Jim Goulart

Friday video: Nashville's Jimmy Nelson ends the first inning with his first strikeout in his Triple-A debut in a 2-1 loss to Memphis

Stars Offense Silent in 2-0 Loss Alex Cohen, Huntsville Stars Montgomery, AL – A night after losing on a walkoff single in the ninth inning, the Huntsville Stars were shut out by the Montgomery Biscuits by a score of 2-0 on Saturday night at Riverwalk Stadium. While the Stars got another strong outing from starting pitcher Ariel Pena (6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 5 K, 4 BB), he put himself in position to be tabbed for the loss early in the first inning. After a leadoff double from outfielder Kevin Kiermaier and a bunt single by shortstop Shawn O’Malley put runners at the corners with nobody out, a wild pitch from Pena later in the inning allowed Kiermaier to score to put Montgomery up 1-0. With the Biscuits lead still at 1-0 in the seventh inning, a similar situation happened that led to the second and final run of the game for Montgomery. After Pena got himself into a jam with two one-out walks, he was taken out of the game in favor of lefty Dan Meadows. Following a walk from Meadows, another wild pitch allowed Kyeong Kong to score from third to put the Biscuits up by two. Unfortunately for the Stars, that was all the run support Biscuits starting pitcher Jacob Thompson needed. The 23-year-old righty pitched a season-high seven innings without giving up a run on just three hits to improve to 6-5 on the season. The win for Thompson was salvaged after lefty C.J Riefenhauser came into the game and shut down the Stars through the final two innings to notch his team-leading 8th save of the season. With the loss, Pena fell to 5-4 on the season. The shutout marked the fifth time this season that the Stars offense has been shut out. In 2012, the Stars were shut out nine times total. On offense, the Stars only managed four hits, including a double and a triple from outfielder Kentrail Davis. Outfielders Brock Kjeldgaard and Rene Tosoni had the only other hits for Huntsville. Now eight games under .500 with eight games remaining in the first half of the Southern League season, the Stars will not have a winning record for their fourth consecutive half dating back to 2011. On Sunday, the Stars will play game three of a five-game series at Riverwalk Stadium against the Montgomery Biscuits. Huntsville will send RHP Taylor Jungmann (6-5, 4.22 ERA) to the bump as Montgomery will counter with RHP Merrill Kelly (5-5, 3.62 ERA). First pitch is at 6:05 CT.

Getting to Know -- Rob Wooten

VIDEO: Brewers draft Central grad Drew Ghelfi VIDEO Interview #2

TTU BASEBALL: Archer drafted in 21st round by Brewers by Craig Delk, Herald-Citizen.com (Cookeville, TN) COOKEVILLE — During the 2013 season, the Milwaukee Brewers organization got to see first-hand what Tennessee Tech pitcher Tristan Archer was capable of. Area scout Steve Smith was present during Archer’s masterful complete-game effort when the Golden Eagles topped SIU-Edwardsville 1-0 on March 28. Now, Archer will get a chance to replicate that same success on the professional level. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound righty was drafted by the Brewers on Saturday in the 21st round at pick No. 632. For Archer, being drafted is not a new experience — he was selected by the Oakland A’s in the 38th round of the 2009 draft following his prep career at Sullivan South High School in east Tennessee. But this time around, it’s a much different feeling. “It’s a pretty awesome feeling now,” Archer said. “Out of high school, it really wasn’t as good because I kind of knew I was set in stone to go to college with it being so late. Knowing that this is gonna happen is an incredible feeling. Now I get to give it a shot at the next level.” Bragga compares Archer to Los Angeles Angels pitcher Jered Weaver, and says the Brewers are getting great value in the Golden Eagle standout. “He throws slightly across his body, he gets great armside run on his fastball, and he commands a slider, a curveball and a plus changeup,” Bragga said. “And he actually has a similar build and body style to Jered Weaver as well. “I honestly think that the Brewers are getting an absolute steal in the 21st round,” Bragga continued, “because he’s a guy who in my mind had a chance to go in the top 10 (rounds).” In addition to the overall pitch repertoire, Archer can dial his fastball up to 94 miles per hour. “Even though he can pitch up to 94 miles per hour, he is not what I would consider a power pitcher,” Bragga said. “He’s not Roger Clemens or just a complete power guy. He has stuff, and mixes four pitches very, very well.” Archer was the Golden Eagles’ ace for the last three years, and cemented his place as one of the top pitchers in school history. He set new school records for innings pitched (319) and most starts (55), tied Tech’s record for most career victories (23), and finished second all-time in strikeouts (267). In the 2013 season, Archer finished 9-4 with a 3.34 earned-run average, and struck out 97 batters in 97 innings. He was an All-Ohio Valley Conference First Team honoree. His innings pitched total topped the conference, while his strikeout number ranked second. Being selected by the Brewers, Archer has a chance to be moderately close to him hometown as he works his way up the system. The team’s Double-A affiliate is in Huntsville, Ala., and its Triple-A club is in Nashville. “It’s pretty cool with Nashville being a few hours away, and Huntsville also the same,” Archer said. “It’s pretty awesome. It’s still a little surreal now.” Tennessee Tech pitcher Tristan Archer was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 21st round of the Major League draft on Saturday. The selection marks the seventh-straight year a Golden Eagle has been picked in the draft. (Craig Delk | Herald-Citizen) http://matchbin-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/public/sites/971/assets/3FO3_HCSundayteaseTristanArcher.JPG *** South alum Archer goes to Brewers in MLB draft by Greg Peters, TimesNews.net (Kingsport, TN) KINGSPORT — Former Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Mike Caldwell holds the team record for wins at 22. Not an important bit of trivia — unless you’re Tristan Archer. Archer, a 2009 graduate of Sullivan South, was selected by the Brewers on Saturday in the 21st round of the Major League Baseball draft. “I wasn’t aware I had been picked,” Archer said. “I got a text from one of my teammates and it was a little bit after that when Milwaukee called. I talked with the Padres yesterday and they had mentioned possibly ninth or 10th round.” The 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher spent the past four seasons throwing for Tennessee Tech. In that time he compiled 23 wins, including a 9-4 record this season. He also was selected first-team All-Ohio Valley Conference his senior season. Archer said Saturday night that the team was sending him to Single-A Helena (Mont.) and he’ll be leaving either Monday or Tuesday. The Pioneer League season begins Saturday, June 22. There will be some adjustments for the young rookie as he enters the professional ranks. “I know that they use a different type of ball, the seams are lower and it is harder to throw a breaking pitch,” Archer said. “Also I am used to pitching once a week. I hope that I start and can get settled in. But I could go to the bullpen and have to try to find a set routine that I feel comfortable with.” As a senior at South, Archer was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 38th round. “It’s always cool to say you got drafted, but I knew they weren’t going to offer much,” he said. “I knew I was going to college and it has been an awesome experience.” If for some unforeseen reason the professional baseball route falls through, Archer has been pursuing the most apt college major: agriculture with an emphasis in turf management. “When I’m not on the field it will be a great opportunity to talk with the groundskeepers and learn from them,” he said. http://www.timesnews.net/data/gnpics/2013/af372236978a6d93788068f0c5a4f9ab.jpg

Photos at link Brewers draft former Central star Drew Ghelfi in 25th round Jeff Brown, LaCrosseTribune.com Drew Ghelfi was in the yard playing catch with his father, Andy, on Saturday when the call came. Andy could relate, as he had a similar experience back in 1985. Only this time, it was the Milwaukee Brewers on the other end of the line. Milwaukee had some life-changing news for Drew, as it had just drafted him in the 25th round of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. Drew Ghelfi, a one-time Central High School star and right-handed reliever for the University of Minnesota, was now a professional athlete. Well, he will be when he signs a contract, probably as early as next week. “I had a few teammates that went (in the draft) the past few days and I was talking to then,” said the 6-foot-4, 210-pound Ghelfi, who went 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA this spring for the Gophers. “For me, it was a little different situation. I didn’t know if I was going to get my named called. “They (Brewers) called to let me know and congratulated me and told me they were happy to have me.” Ghelfi had a pretty good feeling he might get drafted by the Brewers or Minnesota Twins. He went to invitation-only pre-draft camps for each team. “After the season was over, I drove to Milwaukee and got to throw off the mound at Miller Park,” said Ghelfi, who started his college career at Iowa Central Community College, where he went 8-4 over two seasons. “This past week I did one of those for the Twins, that is why I had a feeling it would be one of those two teams.” Still, Ghelfi was a bit unsure if he would get drafted after pitching just 11 innings for the Gophers this spring. “I was in a relief role, and in the role that I had I wasn’t throwing that much,” said Ghelfi, who is one semester short of earning a degree in American Studies from the University of Minnesota. “We had so many games canceled because of the weather. We have four mid-week games canceled, along with a weekend series. It wasn’t just me (that had fewer innings); there were a number of other players in the same situation.” Ghelfi said he didn’t think too much about the draft this spring as his final collegiate season took priority. Once the Gophers season ended, he started thinking about his baseball future, whether he would be drafted or not. If not, he had several other options, including some independent leagues that had expressed interest. Now he won’t have to worry about that. “I assume I will go to rookie ball, but I don’t know where or when,” Ghelfi said. “With me being a senior and not having a lot of leverage, I’ll see what they offer and what they put on the table.” Ghelfi follows in the footsteps of his father, as Andy was drafted in the second round by the Cleveland Indians in 1985 and spent five seasons in the minor leagues, climbing as high as Double-A, and uncle Tony, a left-handed pitcher who was drafted by Philadelphia and went 1-1 in three starts for the big-league Phillies in 1983 before experiencing arm trouble. “It is pretty exciting to be able to carry on that tradition,” said the 22-year-old Ghelfi. “I talked to both of my parents (Andy and Tina) a lot about this. At this point in my career, it’s just about getting a chance.”

Via Jeff Hem's blog -- Audio from Memphis — Pitcher Jimmy Nelson Here is tonight’s pregame interview with Sounds right-hander Jimmy Nelson, who gave up two unearned runs and fanned seven over five innings last night in Memphis in a tough-luck loss in his Sounds and Triple-A debut. Nelson discusses his outing last night, his season to this point at Double-A, how his time on the DL last year with shoulder fatigue affected his preparation for this season, the development of his power slider and change-up and his time at University of Alabama (where he opposed his current teammate Hunter Morris, an Auburn alum).

Tonight's Brevard County game has been postponed. It will be made up as part of a doubleheader in Daytona Sunday, 5:05 PM first pitch (4:05 Central).

21st round RHP Tristan Archer of Tennessee Tech wins award for quickest "day-of-draft" online feature story

VIDEO FROM FRIDAY: Red-hot Huntsville catcher Adam Weisenburger (stats) smokes a 9th inning HR which closed the score to 5-4 Montgomery at the time. Not sure if the frustrated emotional guy just beyond the fence doesn't realize his team is still ahead, or that he missed a chance at the ball. But he is comical.

Happy 25th birthday, Manatee OF Lance Roenicke!

Weather.com: Memphis, TN Montgomery, AL Viera, FL (Melbourne) Grand Chute, WI (Appleton) Santo Domingo, DR

Look for Nashville and Wisconsin media notes at the links just prior to their game times. New this season: Brevard County has media notes; as of now, it's a unique link each day, but look for it just prior to game time each day within the "Stats and Scores" banner here.

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.

STANDINGS: AAA - Pacific Coast League American Northern Division AA - Southern League North Division High-A - Florida State League North Division A - Midwest League Western Division DSL - Dominican Summer League San Pedro de Macoris

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

Programming note: Montgomery has MiLB.TV coverage, so if you're a subscriber, you can watch this Stars' series (live and/or archived).

Saturday's Daily Menu: All times are Central Nashville: RHP Mike Fiers at Memphis (Cardinals), 5:45 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link Jeff Hem is the play-by-play voice of the Sounds; follow him on Twitter @jeffhempbp; we'll link to his blog updates at On the Air…and Off MiLB.TV -- for subscribers; all Nashville games, home and away, will be available to watch via MiLB.TV's $39.99 season-long package ($9.99 to pay for a single month). The audio feed is from the home team. All MiLB.TV details available at the link. ********** Huntsville: RHP Ariel Pena at Montgomery (Rays), 6:15 PM pre-game, 6:35 gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the Huntsville feed from the MiLB main audio page Alex Cohen is the play-by-play voice of the Stars; follow him on Twitter @alexmcohen. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be broadcast. It appears four Southern League teams air their home games on MiLB.TV, and we'll let you know when those dates pop up on the schedule ********** Brevard County: RHP Cody Scarpetta at home vs. Daytona (Cubs), 5:05 PM pre-game, 5:35 gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the link based on listed schedule Manatees audio, hooray! Dave Walkovic is the first play-by-play voice of the 'Tees since 2007, he's joined by Andy Towne; follow the Brevard broadcast booth staff on Twitter @BCManateesRadio. All home games and many road games are scheduled to be broadcast. When road games are only available via the opponents' audio feed, we'll let you know that. ********** Wisconsin: RHP Jorge Lopez at home vs. Clinton (Mariners), 6:15 PM pre-game, 6:35 gametime Free Live Audio Link - 1280 AM 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. MiLB.TV -- for subscribers; Wisconsin is one of four Midwest League clubs that have all their home games available via MiLB.TV. So for the $39.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sounds games, Stars' road games from four Southern League locales, and all Timber Rattlers home games and some road games. NOTE: 32 of the Rattlers' 70 home games will be broadcast on TV this season. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel has seventeen games scheduled and WACY-TV My NEW32 plans to show fifteen games. We'll let you know when, but won't be providing day-before DVR reminders, so regularly check for proper channel and time planning (scroll to the bottom of this link). ********** DSL Brewers: at home vs. the DSL Orioles2 squad, 9:30 AM, although game data won't be available until later in the day

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First draft signee - agent is old friend of forum "agent39" Tweet American Heritage (Plantation, FL) senior center fielder Brandon Diaz was taken by the Milwaukee Brewers with the 242nd overall pick (8th round) late Friday afternoon. Diaz, a four-year varsity starter and Florida International signee, led the county with 42 runs scored as a senior. He also batted .470 and tallied 20 RBI and seven home runs as he was named first-team all-county Class 5A-4A-3A-2A by the Sun-Sentinel.

Bulldogs' Linehan expects to sign with Milwaukee By Bryant-Jon Anteola - The Fresno Bee Tyler Linehan passed up a chance to turn pro three years ago. He doesn't see himself doing it this time around. The Fresno State left-hander said he expects to skip his senior season and sign with Milwaukee after the Brewers took him in the ninth round of the Major League draft Friday. "I think the coaches at Fresno State did a good job getting me ready for the next level, and I'm looking forward to the new challenges," Linehan said. "I was thrilled when I got the call and saw my name on the Internet." The 6-foot, 240-pound Linehan is coming off his worst season with the Bulldogs after going 3-7 with a 5.90 ERA. But he has shown flashes of dominance, with 171 strikeouts in 179 2/3 career innings. Linehan is looking at a signing bonus of about $140,000. "I didn't have the year that I wanted," said Linehan, a 14th-round selection by Seattle in 2010. "The thing is, I feel like I'm ready for the future. And it's still good money." Fresno Bee Staff Photo - Fresno State's Tyler Linehan pitches during a May 24, 2013, game against Nevada. The junior left-hander expects to turn pro after being selected Friday by Milwaukee on day 2 of the Major League draft. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA / THE FRESNO BEE http://media.mercedsunstar.com/smedia/2013/06/08/00/06/1lMud2.St.8.jpeg

Barrett Astin - Six-Minute video with Arkansas press upon being drafted

Brevard County Audio Highlights from the nice win Friday night

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Interview with utility infielder Hainley Statia

Biscuts Walkoff Against Stars By Alex Cohen / Huntsville Stars In a game where the Huntsville Stars led by three, trailed by two and then tied the game up when they were down to their final strike, the Montgomery Biscuits walked-off in the bottom of the ninth inning to win game one of a five-game series by a score of 6-5 on Friday night at Riverwalk Stadium. On Friday, the Stars got off to a quick start against Biscuits starting pitcher Jake Floethe. To begin a two-out rally, designated hitter Mike Walker hit a solo homer well over the right-field wall to put the Stars on the board (audio). Then, after catcher Adam Weisenburger singled and third baseman Joey Paciorek drew a walk, second baseman Nick Shaw drove them both in with a two-run double to make the score 3-0. Unfortunately for Huntsville, that initial lead would be squandered. With starting pitcher Drew Gagnon making his Double-A debut, Biscuits catcher Mayo Acosta came though with a two-run single in the second inning to cut the Stars lead to one. Following a 1-2-3 inning for Gagnon in the third, Montgomery was able to rough up the 22-year-old righty in the fourth inning. After the first two batters of the inning reached base, an RBI single from Riccio Torrez tied the game up at three while putting runners at first and third. During the next at-bat, a wild pitch from Gagnon allowed designated hitter Kyeong Kang to score to give the Biscuits their first lead of the ballgame. Later in the inning, another RBI single from Acosta made the score 5-3 and ended Gagnon's outing. Overall, the Brewers 12th ranked prospect (per MLB.com) gave up five runs on six hits in four innings while striking out three and earning a no-decision in his Stars debut. Gagnon was saved from being tabbed with the loss in the ninth inning as Montgomery brought in righty Austin Hubbard to close out the game. To start the inning, Weisenburger lead off things with a solo homer to cut the Biscuits lead to one. Following another walk from Paciorek and a single from Shaw that put runners on first and second with two outs, outfielder Kentrail Davis ripped an RBI single to left field (when down to his final strike) to score Pacoriek and tie up the game (audio). However, the tie would be short-lived. Stars reliever Frankie De La Cruz (L, 0-1) gave up back-to-back singles to Kang and Torrez to put runners on first an third with nobody out. After Torrez took second on a defensive indifference, a bloop single by second basemen Robby Price allowed Kang to score the game-winning run. The walkoff win was the second the Stars have had against them this season. On Saturday, the Stars will play game two of a five-game series at Riverwalk Stadium against the Montgomery Biscuits. Huntsville will send RHP Ariel Pena (5-3, 3.04 ERA) to the bump as Montgomery will counter with RHP Jacob Thompson (5-5, 5.25 ERA). First pitch is at 6:35 CT.