Jim Goulart

Manatees lose season opener at Daytona Dan Ryan, Florida Today DAYTONA BEACH – Seven years in the organization and here was Hiram Burgos on the field he played college ball. Sometimes getting back up to the show means going back to where you started. "All part of the process," said Burgos after taking the loss for Brevard County in its opening day loss, a 5-1 setback to the Daytona Beach Tortugas on Thursday night. Nick Travieso and three other Tortuga pitchers held Brevard County to two hits, and a pair of yard shots helped the Tortugas make a successful debut as a Cincinnati Reds farm team in front of a sold-out Jackie Robinson Ballpark. Instead of a triumph return, Burgos became a trivia question: The pitcher that gave up the home run to Sebastian Elizalde in the Tortugas' first official at bat. "Hanging change-up with the wind blowing out like crazy," said Burgos, who was a part of four Bethune-Cookman conference championships teams here before being selected by the Brewers in the sixth round of the 2009 draft. "I have to do a better job of executing. But it was good to be back here tonight … a lot of memories." Burgos was Milwaukee's 2012 minor league pitcher of the year and threw six games for the parent club in 2013. He's back for his third season in Brevard County after shoulder surgery. "The Brewers want to make sure I'm throwing at 100 percent and get the ball every five days," Burgos said. After that rough first, Burgos got out of a bases-loaded jam in the second with an inning-ending double play and gave up one run over the final four innings before yielding to Kaleb Earls in the sixth. He finished with five strikeouts. Meanwhile, his Daytona counterpart, Travieso, was rolling. The Reds' 2014 minor league pitcher of the year had a shaky first inning, giving up a wild pitch and hitting a batter, but after Cam Garfield smacked a second-inning double, Travieso retired 16 consecutive Manatees before exiting in the seventh. Johnny Davis helped Brevard County manufacture its first-inning run. He got on first when Travieso's third strike got past Chad Wallach, then stole a base and scored on Taylor Brennan's sacrifice fly. After the Elizalde blast, Daytona took a 2-1 lead on Robert Ramirez's two-out triple to right that plated Wallach. Phillip Ervan added a two-run blast in the seventh for Daytona Beach. Chris McFarland had Brevard County's other hit, a ninth-inning double. The teams meet again in Brevard County's home opener tonight. Wei-Chung Wang is expected to start for the Manatees.

AUDIO: 'Tees Manager Joe Ayrault previews the season with Jerry Durney of the Manatees Radio Network *** 'Tees Drop Opener in Daytona Tortugas smack two home runs in win over Manatees By Jerry Durney / Brevard County Manatees DAYTONA BEACH, FL - The Brevard County Manatees certainly hope that Opening Night will be the exception and not the norm for the 2015 season. The Daytona Tortugas hope it will be a sign of things to come for the new franchise. The Tortugas used 6.2 innings of 1-hit ball from Nick Travieso and a pair of home runs to cruise to a 5-1 win over the Manatees on Thursday Night at Radiology Associates Field. The initial proceedings signaled a good night for the 'Tees as Johnny Davis got on base to lead off the game following a dropped 3rd strike. After Chris McFarland flew out to right, Clint Coulter reached after being hit on the first pitch of the at-bat. Davis and Coulter then successfully attempted a double steal, leading to a sacrifice fly by Taylor Brennan to put Brevard County in front in the opening frame without the benefit of a base hit. The lead would be short-lived as Sebastian Elizalde hit a leadoff home run over the wall in right center to bring Daytona level. With two outs, Chad Wallach singled to keep the inning going, setting the stage for Robert Ramirez. Ramirez hit a triple off of the wall in right, bringing Wallach all the way around to score and give the 'Tugas a lead that they would not relinquish. Taylor Sparks reached on an infield single to start the 4th inning and later came in to score on a Carlton Daal groundout to make it 3-1 Daytona. The final score would come in the 7th as Phillip Ervin launched a long two-run homer to bump the lead to 5-1. The story of the night, however, would be the masterful performance by the 21-year-old Travieso. The reigning Pitcher Of The Year in the Reds' system retired 16 straight batters following Cameron Garfield's one-out double in the 2nd. The right-hander would be lifted following a two-out walk to Garrett Cooper in the 7th. For the evening, Travieso went 6 2/3 innings, giving up just one run and one hit, walked one and struck out five. The Manatees tried to mount a rally in the 9th as McFarland hit a leadoff double off of Jimmy Moran, followed by a walk to Coulter. Moran would induce a groundout by Brennan, advancing the runners before giving way to Evan Mitchell. Mitchell would strike out Victor Roache and Garrett Cooper to end the game. Hiram Burgos, rehabbing from a right shoulder impingement that ended his 2014 season after just four starts, pitched five innings, giving up seven hits and three runs, walking two and striking out five. The season-opening four-game series between the teams continues tomorrow at Space Coast Stadium in Viera at 6:35 PM (5:35 Central). LHP Wei-Chung Wang (0-0, 0.00) will take the ball for Brevard County, he will be opposed by RHP Sal Romano (0-0, 0.00). *** AUDIO: Game highlights -- the Manatees do an awesome job with this game in and game out... *** This was the only Brevard tidbit from the Daytona News-Journal's coverage: Daytona manager Eli Marrero was also pleased with the way the team hit the ball against Burgos, who pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2013. "We faced Burgos several times in spring training and he threw the ball very well. He's a veteran guy with a lot of experience so the guys went out there and had good at-bats. They put the ball in play so that was good, and especially against a guy with that type of ability. He has a really good cutter. We were fortunate enough to face him a couple times before. We knew what to expect but we still had to put the ball in play."

Burlington blows past Wisconsin 9-3 Bees pitching collects 16 Ks in windy season opener By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers BURLINGTON, IA - The Burlington Bees defeated the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 9-3 in a breezy 2015 season opener at Community Field on Thursday night. Bees starting pitcher Sean Newcomb struck out nine and allowed one run on two hits over five innings to collect his first professional victory. In all, four Burlington pitchers racked up sixteen strikeouts of Timber Rattlers hitters. Burlington (1-0) struck quickly and made the Rattlers pay for a miscue. Wisconsin starting pitcher Victor Diaz walked Caleb Adams with one out in the bottom of the first and appeared to get Andrew Daniel to pop out to left for the second out. But, wind gusts of nearly 40 miles per hour carried the ball deeper than Brandon Diaz thought it would go. Diaz got back to the ball and had it in his glove, but dropped it before securing it for the second out. That error put runners on second and third with one out. Fran Whitten, who would collect four hits in the game, was next and he singled to left to drive in the runs for a 2-0 lead. Wisconsin (0-1) got a run back on a wind-blown triple by Jose Pena in the fourth inning. Newcomb walked Brandon Diaz with one out and Pena's routine fly to right nearly carried out of the ballpark. The ball hit off the top of the wall 365' from the plate for an RBI triple. The Bees pulled away against the Wisconsin bullpen. Harvey Martin allowed a run in the fifth inning on a Natanael Delgado sacrifice fly. Then, Burlington sent eight men to bat in sixth inning against Orlando Torrez and scored three runs. A two-run single by Jake Yacinich and a sac fly off the bat of Daniel in the big frame pushed Burlington's lead out to 6-1. The Rattlers rallied for a run in the top of the seventh. David Denson, who walked three times in Thursday's game, coaxed a free pass from reliever Jonah Wesley with one out. Jake Gatewood greeted Tyler Carpenter to the game with a line drive triple over the head of the centerfielder to drive in Denson. Brandon Gildea and Michael Hermosillo put the game away for the Bees in the bottom of the eighth against Tyler Linehan. Gildea singled with the bases loaded to drive in one run. Hermosillo, the #9 hitter in Burlington's order who reached base five times in the game, singled in two more runs and the Bees were up 9-2. Pena drew a leadoff walk in the top of the ninth against reliever Jordan Piche, went around to third on an error, and scored on a wild pitch to account for the final run of the game. Four Bees pitchers held Wisconsin to just three hits in the game and the Rattlers were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Burlington hitters knocked out thirteen hits and took advantage of ten walks handed out by Timber Rattlers pitchers. The Bees also went 7-for-19 with runners in scoring position on Thursday night. Game two of the season-opening series is Friday night at Community Field. Cy Sneed is set to make his Timber Rattlers debut as the scheduled starting pitcher. Burlington has named Michael Bolaski as their starter. Game time is 6:30 PM. Tune in for the broadcast of the game on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:10 PM. Friday's game is also available on TuneIn Radio.

I've been watching the Sky Sox, can't help but think I'm watching Jamey Wright from 15 years ago (Taylor Jungmann). Sky Sox up 2-1 after three, Matt Clark with a solo shot in his first AB.

WNAM Flagship Station Listen Live

VIDEO: Pre-game interview with Biloxi Manager Carlos Subero *** VINE: History with the first RBI(s) for the Shuckers.

MLB.com: Where the Brewers' top 30 prospects are starting the season

Fun with headshots

Colorado Springs had a fairly straight path to getting down to 25. They have placed RHP Johnny Hellweg (tail end of Tommy John recovery), LHP Jarret Martin (shoulder debridement, back around mid-June), and RHP Josh Roenicke on the seven-day DL. We had read previously that Roenicke was going to hang back in Maryvale to stretch out for starting, perhaps that's still the case. *** This was posted on April 4th: Haudricourt tweet -- Pitchers Chris Leroux and Tim Dillard will break camp with AAA Colorado Springs but will be on inactive roster at start. *** At this time, that just leaves catcher Robinzon Diaz's status as "unaccounted for".

MiLB.com now shows that both Eshleman & Archer have been placed on the Helena roster.

In order to get to the 25-man limit for the Timber Rattlers, the Brewers have re-assigned RHP's Gian Rizzo and Brock Hudgens, and catcher Natanael Mejia to the Helena roster. We'll determine whether the three players will continue to work out with the Timber Rattlers for soon-to-be use, or whether they are immediately heading back to Maryvale for extended spring training.

As was pointed out in the Shuckers' thread (thanks, Bork), RHP Eric Marzec and C Tyler LaTorre have been placed on the 7-day DL with undisclosed "injuries" (perhaps they are nicked), or maybe we'll see rotating phantom taxi squads DL across the board this season.

Miller Park Prospects -- 2015 Preview: Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (A)

Not sure exactly how the two players were allocated to make room (DL stints, transfers, etc.), but to get to the 25-man roster limit from 27, catcher Paul Eshleman and RHP Tristan Archer were dropped from the Manatees Opening Day roster. We should learn more by end-of-day.

Brewer Farmhand Birthdays for Thursday 4/9: Colorado Springs OF Bryan Petersen turns 29. Dominican Summer League infielder Roosevert Chal turns 21.

Sky Sox keeping up with baseball's new trend of dominant relievers with defined roles By Brent Briggeman, Colorado Springs Gazette The Colorado Springs Sky Sox are keeping up with the times when it comes to the latest fad in baseball - a dominant back end of the bullpen with well-defined roles. With touted prospects David Goforth and Corey Knebel likely to man the closer's role and eighth inning, respectively, and proven big-league closer Chris Perez among the candidates to take the seventh, the Triple-A team is well positioned to protect late leads and ease the burden of starters. That was a big part of the formula that sent the Kansas City Royals to the World Series last year and has become a blueprint teams around baseball are scrambling to replicate. It used to be the closer was the bullpen's ace and spare parts could fill the rest. Now, teams are trying to load up with essentially three closers, one for each of the final three innings. "Baseball is very trendy, isn't it?" Sky Sox manager Rick Sweet said Wednesday. "That's what we've done. They'll all have roles and they'll know them. I've always believed that's the way it should be." Goforth, who saved 27 games in Double-A last year in his first full season in the bullpen, loves the idea of defined roles in the bullpen. This way of constructing the bullpen isn't necessarily a given at this level as some managers will downplay game situations to make sure certain players get their work in as planned. Since closers generally only work in save situations, a closer might not see the mound for a week if his team is struggling and that could stunt his development. "If for seven games in a row we have a two-run lead, I want to pitch in every game," said the 26-year-old right-hander who is rated by Baseball America as the No. 12 prospect in Milwaukee's system. "That's just my competitive nature. I want to be in the game at that point. As a closer, if the roles are defined, it helps you." Knebel, acquired by Milwaukee in the offseason in a deal for pitcher Yovani Gallardo, has never played under Sweet but from all he has heard the way the game will be handled will mirror what happens in Milwaukee. "He'll treat you like a big leaguer," Knebel said. "If he sees a need in the big leagues, he knows how to get somebody ready to fill that need." The bullpen options don't end with Perez, who saved 123 games with the Cleveland Indians between 2010-13. Ariel Pena struck out 140 batters in 128 1/3 innings in Triple-A last year and is switching to a relief role. Brandon Kintzler appeared in 135 games for the Brewers over the past two seasons, posting a 2.93 ERA in that time. There's a reason Sweet is calling this the best bullpen he's had in nearly 30 years in the minor leagues. "I like our chances to shorten up games," Goforth said. "We look good on paper. We just have to go out there and focus on the pitching and let things take care of themselves."

Sitting down with Colorado Springs Sky Sox manager Rick Sweet Kevin Henry, Colorado Springs Sky Sox Examiner Prior to Thursday’s Opening Day matchup against Nashville, I had the chance to sit down with Colorado Springs manager Rick Sweet, who brings some impressive credentials with him to the Sky Sox. This year marks his 25th year as a minor league manager, and his 1,665 wins rank sixth among active managers heading into the 2015 campaign. During our talk, I had the chance to ask him about a myriad of topics, ranging from his approach to spring training and the regular season to why it’s not enough to just “develop” baseball players in the minor leagues. Kevin Henry: Talk about your approach to spring training. It’s been said that you take it a lot more seriously than other managers when it comes to wins and losses. Sweet: Wins in spring training are part of the process. It’s one thing to just go out and play the game. It’s another to go out there and work hard so you can fill the needs of not only this team, but the major league team as well. Henry: What about your approach to wins and development during the regular season? Sweet: I play to the game situation, but I also want to win. I think it’s a cop out to say all you’re doing is developing these players to get to the major leagues. I don’t want to develop losers. I don’t want to send a guy who everyone says is “developed” but is OK with losing to Milwaukee. I want to send an animal to Milwaukee who knows what it takes to win and will do just that. Winning is a part of the game. We have guys who are here to help us win and they each have jobs. They simply need to do them. Henry: This is your second season managing this team (last year the team was in Nashville before the Milwaukee affiliation moved to Colorado Springs). How does that help you from a manager’s standpoint? Sweet: We’ve been together and know each other. For the new guys, I think it’s important that the guys know me rather than me knowing them. The guys who have been on the team before with me can communicate to the new guys who I am and how I work. Henry: What’s the thing you watch out for the most on your team? Sweet: Consistency. There’s not a lot of down time at Triple-A and it can be a grind mentally. Everyone talks about the toll it takes on you physically, but you have to be prepared for the mental grind as well. Henry: Describe what kind of team we’re going to see from the Sky Sox this season. Sweet: I want fans to come out here to see an exciting team. I want them to think, “Gosh, they play good baseball.” I want our fans to see a team that plays with enthusiasm. I know fans are used to seeing this team affiliated with the (Colorado) Rockies (the previous affiliate of the Sky Sox), but I think they’re going to follow our team based on how we play. Overall, I think this club that the Brewers have put together is the best all-around group of players I have ever had to start a season. We have speed, power, a great bullpen, and a good mix of starters. I’m excited about the season and I think our fans will be as well. Henry: Speaking of the season, talk about your approach to Opening Day. Sweet: Opening Day is always fun. It’s a letdown after that because you realize you have a bunch of games to play after that. I think Opening Day will be very special for the fans and organization with the change to Milwaukee this season. Henry: You have Taylor Jungmann taking the mound on Opening Day for you. He’s a highly rated prospect. What do you expect to see from him in his first Sky Sox start? Sweet: He’ll be on a pitch count but I will be very happy if he gives us four to five solid innings. He’s a guy with a good fastball and curveball who likes to work inside. He’s a horse on the mound. Henry: You mentioned the strength of the bullpen earlier and everyone knowing their roles. How are you going to manage the late-inning flow going for your bullpen? Sweet: I have a lot of closers and they’re all different. We have several guys who can close, and we have several guys who will need to get in innings. This bullpen is the best I have ever had to open a season. Baseball is a very trendy game. Each of these late-inning guys will have roles and they will all pitch. That’s really the development side of things. They have to be ready if Milwaukee needs someone to come up and throw a couple of innings.

Link includes Taylor Jungmann video interview Change in era for Sky Sox not as significant for the players, staff as it is for team, city By Brent Briggeman, Colorado Springs Gazette Taylor Jungmann will deliver the first pitch of a new era of Sky Sox baseball on Thursday night. It's a big moment for the club, marking its first action as an affiliate of a team other than the Colorado Rockies in 22 years, but it's not quite as significant for the staff's ace. Jungmann has started every season since his final year at Texas at a different stop, so new surroundings are just a way of life as he has reached the final rung of the Milwaukee Brewers' minor league system. "I know it will be new to the fans, they'll have to learn some new names," Jungmann said. "But we're all learning together here." In Jungmann, who will deliver that first pitch against Nashville at about 6:35 PM Thursday (7:35 Central), local fans will get their first glimpse of a top Brewers prospect. And by all accounts, he's a good one. The 6-foot-6, 220-pound right-hander has won at least 10 games in each of his three minor league seasons and held Pacific Coast League hitters to a .235 batting average in 101 2/3 innings with Nashville - the team that has since relocated to Colorado Springs. "He's an animal," manager Rick Sweet said. "He's a horse on the mound. He'll work you inside and his change-up has really improved." Jungmann and Sweet teamed together for much of last year, but the same can't be said for much of the roster. Of the 28 players announced on the official roster, 13 belonged to a different organization last season - including all four outfielders. The team has spent much of the past seven weeks together in spring training, so the initial meet-and-greet phase is finished. Now it is time to do that all again with a Colorado Springs community used to tracking the progress of Rockies farmhands that now must shift the attention to a new organization. "It's exciting for us because it's a new club, a new facility, a new place; but it's probably not as big a change as it is for the people here," Sweet said. Added Jungmann, "It is exciting to go to a new city. None of the guys on the team have experience here, so it's something new for us to look forward to."

Beat this road trip: Minor-league team scheduled for 55-game trek Associated Press Pitcher Brooks Hall won't get on the bus without his noise-canceling headphones. First baseman Nick Ramirez needs his PlayStation 4 and he makes sure there's plenty of caffeine on hand. Most players making a living in minor-league baseball like Hall and Ramirez have a secret remedy or two for dealing with life on the road. The Biloxi Shuckers are about to put those remedies to the test. Over the next two months, Hall, Ramirez and the rest of the Milwaukee Brewers' Double-A affiliate will embark on a scheduled 55-game road trip, one of the longest in recent memory. The team is piling on a bus for a mammoth road swing through the Southeast: Pensacola-Mobile-Jacksonville-Pensacola-Huntsville-Jackson, Mississippi-Jackson, Tennessee-Huntsville-Chattanooga-Birmingham. "By the end of this thing," Ramirez said with a grin, "we might need a little break from each other." Welcome to the current life of the Shuckers, who play in the Southern League. The franchise moved from Huntsville, Ala., to Biloxi, Miss., in the offseason, lured partly by the promise of a $36 million stadium. It is expected to a beautiful facility — eventually. Due to various issues, including construction delays, it probably won't be ready for two more months. In the meantime, there will be a lot of bus rides, hotels and trips to Applebee's. The expected toll: 60 straight nights in a hotel, 55 games, nine different cities and some frayed nerves. The journey begins Thursday night when the Shuckers play the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. "It's a unique experience and we've just got to adjust as we go along," Biloxi manager Carlos Subero said. "It's a lot of games, so managing fatigue is going to be a feel thing for the coaching staff. "Honestly, the thing I'm most concerned about is the lack of privacy. Sometimes you need it. You might see a few guys walking around the local mall trying to find a little alone time." The extended road trip is a rare situation in professional baseball, though not entirely unprecedented. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees — the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees — played their entire 144-game schedule away from home in 2012 because of stadium renovations. But the Yankees at least had a semi-permanent base in Rochester, NY, where they played 37 "home" games that season. The Shuckers won't have that luxury. They do, however, have Buck Rogers. No, not the fictional astronaut traveling through space in the late 1970s, but the team's general manager who is in his 19th season working in minor-league baseball. "What we're trying to do is make sure all these guys have to do is concentrate on baseball," Rogers said. "It's not an ideal situation, but we want to make the best of it." The Shuckers' trip will be all road games from Thursday until June 6, when the home opener in downtown Biloxi is tentatively scheduled. Even that date isn't etched in stone. Video updates on the team's website show a stadium that's far from completed. A rainy spring could delay construction even further. Nobody wants to think about that. "Believe me, we want to be in our stadium as soon as possible," Rogers said. There have been a few long Major League Baseball road trips, though nothing this extreme. Of course, MLB players get a big-league salary to deal with road life. The lowest-paid Shuckers are subsisting on $1,500 a month and $25 per day in meal money while on road trips. By contrast, major leaguers get $100.50 daily per diem and their minimum salary is $507,500 this season. Rogers flew to Arizona to the Brewers' spring training facility last week to try and answer questions from players, who were understandably anxious about the unique situation. The GM said the Southern League's leadership, along with other general managers across the league, have been gracious about helping the Shuckers when possible. The team has arranged to have players' personal laundry done once in each city and Rogers has secured parking at a local hotel in Biloxi so that players can store their cars. The team is also paying for players who are bringing families to have their own hotel room instead of the usual arrangement of two players to a room. Subero said the most important thing is that the players don't allow the nuisance of a long road trip interfere with their development as baseball players. "If for some reason we lose 10 straight games, it's because we're playing bad baseball, not because we've been on the road," Subero said. If it's any consolation, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre actually won its division during its nomadic 2012 season, finishing with an 84-60 record. Shuckers pitcher Austin Ross, who is in his fifth season in the Brewers' organization, said he doesn't expect the trip to be that bad. His secret on the road: A few books to take his mind off the day-to-day grind. "You get used to packing light after a few years playing minor-league ball," Ross said. "The good thing is we're able to see the light at the end of the tunnel and we know the new stadium is going to be great." Until then, there are always those noise-canceling headphones. "I'm telling you, that's the secret," the 24-year-old Hall said laughing. "Those things are legit." http://a1.fssta.com/content/dam/fsdigital/fscom/mlb/images/2015/04/09/040915-MLB-Game-Road-Trip-PI-CD.vadapt.955.high.0.jpg Photo by Michael Spooneybarger, AP

Ex-Oshkosh star Uhen ready for debut with T-Rats Mike Sherry, Post-Crescent Media http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/cfea4d6760e63da83ea3e77fe54fd1e9cd4cfd6c/c=386-0-3247-2151&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/Appleton/2015/04/08/B9316902636Z.1_20150408235548_000_GUMAF0D5P.1-0.jpg Photo by Dan Powers GRAND CHUTE – Josh Uhen was a 6-year-old birthday boy when he toed the rubber at Fox Cities Stadium for the first time. He's quite a bit taller now, and his right arm packs a lot more punch, but the thrill of getting to pitch close to home is every bit as exciting for Uhen now as it was 17 years ago. Uhen, a former standout at Oshkosh North High School and then the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, is in his third season with the Milwaukee Brewers and will start the season with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The homecoming has Uhen, who turned 23 on Tuesday, counting his blessings. "I think it's a great experience," he said Tuesday at the team's media day. "I think it will be a fun summer, not only for me but for my family and friends involved as well. Every time I see them or come back home, they're always asking how I've been and they want to get out and see me, so I think this is a great opportunity and it will be a fun summer." Even though he doesn't remember much of his Fox Cities Stadium debut throwing out the first pitch before a Timber Rattlers game, Uhen said it's exciting how his career has come full circle. "I don't remember much of it," he said. "I do remember having all of my buddies and my cousins up here. I think my parents just called and asked and set it up. It was my sixth birthday, 17 years ago today, and I think it might have been opening day or one of their first games here. It's kind of cool how that all comes together." One guy who knows all about playing in front of the hometown fans is Uhen's new boss, Timber Rattlers manager Matt Erickson. The Appleton native and former Appleton West star, in his fifth season as skipper for the Class-A affiliate of the Brewers, has talked with Uhen about performing in front of family and friends. "I know he's excited," Erickson said. "We've had a couple local guys in the past — Chad Pierce is one that comes to mind — and I got the chance to talk to Josh a little bit about it. Obviously, he's very excited. "I know his high school baseball coach. He's sending me texts and emails all the time wondering how he's doing. He had to compete to get on this roster and he did a nice job through spring training and I'm happy that he's here." The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Uhen was taken by Milwaukee in the fifth round of the 2013 draft after being named the Horizon League's top pro prospect by Baseball America for two consecutive seasons (2012-2013) at UWM. He posted a 2-6 record with a 4.54 ERA in 14 games with the Arizona Brewers in 2013, then went 2-4 with a 4.28 ERA in 15 games with Helena last season. While his career numbers at two rookie league stops aren't gaudy, Uhen is confident that he's on a similar career path as most young pitchers going from being a thrower to a pitcher. "In college, I was throwing harder and that opened some eyes and that's what got me noticed and essentially what got me drafted," said Uhen, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2011. "But as soon as you get to pro ball, it doesn't matter how hard you throw. They care about you throwing strikes and getting outs. "I didn't have really control of any pitches coming out of the draft. But after being in pro ball for two years, working with the pitching coaches and the staff, they've really toned down my mechanics and not necessarily toned down my (velocity), but got me throwing strikes with all three of my pitches and made my mechanics a lot more sound, which is the biggest thing. And I think that's what they're looking for. The velo can come back, but right now it's more so about throwing strikes and getting outs." Gary Lucas, who is in his first season as pitching coach for Wisconsin, said Uhen's career arc is no different than what most young pitchers go through after they get drafted. "Josh is one of those guys, he's just like a lot of them," Lucas said. "They've got stuff. They can do a lot of good things tool wise. But they have to become pitchers and that's going to take a little bit of time." Uhen, who will pitch out of the bullpen for the Timber Rattlers, is willing to put in that time, and he's grateful that he will get to do it close to home, where his parents, Kevin and Cheryl, and his sister, Alyssa, will be able to watch him chase his dream. "I think I'm blessed with the opportunity in such a unique situation to come home and play in front of my family and friends," he said. "My sister, she's a park ranger, so she has seasonal jobs just like me. She's moving down to Arizona to work at the Grand Canyon and it worked out where I get to see her for about a month here, which is cool because I don't get to see her that often."

AUDIO 4/8: Joe Block via WTMJ *** AUDIO 4/8: Buster Olney's ESPN podcast (listen for Tom Haudricourt at the 31:20 minute mark) *** AUDIO 4/8: The latest "Brewers on Tap" podcast with Jeff Levering is up -- "This week, hitting coach Darnell Coles and Logan Schafer stop by the podcast as the Crew begins the regular season. Commissioner Emeritus Allan H. (Bud) Selig shares some kind words about the fans of Milwaukee. Plus, Bob Uecker begins his 60th season in baseball on This Week in Brewers History. *** AUDIO 4/8: Bill Schroeder via ESPN 540 Milwaukee *** AUDIO 4/8: Adam McCalvy via the Bill Michaels Show *** AUDIO 4/8: Dan Plesac via 105.7 FM WSSP's Big Show *** AUDIO 4/8 via the Minor League Forum -- Colorado Springs Media Day interviews via the flagship 1300 the Animal -- Manager Rick Sweet Taylor Jungmann Corey Knebel Jason Rogers *** AUDIO 4/8: Via 105.7 FM WSSP, the Ziebart On Deck Show Ramie Mahklouf talks with Tim Allen and Jim Owczarski about the Brewers shaky start to the season. And Joe Zenzola sits down with Brewers reliever Tyler Thornburg (20:00 minute mark). Plus, the latest on Ryan Braun's injury.

Colorado Springs Media Day interviews via the flagship 1300 the Animal -- Manager Rick Sweet Taylor Jungmann Corey Knebel Jason Rogers

VIDEO: WXXV Report from Pensacola on the Shuckers