Jim Goulart

Nashville Media Notes Bottom of page one, check out the rotation starters given back-to-back doubleheaders this week; even with Wed.'s off-day and seven-inning games, that staff will be running on fumes... MISSING MALDY: In the eight games since recently-promoted catcher Martin Maldonado’s last appearance, Sounds pitchers have posted a 5.21 ERA (38 ER / 65.2 IP) and Nashville backstops have failed to throw out all 10 opposing baserunners.

Timber Rattlers have cows on the mind and Chris confirms it, they welcomed him home late last night / early this AM

Khris Davis homer proves useful as Stars rally past Mississippi By Mark McCarter, The Huntsville Times HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- For a player who confessed he had been feeling "useless," Khris Davis quickly became useful for the Huntsville Stars Monday night. Davis had been on the disabled list with a strained calf since May 5, a nagging pothole in the road for the Brewers' Minor League Player of the Year in 2010 and a Florida State League All-Star in 2011. In his first game back, Davis homered in what would become a come-from-behind 9-5 victory for the Stars over the Mississippi Braves. Noted manager Darnell Coles, "It's a big lift to have Khris back." Hunter Morris, the Huntsville-born first baseman, socked a three-run homer in the sixth to give the Stars the lead for good. It was his third homer in four games. Tyler Thornburg picked up the victory and continued an uncanny statistical roll: He has never lost a game in the first half of a pro season, to which he said, "Knock on wood." Now 8-0 here, he was 7-0 at Brevard County in the first half of 2011. The Stars, who host Mississippi again tonight at 6:43, closed to within two games of first-place Jackson in the Southern League North with 12 games remaining in the first half. The Generals were no-hit through eight innings at Chattanooga before losing 6-4. To have returned in the heat of this pennant race is especially rejuvenating to Davis. (Don't confuse Khris Davis, left fielder out of Glendale, Ariz., and Cal State Fullerton, with Kentrail Davis, right fielder out of Theodore and the University of Tennessee.) "I love competing," Khris Davis said. "That's one of the best things about this team. We're going to go out there and play hard and compete." Davis, 24, was a seventh-round pick of the Brewers in the 2009 draft and had a breakout year at Wisconsin in 2010 with 22 homers, 72 RBIs and a .280 average. He had 15 homers and 68 RBI, batting .309 in 90 games at Brevard last year before being promoted to Huntsville for the final six weeks. Being on the disabled list, "mentally, it's been draining," he said. "You feel useless on the DL, really. It pretty much brought me down. It's frustrating when you've got your boys out there and you want to have a good time with them on the field. It feels good to come back." He admitted that he was "out of shape, sitting on the couch for a month," and he was relieved after the sixth inning as a cautionary measure. Thornburg had allowed a two-run first-inning double to Todd Cunningham, the former Jacksonville State star who had three of the Braves' 10 hits. He hadn't pitched with a 2-0 first-inning deficit all season. Said Thornburg, "It's not a good feeling, I'll tell you that." He was trailing 4-2 when he whiffed Greg Paiml to end the sixth, the last batter he would face. Morris put the Stars up 5-4 with his no-doubt-about-it homer to left, then Huntsville poured it on with four runs in the seventh. Josh Prince had an RBI single, Tommy Manzella a two-run hit and pitcher Jesus Sanchez added an RBI single. "I've got out a couple of times and give up, two, three, four runs," Thornburg said. "We always find a way to score runs."

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 Tuesday's action as it happens with box score / game log links: Nashville Huntsville Brevard County DSL Brewers

Tuesday's Daily Menu: All times are Central Nashville: RHP Mark Rogers at home vs. New Orleans (Marlins), 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 Kyle Heckathorn at home vs. Mississippi (Braves), 6:28 PM pre-game, 6:43 gametime; each contest slated for seven innings 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: LHP Jed Bradley at Jupiter (Marlins), 5:35 PM gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the Jupiter feed from the MiLB main audio page Once again this season, Brevard does not have its own audio coverage. It appears two teams in the Manatees North Division (within which the majority of games are played) have audio, and all six teams in the South Division have audio (at least for their home games), so there will be opportunities to listen to approx. 70% or Brevard's games this season, just all from the opponent's perspective. There are no Florida State League games on MiLB.TV this year. ********** Wisconsin: Idle (Well-deserved!) ********** 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

You'll notice that our old Brewerfan thread Patrick is providing us with scouting reports via his organization where available and we'll be including these in our Official Draft Pick Signing / Tracking Thread. Check out those from last night now. Thanks, Patrick!

Watch Khris Davis' HR among other Stars' highlights here.

Here's an article in which Casper, Wyoming (which lost their Rockies Pioneer League franchise to Grand Junction, Colorado) is mentioned as a future home of the Helena Brewers. *** One reason this may not be an ideal situation for the league down the road is the Pioneer League as currently configured is split among four northern-based and four more southern-based affiliates. But it is worth keeping an eye on. EDIT: See below. It's a non-issue.

Josh Prince's connection to last night's 1st round MLB draft

Mark McCarter of the Huntsville Times reminds us that Tyler Thornburg has never lost in the first half of a professional season; he was 7-0 at Wisconsin in the first half in 2011. Now 8-0, that's 15-0 in first half's. (Tyler was 3-6 but with a solid 3.57 ERA and excellent .186 BAA with Brevard in the 2nd half of 2011.)

Thornburg, Morris lead Stars to Fourth Straight Win HUNTSVILLE, AL- Fueled by seven runs combined in the sixth and seventh innings, the Huntsville Stars cruised to a 9-5 win over the Mississippi Braves on Monday night at Joe Davis Stadium. To begin the game, it appeared that the Stars three-game winning streak was in severe jeopardy. After Stars starting pitcher Tyler Thornburg gave up a single to left fielder Alden Carrithers and a double to third baseman Joe Leonard, left fielder Todd Cunningham doubled home both of them to give Mississippi a 2-0 lead in the first inning. In the third inning, the Stars began cutting into the Braves lead. Following a two-out double by Thornburg, center fielder Josh Prince singed home the pitcher to cut the lead to 2-1. Then, in the fourth inning, after a sacrifice fly by Braves second baseman Barrett Kleinknecht increased their lead to 3-1, a solo home run by Huntsville left fielder Khris Davis cut the Stars deficit back to one run. For the Braves, they would increase their lead back to two on a sacrifice fly by Leonard in the fifth inning. That would be the last time they’d have the lead as Thornburg kept the Stars in striking distance. The Brewers fourth-ranked prospect would ultimately improve to 8-0 on the season after giving up four runs (three earned) on seven hits in six innings. To allow Thornburg to earn the victory, Huntsville finished off their comeback in the sixth inning. After Prince walked to begin the frame, a bunt from second baseman Scooter Gennett put runners on the corners. First baseman Hunter Morris drove them both home with a three-run blast off of Braves RHP Brett Cammons that gave the Stars a 5-4 lead. In addition to that, the Stars got all the insurance runs they needed in the seventh inning off of Mississippi LHP Chris Jones. Highlighted by a two-run single by shortstop Tommy Manzella, an RBI single from Prince and another RBI single by relief pitcher Jesus Sanchez, the Stars took a comfortable 9-4 lead. For Mississippi, they scored their final run in the eighth inning on a solo home run by first basemen Ian Gac off of Sanchez. On offense, the Stars got multi-hit games from both Morris and Prince. For Morris, the sixth-inning blast was his third home run in his last four games. He also added his SL-leading 21st double in the seventh inning. For game five of a six-game series on Tuesday, the Stars will send RHP Kyle Heckathorn (2-4, 4.63 ERA) to face off against M-Braves LHP Sean Gilmartin (3-5, 3.39 ERA). First pitch is at 6:43 PM.

17 games played in the DSL Monday, the Brewers game one of two not to post as of Tuesday AM. Probably later today...

Classy tweet from Bradley Blanks

Huntsville Media Notes

Midwest League Western Division All-Star Breakdown: Wisconsin (Brewers) - 7 Beloit (Twins) - 7 Peoria (Cubs) - 4 Quad Cities (Cardinals) - 4 Burlington (Athletics) - 3 Kane County (Royals) - 3 Clinton (Mariners) - 3 Cedar Rapids (Angels) - 3

Magnificent seven! Seven Wisconsin Timber Rattlers selected to take part in 2012 MWL All-Star Game By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers will be well represented at the 2012 Midwest League All-Star Game. The roster for the contest has been announced and seven Wisconsin Timber Rattlers will be heading to Geneva, Illinois as members of the Western Division squad for the game on Tuesday, June 19. Greg Hopkins has been selected by a vote of Western Division managers as the starting second baseman for the game at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark. Infielders Jason Rogers and Yadiel Rivera were picked as reserves. Pitchers Drew Gagnon, Seth Harvey, Tommy Toledo, and Mark Williams were also named to the squad in the vote by the managers. Hopkins, a 24th round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2010 draft out of St. John's University, was leading the Midwest League in hitting at .333 heading into Monday night's game at Beloit. Hopkins leads the Timber Rattlers in homers with seven and is second on the team in RBI with 35. One of the homers by Hopkins this season was a 'walkoff' home run to beat the Dayton Dragons at Time Warner Cable at Fox Cities Stadium on April 25. Rogers, the 32nd round pick of the Brewers in 2010 from Columbus State University, has played left field and first base, and been a designated hitter in 2011 for the Rattlers. He leads Wisconsin in RBI with 38 and is hitting .299 with six homers this season. Rivera, who is rated as the #15 prospect in the Milwaukee system by Baseball America, has been the main shortstop for the Western Division leading Timber Rattlers, playing in 51 of the first 57 games of the campaign while committing just seven errors. Rivera, who just turned 20 years of age in early May, is tied with Rogers for second on the team in home runs with six. Gagnon, Milwaukee's third round pick in the 2011 draft out of Long Beach State University, is 4-1 in eleven starts with an ERA of 2.92 this season. Gagnon pitched eight innings and allowed one run on Sunday, June 3 at Beloit to pick up the win in the game that put Wisconsin back into first place in the Western Division. He also pitched eight innings and allowed one run to pick up a victory at Miller Park when the Rattlers beat Dayton on April 27. Harvey, a 37th round pick of the Brewers in 2010 from Washington State University, is Wisconsin's closer. He has 12 saves on the year and is currently second in the Midwest League in that category. Harvey has struck out 30 batters in 22 innings pitched during 2012. Toledo is 6-0 with a 1.40 ERA in 13 relief appearances this season. The 11th round pick of the Brewers from the University of Florida in 2011, just completed a near perfect month. Toledo appeared in six games during May and allowed one unearned run on five hits over 14-2/3 innings. Williams was signed out of independent ball by the Brewers on August 10, 2011. He is 2-4 with a pair of saves over 11 appearances for the Timber Rattlers this season. His 2.31 ERA is seventh in the Midwest League. Williams pitched the final four innings of a Rattlers combined no-hitter at Clinton on May 4. The seven all-stars return to Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium with the team to start a six-game homestand on Wednesday, June 6 at 7:05pm. Call the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Box Office at (920)733-4152 or (800) WI-TIMBER to order tickets to any of the games from June 6 to June 11. http://wisconsin.timberrattlers.milb.com/images/2012/06/04/bGbVZbGw.jpg

Audio from Nashville — “Mondays with Mike (Guerrero)” Jeff Hem's note - Here is this week’s installment of “Mondays with Mike” with Sounds manager Mike Guerrero. Among the topics: the drastic differences between the first two games of the Sounds’ series with New Orleans; the struggles of Sounds pitcher and Brewers prospect Wily Peralta; Saturday’s solid outing by Claudio Vargas; the Sounds’ pitching plan for the back-to-back doubleheaders (Friday and Saturday) in Iowa later this week; and, with Monday being the start of the annual MLB amateur draft, Guerrero’s memories of becoming a professional when he was signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Brewers in 1987.

Milwaukee's 2006 draft produced short-time Brewer, then trade-chip Jeremy Jeffress, more trade components (for Felipe Lopez and C.C. Sabathia, respectively) in OF Cole Gillespie and RHP Rob Bryson, RHP Mike McClendon in the 10th round, and a few players (RHP's Evan Anundsen and R.J. Seidel, OF Lee Haydel) who are still around. *** Seven unsigned players from that draft went on to play pro ball: Andrew Clark, 1B -- 18th round, subsequently drafted (but not signed) by the Cubs in the 31st round, 2009, and finally drafted and signed by the Rangers in the 13th round, 2010 The Brewers never came very close to pulling Clark away from his Ole' Miss commitment, although Clark would go to leave the school after his freshman year, transferring to Louisville, where he had a productive Big East career. The 24-year-old split last season between Single-A Hickory and High-A Myrtle Beach for Texas, where he posted a .310/.430/.477 slash line with 28 doubles, 14 home runs, 83 walks, and 73 strikeouts. Re-assigned to high-A to begin 2012, Clark voluntarily retired after two games. *** Scott Shuman, RHP -- 23rd round, subsequently drafted and signed by the Rays in the 19th round, 2009 The Tifton, GA high schooler basically indicated that he was going to visit Auburn University shortly after the draft, and if they were to offer him a scholarship, he would accept, and that's exactly what happened. Shuman, now 24, posted 14 Midwest League saves in 2010, but has shifted to a middle relief role since; he's struggling in his first taste of AA in 2012, his 4th pro season. *** Marc Lewis, LHP -- 26th round, subsequently drafted and signed by the Marlins in the 20th round, 2007 Lewis had a solid junior season at Creighton University, one-plus year removed from Tommy John surgery. He decided to return for his senior year on a potentially very talented squad. Lewis' lone year in pro ball is reviewable at his link above. *** Terrell Alliman, OF -- 28th round, subsequently drafted and signed by the Angels in the 43rd round, 2007 Only 17 when drafted, this Ontario, CN product was eligible to continue his secondary high school education in 2006-2007 and chose to do so. The Angels released Alliman early in the 2011 season, which was his 4th in their system. I'll always remember Alliman because the only photo we found for our draft thread at the time must have been from Little League. *** David Newmann, LHP -- 29th round, having been previously drafted by the Indians in the 25th round, 2004, and finally drafted and signed by the Rays in the 4th round, 2007 Newmann tore a knee ligament during 2008 Spring Training, sidelining him for the entire season, and didn't make his pro debut until 2009. High-A in '09, AA in 2010, Newmann voluntarily retired early in the 2011 season, so hopefully he invested his $250,000 signing bonus well. *** Clay Jones, C -- 36th round, subsequently drafted and signed by the Tigers in the 32nd round, 2009 Jones was a high school catcher (and football star) who was followed for a year by the Brewers through a juco season. Jones would eventually land at the University of Alabama. Staying at Tuscaloosa through his senior year, Jones had migrated to first base by the time the Tigers came calling. Jones saw Midwest League action each of the past two years, and although MiLB.com still lists him as "active", that doesn't appear to be the case. *** Alex Koronis, RHP -- 40th round, subsequently drafted and signed by the Rays in the 11th round, 2009 The third pitcher from the 2006 draft to go on to be a Tampa draft pick... Koronis was a Miami high schooler who chose to stay local and attend the "U", but didn't feel it was a perfect fit and he eventually moved to the University of Tampa. So many of these players highlighted in this thread have had Brewer opponent ties through the Midwest, Florida State, and Southern Leagues, and Koronis is no different. He's currently at AA Montgomery, working in middle relief. *** We'll take a look at the 2007 draft class non-signees in the next phase of this project.

That didn't take long, here's the followup: HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The Milwaukee Brewers and Huntsville Stars have made a few roster moves prior to tonight’s game against the Mississippi Braves. RHP Bradley Blanks was activated from the disabled list and released. Outfielder Michael Reed was transferred to Brevard County and outfielder Khris Davis was activated. With these moves, the Stars active roster sits at 25, the Southern League limit. *** Great to see Khris Davis back (calf injury). Bradley Blanks, 27, was an independent league signee in June of last season. After his last outing, when he took the loss on May 21st, Blanks was quite introspective on Twitter about his future. He landed on the DL shortly thereafter. A more recent Tweet sounded more hopeful. Whatever the circumstances of his release, we wish him well going forward.

Update from Brevard: OF Miguel Velazquez has been placed on the disabled list, retroactive to 5/31. (Injury undisclosed) OF Michael Reed has been transferred from Huntsville to Brevard County. He will travel to Palm Beach tomorrow and will be active for the Manatees at Jupiter. *** No word yet on a corresponding addition to the AA Huntsville roster.

Wisconsin Media Notes

Nashville Media Notes