I even tagged you to do so. Your joy with my admission makes me happy. He's electric in the infield. Truly. You were right. Absolutely right. 

[Joseph Zarr]

In the midst of writing tomorrow's report. Getting a chance to rewatch Lara's catch...I think he makes it look easier because he just easily covers so much more ground out there. The level of difficulty on even getting to this ball to make the catch is an 11:

 

[igor67]

Do you think Lara is better than Perkins in CF?

 

[Joseph Zarr]

5 minutes ago, igor67 said:

Do you think Lara is better than Perkins in CF?

 

That's a fascinating question. It's hard to find any problems in healthy Blake Perkin's near Gold Glove winning (finalist) caliber work on the CF grass. Perkins excels with his positioning and jumps. He also has an incredible and uncanny ability to time jumps at the wall. I give Perkins the edge there and love how smooth and confidently he plays out there as a general rule. However, I can not say if Perkins can cover more ground than Lara. Lara has those young legs under him and he also has incredible reads and jumps on the regular. Lara can cover an incredible amount of ground on the center field grass. They're both absurdly talented defensively. Perkins gets the nod, however, given he's doing it consistently at the MLB level. That's my way of answering your question without really answering your question.😅

[duewizard]

Wood went 0-3 with a Sac Fly but I must say I love what he is doing this season. He got me interested when he mashed his way through the Carolina League in 2023 but his struggles in Appleton late that same year, all of 2024 and early this year had deflated me a bit.

And then he comes out with a .773 OPS in the Southern League of all places! Loove to see it for him. He's one of those guys that I have a soft spot for. No idea why lol

[Joseph Zarr]

20 minutes ago, duewizard said:

Wood went 0-3 with a Sac Fly but I must say I love what he is doing this season. He got me interested when he mashed his way through the Carolina League in 2023 but his struggles in Appleton late that same year, all of 2024 and early this year had deflated me a bit.

And then he comes out with a .773 OPS in the Southern League of all places! Loove to see it for him. He's one of those guys that I have a soft spot for. No idea why lol

He's played really well since arriving in Biloxi. The defensive uptick is what has impressed me the most. He's throwing out runners. He's catching cleaner than he ever has. It's all kind of coming together. As you note, he's also hitting better than we'd expect. I still miss my guy C Ramon Rodriguez - that was a big loss! But, we have to love what Wood is giving us on a routine basis down yonder.

[Jake McKibbin]

6 hours ago, Joseph Zarr said:

I have seen RHP Shelby Miller's first inning as a Brewer. It was absolutely as I advertised to you. 

Utter. FILTH.

Whew dang.

This is filthy stuff indeed Joseph. That sweeper, from that arm slot.. wow! The fact that only five of 17 pitches were inside the strike zone may make them request another outing in Triple A, but that's the only drawback  I can see. The arm seems to be in perfect working order

[MudcatsfaninBrunsCO]

8 hours ago, Joseph Zarr said:

Man, Made really is a fantastic SS. His defense today - from where it was in April - is night and day. His movement skills are absolutely elite. His hands are getting more and more natural as he gets more and more comfortable. He has the arm. He's truly an elite talent at the position. Hard to be more impressed with the growth we've seen there over the past four months. 

He has struck out three times tonight - swinging once and looking twice - getting the bat confident and swinging at pitches in the zone consistently has been a struggle of late.  Regardless, you can see all the tools at his age. Today, Peña is the better pure hitter but it's hard to sleep on the innate athletic prowess Made very clearly possesses in his body.

I appreciate your emails last night into Chris! Very much enjoyed the tidbits.

[igor67]

I appreciate the comparison Joseph, too close to call is a good enough answer that tells me what I wanted to know.

[TURBO]

Exceptional coverage tonight boys.  Man, I appreciate this daily thread.  I don't post much in these threads, I just admire and appreciate what happens here...

[Joseph Zarr]

13 hours ago, Jake McKibbin said:

This is filthy stuff indeed Joseph. That sweeper, from that arm slot.. wow! The fact that only five of 17 pitches were inside the strike zone may make them request another outing in Triple A, but that's the only drawback  I can see. The arm seems to be in perfect working order

BUMP:

😎

Bullpen getting a massive boost in 3...2...1