Jim Goulart

On Thursday, it'll be the Timber Rattlers' turn to have hundreds of screaming school vacation kids watching a matinee. Chris' pre-game airs at 11:10 AM Central, look for the Link Report kickoff by mid-morning.

Brevard County -- AUDIO: RHP Tommy Toledo joins Justin Rocke on the Manatees Pregame Show AUDIO: Game highlights

Brewers player a “forgotten man,” but he’s still helping the team by Tim Van Vooren, fox6now.com MILWAUKEE (WITI) – If you are a hardcore Milwaukee Brewers fan, you may remember an outfielder named Jeremy Reed — but if he has his way, you will see his impact on the diamond at Miller Park in a different way in the future. 2011 was a big year for the Milwaukee Brewers. Ron Roenicke took over as manager, Zack Greinke solidified the starting rotation, Tony Plush captured the fans’ imagination, Ryan Braun was the National League’s Most Valuable Player, the team made it to the National League Championship Series, and Jeremy Reed went 0-for-7. The brief stint with the Brew Crew helped put Reed in position to become Milwaukee’s Minor League hitting coordinator this year. “Being with this staff, the majority of the staff was here when I was here, and having Ron as the manager — just grinding out at-bats, that’s the kind of player I was, and being able to do that for this staff and then come and be a part of them is pretty neat,” Reed said. The fact that he was once a very high draft choice and only recently a bottom of the roster player gives Reed a credibility with Brewers prospects. “I felt so recently what it feels like to fail, what it feels like to succeed and what it feels like to be in the wrong position, at times, at the plate and whatnot. Being able to help them based on what I’ve gone through, I think there is some quality to that, and hopefully I can just pass that on,” Reed said. The Brewers field seven minor league teams, including the Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The vast majority of the guys who are currently playing for those teams will never become Major League stars or even Major Leaguers, but getting to the show shouldn’t be a pipe dream for them, or any of the college, high school and youth players who pull on a uniform. “You just never know when somebody is going to develop. Development for some kids is later. Sometimes it’s early, so you never know. You just gotta keep playing hard and keep grinding it out,” Reed said. Just as a grounds crew has to tend the field so it is at its best for a Major League baseball game, instructors in an organization need to tend to a player’s development so that they can be their best if they ever get here. “It’s consistency. A lot of those kids have the talent to be able to play here, but not consistently play here. The more times that we can get these guys to understand what it’s like to be on time and be consistent in what they’re doing — the better chance they have to get up here,” Reed said. Ryan Braun, Yovani Gallardo and Jonathan Lucroy all came up through Milwaukee’s minor league system. Now, Jeremy Reed is trying to help produce the next Brewers Big Leaguer.

By Bob Brainerd via Time-Warner Cable SportsChannel "Michael Ratterree - Making a Name for Himself" -- includes photos *Michael Ratterree started the season with the Timber Rattlers, but recently was promoted to AA Huntsville because of an injury there

From the Timber Rattlers -- RHP Preston Gainey has been placed on the disabled list retroactive to April 21. LHP Tyler Linehan has been reinstated from the disabled list and is active for Wednesday’s game. *** No word on the nature or severity of what's ailing Gainey.

Stars' Suter loses no-no, maintains hot start By Sam Dykstra / MiLB.com It takes a certain amount of mental fortitude to handle the jump from one level to another. That's especially true about the one from Class A Advanced to Double-A -- long considered to be the biggest and hardest jump in the Minor Leagues. In that sense, it doesn't hurt to have a degree from Harvard. Brewers left-hander Brent Suter owns that prized piece of academic regalia, and unsurprisingly, he has the brains to back it up. "When I talked to people about moving up, they said first, 'Congratulations' and second, 'Know you're good enough to be here,'" said Suter, who went 7-9 with a 3.63 ERA last year for Brevard County. "It's a very mental game, so you have to think you belong before you actually get that feeling and start acting like it. It's very much 'fake it until you make it.'" Well, it looks like the former Crimson hurler's made it. Suter took a no-hitter to the ninth inning Wednesday afternoon in Double-A Huntsville's 4-1 win over Mobile. He finished with one run allowed on one hit and one walk to go with seven strikeouts across eight-plus innings and improved to 3-0 with a 1.08 ERA in his first four Double-A starts. The 24-year-old left-hander, who relies on a fastball-curveball-changeup mix, faced the minimum through the first eight innings of the gem. After striking out the game's first two batters, he walked David Peralta in the first but quickly erased him by picking him off at first base. He mowed through the Mobile lineup over the next five frames at which point the lack of hits hit him. "It was right around the sixth inning that I felt like everything was going, and it started entering my mind," said Suter. "I think I had a pretty calm feeling about it. It was in the back of my mind, but all I was worried about was executing the next pitch. Then in the ninth, he just reached down and got it, and that was it." Indeed after perfect seventh and eight frames brought his consecutive-batters-retired streak to 22, Suter gave up a groundball single to Raywilly Gomez to lead off the ninth. He was immediately lifted after 100 pitches, 67 of which went for strikes. "It was honestly a little deflating," said the 6-foot-5 southpaw. "I knew [Arcenio Leon] would close the door the rest of the way, so that certainly helped. But after it got by, I knew I was being pulled. You just get so close to something that has so much excitement going with it, and yeah, it's a little deflating." A wild pitch by Leon and a pair of ground outs allowed Gomez to move around the bases and score Mobile's only run, which was charged to the Huntsville starter. It's an odd time when a pitcher gives up just one earned run in eight innings and his ERA actually goes up, but that was the case with Suter on Wednesday. The mark, which started the day at 1.06, nudged up to 1.08 through his first four starts (25 innings) -- good enough for a tie for third in the Southern League. He's allowed one run or fewer in each of those four outings. With only 11 hits and four walks allowed, it shouldn't be a surprise that his 0.60 WHIP is tops in the Double-A circuit and seventh-lowest among all Minor League hurlers. Though the results have certainly been there, Suter is brutally honest about what's made him successful in the early going. "It's not my stuff, I'll say that," he said. "I don't exactly have standout stuff, but I know if I'm throwing strikes and working quickly, that's when I'm successful. "My calling card is really my tempo. If I get going quickly, it keeps the defense on their toes, it hopefully keeps the hitters from getting comfortable. That's the way I'll be successful here." Suter added to the Stars' cause Wednesday, going 1-for-2 at the plate with a walk and a run scored. All four Huntsville runs were scored in the seventh inning and were charged to BayBears reliever Bradin Hagens (0-2), who gave up four hits and two walks without recording an out. Mobile starter Bryan Woodall didn't factor into the decision after scattering three hits, two walks and a strikeout in six scoreless frames. Brent Suter struck out 97 batters in 124 innings for Class A Advanced Brevard County in 2013. (Cliff Welch/MiLB.com) http://www.milb.com/assets/images/4/6/8/73111468/cuts/Suter_Wlech_92thlurk_u252u9f0.jpg

Sounds manager Rick Sweet on hit-and-run Nick Cole, the Tennessean A look at baseball strategy and current events from the viewpoint of Sounds manager Rick Sweet… Topic: When to effectively call a hit and run Sweet says: “There’s the team view, there’s the individual view — you’ve got to have the right personnel, and then there’s the count. I think a lot of times when your team is struggling a little bit, you are trying to get some action and get some things going. So overall, the broad view of it is that you’re usually trying to hit and run when your club is struggling a little bit. You’re trying to get things moving and good things to happen. You don’t hit-and-run when your team is really hot and swinging it good — you don’t need to do that. You let your guys go up and have quality at-bats. And then there’s the personnel that you use the hit-and-run with. You’ve got to have a guy that can handle the bat — a guy that can put the ball in play. You don’t want a swing-and-miss type of guy, because a lot of times with a hit-and-run you don’t have your best base-stealers going. And then there’s the count. Usually you do a hit-and-run when you’re pretty sure you’re going to get a fastball. You want to get a pitch that the hitter can handle, not a swing-and-miss pitch.”

Via Nick Cole in the Tennessean -- Catch him while you can: After four starts, Sounds pitcher Jimmy Nelson has lived up the billing of No. 1 prospect in the Milwaukee Brewers system. Following Monday’s seven innings of shutout ball at Omaha, Nelson’s early numbers indicate he may not have much more to prove at the Triple-A level. The 24-year-old improved to 2-1 with a 1.80 ERA, a .151 opponent’s batting average and 25 strikeouts in 25 innings. While Manager Rick Sweet indicated he believes there is still plenty to be gained by more innings at the Triple-A level, he said Nelson has shown ability that doesn’t come around too often. “I’ve had a long career and I’ve been in the game a long time and he’s got a chance to be one of the better starting pitchers that I have ever had in my career,” Sweet said. “I think very highly of him and I think he has a chance to be a very good major-league pitcher.”

As he was discussed in Tuesday's Link Report -- The Shawn Zarraga watch, Wednesday -- 5th career game at 1B, and the OBP went down to .535 even after a walk and single here (one RBI).

Final: @Huntsville 4, Mobile 1 Suter Fires a 1-Hitter In Stars Win Huntsville, AL - Huntsville Stars' left-hander Brent Suter (3-0) took a no-hitter into the ninth inning of Wednesday's game against the Mobile BayBears. In the top of the ninth, Raywilly Gomez singled off Suter to start the inning which ended his no-hit bid. That would be the only hit that Suter allowed in eight dominant innings at Joe Davis Stadium. In the top of the first, Suter struck out Justin Greene and Garrett Weber. The only blemish early on came when he walked the next batter David Peralta. After that walk, he retired the next twenty one batters up until the Gomez single in the ninth. The game was scoreless until the seventh inning. Adam Weisenburger led off the seventh and doubled down the right field line against reliever Bradin Hagens (0-2). Nick Shaw then executed a bunt single. Suter drew a walk to load the bases. With the infield pulled in, D'Vontrey Richardson grounded a base hit past the diving third baseman Jake Lamb. Weisenburger scored on the single giving the Stars a 1-0 lead. Greg Hopkins then followed with an infield RBI single making it 2-0. Shawn Zarraga was then walked with the bases loaded forcing in Suter. The Stars scored their final run on a Jason Rogers sacrifice fly. Suter struck out seven batters and turned things over to Arcenio Leon after he allowed the single to Gomez. The only run Mobile scored was in the ninth when Tom Belza grounded out to shortstop scoring Gomez. Richardson and Hopkins finished 1-3 with an RBI, while Zarraga went 1-3 with an RBI for the victorious Stars. Huntsville improves to 12-8 and remains in first place in the Southern League North standings while Mobile falls to 11-9. The Stars begin a ten-game road trip Thursday night in Kodak, Tennessee against the Tennessee Smokies. RHP Tyler Cravy (2-1, 3.14) will start for the Stars while Tennessee will start RHP Ivan Pineyro (0-1, 1.15). The game can be heard starting at 6:00 PM with Steve Jarnicki on 92.9 FM, 1450 AM, and wtkiradio.com. Huntsville Box Score Five ground balls, seven fly ball outs, seven K's for Brent Suter... Huntsville Game Log Thank goodness for this -- Huntsville Bottom of the 7th Pitching Change: Bradin Hagens replaces Bryan Woodall, batting 9th. Adam Weisenburger doubles (1) on a fly ball to right fielder Jordan Parraz. Nick Shaw singles on a bunt ground ball to catcher Raywilly Gomez. Adam Weisenburger to 3rd. With Brent Suter batting, Nick Shaw steals (1) 2nd base. Brent Suter walks. D' Vontrey Richardson singles on a ground ball to left fielder David Peralta. Adam Weisenburger scores. Nick Shaw to 3rd. Brent Suter to 2nd. Greg Hopkins singles on a ground ball to second baseman Garrett Weber. Nick Shaw scores. Brent Suter to 3rd. D' Vontrey Richardson to 2nd. Shawn Zarraga walks. Brent Suter scores. D' Vontrey Richardson to 3rd. Greg Hopkins to 2nd. Pitching Change: Kaleb Fleck replaces Bradin Hagens, batting 9th. Jason Rogers out on a sacrifice fly to right fielder Jordan Parraz. D' Vontrey Richardson scores. Mitch Haniger grounds into a double play, shortstop Sean Jamieson to second baseman Garrett Weber to first baseman Jon Griffin. Shawn Zarraga out at 2nd.

Sounds’ Eugenio Velez swinging a hot bat Nick Cole, the Tennessean Now with his fifth major-league organization in as many seasons, Eugenio Velez may have found himself a home in the Brewers system in Nashville. The 31-year-old utility man has been on an extended hot streak at the plate since joining the Sounds last July and has shown no indications of slowing down anytime soon. Velez, who has a 2010 World Series ring from his time with the San Francisco Giants, led the Pacific Coast League with a .444 batting average through Monday. He also appeared among the league leaders in several other offensive categories, including on-base percentage (.508), OPS (1.138) and stolen bases (six). Last season, he hit .377 over 38 games with the Sounds following his release by the Toronto Blue Jays on July 22. The Dominican native attributes at least some of his Music City success to Sounds hitting coach Bob Skube. “I’ve been working real hard with the hitting coach,” Velez explained. “He likes to work and that’s why I like him. He makes me get here early and he works with me every single day. Everything that he has me do in the cage before the games — it works.” Velez also has previous experience playing for first-year Sounds manager Rick Sweet in the Dominican winter league. “I know him well, and I know he’s a pretty good baseball player,” Sweet said. “He gets a little passionate and a little on the bases at times, but he’s always been a pretty good hitter if you look at the numbers over his career.”

Harvard to Huntsville to history: Stars' Brent Suter narrowly misses no-hitter against Mobile By Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Brent Suter was half-drenched from a bucket of celebratory cold water splashed on him by teammate Andy Moye, but he still stood patiently signing autographs for 15 minutes, a Harvard University grad bonding with local elementary school kids. "That's Suter," said Huntsville Stars manager Carlos Subero. "That's a kid that you can't stop pulling for." On Wednesday afternoon, an energetic crowd of 2,426, mostly school children on a sun-splashed field trip, were pulling for Suter to make history. For eight innings, he owned a no-hitter; the only base-runner he allowed, on a walk, he immediately picked off first base. But leading off the ninth, Mobile's Raywilly Gomez threw cold water onto Suter's no-hitter, slapping a worm-punishing single up the middle. Nonetheless, Huntsville went on to win 4-1, improving its record to 12-8, though winning only two of five in the series against the BayBears. The Stars open a 10-game road trip at Tennessee on Thursday. "I felt good. I was just focused on executing the pitch (to Gomez) and I looked down for a split-second, and he..." Suter was relating in a post-game interview when, once again, he looked down for a split-second. That's how he missed Moye - who lost a no-hit bit with one out in the ninth last July 3 -- sneaking up behind with the water bucket. Surprised, elated and jolted by the cold, Suter took a few seconds to regain his composure before acknowledging, "It was a little deflating. But it gave the team a chance to win." Reliever Arcenio Leon saved the win, though he did allow the inherited runner to score. Suter is a lanky, 6-5 lefthander from Cincinnati's athletic powerhouse, Moeller High. He was drafted out of Harvard in the 31st round in the 2012 draft, something of a "legacy pick." Harvard alum Steffan Wilson, a former Huntsville first baseman who hit an epic playoff game homer in his Stars' debut in 2009, is now a Milwaukee scout and urged the Brewers to sign him. Suter hasn't thrown a no-hitter, nor has he even gotten as close as he did Wednesday. Maybe that's why he didn't know he was supposed to go hide in the corner of a dugout in solitude, as is tradition, rather than what he did. "In the dugout I was relaxed, talking to the guys. I was loose in there, trying to keep the energy level up," he said. That's Suter, too. "The energy and the aura that he brings to this team is amazing," pitching coach Chris Hook said. "In everything he does, it's 'I'm here to win.' It's contagious." There is a joy in watching Suter, especially for the impatient. He works exceptionally quick. "I pretty much developed that in college," he said. "I don't have spectacular stuff by any means. My calling card is just attacking the hitter, tempo-wise and strike-wise. Our motto in college was 'Work quick, throw strikes and attack the zone.'" "The kid knows what he's got and knows how to work with it," Subero said. "He's the definition of a pitcher." "You look at a no-hitter or near-no-hitter and think that's the top of what he can do," Hook said. "But he can do that every time. This is a sense of normalcy. .. The pace just forces hitters into the box and then he makes pitches and he never makes a mistake to the hitter's advantage. And he changes speeds so well." The Stars finally broke the shutout in the seventh against reliever Bradin Hagens after starter Bryan Woodall pitched six innings of three-hit ball. Adam Weisenburger sliced a double down the right field line, then moved to third as Nick Shaw beat out a bunt single. Then it was time for Suter's at-bat. "We're all baseball people," Subero said. "We know it's a rare thing when you see a kid that has an opportunity (for a no-hitter). The human side takes over. But you've still got to be a manager. You can pull for the human kid, but the manager knows there's a ball game to be won." But Subero left Suter in to bunt, a scenario eased when Shaw swiped second. But Suter walked on four pitches, then D'Vontrey Richardson poked a 2-2 pitch past diving third baseman Jake Lamb. Greg Hopkins followed with a single off the glove of second baseman Garrett Weber for a 2-0 lead. Shawn Zarraga walked in a run, then Jason Rogers made it 4-0 on a short sacrifice fly to right. For Education Day at Joe W. Davis Stadium, this was history repeating itself. It bore an uncanny resemblance to May 11, 2007, another Education Day, this time with 7,732 in the park. Three Stars pitchers - Lindsay Gulin, Corey Thurman and Marino Salas - worked that day against Mobile and Salas was one strike away from completing a no-hitter. Manager Don Money had the tough decision that day to remove Gulin after five. Subero was facing that prospect with Suter, especially as his pitch count approached triple-digits. Laughed Subero, if it had come down to the pitch count, "I told Chris you're going to pull him, not me." Huntsville Stars' Brent Suter accommodates young fans after his near-miss no-hitter bit Wednesday afternoon (Mark McCarter photo) http://imgick.al.com/home/bama-media/width620/img/sports_impact/photo/14764605-mmmain.jpg

Brent Suter has five archived interviews from 2012 (Helena) and Brevard County (2013). In the original Helena interview, Suter discusses working fast, saying goodbye to aluminum bats, and this amazing defensive play.

So after last night's performance, it probably isn't a good day to remind folks that Taylor Jungmann was drafted exactly two spots before the Marlins Jose Fernandez, who had a slightly different evening. 1st Round of the 2011 MLB June Amateur Draft Oh, Sonny Gray was taken six picks after Jungmann. Not sure how Bruce Seid sleeps at night.

It's 12:30 PM central, folks, and after six innings you have a very good reason to be listening to Steve's call of the Huntsville game. Gameday

Per @BrewersPD, Brewers formally place Johnny Hellweg (likely Tommy John surgery) on Nashville's DL, and have released 2012 12th round RHP Eric Semmelhack, out of UW-Milwaukee (career stats). The Brewers had no spot for Semmelhack in 2014 - he posted very low K numbers (and a .299 BAA) in a tough 2013 for the Timber Rattlers.

Update from Huntsville: TODAY’S TRANSACTION: Outfielder D’Vontrey Richardson was activated prior to today’s game. Richardson had been sidelined with a hand injury since he came out of game one of the doubleheader at Mississippi on April 15th. He suffered the hand injury diving for a foul ball on April 12th diving after a foul ball in Huntsville against Pensacola. He missed eight games total.

It'd help if he could play shortstop as well, as even if Elian Herrera was somehow hurt or dropped from the roster, Irving Falu would trump Velez. Maybe the Crew could net a bauble in trade, although they badly want a competitive AAA team this year, and Velez certainly aids that cause. Velez' agent really needed to negotiate a June opt-out (maybe he did).

Reminder -- where we keep track of remaining player options (important heading into 2015)

Weather.com: Huntsville, AL Tampa, FL Burlington, IA

Sortable individual stat pages: Nashville Huntsville Brevard County Wisconsin

STANDINGS: AAA - Pacific Coast League American Southern Division AA - Southern League North Division High-A - Florida State League North Division A - Midwest League Western Division

Look for these just prior to the respective game times (Nashville's linked above) -- Brevard County Media Notes - again, 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

To see tweets as to when the Link Report has been technically "completed" with available links, as well as to know when the new day's Report has been posted, please follow @Mass_Haas on Twitter.

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