Eye Black

A couple of nice shots of Fidel Pena playing 1B (catcher is his primary position this season). The significance of Pena playing 1B is that over the past calendar year he has now played games at every defensive position outside of the mound. Here's the breakdown of games played by position over the past year: LF (31), CF (4), RF (1), 3B (20), SS (1), 2B (30), 1B (1), C (4)

Final: St. Lucie 4, Brevard County 0 St. Lucie hurlers dominate Manatees at Vero Beach Donald Rieber, Jr., Manatees Examiner ***** Good game story linked above including why the game was closer than the score indicates. Brevard County Box Score This weeks offensive struggles continue as the Manatees strikeout 16 times in the game, and their team batting average has now dropped to .204 on the season. The Manatees were held to four hits and they came off of the bats of two players, Johnny Davis (2-for-4, including a bunt for a base hit) and Angel Ortega (2-for-3, 2B). Not a bad night for Eric Hanhold who went 5.2 innings and gave up six hits and two runs (one earned run) while striking out three. Relief pitcher Jon Olczak also made an appearance, pitching 2.1 innings allowing one hit and one run. Brevard County Game Log The Manatees only managed to have more than one player reach base in an inning once, the 6th. Brevard County Bottom of the 6th Omar Garcia grounds out, second baseman Luis Guillorme to first baseman Michael Katz. Johnny Davis singles on a bunt ground ball to pitcher Corey Oswalt. Dustin Houle walks. Johnny Davis to 2nd. Dustin DeMuth strikes out swinging. Clint Coulter strikes out swinging.

Final: Fort Myers 7, Brevard County 2 Fort Myers pounds out 13 hits in win over Manatees Donald Rieber, Jr., Manatees Examiner ***** Brevard County Box Score Another night and another impressive outing for the opposing pitcher, this time it was Twins prospect and former #5 overall pick Kohl Stewart. Coming into tonight Kodi Medeiros hadn't given up a home run since August 26, 2014. He had pitched 98 consecutive innings without giving up a long ball, but that all changed with the first batter tonight (Tanner English) who took him deep for only the the third HR allowed in his professional career. The first inning is chronicled in greater detail in the game story linked above. Medeiros went 3.2 innings, getting tagged for seven hits, four runs (three earned), and three walks, while recording three strikeouts. Medeiros was working between 89-92 mph with his fastball, touching 93 mph one time. His changeup was between 81-83 mph and his slider, which supplied the third strike in both 1st inning punch outs (one swinging, one looking), was in the 87-88 mph range. The Fort Myers broadcaster mentioned that Kodi's fastball did not have the sinking movement as advertised and was being squared up by Miracle batters. Dustin Houle had a tough night at the plate but made two key defensive plays behind the plate with a caught stealing at 2B and a bases loaded pick-off at 3B Brevard County Game Log Manatees relief pitcher Kaleb Earls not happy with some calls in the bottom of the 8th inning, is asked to leave at the beginning of the 9th. Fort Myers Bottom of the 8th Pitching Change: Kaleb Earls replaces Brad Kuntz. Alex Swim walks. Logan Wade grounds out, shortstop Angel Ortega to first baseman Dustin DeMuth. Alex Swim to 2nd. With Trey Vavra batting, Alex Swim advances to 3rd on a balk. Trey Vavra lines out to second baseman Blake Allemand. With Chris Paul batting, Alex Swim scores on a balk. Chris Paul pops out to second baseman Blake Allemand. Brevard County Top of the 9th Pitching Change: Brian Gilbert replaces Raul Fernandez. Brevard County Manatees pitcher Kaleb Earls ejected by HP umpire Justin Robinson. George Iskenderian strikes out swinging. Blake Allemand flies out to center fielder Tanner English. Taylor Brennan walks. With Brandon Diaz batting, Taylor Brennan advances to 2nd on defensive indifference. Brandon Diaz singles on a ground ball to center fielder Tanner English. Taylor Brennan scores. Johnny Davis grounds into a force out, shortstop Logan Wade to second baseman Ryan Walker. Brandon Diaz out at 2nd.

Among guys not mentioned yet I would include Franly Mallen, Karsen Lindell, Gentry Fortuno, Miguel Diaz, Freddy Peralta, Joantgel Segovia, Eric Hanhold, Angel Ventura, Jon Olczak, Dustin DeMuth, Hobbs Johnson.

Final: Fort Myers 3, Brevard County 0 Brevard County blanked by Fort Myers Donald Rieber, Jr., Manatees Examiner Game recap at the link above, random musings below. ***** Brevard County Box Score It is often said if you don't have anything good to say, say nothing at all. Well I won't follow that advice, but the Brevard County offense hasn't exactly provided fodder for Link Report positivity the past couple of nights. The Manatees followed up yesterday's four hit performance with only three hits this evening, and once again all were singles. To be fair they have faced two of the better starting pitchers in the Twins system the past two nights. Clint Coulter registered his third hit this season and finished the game 1-for-3. In his first start of the season (second outing), Angel Ventura went 4.0 innings (81 pitches) allowing four hits, one run, two walks, and collecting six strikeouts. Ventura was working the 91-92 mph range with his fastball and his cutter was mentioned as 87 mph. At one point the umpire told Ventura to speed things up between pitches as he was repeatedly going beyond the time allotted by the pitch clock. Brevard County pitchers have combined for 66 strikeouts on the season in 62 innings pitched. That total is the second highest strikeout total among pitching staffs in the Florida State League. Brevard County Game Log The Manatees looked like they had something cooking versus Gonsalves in the 2nd inning with bases loaded and only one out. Unfortunately Omar Garcia hit into a double play and the Manatees wouldn't manage another hit until the 9th inning. Brevard County Top of the 2nd Clint Coulter singles on a ground ball to center fielder Tanner English. George Iskenderian called out on strikes. Fidel Pena singles on a ground ball to right fielder Chad Christensen. Clint Coulter to 2nd. Jose Cuas walks. Clint Coulter to 3rd. Fidel Pena to 2nd. Omar Garcia grounds into a double play, second baseman Ryan Walker to shortstop Nick Gordon to first baseman Trey Vavra. Jose Cuas out at 2nd. ***** Kodi Medeiros returns to the mound for the Manatees tomorrow in the series finale versus Twins prospect RHP Kohl Stewart.

[sarcasm]Come on guys, you're supposed to be TANKING![/sarcasm]

Final: Fort Myers 2, Brevard County 1 Manatees drop 2-1 decision at Fort Myers Donald Rieber, Jr., Manatees Examiner For the best available game recap check out the link above. ***** Brevard County Box Score Not a lot of notable items on the offensive end, but I guess collecting only four team hits (all singles) will do that. Also as noted in the linked game article, the first 16 Brevard County batters failed to reach base. Angel Ortega did manage to hit 2-for-3. For other details on the Manatees offensive production please proceed with caution to the box score link. Things were a bit more encouraging on the pitching side. Despite some first inning trouble highlighted by a two-run home run for Fort Myers, Brandon Woodruff battled back to post a quality start. Woodruff pitched 6.0 innings allowing seven hits, two runs, zero walks while striking out seven batters. Josh Uhen came in and pitched 2.0 innings of relief giving up two hits and one walk. Uhen struck out three Miracle players and per the radio broadcast was throwing a "nasty slider" that was tough on hitters. Brevard County Game Log Woodruff finished his outing strong in the 6th inning. After giving up a lead off walk he picked off former first round (5th overall) draft pick Nick Gordon and followed it up by sending the next two batters down swinging. Fort Myers Bottom of the 6th Nick Gordon singles on a line drive to center fielder Brandon Diaz. With T. J. White batting, Brandon Woodruff picks off Nick Gordon at 1st on throw to Taylor Brennan. T. J. White strikes out swinging. Alex Real strikes out swinging. One final rally fell short with speedster Johnny Davis on base as a pitch runner. Brevard County Top of the 9th Pitching Change: Todd Van Steensel replaces Yorman Landa. Dustin DeMuth flies out to center fielder Tanner English. Clint Coulter flies out to center fielder Tanner English. Dustin Houle walks. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-runner Johnny Davis replaces Dustin Houle. With Taylor Brennan batting, Johnny Davis steals (2) 2nd base. Taylor Brennan strikes out swinging.

As far as the BF.net prospect depth chart goes, I only included players that received votes in the BF.net poll. There are players like Neuhaus, Franly Mallen, David Denson, Tyrone Perry, etc. that did not receive any votes, but probably deserve placement on the prospect depth chart.

So you've insinuated this a couple of times now. Is it mere speculation or is there evidence of some issue?

Angel Ventura is the probable starter for Wednesday's game vs. Fort Myers. Devin Williams is still in extended spring training and obviously Cody Ponce is on the DL, but it's difficult to see how there is going to be enough consistent innings to go around once all these guys are together in BC. I think Woodruff is the most likely to be the first to move up to AA.

I am sure everyone is doing their home work on Jason Groome. In fact here is a photo to prove it from his outing tonight where he threw a 19 strikeout no hitter in which he was running his fastball up to 97-mph...(ARTICLE LINK).... http://www.gannett-cdn.com/media/2016/04/11/NJGroup/AsburyPark/635960047128192824-groome13.jpg

Final: Brevard County 2, Fort Myers 0 Derby dominates Fort Myers in 2-0 shutout Donald Rieber, Jr., Manatees Examiner For the complete game recap click the link above. Don not only provides the most complete coverage of Manatees games, but he also runs the must follow Twitter account, @TeesReport ***** Brevard County Box Score By all accounts...("all" being Fort Myers broadcaster Brice Zimmerman)... Bubba Derby displayed control and command of his three pitch mix in his organizational debut. Derby threw 55 of his 77 pitches for strikes. The former A's farm hand worked 5.2 innings, recording eight strikeouts while giving up five hits, zero walks and zero runs. Derby was working his fastball between 90-mph to 94-mph. In the 5th and 6th innings he was still touching 93-mph and 94-mph. His change-up which was described as "floating" at times was mentioned to be recorded at 82-mph. Derby's breaking ball was noted to be "advertised as a slider, but much more closely resembling a curveball". The Fort Myers broadcaster described the 79-mph pitch as 12-to-6 with sharp downward movement. George Iskenderian went 2-for-4 with a double and has hit safely in all five games this season. Iskenderian's double was a line drive to left field which bounced to the wall. The Manatees have received a lot of offensive production out of the catcher spot this year, tonight it was Fidel Pena who went 2-for-3 with a walk and a triple that was misplayed by the center fielder who initially came in on the ball that ended up sailing over his head. Brevard County Game Log The Miracle did have a couple of times tonight where they appeared to have something going against Derby only to have the Manatees defense door shut. In the 3rd inning it was an inning ending double play with two on base. In the bottom of the 4th inning Fort Myers managed a couple singles including one by Menomonee High School graduate Trey Vavra. Then with two on and one out Clint Coulter made a catch in right field and threw the tagging runner out at third base to end the inning. Fort Myers Bottom of the 4th Nick Gordon grounds out, first baseman Dustin DeMuth to pitcher Bubba Derby. T. J. White singles on a ground ball to right fielder Clint Coulter. Trey Vavra singles on a ground ball to right fielder Clint Coulter. T. J. White to 2nd. Alex Swim flies into a double play, right fielder Clint Coulter to third baseman Jose Cuas. T. White out at 3rd And here is the very impressive VIDEO of Coulter's hose from right field via Twitter. ***** There is quite a stable of arms in Brevard County this year. Probable Manatees starters for the remainder of this 4-game series in Fort Myers include Brandon Woodruff, Angel Ventura, and Kodi Medeiros. Add in the impressive performances the past two nights of Eric Hanhold and Bubba Derby as well as the eventual return of Cody Ponce and it's tough not to be really excited about following these slingin' Sea Cows this summer.

Final: Daytona 2, Brevard County 1 Daytona squeaks by Brevard County in series finale By Donald Rieber, Jr., Manatees Examiner http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/0a/70/0a709877cece0a3c2b590be79a260e4b.JPG?itok=BFXflSdS Johnny Davis had the only RBI of the day for the Manatees, as they fell to Daytona by the score of 2-1 on Sunday. (Photo by Tim Holle) The article link above provides the most complete game recap, so please check it out. ***** Brevard County Box Score We're only four games in, but Brevard County leads the Florida State League in walks. They added six more today and have now drawn 19 free passes on the season. Good news, bad news on the strikeout front where the teams combined for 24 total K's... Good news: Manatees pitchers combined to strikeout 12 Daytona batters, led by starter Eric Hanhold who retired a career high seven batters via strikeout. Hanhold, last year's 6th round selection out of the University of Florida, worked 5.2 innings giving up just three hits and one run (on a solo HR) while walking a lone batter. Hanhold threw 78 pitches, 50 of which were strikes. Bad news: Manatees hitter combined to strikeout 12 times versus Dayton, and now have 40 strikeouts on the season through four games. Leading the way in the strikeout department was Brandon Diaz who was 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. Taylor Brennan added three strikeouts in his first three at-bats, but did manage to get on base after a dropped third strike and added a base hit in the 9th inning rally that fell short. Angel Ortega twice in a single at bat thought he had drawn a walk and flipped his bat as he headed towards 1st base before ultimately being rung up on strikes. George Iskenderian injured his left hand early, but remained in game and finished 1-for-4 to extend his early season hitting streak to four games. Catcher Dustin Houle was 1-for-2 with two walks and threw out a runner at 3rd base. On the season Houle has reached base on 9 of his 14 plate appearances. The Jose Cuas error was described as a tough play that probably should have been scored a hit. The Dustin DeMuth error was described as "the ball just ate him up". DeMuth's error led to the runner that scored Daytona's go ahead run in the 7th inning and proved to be the difference. Brevard County Game Log Manatees were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners stranded on base. The first inning provided an ominous sign of things to come. Brevard County Bottom of the 1st Johnny Davis strikes out swinging. Angel Ortega strikes out swinging, catcher Chad Tromp to first baseman Avain Rachal. Dustin DeMuth walks. George Iskenderian singles on a line drive to right fielder Aristides Aquino. Dustin DeMuth to 2nd. Dustin Houle walks. Dustin DeMuth to 3rd. George Iskenderian to 2nd. Brandon Diaz strikes out swinging. One defensive highlight was an apparently very nice leaping catch by Omar Garcia to snag a line drive in deep right field and then a throw to double off the Daytona runner at first. Daytona Top of the 4th O'Grady homers (1) on a fly ball to right field. Aristides Aquino singles on a ground ball to left fielder Brandon Diaz. Taylor Sparks lines into a double play, right fielder Omar Garcia to first baseman Dustin DeMuth. Aristides Aquino doubled off 1st. Avain Rachal strikes out swinging. ***** Bubba Derby making his organizational debut for the 'Tees tomorrow night in Fort Myers. Hoping Cody Ponce makes a quick recovery to help fill out what should prove to be a fun rotation to follow this year.

Well it will be very interesting to see if the Rangers stick with an internal fix for now or minor move, or if something picks back up on the Lucroy or Norris trade talks. Also being reported from the Texas - San Diego off-season discussions...

Final: Brevard County 9, Daytona 6 Medeiros Masterful in 'Tees debut Donald Rieber, Jr., Manatees Examiner Please click the link above to Don's article on tonight's game. Also recommend you follow him on Twitter: @TeesReport Brevard County Box Score Brevard County gets the nod as Saturday's Link Report "Affiliate of the Day" after collecting 15 hits and a solid performance from one of the organizations top pitching prospects. Not going to bury the lede here, Kodi Medeiros was good tonight. By accounts courtesy of the Daytona broadcast team, Medeiros displayed composure and confidence on the mound while effectively using his three pitch mix (fastball, slider, changeup). They also raved about how well he hid the ball in his delivery. The youngest player in the Florida State League was getting swing and miss on his fastball. On a second inning strikeout his fastball was clocked at 96-mph. While it was mentioned multiple times that he was working mid-90's with the heater, as the innings wore on the fastball speeds mentioned were falling (92-mph in the 3rd, 91-mph in the 5th). Medeiros recorded seven strikeouts over 5.0 innings in which he threw 52 of his 82 pitches for strikes. Kodi gave up five hits and three walks. Four of the five hits allowed came with runners already on base which I believe has been a trend for him in the past. For as good as Medeiros was tonight, an unfortunate sequence in the 5th inning skews the box score by showing somewhat deceivingly that he was tagged for three earned runs. Medeiros worked four scoreless innings to begin the night. In the 5th inning he recorded two outs before giving up a walk and a hit, then running into a string of bad luck. Brevard County Game Log Exhibit A the game log for bottom frame in the 5th with further explanation below.... Daytona Bottom of the 5th Avain Rachal strikes out swinging. Garrett Boulware pops out to second baseman Blake Allemand. Ty Washington walks. Jonathan Reynoso singles on a line drive to left fielder Brandon Diaz. Ty Washington to 2nd. Blake Trahan singles on a line drive to second baseman Blake Allemand. Ty Washington scores. Jonathan Reynoso to 2nd. Brian O'Grady singles on a pop up to second baseman Blake Allemand. Jonathan Reynoso scores. Blake Trahan scores. Brian O'Grady to 2nd on the throw. Aristides Aquino walks. Angelo Gumbs strikes out swinging. With two outs and two baserunners a line drive was hit at Manatees second baseman Blake Allemand. According to the broadcast Allemand was shielded by the umpire (who reportedly almost took the ball in the head) and Allemand had the ball hit him in the torso. The hit allowed the first earned run to score. Then the next batter in the inning, Brian O'Grady, hit a shallow pop fly into right field that got Allemand turned around allowing the ball to drop and two runs to score. While it was tallied as a hit, the Daytona broadcast team mentioned that Allemand appeared to be "waiting for Coulter to call him off" and seemed like he "lost it in the night's sky and it fell behind him". A little long winded on Medeiros' night, so onto some of the other impressive performances. Nice to see the Manatees bats get going early and often, especially considering they were facing Reds pitching prospect Keury Mella who runs it into the mid-90's himself. The 'Tees recorded eight hits off Mella in just over three innings. Canadian catcher Dustin Houle not only hit a no doubter home run documented earlier in the Link Report, but also finished the night going 3-for-5 with four RBIs. Three Manatees have now his safely in all three games this season, Angel Ortega (3-for-6), Dustin DeMuth (1-for-3, BB), and George Iskenderian (2-for-5, 2B). Other multi-hit games from Johnny Davis (2-for-6, 2B, 3B), Jose Cuas (2-for-4, 2B, BB), and Brandon Diaz (2-for-5, SB). Tough night at the plate for Clint Coulter who was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. On the defensive side Cuas was credited with a nice defensive play charging a soft chopper by Reds prospect Blake Trahan throwing him out just in time. Also Davis made a leaping catch in center to rob a Daytona hit.

You didn't mishear, that is exactly what they said. They claimed an exit velocity of 130-mph on Houle's home run to left field. Based on the fact the top exit velocity on a batted ball in MLB all of last year was 120-mph, there is reason to be plenty skeptical. They mentioned they were using Trackman data tonight. Maybe they just misread or misspoke?

Has anyone else been able to get the Daytona Tortugas (Brevard County game) TuneIn Radio feed to work? For the second day in a row I am getting an error message when I try to play the audio stream. Curious if it's just me or a larger problem? EDIT: It's now back up and running! Thanks Mass Haas for confirming it wasn't just me.

Final: Daytona 10, Brevard County 4 Manatees fall in front of record crowd by Michael Parsons, Florida Today Will also post the link to our newest friend of the Link Report Don Rieber Jr.'s article when it is available at the Examiner.com site. Brevard County Box Score Record crowd at Space Coast Stadium for the Manatees home opener, 4,897 was the reported attendance. Oh, and not to rub it in T-Rats, but the game time temp was 80 degrees. Last night eight different Manatees starters recorded hits and tonight it was eight hits spread across seven starters. The Manatees did manage to draw six walks led by two from first baseman Dustin DeMuth. The extra base hits were off the bats of George Iskenderian (double) and Fidel Pena (home run). Pena made his Brewers organizational debut in this game. The 24-year old former Diamondbacks farm hand from the Dominican Republic was behind the plate catching in this game, but gives the Manatees plenty of versatility with his ability to play around the infield (primarily 2B and 3B) as well as the outfield (LF). The lone BC multi-hit game was shortstop Angel Ortega, 2-for-4, including a line drive to center field that knocked in a run. Manatees pitchers Zach Hirsch and Josh Uhen each threw 3.0 innings and tallied 50 pitches apiece. Hirsch gave up six runs (four earned) on six hits and two walks with one strikeout through his three innings. Uhen, a 2013 5th rounder out of UW-Milwaukee, faired much better in his three innings of work giving up just one hit and two runs with one hit batter and three strikeouts. A rough night for the Manatees defensively around the dirt. E: Iskenderian (1, fielding); Brennan (1, fielding); DeMuth (1, missed catch). Brevard County Game Log The Manatees three run frame came in the 4th, highlighted by George Iskenderian's two RBI double off Daytona starter Tyler Mahle. Brevard County Bottom of the 4th Dustin DeMuth walks. Clint Coulter hit by pitch. Dustin DeMuth to 2nd. George Iskenderian doubles (1) on a line drive to center fielder Jonathan Reynoso. Dustin DeMuth scores. Clint Coulter scores. Pitching Change: Seth Varner replaces Tyler Mahle. Fidel Pena pops out to first baseman Avain Rachal in foul territory. Taylor Brennan flies out to left fielder Angelo Gumbs. Angel Ortega singles on a line drive to center fielder Jonathan Reynoso. George Iskenderian scores. Fielding error by center fielder Jonathan Reynoso. Omar Garcia grounds out, third baseman Taylor Sparks to first baseman Avain Rachal. Left fielder Omar Garcia ends the bleeding in the 7th inning with a friendly reminder to use the cut-off. Daytona Top of the 7th Pitching Change: Junior Rincon replaces Josh Uhen. Angelo Gumbs singles on a ground ball to left fielder Omar Garcia. With Taylor Sparks batting, wild pitch by Junior Rincon, Angelo Gumbs to 2nd. Taylor Sparks reaches on a missed catch error by first baseman Dustin DeMuth, assist to pitcher Junior Rincon. Angelo Gumbs to 3rd. Avain Rachal flies out to right fielder Clint Coulter. Garrett Boulware walks. Taylor Sparks to 2nd. Blake Butler out on a sacrifice fly to right fielder Clint Coulter. Angelo Gumbs scores. Jonathan Reynoso doubles (2) on a ground ball to left fielder Omar Garcia. Taylor Sparks scores. Garrett Boulware out at home on the throw, left fielder Omar Garcia to shortstop Angel Ortega to catcher Fidel Pena.

And now watch the baseball twitter-verse meltdown in 3...2...1...

reillymcshane, thanks for all of your hard work on the BF.net community top prospect list! Below is the updated organizational prospect depth chart based on the new Brewerfan.net voting results.

So it's a 27 degree wind chill and 23mph winds in Beloit. It couldn't get any worse, right?... Well now the lights have gone out and there is going to be at least a 20 minute "lights out" delay. Unbelievable.

Nice to see eight batters in the Brevard lineup with at least one hit apiece so far. Now on to extra innings.

In the most recent Scout.com MLB Draft Podcast (Jeff Ellis and Taylor Blake Ward) first allude to Blake Rutherford working out several times with the Brewers (7:30 mark), and then they go into further explanation including the comment that the the Brewers' scouts "are not all that quiet on liking him" (10:30-to-12:15 mark). The podcast dissects their most recent mock draft, Scout's 2016 MLB Mock Draft, 2.0.

In the past we have had a thread where updates and articles were posted on other NL Central organizational prospects. This year I figured we could take it step further and have a thread for notable news or updates on non-Brewers prospects. Thought process is two-fold, first much of my focus this baseball season will be on following minor league baseball so it would be nice to have a place to share random notes, and second as we have found out over the past year these prospects could become Brewers at some point down the road. And I'll begin the thread somewhat ominously with this note...

Looks like his four-seamer averaged 89.8 MPH today (SOURCE) and topped out at 91.5 MPH which appears to have been his second pitch of the game. Last season Jungmann's four seamer averaged around 92.5 MPH for the majority of the season (SOURCE).