Jim Goulart

Link Report Bonus: Mariners Notebook 4/5: Reliever Luetge is Seattle's biggest surprise (from Brewers in Rule 5)

Tom H. tweet: Pitching prospect Cody Scarpetta is on Class AA Huntsville's DL with an ailing elbow that is expected to sideline him several weeks. *** At some point, the Brewers will need to try and sneak Scarpetta through waivers. It will probably be next spring when he'll have no options remaining and any claiming club would have to keep him on their major league roster before re-exposing him to waivers themselves. Hard to see how he'd be ready to be a permanent big leaguer next April.

My first overlook of the season -- in addition to Tennessee, Jacksonville of the Southern League has MiLB home game video. So subscribers will be able to watch the feed (live or archive) of the rest of the Stars' series. So Friday night's Link Report lead will include this update: MiLB.TV -- 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).

Reviewing the Brew interviewed RHP Seth Harvey

It looks as though transactions are caught up for the day. It may appear as though Huntsville has an extra body at 26, but recently claimed RHP Josh Stinson (Mets) hasn't formally joined the Stars yet, it appears. They will have to find a spot shortly, it would seem.

MiLB.com indicated today that RHP Andre Lamontagne has been placed on the AA Huntsville "reserve list". Lamontagne missed all of 2011 with what the Brewers termed right shoulder bursitis. So we may not know more for some time there...

Timber Rattlers Game Notes & Starting Lineup for Opening Night I'm calling it now -- we're all Ben McMahan fans before too long...

Nashville Media Notes

AAA Nashville: LHP Juan Perez on 7-day DL (perhaps still working back from earlier collapsed lung); Sounds roster now seemingly at 25-man limit UPDATE from the Sounds: Perez opens the year on DL due to back spasms and has yet to join club from Maryvale.

Rattler Walk-Up Music, Player-by-Player

Manatees Opening Night Lineup Manatees Upcoming Rotation

High-A Brevard transactions: RHP Brooks Hall placed on 7-day DL (undisclosed injury); C Brent Dean returned to extended spring With those two moves, Manatees roster stands at 25-man limit for Opening Night tonight.

Mark McCarter of the Huntsville Times reports that "Cody Scarpetta has remained at the Brewers' headquarters in Maryvale, Ariz., after a spring training injury." So Scarpetta will open on the DL, R.J. Seidel takes the rotation spot for now.

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/04/merklinger_draws_start_for_sta.html By Mark McCarter, The Huntsville Times HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Dan Merklinger was the workhorse of the Huntsville Stars' pitching staff in 2011, and he's shouldering the duties tonight as the opening-night starter. Merklinger, a 26-year-old lefty from New Jersey, will be on the mound tonight when the Stars open the season at Jacksonville at 6:05 (CDT). He'll face the Suns' Joseph O'Gara, a 6-foot-7 righthander who was 7-9 with the Suns a year ago. The Stars are opening the season on a 10-game road trip, with five games in Jacksonville before a five-game series that begins next Tuesday in Birmingham. The home opener is April 15 against Tennessee. Merklinger, 9-9 in a team-high 28 starts in '11, is the veteran member of a pitching staff that includes three of the Brewers' top 20 prospects, according to mlb.com's Prospect Watch, and with generous experience at the Class AA level. Righthander Tyler Thornburg is No. 4 on the prospect list and highly regarded enough to have received an invitation to the midseason Futures Game for top prospects. He split last season between low-A Wisconsin and high-A Brevard County. Cody Scarpetta, a righthander who was 8-5 in 23 starts with Huntsville last year, is the No. 18 prospect. However, he has remained at the Brewers' headquarters in Maryvale, Ariz., after a spring training injury. Santo Manzanillo, who had seven saves and a 2.21 ERA in 20 games at Huntsville last year, is ranked No. 19. Also returning this season are Darren Byrd (41 games out of the bullpen), Kyle Heckathorn winless in seven late-season starts) and relievers Jim Henderson (4-1, 2.64 ERA out of the pen), Roque Mercedes, Jesus Sanchez, RJ Seidel and Rob Wooten. Newcomers include Evan Anundsen, who started 2010 in Huntsville before being injured and Bradley Blanks, both of whom were at Brevard last year. The rotation for the first series, according to pitching coach Chris Hook, will be Merklinger, Thornburg, Anundsen, Heckathorn and, most likely, Seidel. Manzanillo will be in the closer role.

Thursday AM Audio: Sounds Play by Play Man Jeff Hem

Sounds Media Guide

Adam McCalvy: Brewers assistant GM Gord Ash provided updates on two Minor League players not assigned to affiliates to begin the 2012 season. Right-handed pitching prospect Nick Bucci has a bout of biceps tendonitis and will remain at Maryvale Baseball Park to get healthy. Outfielder D'Vontrey Richardson, No. 20 on MLB.com's list of the top Brewers prospects, has yet to report to Spring Training. "He is addressing some personal issues at home," said Ash, who could not elaborate.

Hopefully all the links above will function just fine -- let me know if not, first "report" of the year, y'know. At least until further notice, in my current state of "semi-retirement", I did recently offer to kick off each day's report, as well as the following morning links to related newspaper reports and web reports. I will not be providing any of the post-game links to box scores and game logs this year, but it appears several of our key forum contributors will band together efforts (THANK YOU!) to provide you with the evening and/or late night/overnight updates along with their pithy insightful comments . (Keep in touch with each other via private message or email, guys, so you don't duplicate efforts.) The goal remains that when you wake up each morning, you'll be able to visit us and get your fill of the prior day's minor league activity. And for goodness sake, if you're not following me on Twitter yet @Mass_Haas, do so now. I'll tweet when each day's initial post goes up, and then in the AM once the newspaper and related reports complete the thread. Here's to a championship season in Milwaukee and a wonderfully interesting and successful year throughout seven levels of Brewer minor league baseball!

Disciples of Uecker helps us out on Josh Stinson

Pending transactions for the next day -- Nashville and Huntsville need to free up one roster spot each, Brevard County two; Wisconsin is all set at 25.

This will land in the Major League Forum as well, most likely, but the Brewers have claimed Mets RHP Josh Stinson on waivers. Made 14 relief appearances in his big league debut last year. 37th round pick in 2006, he'll be placed in Huntsville's bullpen to begin the season. Career stats We'll have more on him shortly.

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

K. Davis and K. Davis are both part of the Huntsville Stars' outfield picture By Mark McCarter, The Huntsville Times HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Let the confusion begin. Two Huntsville Stars outfielders on the lineup card as K. Davis. There is, in an encore role, Khris Davis, who was with the Stars for 35 games last season. There is, as the newcomer, Kentrail Davis, a Theodore, Alabama native and former University of Tennessee standout, who was at Brevard County last season. He was a first-round pick in the June 2009 supplemental draft. They'll be two of the five outfielders at manager Darnell Coles' disposal when the 2012 Southern League opens Thursday night in Jacksonville. (The Stars' home opener is April 15.) The Huntsville outfield has potential to provide some significant offense - and speed - this season. Joining the Davises - you can tell them apart even at a distance because Khris is a lean 6-foot-0, Kentrail is 5-9, 200, drawing Kirby Puckett comparisons - will be Brock Kjeldgaard, Lee Haydel and Jose Prince. Kjeldgaard, in the more roomy Joe Davis Stadium, only hit six homers with 27 RBIs in 61 games after blasting 18 homers in 65 games at Brevard County the first half of the season. This will be Haydel's third season with the Stars, batting .285 and .274 the past two seasons. He's also a threat on the basepaths. Prince, like Haydel, hails from Louisiana and is also a speedster. He led his rookie-ball league in thefts in 2009, and stole 24 last year at Brevard County - second only to Kentrail Davis. Both the Davises will need to show they can hit Class AA pitching. After hitting 15 homers, driving in 68 runs and batting .309 in 90 games at Brevard, Khris batted only .210 at Huntsville. Kentrail will need to drastically taper his strikeouts - 97 in 132 games last year - and improve his on-base percentage to utilize his speed. If both can make the adjustment, the confusion is just beginning.

Follow Thursday's action as it happens with box score / game log links (until we see otherwise, we are assuming MiLB has Gameday in place for the AAA and AA levels only) -- Nashville (Gameday also available) Huntsville (Gameday also available) Brevard County Wisconsin

DVR Alert! -- Although many of our Wisconsin fans might lean more to Chris Mehring's fine booth work, there is a bonus for locals as the Rattlers' Opening Night is set to be broadcast on Time Warner Cable Sports 32 throughhout eastern Wisconsin. Bob Brainerd and former Brewers pitcher Brad Woodall are the announcers for the telecast.