Jim Goulart

Remember when you combine the OF's from the DSL that are up (Hernandez, Mondesi, Ozuna), as noted a few posts above in this thread, you don't just have Lance Roenicke out there.

Adam McCalvy appreciated the heads-up on Richardson, and did his own legwork nicely in reaching out to Reid Nichols. Read Nichols' comments at the tail end of Adam's blog post. EDIT: (I just realized I typed "Reid Nichols" and "read Nichols'" in the same post, and did so properly.)

Nashville Media Notes Wisconsin Media Notes

HUNTER MORRIS TO COMPETE IN SOUTHERN LEAGUE HOME RUN DERBY MARIETTA, Ga. – Huntsville Stars first baseman and Southern League All-Star Hunter Morris has been selected to compete in the 2012 Southern League Home Run Derby on Tuesday, June 19 in Kodak, Tenn. The 23-year-old Morris is currently hitting .285 with seven home runs. In 2011, he set a single-season franchise record for home runs with 19 at High-A Brevard County. The former Auburn Tiger is rated by Baseball America as the Best Power Hitter in the Brewers organization. The Huntsville native will join Joseph Dunigan (10 HRs) and Denny Almonte (9 HRs) of the Jackson Generals and Justin Bour (6 HRs) from the Tennessee Smokies to represent the North Division. For the South Division, Mobile’s Matt Davidson (14 HRs), Alfredo Marte (13 HRs) and Marc Krauss (9 HRs) and Montgomery’s Kyeong Kang (9 HRs) will represent the division. The Home Run Derby will take place before the All-Star Game and consists of two rounds. In the first round, the eight hitters will get eight outs each to blast as many home runs as possible. Only two hitters will advance to the second round where they will only receive four outs. Morris will start the All-Star game and hit in the number four spot. Stars’ second baseman Scooter Gennett will also be starting the game and will hit ninth.

Following up on the DSL - Helena connection (see post above), here is a list of additional players currently at workouts in Montana. Expect these names, barring unforeseen late adjustments, to begin the season with the H-Crew. Several others will likely formally be added this weekend. Career stats at links. Pitchers: RHP Rodolfo Fernandez, a Cuban signing brought to your attention in our Transaction Thread today LHP Mike Francisco, 48th round pick out of Villanova in 2011 RHP Ryan Gibbard, 14th round 2012 pick out of Lynn (FL) University LHP Elliott Glynn, 39th round pick out of UConn in 2011 LHP David Otterman, 7th round 2012 pick out of the University of British Columbia RHP Joel Pierce, 7th round high school pick in 2010 out of Ontario, Canada RHP Mike Schaub, 38th round high school pick in 2010 out of Anaheim, California RHP Eric Semmelhack, 12th round 2012 pick out of UW-Milwaukee LHP Connor Whalen, a 2011 non-drafted free agent out of UC-Santa Barbara; saw action with Brevard County earlier this season RHP Mike White, 13th round 2010 pick out of Walters State (TN) Community College Catchers: Emmanuel Quiles, former Padres farmhand Mike Turay, 24th round 2012 pick out of Cal State-Stanislaus Infielders: Kevin Berard, 22nd round high school pick in 2010 out of Louisiana Michael Garza, 20th round 2012 pick out of Georgetown Adam Giacalone, 16th round 2012 pick out of Neosho (KS) Community College Chris McFarland, 18th round high school pick in 2011 out of Texas Mike Nemeth, 21st round pick out of UConn in 2011 Alfredo Rodriguez, 17th round 2012 pick out of the University of Maryland Outfielder: Lance Roenicke, 25th round 2012 pick out of UC-Santa Barbara

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 Friday's action as it happens with box score / game log links: Nashville Huntsville Wisconsin DSL Brewers

Yonki was strictly a CF in 2011 Gotta love Baseball Reference...

Cody Scarpetta Talks Tommy John Surgery The Brewers farmhand makes the difficult decision to end his baseball season The Guilford (IL) HS graduate underwent tommy john surgery at the end of May. Scarpetta will be sidelined for this year and maybe longer. The surgery probably couldn't have come at a worse time. He was 8 and 5 last season at the AA level and was right on the verge of making more appearances for the brewers. Because he is so close to the majors Scarpetta elected to get things fixed at the surgical level. *** Hear Scarpetta discuss the injury at the link. Scarpetta is out of major league options, and was already granted a 4th option year. Anybody up for a 5th? If he were to be placed on waiver - DFA'd (he'll have to be eventually, it seems), he would remain Brewers property if he clears, as he does not have enough pro service time to become a minor league free agent.

Friday's Daily Menu: TGIF! All times are Central Nashville: RHP Mark Rogers at home vs. Omaha (Royals), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link Jeff Hem is the new 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). We imagine the audio feed is from the home team. All MiLB.TV details available at the link. ********** Huntsville: RHP Jimmy Nelson makes his AA debut at home vs. Montgomery (Rays), 6:28 PM pre-game, 6:43 gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the Huntsville feed from the MiLB main audio page I-Phone friendly audio link Alex Cohen is the new play-by-play voice of the Stars; follow him on Twitter @alexmcohen. It's fantastic that Huntsville is returning to what will be a traditional broadcast format this year. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be broadcast. MiLB.TV subsciption note: Huntsville road games in four locales (Mississippi, Tennessee, Jacksonville and Pensacola) will be broadcast. ********** Brevard County: Idle until Monday for the weekend All-Star break; IF Shea Vucinich and closer Casey Medlen will take part in Saturday's game ********** Wisconsin: RHP Chad Thompson at Quad Cities (Cardinals), 6:40 PM pre-game, 7:00 gametime; expect RHP Mark Williams to appear as the tandem 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 only two (Great Lakes) Midwest League clubs that have all their home games available via MiLB.TV; Chris' call provides the audio. So for the $39.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sounds games, all Timber Rattlers home games, and 24 Stars' road games (one Helena series this summer, too). ********** DSL Brewers: at the DSL Blue Jays, 9:30 AM, although game data won't be available until late afternoon at the earliest

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/store/dailylinkreport.jpg

2nd round OF Tyrone Taylor inked, as per Jim Callis of Baseball America.

The article below is from this past Wednesday's Albany (GA) Herald. We invite you to click on the link for a photo of D'Vontrey Richardson as well. In order to keep the article archived, and to allow our link to direct folks to conversation on the topic, below the post, we have copied the text as well. We are hopeful that Danny Aller, who did a fantastic job with the story, and the Herald, won't mind us acknowledging their nice efforts on the story in this way. I'd also like to thank one of my twitter followers for bringing it to my attention. *** Former Lee, college baseball stars Nichols, Richardson opt to give up pro careers By Danny Aller, Albany (GA) Herald LEESBURG — D’Vontrey Richardson just wants to get his degree and become a coach. Thomas Nichols is just fine with being a husband and a working man. And just like that, professional baseball is no longer in the future of these two former Lee County baseball stars. Richardson, a two-sport star for the Trojans who went on to star in both at Florida State, decided not to report to spring training this year with the Milwaukee Brewers, who he signed with after giving up collegiate football and baseball with the Seminoles in 2009. Nichols, The Herald’s 2007 Ray Knight Player of the Year who went on to star at Georgia Tech and then was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in 2010, also decided the life of a professional baseball player was not for him. He returned to Southwest Georgia recently, got married and is now working full-time at the newly opened, first-class training facility in Leesburg, Athletic Republic, with plans to return to Atlanta later this year and finish his degree in business. “I was just burnt out,” Nichols told The Herald on Tuesday. “I wanted to take my life in a different direction and finish school, so I told the Angels at the end of (last year’s minor league season), and they understood. I just had a change of heart with the whole thing.” Nichols, who was drafted in the 18th round in 2010, said he was disappointed he didn’t go higher after a stellar senior year at Georgia Tech, finishing with a team-high .376 batting average while playing infield and pitching for the Yellow Jackets. “It was disheartening that I didn’t go higher (in the draft), to be honest with you,” said Nichols, who played one season with the Angels’ Class A team, the Orem (Utah) Owlz before telling the organization late last year of his decision. “I had aspirations to go a lot higher, but I figured I had to sign and give (pro ball) a try because I didn’t want to look back and regret not trying to make it. Looking back, I wish I would’ve finished school, but my dream my whole life was to play in the majors and I had to chase that dream. But ultimately, I just found it wasn’t for me.” Richardson, who is close friends with Nichols, said he knows exactly what his good pal means. “Sometimes, you just have to give it up whenever it’s not as fun as it used to be,” said Richardson, who was progressing through the Brewers’ minor-league system and was listed as a Top 15 prospect when he informed Milwaukee before spring training earlier this year that he was hanging up his cleats. “It’s a game we’ve played our whole life, and we should just be able to go out and have fun doing it. Practice was fun, the games were fun, but all the traveling and being away from my family and friends (took its toll).” The Brewers, however, aren’t exactly ready to give up on the kid affectionately known as “D’Vo.” Richardson, who started his professional baseball career with the low-Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers before being moved up to high-Class A Brevard County Manatees last year, had a conference call set up with members of the team’s front office late last week. Steve Glover, Richardson’s guardian, said the organization wanted to make one last push to convince D’Vo to return — and Glover advised Richardson he should, at the very least, listen. “He’d been promoted every step of the way, and I guarantee he’s as good as almost all of the Brewers’ prospects they have right now,” Glover said. “The Brewers won’t draft anyone faster than him, and they know it. They want him back, and I think he should at least let it play out before calling it a career. But it’s his decision, and he’s a grown man, so it’s one he has to make on his own.” But the conversation never happened. “I didn’t end up speaking to them. We played a bit of phone tag,” Richardson said. “I’ve already told them what my plans were so I doubt I would go through with (returning) if that’s what it was about. I don’t know. “Right now, I just want to get my degree, take what I learned from the experience and get my life back on track. I learned a lot from this, and maybe my only regret is that I should’ve been more patient with football and stayed in school.” Richardson was battling for the starting QB job with Christian Ponder (a first-round draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings last year) at Florida State, while also playing baseball, when he decided to leave both sports in Tallahassee and sign with Milwaukee in 2009 after being taken in the fifth round. His redshirt sophomore season on the gridiron was a successful one, too. He was used as a dual-threat quarterback, as well as a running back/receiver. He even set the school record for the longest rushing touchdown by a quarterback with his 55-yard score against Chattanooga. He said Tuesday that after leaving school, he realized just how much he missed football. Now, he wants to return to FSU — but not to play football. Instead, he wants to finish his bachelor’s degree so he can hopefully one day coach it. “I’m in the process right now of trying to get back into school and finish my degree,” said Richardson, who was a social science major when he left, although now he’d like to switch that to physical education. “I have about two-and-a-half years left. When I’m done, I’d like to start coaching football. That’s the sport I always preferred anyway.” Richardson, however, did not completely close the door on one day in the near future giving baseball a final shot. But it would have to be the perfect situation, he said. “If there was a way I could play baseball for the Brewers and work on my degree at the same time, I’d be interested, I guess,” Richardson said. “I’m just going to play it by ear. But my guess is it wouldn’t be until (spring training) next March when (the opportunity would present itself) again, and that’s a long ways off. I don’t know how I’ll feel then. I’ve been working out every day and staying in good shape, just in case.” In fact, Richardson’s been staying in shape by working alongside Nichols at Athletic Republic, where Nichols works as a trainer. And after going through similar plights in their professional lives, there’s no doubt the conversation about what was, or could’ve been, has come up from time to time. “We’ve been spending a lot of time together since both of us moved back home,” said Nichols, who got married late last year with Richardson right there by his side as part of the wedding party. “We talk about what a grind it was out there, both physically and mentally, how it wears on you. You basically spend eight months away from home with very few days off. It’s tougher than I think either of us thought it would be. “But we’ve both come to grips with it, and we’re ready to move on, and we’re both happy with our decisions.” Richardson agreed. “When we talk about it, it’s usually for, like, five minutes,” he said. “Baseball will always be a part of lives, but now it’s time to move forward.” In Nichols, the Angels lose one heck of a hitter who could also pitch. In 61 games for the Owlz, he batted .239 with nine home runs, 16 doubles and 36 RBI, while posting an on-base percentage of .310 and a slugging percentage of .436. “I had fun the year I played, but when the season ended, I knew it wasn’t for me,” Nichols said. “So I’ll head back to Tech in the fall and finish my degree in business. I’d like to get into coaching, too. Maybe become an assistant at Georgia Tech. That’s what a lot of guys do to get their foot in the door. I’m looking forward to it.” The Brewers, meanwhile, not only lose a guy who can speed around the bases with the best of them — D’Vo ran a 4.5 40-yard dash coming out of high school as a five-star prospect and the No. 1-ranked athlete in Georgia by rivals.com — but he can also swing a big bat. For the Timber Rattlers in 2010, he batted .243 with seven homers, 28 doubles three triples and 51 RBI, while posting an on-base percentage of .331 and slugging .368. Then in 2011 after being promoted to Brevard, his batting average rose to .284 with three HRs, 13 doubles, seven triples and 41 RBI, with an on-base percentage of .327 and a slugging percentage of .384 — although he played 35 fewer games in Brevard than in Wisconsin because of a pelvis injury. Glover said that while Nichols and Richardson’s reasons for giving up their chance at a professional careers are similar, it’s tough to see a pair of talented, local players end their careers far earlier than many expected. But he also understands why they made the decisions they did. “From the outside looking in, it’s a lifestyle that seems glamorous and all that, but it’s not for everyone. It’s hard to be away that long, and sometimes you don’t realize how hard it’s going to be until you actually go out and try and live it,” he said. “In both their situations, neither was demoted and both were progressing through the ranks. It was just a personal decision, and I’m sure it was a tough one to make. "After all, you only get one shot at life, and it’s important that you’re happy.”

Here are former Dominican Summer League Brewers currently working out in Helena. While one imagines there's always a possibility one or more could be transferred back to Maryvale at the last minute, that seems unlikely. It's also possible that others could arrive this weekend prior to Monday's opener. Players scheduled to make their stateside debut in Helena (career stats at link): RHP Leonard Lorenzo, 20 OF Yonki Hernandez, 21 OF Raul Mondesi, Jr., 19 Other former DSL'ers in Helena currently, who had previously seen action state-side, are: LHP Manuel Ruiz, 23 Of Ruben Ozuna, 20

14th round RHP Ryan Gibbard out of Lynn University in Florida and 24th round catcher Mike Turay out of Cal State Stanislaus have formally signed and are taking part in workouts in Helena.

The Brewers have signed 22-year-old (3/21/1990) RHP Rodolfo Fernandez, a pitcher from San Cristobal, Cuba, who last pitched for the Industriales squad within the Cuban national baseball system. Fernandez is currently in workouts in Montana with the Helena club from where he is expected to be on the Opening Day H-Crew roster. He's listed at 6'2", 220 (nice). Other than that, little seems available. In addition to what the J-S guys and MLB.com might learn eventually, we'll send Amber Kuehn a note at the Helena Independent Record. She does a fantastic job with their beat coverage and should be able to feature Fernandez and provide us details on his refuge story and eventual signing.

From the game of June 5th -- But it was another pitcher, converted OF Hitaniel Arias, who catches our attention with a "don't blink or you'll miss it" professional pitching debut. DSL Blue Jays Bottom of the 8th Pitcher Change: Hitaniel Arias replaces Milton Gomez. Cesar Barazarte singles on a fly ball to center fielder Francisco Castillo. Pitcher Change: Doni Arias replaces Hitaniel Arias. Wow, that was quick! *** And Arias hasn't appeared in a game since...sigh. Not thinking the worse for the young man...

Rattler Radio Blog: Nine after 9

Deadspin: Heavy Wind Nearly Propels Grounds Crew Worker Into Orbit One of the Link Report's best friends in the organization -- glad you're OK, Kyle!

Actually, I'm hearing now that it's not, so I've updated the thread title. The Link Report loves Helena (staff, audio, and newspaper coverage), so this is good news.

LHP Brandol Perez, discussed in detail here, has formally been assigned to the DSL Brewers roster, so we could see him any day now.

Those sneaky Brewers -- added a new DSL'er. RHP Felix Paulino made his pro debut Friday. Already 21 years old, 5'11", 165 lb. Dominican native...

Catching up on Nashville video from the Memphis series: Jordan Brown connects on a two-run shot off Shelby Miller in the Sounds' 10-4 win last Monday Corey Patterson hits a two-out double in the sixth inning of the Sounds' 2-0 loss Tuesday Jason Jaramillo homers to right scoring Corey Patterson in the Sounds' 5-4 win Wednesday

Daytona Cubs drop 2 games; Manatees win suspended game By ROB ULLERY, Daytona News Journal Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH -- The Brevard County Manatees may be praying for rain every game. Showers and thunderstorms wrecked havoc on two games against the Daytona Cubs, but they walked away with a 7-3 victory in the completion of a suspended game Thursday and a 2-1 victory in the nightcap of a game called because of unplayable field conditions at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. One game took two days and the other game -- tied after its scheduled seven innings -- was called in the top of the eighth, and in total there were four rain delays and one suspension. But it all equaled two victories for the Manatees (29-37). The first game began Wednesday at Space Coast Stadium, but was suspended because of thunderstorms with the Manatees up 3-1 after three innings. The game resumed in Daytona Beach, becoming part of a twinbill with another game already scheduled for Thursday. The Cubs quickly erased the Manatees' 3-1 lead with runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings. Rubi Silva scored on Richard Jones' single in the fourth inning and Arismendy Alcantara scored on a Silva bases-loaded groundout to first base in the fifth. But the Manatees put the game out of reach in the sixth. They parlayed three hits and an error into three unearned runs for a 6-3 lead they would never relinquish. Cody Hawn hit a two-out single, then Joey Paciorek reached an on error. Hawn scored on Brent Dean's single, Paciorek on a bases-loaded walk and Dean on Reggie Keen's single. The Manatees added an insurance run in the seventh when Shea Vucinich drew a walk, moved to second on an errant pickoff throw and scored on Paciorek's single. "The first game we just made some mistakes that hurt us," manager Brian Harper said. The Cubs bounced back in the nightcap. P.J. Francescon got the starting nod and pitched a two-hit shutout over five innings, but would not get the win. Micah Gibbs, who came into the games hitting .241, blasted a one-out home run over the right-center field fence in the fourth inning. Having already gone 1-for-3 in the first game, he added a double and would go 2-for-3 in the nightcap. "Gibbs is swinging the bat well," Harper said. "He really drove that ball to right-center." But Brevard County's Keen tied things up when he drove a triple to right-center field with a man on in the sixth. That would send the game into extra innings as the rains returned. The Manatees pulled ahead in the top of the eighth when Michael Reed led off with a single, went to second when Franklin Romero Jr. was hit by a pitch and scored on an error. Cubs third baseman Greg Rohan tried to throw out Romero at third on a sacrifice bunt attempt, but threw wildly into left field. The Cubs never got to bat in the eighth as heavy rains pelted the field. The rains would ease around 11:15 p.m. and the grounds crew worked frantically to try to get the field ready, but the game was finally called at 11:30 p.m. "I wasn't sure if it would just be suspended or if it would be canceled or what," Harper said. "In that second game we had our opportunities and we didn't collect on them."