Jim Goulart

In the April 8th version of Matt Eddy's Minor League Transactionsover at Baseball America, Matt wrote: New York Yankees Released: RHP Scott Baker, RHP Felix Santiago, C Roybell Herrera, C Bismar Nunez, C Daniel Vavrusa, 3B Juan Lorenzo, SS Melvin Aquino, SS Allison Reyes, OF Hector Asencio, OF Adolfo Morillo, OF Adam Silva Most interesting among the Yankees’ roll of released players are a pair of Dominican amateurs signed last July 2. Outfielder Adolfo Morillo signed for $50,000 (at age 16) and catcher Bismar Nunez signed for $10,000 (at age 19) just nine months ago, but New York released both players on March 31 rather than keep them in extended spring training. Neither played a game for a Yankees affiliate. *** We have learned that the Brewers have since jumped in and signed Morillo. Given his prior release, any financial commitment must have been very minimal. Morillo is listed as a LH bat and arm, 6'0", 170 - in one link he was listed as a CF. He'll turn 18 on September 21st, so this summer will be his age 17 season. And no, we don't know why he never dressed for the Yankees.

Audio link now also updated in the Daily Menu kicking off this report.

Keep in mind that the Brewers were very limited in their July 2nd signings, because basically their entire $3M+ international pool went towards SS Gilbert Lara. So much so, that Baseball America's Ben Badler sent out this tweet on April 1st along with a (paid subscription only) article link -- The Brewers did something I've never seen any team do in the international market -- You can read a preview at that link, though. (By the way, the only other player signed by the Crew last summer was Yoel Vasquez, an 18-year-old Venezuelan catcher who signed for a pool-exempt $7,500 on July 2. Vasquez ended up playing in eight games starting on August 11th late last season.) So it led us to thinking -- with so many 2014 DSL Brewers now stateside, how will the Brewers manage to field a full squad for the start of the 2015 DSL season? Will the Brewers have to share a co-op team with another organization? We've learned that the Brewers will not have to share their team this summer, so there's that. And there's been an indication that while perhaps a couple of the players listed in the prior post may be sent back to the Dominican for the start of the regular season, the vast majority will remain stateside. So the Brewers have made some bargain signings, here's hoping there's an Orlando Arcia in the bunch . Arcia, was not a big-money signing, who dazzled in his age 16 season in the Dominican. *** We posted this on March 12th, this player will be assigned to the 2015 DSL squad -- We know the Brewers scout pretty heavily in Puerto Rico, as noted by the number of draft picks used on that island's players during the Melvin era. Milwaukee has signed a soon-to-be 21-year-old CF who the Royals drafted in the 17th round in 2012, but released this past season (on July 1st, only four games played in 2014). Ariel Estades is a LH bat, listed at only 5'11", 150 on his most recent MiLB.com player page. Baseball Reference Page

Here's our March 18th post (in full) about which Dominican players were in Maryvale for spring training. Of this group, RHP Orlando Torrez was the only player assigned to a full-season club (Timber Rattlers). *** So we now know which 2014 Dominican Summer League players are currently stateside in Maryvale. That means it's likely, but not a guarantee, that each will remain in the U.S. and will debut with either the Arizona Rookie or Helena team this June. PITCHERS LHP Joan De La Cruz, 20 years old, 6'3", 12 starts last year in 3rd year in system RHP Marcos Diplan, just 18 years old, prized acquisition in the Yovani Gallardo deal, click for his excellent numbers RHP Orlando Torrez, turns 23 in April, rewarded after four summers in the Dominican, congrats to him POSITION PLAYERS SS Gilbert Lara - 17 years old (great photo here) - Little surprise that the $3.2 million bonus baby would begin stateside, since he did well in fall instructionals. 2015 will mark formal pro debut. CF Nicolas Pierre, 18, $800,000 bonus, showed nice pop in his rookie DSL campaign SS Franly Mallen, 18 in May, also signed to an $800,000 bonus, didn't excel in his first go-round on the island (.618 OPS in a tough environment for offense) OF Joantgel Segovia, 18, right-handed slap hitter from Venezuela posted an incredible .384/.457/.446 line as a 17-year-old rookie, winning the DSL batting crown OF Yerald Martinez, 19, .756 OPS in his 2nd pro season netted him a DSL All-Star nod C Kevin Martinez, 20, switch-hitter improved in his 2nd and 3rd years, has played some first base as well C Johel Atencio, 18, signed out of Panama for $130,000, comes stateside after just one season (.687 OPS) This leaves approx. 17 players in the Dominican Academy, and the Brewers will especially be in need of outfield depth there, we'll look for any new names as the spring marches on. They won't be big-name signings at this point (not until the new July signing period). We don't see RHP Doni Arias' name - his last appearance was in early July, so there's probably an injury issue there. RHP Melvin Tejada was a possibility coming off his 3rd DSL season as well.

Here's a portion of our post from September 2014 about the players brought in from the DSL for fall instructional league -- 2014 Instructional League Roster (You should be able to increase your internet browser's zoom capacity to increase the reading size there.) Soon-to-be 20-year-old LHP Joan De La Cruz the only pitcher brought in from the Dominican Summer League. Catchers Johel Atencio and Kevin Martinez, SS Franly Mallen, and OF's Nicolas Pierre and Joantgel Segovia brought in from the Dominican, along with prized signing Gilbert Lara.

Now, regarding those final statistics, a few players were released late in the season or after the season. Those would be 3B Geuris Santana, RHP Marcos Padilla, OF Juan De Los Santos, C Franmy Pena, and IF Raphachel Colatosti. We detailed Santana's release here, Padilla's release here, and the other three players in this post.

Time for several Dominican Summer League Brewers updates! First, the DSL schedule has been released. Opening day is Saturday, May 30th. The schedule is much more diverse this year (even more so than last, when we started to see fewer games against fellow Santo Domingo site teams -- the Tigers, Braves, and Blue Jays). In fact, the Blue Jays must have a new facility, because they are not on the schedule at all. *** Here are the final 2014 DSL Brewers statistics.

J.J. Cooper of Baseball America tells us there's been too many "L"'s in the 2015 Link Reports, in so many words. That being said, we know some exciting things are happening at the lower levels. What does it say, however, about the gap that was evident in the system (see last year's somewhat on-field successful but very veteran and not exciting Huntsville squad), that the two most exciting Sky Sox prospects are Sardinas and Knebel, acquired in trade this offseason?

There are two farmhand birthdays today -- Biloxi OF Kyle Wren turns 24. Brevard County RHP Scott Lieser, an undrafted free agent signee in 2013, turns 25 -- unless he was a real flexible infant, his notable leg kick isn't quite as old:

Look for these just prior to the respective game times -- Colorado Springs Media Notes - It's a unique link each day, but look for it under the "Multimedia" banner on the Sky Sox' site. Biloxi Media Notes - Linked on the Shuck Dynasty blog Brevard County Media Notes - It's a unique link each day, but look for it under the "Multimedia" banner on the Manatees' site. Wisconsin Media Notes - Linked on the Rattler Radio blog *** STANDINGS: AAA - Pacific Coast League American Northern Division AA - Southern League South Division High-A - Florida State League North Division A - Midwest League Western Division *** Sortable individual stat pages: Colorado Springs Biloxi Brevard County Wisconsin *** Weather.com: Round Rock, TX Jacksonville, FL Dunedin, FL Grand Chute, WI

Follow Thursday's action as it happens with box score / game log links: Colorado Springs Biloxi Brevard County Wisconsin MiLB.com feature -- organizational scoreboard, Brewers

DVR ALERT! Not today's matinee, but Friday's Timber Rattler game will be televised on MyNew32 TV, 6:30 PM air time.

Thursday's Daily Menu: All times are Central Colorado Springs: RHP Drew Gagnon at Round Rock (Rangers), 6:35 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link We welcome Dan Karcher, who is the longtime play-by-play voice of the Sky Sox; follow him on Twitter @SkySoxKarch MiLB.TV -- for subscribers; all Colorado Springs games, home and away, will be available to watch via MiLB.TV's $49.99 season-long package ($12.99 to pay for a single month). The audio feed is from the home team. The video of each game is archived online, which is a nice feature. All MiLB.TV details available at the link. NOTE: Notice that on MiLB.TV's page, you can click on "Filter", then "Milwaukee Brewers", and you'll see just the Crew's organizational TV lineup. ********** Biloxi: LHP Hobbs Johnson at "home" vs. Jacksonville (Marlins), 5:35 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime; the Shuckers will be the home team in this series, including last at-bat rights Free Live Audio Link We also welcome Chris Harris as the very first play-by-play voice of the Shuckers! Follow Chris on Twitter @CHarris731. We'll be looking off to his very promising "Shuck Dynasty" blog. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be radio broadcast. MiLB.TV - Seven of the ten Southern League teams telecast their home games, and Biloxi staff indicates it is hopeful it will be eight when the new stadium opens. NOTE: This series from Jacksonville is airing on MiLB.TV, nice. ********** Brevard County: RHP Jorge Ortega at Dunedin (Blue Jays), 5:00 PM pre-game, 5:30 gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Dunedin Feed Dave Walkovic returns as the play-by-play voice of the 'Tees; follow the Brevard broadcast booth staff on Twitter @BCManateesRadio, as all home games and most road games are scheduled to be broadcast in 2015 No Florida State League games are available via MiLB.TV. ********** Wisconsin: LHP Luis Ortega at home vs. Cedar Rapids (Twins), 11:45 AM pre-game, 12:05 PM gametime; expect RHP Milton Gomez to also pitch in a tandem role Free Live Audio Link - WNAM Chris Mehring is back to do his customary fantastic work as the Voice of the Rattlers. Follow him on Twitter @CMehring; we'll link to Chris' infamous blog often -- Rattler Radio. NOTE: Forty-two (!) of the Rattlers' 70 home games will be broadcast on TV this season. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (9) and WACY-TV My NEW32 (34) will split duties. We'll let you know when and who, and remember to refer to the Rattlers' full TV schedule so you can coordinate your DVR activity. *** So, for the $49.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sky Sox games, most Shuckers games, and all Timber Rattlers home games and some road games.

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OF Matt Long gets an occasional start at second base, as was the case for the Sky Sox Wednesday -- you'll see in this photo gallery there was one anxious moment. Nice photo of LHP Nick Additon, also...

Thursday's Link Report will be out in time for the noontime Wisconsin game today. Plan your audio-listening afternoon.

Another real-life reminder -- this one that Biloxi RHP Jorge Lopez pitches each time out with thoughts of his hospitalized son in his mind. His young son has had a lifelong battle.

Final: Colorado Springs 9, Round Rock 0 Additon Leads Sky Sox To Rout Of Express Left-Hander Goes 6.2 Strong Innings In 9-2 Win Over Round Rock By Ed Pearsall / Colorado Springs Sky Sox http://www.milb.com/assets/images/7/4/4/120018744/cuts/04_11_045_pk_gw81xw6q_darseqhg.jpg Nick Additon picked up his second win of the season, tossing 6.2 scoreless innings against Round Rock on Wednesday. (File Photo by Paat Kelly) Nick Additon turned in the most effective performance by a Sky Sox starter this season in a 9-0 win over the Round Rock Express on Thursday night in front on 5,442 fans at Dell Diamond. Additon would pitch 6.2 scoreless innings, allowing just five hits while striking out three. The left-hander would not give up his first base hit until the fifth inning when Express outfielder Alex Hassan singled to centerfield. Additon's outing was the longest and first scoreless performance by a Sky Sox starter this season. Spot-starter Jimmy Reyes would pitch well over four innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and one walk. The Round Rock bullpen, however, would not be so lucky. Already with a 3-0 lead heading into the eighth inning, the Sky Sox would tag left-hander Juan Perez for six runs in his 0.2 of an inning pitched on the strength of a Ben Guez two-run homer to centerfield followed by two consecutive walks and singles. Right-hander Jon Edwards would finish out the inning, and the game, for the Express, limiting the scoring and stabilizing the score at 9-0 over his final 1.1 innings of work. Jed Bradley, Corey Knebel and David Goforth would combine for 2.1 scoreless innings pitched to wrap up the ballgame for the Sky Sox in what would be the team's most complete performance of the season. Pete Orr, Luis Sardinas, Guez and Bryan Petersen each finished with two RBIs in the game as the Sky Sox outhit the Express 12-6. The Sky Sox are back at it on Thursday as Drew Gagnon (1-0, 5.23) takes the mound for the Sky Sox in a face-off with Express right-hander Chi Chi Gonzalez ((0-2, 6.52). First pitch at Dell Diamond is slated for 6:05 PM MDT (7:05 Central). Colorado Springs Box Score Jed Bradley fanned the only batter he faced, stranding two of Nick Additon's baserunners; Corey Knebel has had nice outings each time out (six of them), as we dreamily look to move past K-Rod's two-year deal; Pete Orr singled four times; Matt Clark didn't join in the fun, 0-for-5 with three K's... Colorado Springs Game Log The six-run frame -- Col. Springs Top of the 8th Pitching Change: Juan Perez replaces Alex Claudio. Nevin Ashley grounds out, second baseman Ed Lucas to first baseman Brett Nicholas. Shane Peterson walks. Ben Guez homers (2) on a fly ball to center field. Shane Peterson scores. Bryan Petersen walks. Donnie Murphy walks. Bryan Petersen to 2nd. Matt Long singles on a line drive to right fielder Ryan Strausborger. Bryan Petersen to 3rd. Donnie Murphy to 2nd. Pete Orr singles on a line drive to right fielder Ryan Strausborger. Bryan Petersen scores. Donnie Murphy scores. Matt Long to 3rd. Luis Sardinas doubles (2) on a line drive to left fielder Alex Hassan. Matt Long scores. Pete Orr scores. Matt Clark strikes out swinging. Pitching Change: Jon Edwards replaces Juan Perez. Nevin Ashley strikes out swinging.

Via the Voice of the Shuckers Chris Harris: At the end of Southern League play Wednesday, Biloxi's Michael Reed and Orlando Arcia hold the No. 1 and 2 spots in batting at .417 and .414 respectively.

Harrison goes yard twice, snaps out of slump Brewers prospect records first multi-homer game for Timber Rattlers By Ashley Marshall / MiLB.com http://www.milb.com/assets/images/3/5/0/119961350/cuts/harrison_r6jlmplu_kcfav63u.jpg Monte Harrison had one long ball before his two-homer performance on Wednesday. (Ann Mollica Photo/Wisconsin Timber Rattlers) For a player who prides himself on his speed, Wednesday was all about slowing things down for Monte Harrison. And while you can't steal first base, you can give all four bases a courtesy glance if you smack the ball out of the park. The Brewers' No. 3 prospect belted a pair of solo shots, walked and scored three runs in his first career multi-homer game, but Class A Wisconsin dropped a 5-4 decision to visiting Cedar Rapids on a chilly night at Fox Cities Stadium. "I would say that I felt so much more relaxed," said Harrison, who entered Wednesday batting .135 with one extra-base hit and one RBI in 11 games. "I was working with my hitting coach [Chuckie Caufield] to decide what I needed to do to slow the game down and get back to basics. "I feel like baseball can be a very fast game if you let it be. I wanted to focus on the game and I told him I wanted to break it down to the point where it feels like it's in slow motion." Having struck out 20 times in his first 37 Midwest League at-bats, that's exactly what the 19-year-old center fielder did, breaking down his swing into three distinct phases -- the load, planting the front foot and the actual swing. In doing so, he was able to identify the reason for his mechanics and timing being off the first two weeks of the season. "First, you put your hands in a loaded position. ... You want to get them in a cocked position where you can just fire it like a gun," said Harrison, who had committed to play baseball and football at the University of Nebraska before being taken in the second round of last year's Draft. "You want to be ready to fire at any second. Once you get cocked, you can get that separation where the pitcher is going into his delivery and you can recognize the pitch all the way down to your front foot and getting the heel down to the ground. "In the third phase, you don't try to do too much. You see a lot of guys that can do everything right with the cock and getting the foot down, but they do too much with the swing. You have to see the spin and read it. The ball can jump off the bat if you don't swing too hard." Drafted out of Lee's Summit West High School in Missouri, Harrison took right-hander Zach Tillery deep to left field with two outs in the second inning. He walked and scored in the fifth and homered to left-center field on the first pitch he saw from 2014 10th-rounder Randy LeBlanc with one away in the seventh. "I pretty much told myself I would hunt the fastball," said Harrison, who also produced his first multi-hit game of the season. "I got to a 2-0 count and saw the first couple pitches well, so I told myself to be ready to hit it. [As a right-handed hitter], you don't want to hit the ball down the right field line, you want to pull it. You want to be early on it -- 2-0, 3-0, 3-1, you can't get beat in those counts." Harrison, who's been held hitless in half of his 12 games, came to the plate representing the potential tying run with one out in the bottom of the ninth but struck out against Cameron Booser. He knows he'll still have his struggles at the new level but said he was disappointed in himself, despite already having gone yard twice. In 50 Rookie-level games with the Brewers' Arizona League affiliate last summer, Harrison hit .261 with a homer and 20 RBIs and led the circuit with 32 stolen bases. A third homer on the night might have been a long shot, but he wants to be a player who performs in the clutch. "Just to know I was 2-for-3 with two home runs, but what it came down to was that third at-bat," said Harrison, taken 50th overall and signed to a $1.8 million bonus. "Your third, fourth, fifth at-bats are the ones that really matter. I felt bad that I couldn't help my team. "An 18- or 19 -year-old kid jumping up to a full-season league, you can't say every kid will be successful right away at that age. It all depends on what they do to slow the game down. At the beginning [of the season], the speed got to me, but the last couple days I've told myself to just let the game come to me. I'm not trying to be a guy that's one-dimensional -- I want to be able to do everything." First baseman Trey Vavra was 4-for-4 with a double and an RBI out of the No. 5 spot for the Kernels, who improved to 9-4. He raised his average to .372 with hits in each of his last six at-bats. Cedar Rapids reliever Randy LeBlanc (1-0) got the win after allowing a run on one hit while striking out five over 2 1/3 innings. Booser also fanned five over two scoreless frames for his second save. Wisconsin starter Kodi Medeiros (0-1), Milwaukee's eight-ranked prospect, took the loss after yielding four runs on four hits over five frames. He struck out eight and issued one walk.

VIDEO: Wisconsin game highlights via the MyNew32 TV broadcast, including both Monte Harrison home runs

Florida Today: Manatees Photo Gallery

McCalvy: Tyler Thornburg will join the starting rotation at Triple-A as Brewers try to get him straightened out.

Lakeland's Longstreth Limits Manatees' Offense Manatees Fall to Flying Tigers, 3-1 By Jerry Durney / Brevard County Manatees http://www.milb.com/assets/images/9/7/2/73179972/cuts/Garfield_5.26.13_2_640x360_r6kqa6jz_9qieka0j.jpg Cameron Garfield (Dennis Greenblatt/Hawk-Eye Sports Photography) Viera, Fla. - The Lakeland Flying Tigers (5-9) were the early bird to get the worm on Wednesday morning capitalizing on early mistakes and riding the strength of a great two-man pitching performance to win the rubber game of their series with the Brevard County Manatees (6-7), 3-1. Lakeland forged their lead in the top of the third, which started with soft singles to right and center by Curt Powell and Ben Verlander, respectively. Jiwan James tapped one back to the mound for Javi Salas (1-2, 1.35 ERA), but with James' speed down the first base line, the 'Tees were unable to turn the double play. Then with Jared Reaves at the plate, Salas was called for a balk, bringing Powell home for the game's first run and moving James to second. Reaves, who had come on in place of Javier Bentancourt, singled off of the third base bag. Taylor Brennan fielded it off of the bounce and tried to throw Reaves out at first, but the throw was wide, bringing James around for the second run of the inning. The Manatees nearly equalized in the bottom of the fourth, kick-started by a one-out walk to Cameron Garfield. After a Paul Eshleman single to center moved Garfield to second, it appeared that Angel Ortega had hit into an inning-ending double play when he rolled one back to the mound; however, starting pitcher Ryan Longstreth (1-2, 4.61 ERA) overthrew second, which allowed Garfield to score and cut the Flying Tiger lead in half. Brevard County soon would have runners at second and third when Longstreth threw a wild pitch with Omar Garcia at the plate. However, Garcia popped out to first and Chris McFarland grounded out to third to end the threat. Lakeland would get insurance in the top of the seventh, when with one out. Francisco Martinez launched a solo home run to right, his second of the season, to put the Flying Tigers back in front by two. Calvin Drummond relieved Longstreth to start the bottom of the seventh and he was especially sharp over the final three innings. The Manatees managed just one baserunner in his first two innings against Drummond before the 'Tees nearly pulled off their third comeback win in four games in the bottom of the ninth. It started with a single to left by Garfield and then to right by Eshleman, who was lifted for pinch runner Steven Halcomb. Ortega then sacrificed, moving both runners into scoring position. Drummond then locked in and when he got Garcia to pop out to second and McFarland to hit a comebacker, he collected an impressive three-inning save, his first of the season. The left-hander Longstreth had his best start of the season in front of a noisy Education Day crowd of 951. He pitched a season-high six innings and surrendered one run on three hits. Longstreth walked four and struck out three. Once again, Salas was on the short side of the decision despite a great outing. Salas went seven innings and allowed two earned runs on seven hits. He struck out five and walked none. Kaleb Earls pitched a perfect eighth and ninth to bring his scoreless streak on the season to 6.2 innings out of the bullpen. The Manatees now hit the road for six games, beginning at 6:30 PM on Thursday (5:30 Central) as they start a three-game series with the Dunedin Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium. In a rematch of Saturday's pitching matchup, RHP Jorge Ortega (1-1, 3.21) will be on the mound for Brevard County against the Blue Jays left-hander Jairo Labourt (1-1, 3.72).