Joseph Zarr

Ross first pitch 96 mph heater on the outer black. Swing and miss. Pitch 2 an inside heater 94 mph fouled back. 0-2 count. He goes upstairs and high on a 94 mph heater. 1-2 count. A low and in slider. The batter lays off. 2-2 count. Fly out to Roller in LF. Next batter: line drive line out Black corrals in left CF - shadowed to that side. And another fly out to shallow LF. Three up. Three down. 7 pitches.

Warren walks on four straight called balls. 1-0 Shuckers. Bases still juiced.

They just sang ea beautiful Natty Anthem in Nashville. Jeff Hem on the call. They are announcing starting line-ups.

The first Shuckers hit of the game comes off the bat of Connor Scott. About a 30 mph drippler up the 3B line that stopped short of the bag. Noice! Men on 1st and 2nd. Hall then blooped a single into very shallow right field. Bases are now juiced. One down (EBJ pop out to 1B foul territory). Warren will try to do some early damage here.

Clean 1-2-3 sub-10 pitch inning for Wichrowski. Given the camera angle and distance, I literally didn't see a single pitch. I heard contact. I saw swings and misses. My cursed Double-A viewing season continues in beautiful Chattanooga? Come on, now.

We have another 'behind home plate' camera angle going early in Chattanooga. We haven't had a single look from behind the mound. Let's hope this doesn't last. Can't even track the ball to home plate. Wichrowski gets a four pitch swinging K to open the first frame. Have no idea where that pitch landed. Ugh.

A very uneventful 3-up and 3-down first frame for the Shuckers. Ground out to 2B. Fly out to CF. Ground out to 3B. On to the bottom half.

We are underway in Chattanooga. Pitch one is a shallow pop fly foul in 3B foul territory. O'Rae kept on trucking will be a bit before he gets back to the dish.

Delayed start in Fredericksburg. Will report back when I know more. Looking at the radar some severe thunderstorms going on. May be a tricky game to get in tonight. We shall see.

I almost wonder - wonder, I say - if Black's random CF action isn't related to some early Trade Talks. Just throwing it out there. I have absolutely zero clue if this is remotely true. But, it certainly makes one pause and contemplate if only briefly.

That's right. He came back and played the AFL. Forgot about that. Thanks for that deep dive nugget!

Wowsers. Last time he manned the CF grass, by recall, is his inaugural season at High-A yah? Let's hope that collarbone stays in tact! 😬

Tell me you don't watch Jadher play without telling me you don't watch Jadher play. Probably based on his initial call-up and placement at Wisconsin back in, what, 2022? I remember that like it was yesterday. Little did I know. Little did I know!

Why did Santana slam his helmet in disgust? Well, 1B Luke Adams also flashed that zesty leather during his first AB making this improbable snag.

Why do I call INF Jadher Areinamo a defensive savant semi-regularly? Well, because he makes plays like this semi-regularly: I mean, goodness gracious.

I actually think the Crew are in a very admirable position of truly being able to target BPA at every slot within the inevitable gambit of strategizing the draft pool capital. I personally don't see many glaring needs in the system - particularly if we consider how wildly successful they've been on the fringes (UDFA's, Indy signings and Minor League FA signings) of late. Pair that with vast improvements and standing in the International Market? Just take the talent. Last year's draft was incredible - it fell perfectly and they executed insanely well. I think they are in the driver's seat. I really do. Anywho, as per usual, awesome read. I love the way you think.

- RHP Joe Ross has been assigned to the Nashville Sounds from the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers where he will continue rehabbing (All signs during and after his sole rehab start @ Wisconsin were positive)

I am going to be the one to say it: INF/OF Jheremy Vargas is quietly having a season. If you simply peruse the baseline stats at a glance you likely wouldn't say a thing. You wouldn't even really notice it. BUT, given I watch (in a typical week, on average) 4-of-6 T-Rats game per series, I see a player who has matured and is beginning to access facets of his game, frankly, I didn't know were there. He's showing a little bit of pop in 2024. He's showing much improved plate discipline and pitch recognition. And, he's playing both corner OF spots and 3B to give manager Victory Estevez 'veteran' (he's only 21 years old) play in multiple locations. If he can keep hitting to even a tune of, say, 0.240 the remainder of the way he has re-entered the chat. This is a key part of his season. He's off to a torrid July start - can he stay above a 0.220 BA? I did not have this on my Bingo Card for this season. Very pleasantly surprised and very much rooting for his continued resurgence. Major credit to him for continuing to grind and commit. A 31:24 K:BB ratio given the subtle improvements we are seeing across the board is a big deal for his near-term trajectory.

Going to be a fun fun fun post-game T-Rats pod today with Chris and Kyle. LOVE a T-Rats matinee blowout. This season just keeps on giving despite the injuries throughout. What a time. What. A. Time!!! Oh, and hey, we have a draft next week. More toys for the man cave Minor League 'playground'. Woot woot!

LHP Brian Fitzpatrick is absolutely on one. I am so here for it. What a pleasant development in 2024. If you watched him pitch in 2023, he is physically so much more equipped to go late in the season. He has trimmed down and developed a very sleek physique in one off-season. That can not be an easy feat given he also pitched in the Aussie Winter League. Major props to him for his clear commitment to his craft. Over his last three outings, that's 1 GS, 9 IP in total (I believe he'll come back aboard the ninth frame - apologies, if I jinx the young man!), 0 R, 3 H, 2 BB, 12 K. That is the very definition of dialed. Absurdly efficient. Here's hoping he continues to trend upward. Given this is his age 24 season, I would be entirely unsurprised if he is sent to Biloxi in the near future to open up some more two-way flexibility down yonder (alá LHP Adam Seminaris and RHP TJ Shook, for examples) while also allowing for a promotion of a RHP Aidan Maldonado type. Fun times in the pitching ranks, folks! Very very fun times.

Indeed. And, it's funny: he's still not 'there' yet. BUT, I think he is getting 'there'. The plate discipline seems to be returning. I'd still like to see less pop fly boom-bust - ie more of those vintage 2023 line drive gappers. I've said it on more than one occasion: it's very hard to quantify what batting with essentially a football helmet apparatus (not to mention breaking his face) does for a player's psyche in the batters box. I feel like he may be finally adjusting to the inconvenience and hindrance.

Looks like the T-Rats are going vintage this Friday. Man, this jersey is sexayyyy:

Recall two plus season ago I wore a signature in my posts that read "Joey Wiemer is my Spirit Animal." 😯 I've watched and closely followed his every step up the ladder. I'll continue to do so while hoping he evolves and achieves the best version of himself. I said it before the season began: when you modify his swing set up in the manner in which they did, it's a full rebuild of the player (physical and mental). He's lost a lot in the transition - his status as a prospect, his ability to launch the ball with purpose consistently, his confidence, perhaps - but we have begun seeing glimpses in the past two weeks he may be getting out of the woods to reside in a different place. I'm personally not ready to proclaim anything other than it's truly nice to see him experience success. I simply hope it's a new Foundation for an epic second half. I would love to have that conversation. Rostering and calling him up to the MLB club was akin to rostering and calling up Ashby. I understand the realities of why they hold places on the 40-Man given overall track records to get them to where they are. But those call-up decisions just never made sense to me given what I had personally witnessed over the course of nearly half a season game-to-game. They both needed time. They both need time. And, they may never get there but I implore the Brewers to give them the opportunity to at least come up from an actual baseline as opposed to a pie in the sky shot in the dark. Of course, my grievance here may be one of those classic baseball conundrums of the rigidity of 40-Man roster rules. But, man, I disagreed wholeheartedly with those call-ups. They were not earned by their play leading up to the call and neither young man was ready to match that level of play. Anywho, I digress.