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Ebel shows off his arm. Lameda with a glove flip to 2B and Ebel rifles to first to get Ike Irish - maybe a speedster running and it’s just a force out, but the double play is in order here. Quezada on in relief. Hit the first batter. Then the GIDP. Next hitter with a great diving play to get the runner. He is apparently having a nice night fielding. Alright. Still 6-4. 6 more outs to go.

Payne doubles and gets the 3rd base. Ebel with a great at bat. Fouls off some tough pitches A grounder that just get through straight up the middle. Just put it in play. Neither ball hit hard but two singles. Gets the RBI but is thrown out trying to leg it out for 2, and easily caught off base. Then Bitonti strikes out - looking bad on his swing for strike 2, then frozen by a breaking ball right down the middle. Strikes out …. Again. He has a lot of holes and just Ks way too much.

Bjorn Johnson goes out for a 5th inning, and gets 2 out, then a hanging breaking ball hit to deep right, and it's a triple. Side note - Jose Anderson seems much more comfortable in CF then RF as he seems to have trouble tracking balls to right. Next batter a 9 pitch battle that also ends up an XBH (double) on a hanging breaking pitch. Delmarva then bails Johnson (who is at 73 pitches) trying to bunt and is out easily. Very curious play there. Again bulk appearance for Bjorn Johnson - and mostly good not overpowering. 6-4 Muddies. They will need some insurance runs given the state of the organization's bullpen recently.

He gets through 2 IP. Helped out with a favorable call at 2nd on the caught stealing (still nice throw by Matt Wood), and then Matt Wood backpicks the runner at first in the 2nd inning to end the inning after Hardin walked a batter. Still a solid 2 innings by Tyson, let's go young man.

A double steal worked to perfection by Delmarva. Oh no. But it's only the one run, and there are 2 outs. And a ground out to end the inning.

And Mudcats get some runs back. Holguin walks then advances to third on a wild pick off attempt. Walther grounds to 3B, but Holguin breaks on contact, and Walther is the only play and is out. Then Payne grounder to short but he beats it out for an infield single - close play. Ragsdale walks, and a new pitcher comes in. Ebel greets him with a bloopish liner to left and bases are loaded. Bitonti on a broken bat grounder to 2B drives in a run. Then Encarnacion also with a bloopish liner to left and 2 runs in, but Handelfry is caught between 1st and 2nd and is tagged out. But it is 6-2 Mudcats now!

STill trying to figure out the plan with Bjorn Johnson. Former HS pitcher with good upside and those are usually starters, and also he is going out for multi-inning appearances, several of the 3-4 inning variety. Just thinking out loud and being curious - I will watch to see how he is used and developed the next year or two.

Lots of updates, thanks @Joseph Zarr I feel like I was there tonight. I guess the whole organization deemed today as “bullpen blowing leads Day”. Yikes. Hernandez and Hunt most certainly deserved better as both looked like they sparkled tonight. Manuel Rodriguez was not as great, but 3 runs in 4 2/3 innings with 6 K is still a nice go for a just-turned 20 year old in high A.

I think guys like Adamczewski, maybe Payne, Dinges as options. Quero is an interesting option- not sure that they have sent players who were in AAA much recently- but I may be completely wrong. Also Luke Adams if healthy could be another consideration.

Ok. Back to “work” - still getting the kiddo moved/settled in to school. ill catch back later @Joseph Zarr looking forward to reading the updates and hoping for some great outings tonight.

Man the Shorebirds squad is their 3 first rounders, and a 3rd rounder. All college bats. And we have our 1st rounder HS bat in the line up. Again just pointing out how absurd the age/experience differences are in many Mudcat games

I just looked at the scoreboard here during a little break and Payne huts a 2 run homer. 2-1 Mudcats.

I mean not good for Markel and EBJ (man he is truly injury prone). but awesome for Broca who has been coming on recently as a bullpen arm and be still my beating heart - Wilken back. I had started to write him off for this season a few weeks back.

Oh absolutely- I know but I want the farm system to be about me and my entertainment wishes 😂. let’s get them all back to winning games, and ideally wining by like 10-0 margins is what I request 😉

Regression will always happen. And the depth issue is one that is real, but while there is a real true depth of prospects, there is a dearth of depth in the actual rosters - many a night we have witnessed depleted bullpens or non-existent benches. The drafting strategy is certainly clear and may be ideal to serve the organization as a whole (at least the parent club), but limits the affiliates, particularly at the lower level with the lack of some older bats or added arms. Yerlin is a good example @Joseph Zarr - clearly an electric arm and maybe just maybe he can turn it around but he hasn’t in now 2 full seasons. Alastre on the position player side is my example, as he was doing well in Carolina but had to be bumped up early in the season (I can’t remember what injury prompted that) and has been mostly overmatched, and this had led to the even younger Lameda/Rodriguez seeing regular playing time as opposed to being bench roles. I have wondered if this aggressive placement (age wise) is a possible detriment- and there are pros and cons. As Bill Parcells once said “If they don’t bite when they’re puppies, they usually won’t bite” so maybe if they don’t succeed we know earlier and then plan accordingly? Maybe I’m just down from watching a lot of non-competitive TRats and Mudacts games while the pro club is mired in its first real ,losing streak since May. (Yikes I moved my daughter out from college in May and mid May they start winning; I’m moving her back up and a week ago the losing commenced - sheesh it’s me 😳) And I may not be alone as this seems like the slowest week in the minor league forum in a while. August has brought some great minor league memories and developments, and this year seems a little slower (a lot of that due to injuries), and perhaps expectations. Oh well, this old man will end his rant. Let’s go Brewers, Sounds, Shuckers, Timber Rattlers, and Mudacts.

Does Biloxi have something in the water or is there some tonic there - DeBerry and Burke both doing the things that they couldn’t in Wisconsin - DeBerry it was his WHIP (or really a big inning) and Burke HRs - so that is a nice development. But a bunch of close losses particularly by two teams in playoff contention- the top and lowest rung teams - have me feeling blue.

Color me impressed with DeBerry in AA - I mean more than just the uniform last night. The issue with him in high A was the hiccup inning where he just can't get that out (hits and a few walks stacked together). It's only a few starts, but he is striking out a good # (about 9-10/9IP) across all three levels. His hits/walks were higher in high A and lower now. If he can keep that up, and get 5-7 innings per outing, he can add to Hardin, Crow as solid back of the rotation options as soon as 2026 or definitely in 2027. Secondly, that Mudcat offense is struggling, but boy are they so young - I mean game 1 had almost all teenagers (Holguin just turned 20 about 3 weeks ago), which is insane, in fact half of them (Payne, Ebel, Encarnacion, Anderson, Garcia) are young enough to have just graduated HS (Ebel just did), and that was 5 of the 9 batters. I hope it is a good learning situation for them as they each have 1-2 seasons to figure it out (hopefully they won't need that time). I mean that is young for an ACL/FCL club and they are playing big innings in a playoff race in August as 18-19 year olds. And the pitchers are just barely older. Also - Dubanewicz has a night start after Dorchies shrugged off a bad inning to put in 6 solid innings the night before. It is pitchers like them (and Letson the year before) that will be the key factor in evaluating the drafts as the early rounders have been OK so far, but not as good as one would have hoped given that draft capital, but if you get a few "3rd - 5th" round talents late each draft and develop them, it works, If not, will have to rethink that approach. Yes too early to judge, but if these young late round pitchers can develop, stay healthy, and succeed that will be such a huge development.

No comebacks for TRats or Mudcats. Both squads squandered chances. 4-2 loss in Beloit, 3-1 loss in Salem.

1 inning outing for Hardin - I hope that was the plan?

Ugh. Adamczewski on second after a double. Dinges just hits it hard off the pitcher and second baseman is still able to make it and the first baseman throws home to get Adamczewski. Man I think I remember this exact scenario (different players but maybe the same?) playing out in Carolina earlier this summer.

I haven’t had a chance to watch. But impressive for Ethan Dorchies. Gives up a couple runs in the first, but then goes 6 full innings, 90 pitches, 3 hits, 1 walk and 6 K!

That’s how you score 7 on only 4 hits. Huge hit. And Spain has a lot things for Biloxi - key hits, situational baseball plays, running the bases, and key defensive plays. He stats don’t wow you, but he is a guy who does those other things that winning clubs need.

Biloxi takes game 1. Wichrowski looks like a Wichrowski line - a few hits, walks and some Ks. Higher pitch count (90 for 5 IP). Shuckers score 7 via 4 hits and 7 walks, plus 2 errors by Chattanooga.

Wow. Nashville batted around in the first. But Davidson looks like he had a rough second inning..

Good idea Jospeh, I’ll start working on it 😂 And thanks @Ro Mueller