Eye Black

The Manatees game was postponed until tomorrow. The game versus Clearwater was halted in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Phil Bickford walked the bases loaded in the 1st inning, but managed to get out of it unblemished. Bickford did give up a run in the second inning. Over the 2.0 innings pitched Bickford allowed 3 hits and 4 walks while striking out 2. Brevard County Game Log

Final: Tampa 8, Brevard County 2 Tampa's 15 hits overwhelm Manatees By Donald Rieber, Jr., 27 Outs Baseball *** Brevard County Box Score As pointed out in the game story this was the Manatees 15th straight loss to Tampa this season. Also mentioned was that Manager Joe Ayrault was tossed early on in the game. Have to imagine it has been a frustrating season to be the skipper in Brevard County, hopefully they can manage to win a game in the final week of the season to avoid a 100-loss season. Corey Ray did not have any hits, but did walk twice. Also walking two times was Dustin Houle (1-for-2, 2 BB). The lone multi-hit effort was Blake Allemand (2-for-5, 2B) who also had one of the two extra base hits for the Manatees, the other being a double off the bat of Mitch Ghelfi. Manatees pitchers were hit hard, first Kodi Medeiros lasted 2.1 innings allowing 5 hits, 4 runs (3 earned), and 3 walks. Medeiros also committed a throwing error. Devin Williams pitched the final 5.0 innings giving up 9 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks and striking out 2. Brevard County Game Log

Final: Tampa 4, Brevard County 1 Ray Supplies Manatees Offense in Loss to Tampa By Donald Rieber, Jr., 27 Outs Baseball *** Brevard County Box Score A rain delay pushed the start of the game back over an hour. The Manatees managed 2 hits, both of which were off of Corey Ray's bat. Ray was 2-for-4 with a solo home run. An up and down outing for Cody Ponce over 6.0 innings pitched. Brevard County Game Log

Final: Tampa 7, Brevard County 6 Manatees Ninth Inning Rally Falls Short in Tampa By Donald Rieber, Jr., 27 Outs Baseball *** Brevard County Box Score The Manatees managed 15 hits offensively (although just 1 extra base hit). Jon Perrin and Freddy Peralta combined to strike out 9 (albeit with too many hits and runs mixed in). Plenty to check out in the game story, box score, and game log. Sorry for the abbreviated post, but the last week of the MiLB season unfortunately coincides with quite a few real world obligations. Brevard County Game Log

...can lead a horse to water and make him drink.

Final: Clearwater 5, Brevard County 2 Clearwater takes down Brevard County in series finale By Donald Rieber, Jr., 27 Outs Baseball *** Brevard County Box Score As documented in the game story Bubba Derby had an up and down outing. Derby ran into trouble in the 1st and 6th innings, but had a strong performance in between. In the 6th inning he gave up his 16th home run this season which is tied for second most in the Florida State League. No multi-hit performances for the Manatees. Corey Ray had one hit, but also struck out three times. Ray did swipe his 8th base on the season. Blake Allemand had the only extra base hit for the Manatees, a 4th inning home run. Brevard County Game Log

Final: Brevard County 5, Clearwater 3 Bickford gets first win, Brevard snaps streak By Donald Rieber, Jr., 27 Outs Baseball *** Brevard County Box Score The 13-game losing streak is over. Three hits each for Corey Ray (3-for-4, 2B, BB) and Wendell Rijo (3-for-4, 2B). Ray has an .856 OPS during the month of August. David Denson (2-for-4) and Dustin Houle (2-for-4) each had multi-hit games as well. As recapped in the game story Phil Bickford had a nice outing. After his last outing where Bickford walked 6 and reportedly was having trouble gripping the ball in the humidity, it's encouraging to see no walks issued tonight. Brevard County Game Log

Final: Clearwater 3, Brevard County 0 Manatees struggles continue against Threashers By Donald Rieber, Jr., 27 Outs Baseball *** Brevard County Box Score The Manatees 13th loss in a row did have at least a couple of redeeming attributes. It has been a tough developmental year for Kodi Medeiros, but tonight he pitched the first 2.0 innings and held Clearwater both hitless and scoreless. Outside of some trouble in the 4th inning including giving up a 2-run homer, Devin Williams had a solid 6.0 inning outing (4 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 4 K's). Not much to discuss among the 4 Brevard County singles and the 0-for-8 performance with runners in scoring position. While he was hitless, Corey Ray did walk twice. Would be nice to see David Denson experience some success down the final stretch. So far in the 18 games since being promoted to high-A Denson is just 6-62 (.097). Brevard County Game Log

While the pitching has had their share of struggles this year, the offensive ineptitude has been the most disheartening. With tonight's 3-0 loss the Manatees have now been shutout 21 times this season, almost a quarter of their total loses. While it has been well documented that the offensive environment isn't ideal, this season has seemed especially tough on hitters. Hopefully next year's move can help jumpstart some offensive success.

Final: Tampa 8, Brevard County 3 Early outburst leads Tampa over Manatees By Donald Rieber, Jr., 27 Outs Baseball *** Brevard County Box Score Starter Cody Ponce had a forgettable outing lasting just 1.0 inning and allowing 5 runs (4 earned) including a 3-run homer. In that first inning Ponce had a throwing error and gave up 4 hits, 1 walk, and 1 hit batter. According to the game story Ponce came on to pitch the 2nd inning, but was pulled from the game after just one pitch to the first batter. Relievers Clint Terry and Jon Olzcak faired better in combining to allow 3 runs over the final 8.0 innings. Multi-hit performances from Wendell Rijo (3-for-4, 2B) and Corey Ray (2-for-4). It was Ray's 3rd multi-hit effort in his last 5 games and he also stole his 7th base of the season in 10 attempts. Brevard County Game Log

Final: Tampa 2, Brevard County 1 Manatees losing streak reaches 11 By Donald Rieber, Jr., 27 Outs Baseball *** Brevard County Box Score Corey Ray led off the game with a double and went on to score the Manatees only run. Two more hits including a double for Mitch Ghelfi who continues to provide one of the bright spots during the current losing streak. Ghelfi is now batting .340 over the past twelve games. In all the Manatees offense managed just 4 hits and were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Facing a strong Tampa lineup Jon Perrin with another solid outing going 7.0 innings and giving up just 1 run on 7 hits, 1 walk, and 5 strikeouts. In 2.0 innings of relief Freddy Peralta recorded 2 strikeouts while giving up 2 hits, 0 walks, and 1 run which proved to be the difference. Brevard County Game Log

Final: Tampa 11, Brevard County 0 Tampa's offense overpowers Manatees By Donald Rieber, Jr., 27 Outs Baseball *** Brevard County Box Score Just a little perspective on how bad this season has been, Brevard County lost their 10th in a row and were shutout for the 20th time this season. They are now 49 games below .500 at 37-86 on the season. They have scored a Florida State League low 391 runs while allowing an FSL high 575 runs for a -184 run differential. Manatees starter Marcos Diplan (1-2) allowed 5 runs and 7 hits over 5.0 innings. Diplan also walked 3 and struck out 3. Brevard County Game Log After Tampa pitcher Nestor Cortes had retired the first 22 Manatees batters, Mitch Ghelfi broke up the perfect game in the 7th inning with a double. Ghelfi started out his first 5 games with the Manatees going 0-for-12. Since then Ghelfi has batted 16-for-49 (.327). Of those 16 hits, 6 have been doubles.

Final: Clearwater 7, Brevard County 4 Manatees swept by Lakeland By Donald Rieber, Jr., 27 Outs Baseball *** Brevard County Box Score Of the Manatees 8 hits, 6 of them were doubles. Leading the way with 3 doubles was Corey Ray (3-for-5, 3 2B) who raised his month of August OPS to .850. Since August 1st Ray has hit 8 doubles, 1 triple, and 3 home runs. He has also walked 8 times during that span. Brevard County Game Log The 10 walks issued by Manatees pitchers were split between Devin Williams (4 walks and a wild pitch) and Phil Bickford (6 walks and a hit batter). They recorded two strikeouts apiece. As usual for home games the game story provides quotes from manager Joe Ayrault. Ayrault points out that Bickford's control issues were due to trouble gripping the ball in the humidity which he hasn't been accustomed to pitching in before.

Final: Lakeland 14, Brevard County 6 Lakeland scores early and often in win over Manatees By Donald Rieber, Jr., 27 Outs Baseball *** Brevard County Box Score One bright spot from the series with Lakeland so far has been the Manatees bats starting to heat up. After 14 hits last night the Manatees followed it up with 11 more hits in this game. Offensive leaders included Corey Ray (2-for-5, 2B), Mitch Ghelfi (2-for-5), Wendell Rijo (2-for-4), and the recently added Brandon DIaz (2-for-4). Brevard County's Elvis Rubio also added a 3-run home run. Brevard County Game Log After retiring the first batter of the game starter Kodi Medeiros allowed the next six batters to reach base before being pulled. As noted in the game story, only 19 of Medeiros' 41 pitches went for strikes and none of them touched 90-mph on the radar gun. Following Medeiros early exit both Clint Terry and Bubba Derby faced troubles of their own. Lakeland Top of the 1st Rashad Brown grounds out, shortstop Wendell Rijo to first baseman David Denson. A. J. Simcox walks. Tyler Bortnick singles on a line drive to left fielder Brandon Diaz. A. J. Simcox to 2nd. With Wade Hinkle batting, wild pitch by Kodi Medeiros, A. J. Simcox to 3rd. Tyler Bortnick to 2nd. Wade Hinkle hit by pitch. Ross Kivett walks. A. J. Simcox scores. Tyler Bortnick to 3rd. Wade Hinkle to 2nd. Zac Shepherd walks. Tyler Bortnick scores. Wade Hinkle to 3rd. Ross Kivett to 2nd. Ben Verlander walks. Wade Hinkle scores. Ross Kivett to 3rd. Zac Shepherd to 2nd. Pitching Change: Clint Terry replaces Kodi Medeiros. Drew Longley out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Corey Ray. Ross Kivett scores. Garrett Mattlage pops out to first baseman David Denson.

Final: Lakeland 8, Brevard County 5 Lakeland takes series opener from Manatees By Donald Rieber, Jr., 27 Outs Baseball *** Brevard County Box Score The Manatees 14 hits provided a bright spot, but unfortunately 13 players were stranded on the base paths. The team went 4-for-17 with runners in scoring position. Players finishing with 3 hits each included Mitch Ghelfi (3-for-5, 2B), Wendell Rijo (3-for-5, 2B, SB), and Dustin Houle (3-for-4). One of Cody Ponce's tougher outings, over 4.0 innings he gave up 7 hits, 5 earned runs, 2 walks and struck out 3. Brevard County Game Log *** As noted in the game story George Iskenderian has been placed on the DL (left-wrist injury) and Brandon Diaz will take his roster spot.

Final (12 innings): Daytona 4, Brevard County 3 Tortugas walk-off Manatees in 12 innings By Donald Rieber, Jr., 27 Outs Baseball *** Brevard County Box Score Brevard County compiled 10 hits, but only one extra base hit. That extra base hit was a solo home run from Blake Allemand (3-for-6, HR) who is currently the Manatees hottest hitter. Allemand is now batting .345 over his last 24 games. The Manatees pitched a shutout over the first 8.2 innings. That included an exceptional 7.0 inning outing from Jon Perrin. Perrin gave up just 3 hits, no walks and recorded 12 strikeouts. With 98.2 innings now under his belt in high-A, Perrin ranks tied for 6th in the Florida State League in ERA (2.46) and tied for 8th in WHIP (1.13). Brevard County Game Log The Manatees led 3-0 entering the bottom of the 9th. Freddy Peralta retired the first two batters of the inning and then things went downhill quickly. Daytona Bottom of the 9th Ty Washington strikes out swinging. Shed Long flies out to center fielder Corey Ray. Juan Duran singles on a ground ball to shortstop Wendell Rijo. Aristides Aquino homers (20) on a fly ball to left field. Juan Duran scores. Pitching Change: Brad Kuntz replaces Freddy Peralta. Brian O'Grady triples (6) on a fly ball to right fielder Elvis Rubio. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter Gavin LaValley replaces Reydel Medina. Gavin LaValley singles on a line drive to left fielder Malik Collymore. Brian O'Grady scores. Chad Tromp called out on strikes.

Final: Daytona 9, Brevard County 3 Aquino's grand slam sinks Manatees By Donald Rieber, Jr., 27 Outs Baseball *** Brevard County Box Score Offensively the Manatees put together 12 hits including 4 extra base hits. Brevard County also had 4 players with multi-hit games led by Blake Allemand's 3-for-4 performance. Mentioned this yesterday, but Allemand has hit quite well over the past 3 weeks after a very tough stretch to start his second stint with the Manatees. "4" was the magic number for starter Javi Salas who went 4.0 innings allowing 4 runs on 4 hits, 4 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Brevard County Game Log Unfortunately Marcos Diplan had a rough 4.0 inning outing highlighted low-lighted by a 6th inning two-out grand slam. In all Diplan surrendered 7 hits, 5 runs, and 1 walk while striking out 3. *** As you hopefully read the game article addresses the status of George Iskenderian following his recent wrist injury.

Does anybody have insight into the reason for Lewis Brinson's departure following his first at-bat? Colorado Springs Bottom of the 1st Kyle Wren strikes out swinging. Nate Orf singles on a soft ground ball to shortstop Pat Valaika. With Lewis Brinson batting, Nate Orf caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Tom Murphy to second baseman Rafael Ynoa. Lewis Brinson grounds out, third baseman Tim Smalling to first baseman Jordan Patterson. Albuquerque Top of the 2nd Defensive Substitution: Eric Young Jr. replaces center fielder Lewis Brinson, batting 3rd, playing right field. Defensive switch from right field to center field for Michael Reed. Jordan Patterson strikes out swinging. Tom Murphy strikes out on a foul tip. Rafael Ynoa grounds out, third baseman Garin Cecchini to first baseman Garrett Cooper.

Final (10 innings): Dunedin 4, Brevard County 3 Bickford fans 10, Manatees lose in 10 innings By Donald Rieber, Jr., 27 Outs Baseball *** Brevard County Box Score Manatees pitchers combined for 17 strikeouts led by Phil Bickford (5.0 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 1 BB, 10 SO) and Devin Williams (4.0 innings, 3 hits, 2 BB, 5 SO). For Bickford he now has 120 strike outs in a 102.2 innings pitched this season. For the 21-year old Williams it was his first outing in high-A. Top offensive performances from Blake Allemand (2-for-5, 2B) and Mitch Ghelfi (2-for-4, 2B). After having a rough start in Brevard County Allemand has rallied to bat .311 since July 23rd (23-for-74). Brevard County Game Log With the game 2-2 in extra innings the Manatees pull ahead in the top of the 10th only to give up two runs in the bottom of the 10th. Brevard County Top of the 10th Wendell Rijo flies out to left fielder L. B. Dantzler. Malik Collymore singles on a line drive to center fielder D. J. Davis. With Corey Ray batting, wild pitch by Jose Fernandez, Malik Collymore to 2nd. Corey Ray walks. Fidel Pena grounds into a force out, shortstop Jorge Flores to second baseman Dickie Joe Thon. Malik Collymore to 3rd. Corey Ray out at 2nd. Fidel Pena to 1st. Blake Allemand singles on a line drive to center fielder D. J. Davis. Malik Collymore scores. Fidel Pena advances to 3rd, on a fielding error by center fielder D. Elvis Rubio grounds into a force out, shortstop Jorge Flores to second baseman Dickie Joe Thon. Blake Allemand out at 2nd. Dunedin Bottom of the 10th Pitching Change: Jon Olczak replaces Devin Williams. Josh Almonte singles on a bunt ground ball to third baseman Jose Cuas. Josh Almonte advances to 2nd, on a throwing error by third baseman Jose Cuas. With Jorge Flores batting, passed ball by Mitch Ghelfi, Josh Almonte to 3rd. Jorge Flores strikes out swinging. Dickie Joe Thon hit by pitch. With Jonathan Davis batting, Dickie Joe Thon steals (20) 2nd base. Jonathan Davis strikes out swinging. With Ryan McBroom batting, wild pitch by Jon Olczak, Josh Almonte scores. Dickie Joe Thon to 3rd. Ryan McBroom singles on a line drive to right fielder Elvis Rubio. Dickie Joe Thon scores

Final: Dunedin 6, Brevard County 2 Medeiros shaky in loss at Dunedin By Donald Rieber, Jr., 27 Outs Baseball *** Brevard County Box Score As mentioned earlier in the thread, Kodi Medeiros was reportedly working 84-86 mph with his fastball. I have to assume the organization had him working on some specific things since that is a fairly steep velocity drop-off from earlier this season. Medeiros gave up 5 hits and 4 walks leading to 5 runs over his 4.0 innings worked. For the second consecutive night Corey Ray (2-for-4, HR) left the yard. Hoping to see the recent power surge continue through August. The other two hit performances were Blake Allemand (2-for-4, 2B) and Mitch Ghelfi (2-for-3, 2B) David Denson managed a hit in his first game with the Manatees on August 4th. Since then he has gone 0-for-26 from the plate. Brevard County Game Log

I thought new deals couldn't be signed until the offseason. Meaning any announcement would be about extending a current affiliation. Fresno Bee Article Link: Astros will remain in Fresno through 2018.

Final: Dunedin 4, Brevard County 2 Dunedin rallies late to beat Manatees By Donald Rieber, Jr., 27 Outs Baseball *** Brevard County Box Score Three of the five Manatees hits went for extra bases. That included a couple of long balls as both Corey Ray (1-for-3, HR, BB, SO, SB, CS) and Wendell Rijo (1-for-3, HR, SO) had solo home runs. For Rijo it was his first home run as a member of the Manatees and provided a boost to his sub-.200 slugging percentage. Brevard County had runners in scoring position just twice and they were 0-2 in those opportunities. Brevard County Game Log Another strong outing for Cody Ponce as he lasted 6.0 innings allowing 5 hits, 1 earned runs, 1 walk, and 3 strike outs.

Final (17 innings): Lakeland 2, Brevard County 1 Flying Tigers beat Manatees in 17 inning marathon By Donald Rieber, Jr., 27 Outs Baseball *** Brevard County Box Score A day after playing a rain shortened 6-inning contest the Baseball Gods made up for it by serving up a 17-inning affair. Despite playing almost two full games worth of baseball the Manatees had some 0-fer batting lines including Corey Ray (0-for-7, BB, SO), Fidel Pena (0-for-7), Elvis Rubio (0-for-7), and Malik Collymore (0-for-6, 4-SO). One hitless player managed to get on base three times, David Denson (0-for-4, 3-BB, 2-SO). Even with the extra at-bats only two Sea Cows managed multiple hits, Blake Allemand (2-for-6, 2B) and Mitch Ghelfi (2-for-7, 2B). The Manatees finished 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13 total on the base paths. The game story does a nice job recapping Bubba Derby's outing which lasted 7.2 innings. Derby allowed just 4 hits, 1 run, 1 walk while tallying 7 strikeouts. Manatees relievers with some impressive scoreless outings until Brad Kuntz gave up a run in his second inning of work in the 17th. Brevard County Game Log The game was on the brink of ending in the top of the 9th inning, but back-to-back Brevard County doubles knotted the score and sent the game into extra frames. Brevard County Top of the 9th Pitching Change: Santiago Garrido replaces Zac Reininger. Fidel Pena flies out to left fielder Rashad Brown. Elvis Rubio pops out to first baseman Wade Hinkle in foul territory. Blake Allemand doubles (3) on a sharp fly ball to right fielder Ross Kivett. Mitch Ghelfi doubles (1) on a sharp line drive to right fielder Ross Kivett. Blake Allemand scores. Defensive Substitution: Ben Verlander replaces right fielder Ross Kivett, batting 6th, playing right field. David Denson strikes out swinging.

This is totally correct. We get excited about new things - it happens every poll. Plus we often get taken with small sample sizes of data. If Lucas Erceg was hitting .250 it's highly questionable he'd be at #12. I look at Orimoloye - people went nuts for him after doing well in Arizona last year. The love wore off pretty quick after another 130 ABs and a .225 BA. I think Brinson would have been the #3 prospect except for his recent tear at AAA. You could even see it in the voting. The voting was opened on Monday, August 1. Brinson's rankings from voters gradually got better over the next week - which coincided with his excellent play at Colorado Springs. Of the first 12 voters, only one person had him ranked #2 or better. Of the last eight voters, all of them had him at #1 or #2 on their lists. So the new guy lit things up for a week and squeaked past Hader for the second spot. I can only speak for myself, but in my mind Brinson was the clear cut #2 prospect in the system the day we traded for him. The way I sized up the top 10 prospects in my rankings was their projected ceilings to become elite players as well as evaluating, "would I trade player X for player Y in a one-for-one swap?" For me there isn't a player in the system outside of Orlando Arcia that I wouldn't have traded to acquire Lewis Brinson, thus the #2 ranking. I am not claiming that newness, recency bias, and small sample sizes don't impact our rankings (including my own), but I will say that the guys that were acquired are legitimate top prospects with higher ceilings than the majority of the players already in the system.

Final (6 innings): Brevard County 6, Lakeland 4 Pena’s Grand Slam Carries Manatees to Victory By Donald Rieber, Jr., 27 Outs Baseball *** Brevard County Box Score In a rain shortened game two Manatees collected a pair of hits, Corey Ray (2-for-2, BB) and Fidel Pena (2-for-3, HR). Brevard County finished 3-for-4 with runners in scoring position. In his sixth start at high-A Marcos Diplan pitched all 5.0 innings allowing 6 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk, and recording 5 strikeouts. Brevard County Game Log The Manatees got off to a 6-0 lead after a 2-run 1st inning and 4-run 2nd inning. Brevard County Top of the 1st Corey Ray singles on a line drive to center fielder Ismael Salgado. Fidel Pena singles on a line drive to right fielder Ross Kivett. Corey Ray to 3rd. George Iskenderian singles on a soft line drive to right fielder Ross Kivett. Corey Ray scores. Fidel Pena to 2nd. With Elvis Rubio batting, Kade Scivicque picks off George Iskenderian at 1st on throw to Wade Hinkle. Elvis Rubio called out on strikes. With Blake Allemand batting, wild pitch by Matt Hall, Fidel Pena to 3rd. Blake Allemand singles on a line drive to left fielder Rashad Brown. Fidel Pena scores. David Denson grounds out, pitcher Matt Hall to first baseman Wade Hinkle. Brevard County Top of the 2nd Mitch Ghelfi walks. Jose Cuas pops out to first baseman Wade Hinkle in foul territory. Malik Collymore singles on a line drive to left fielder Rashad Brown. Mitch Ghelfi to 2nd. Corey Ray walks. Mitch Ghelfi to 3rd. Malik Collymore to 2nd. Fidel Pena hits a grand slam (4) to left center field. Mitch Ghelfi scores. Malik Collymore scores. Corey Ray scores. George Iskenderian grounds out, third baseman Zac Shepherd to first baseman Wade Hinkle. Elvis Rubio grounds out, second baseman Garrett Mattlage to first baseman Wade Hinkle.