Jim Goulart

Link while active, text follows: Nashville Sounds get new AAA faces Eric Farris, top base-stealer, joins Sounds By Maurice Patton, THE TENNESSEAN Speed plays at any level. That's the basic concept that explains the Milwaukee Brewers' decision to place infielder Eric Farris on the Sounds' roster to open the 2010 season. Last year, Farris stole 70 bases in 76 attempts at Brevard County, the Brewers' affiliate in the Single-A Florida State League. But without playing a single game at the Double-A level, Farris likely will get the nod at second base when the Sounds visit Iowa in Thursday's Pacific Coast League season opener. "I know it's "A" ball, but he still stole 70," Nashville Manager Don Money said Tuesday. Farris is one of three Sounds making their Triple-A debuts this season, joining pitchers Zach Braddock and Mike McClendon. Braddock and McClendon spent some time at Double-A Huntsville in 2009. Farris, 24, played three seasons at Loyola Marymount and was a three-time All-West Coast Conference selection before the Brewers picked him in the fourth round of the 2007 draft. He has stolen 123 bases since turning pro while hitting .302. "He runs well, but he's not a burner, for all the bases he stole," Money said. "He gets good jumps." Farris also was 3-for-7 at the plate with the Brewers in spring training. "Skipping Double-A is a pretty big deal," Farris said. "I'm happy the organization has confidence in me (that) I can handle this level. I don't want to let them down. There's some nervousness, but excitement at the same time." Braddock posted 22 strikeouts with just three walks and a 2.87 ERA in 15.2 relief innings at Huntsville. McClendon had a 3.30 ERA, 57 strikeouts and 20 walks in 84.2 innings out of the Stars' bullpen. "There are going to be a lot smarter hitters, more advanced guys," McClendon said. "It's going to be fun to go out there and do what I can." Braddock is the only member of the Baseball America Brewers' Top 10 prospects list on the Sounds roster. He is the organization's No. 7 prospect, having moved exclusively into a relief role last year. Joe Koshansky takes batting practice at Greer stadium on Tuesday. The Sounds season starts Thursday. (Photo by JOHN PARTIPILO / THE TENNESSEAN) http://cmsimg.tennessean.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=DN&Date=20100407&Category=SPORTS0401&ArtNo=4070378&Ref=AR&Profile=2073&MaxW=550&MaxH=650&title=0

Link while active, text follows: Speed hastens second baseman's promotion to Nashville Sounds By Mark Wheeler, Nashville City Paper Eric Farris does not like to wait around. That’s true whether it comes to the base path or his career path. The 24-year-old second baseman stole 70 bases in 2009 (third among all minor league baseball players) for Brevard County of the Class A Florida State League. That helped put him on the fast track through the Milwaukee Brewers’ system. He skipped right over Class AA and was picked to open 2010 with the AAA Nashville Sounds. Farris says he is willing to be patient as he adjusts to the level of competition. Even so, he recognizes that his speed is one of his greatest assets and the sooner he can make good use of it the better. “The (AAA) pitchers have more experience than in single-A so it may take a few weeks to get a feel for stealing,” Farris said. “But I want to be a table-setter on offense.” He was just one of the newcomers who drew attention during the Sounds’ media day Tuesday at Greer Stadium. Nashville opens the season Thursday at Iowa. Its first home game is 7:05 p.m. on April 16. Left-handed pitcher Zach Braddock, considered one of the top five prospects in the Brewers’ system, made the more traditional move from Class AA, where he had a 1.79 ERA in 26 games last season. “The main thing I want to improve on is handling the workload and maintaining it,” Braddock said. “I want to be a viable relief option whenever they call my number.” Regardless of where they were a year ago, Farris and Braddock both expressed deference to the veterans, a group that includes third-year outfielder Brendan Katin, one of nine players who spent all of 2009 with Nashville, and pitcher Tim Dillard, a Nashville resident who did two short stints in the Major Leagues last summer. After all, at 22 years old, Braddock is the youngest player on the current roster. Catcher Angel Salome (23) is the only other one younger than Farris. “With the older guys it’s all about respect,” Braddock said. “They put in their time as professionals and deserve it.” Katin, who is 27, plans to make the youngsters earn his respect before he reciprocates. “I’ll just be hard on (the newcomers),” he joked, “make their lives miserable.” Still, it’s easy to see why Farris made the big jump that he did. In addition to all his stolen bases, he was Florida State League’s top fielding second baseman and was among the top five in hits (third), batting average (fourth) and runs scored (tied for fifth). Not only that, he led all minor leaguers with 26 sacrifices. In four years of professional baseball, he has been an All-Star twice. “I’m here to learn a lot from the veterans,” Farris said. “I just want to be the guy that plays solid defense and is willing to learn.” Expect him to do so quickly.

Through 2006, Brian was able to program Brewerfan's player pages to pick up stats from MLB's or other sites. As those other sites have modified their formats, our individual player pages have not kept up. So while the player pages on their own have little intrinsic value, at least the Player Index is a page for a good overall tool to look at the organization from top-to-bottom, as opposed to the seven individual team pages on MiLB.com.

By the way, our sortable / filterable "Player Index" is pretty much squared away now that the four full-season minor league rosters have been named. There are a couple of places where the filter serves little purpose, in that you can't just sort on "infielders" or "outfielders", so unless a player is specifically assigned as LF, CF, RF, 2B, SS, and not OF or IF, that part of the filter has little value. But the other filters are pretty neat, and the columns are all sortable, so knock yourselves out (How many of the organization's 12 switch hitters can you name? Find out quickly who they are on the Index.) If a player is listed anywhere, then he's still in the system, even if he's not assigned to one of the four full-season teams (for instance, Johnny Raburn won't play at Helena this summer, but he's listed there as a placeholder for extended spring training.) Please bring glaring errors to our attention in this thread, thanks.

Nice that we'll have 15 Manatees broadcasts from a "home team" broadcast perspective, in addition to the few we get from other FSL teams. If I had to (rough) guess, perhaps 40 broadcasts total (out of 140 games) will be available in some form or other.

Two Erik's (with a "K") in the outfield... Outside of Kjeldgaard, the infielders are pretty flexible position-wise. Evan Frederickson reduced to middle relief, not what Jack Z. expected at this point. Here's hoping for the top-of-that-2008-draft combo of Lawrie - Odorizzi, because Frederickson -- Seth Lintz -- Cutter Dykstra -- Cody Adams completed the picks through the first two rounds, and they may pan out some day, but it's at best mostly cloudy right now for their forecasts...

A more official link to the Brevard site should be forthcoming, but the Manatees have released a roster. Note that unlike the Nashville and Huntsville rosters, which still have to be reduced by one by Thursday, the Brevard roster has room for one more (both A-ball roster limits are 25, unlike AAA and AA, 24.) Starters RHP Michael Fiers -- that's pretty exciting, Fiers to the rotation RHP Wily Peralta LHP Dan Merklinger RHP Cody Scarpetta RHP Trey Watten / LHP Brandon Ritchie (some sort of tag-team, it appears) Bullpen RHP Ruben "Buddy" Flores LHP Evan Frederickson RHP Corey Frerichs RHP Nick Green (closer) LHP Lucas Luetge LHP Daniel Meadows RHP Nick Tyson Catchers Martin Maldonado Anderson De La Rosa Mike Roberts Infield 1B Brock Kjeldgaard MI Sergio Miranda SS Brent Brewer IF Matt Cline IF Juan Sanchez Outfield Kentrail Davis Erik Miller Erik Komatsu Suspended list -- RHP Jeremy Jeffress

Rattlers' Fan Fest set for Tuesday afternoon The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers' annual Fan Fest bash will be held on Tuesday, April 6, from noon until 5:30 p.m. at Grand Chute's Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. As always, the annual event is all about free: Free admission, free parking, free food and drink and a free chance to check out the 2010 Rattlers. Fans who attend will receive a punch card that can be redeemed for a hot dog, a box of popcorn, a soda and a slice of Palermo's Pizza. Ballpark tours will also be available, allowing those in attendance a peek at the $400,000 stadium renovation project currently in its final phases. Also on tap is a team practice at noon and a team instrasquad game at 3 p.m., followed by an autograph session. Finally, those on hand will receive a coupon good for free parking at any one of the six Rattlers season-opening home games (April 8-13). Wisconsin opens its Midwest League season on April 8 when it hosts Kane County at 6:35 p.m. For more information, contact the Rattlers at 920-733-4152.

Link while active, text follows: Top prospects on roster give Timber Rattlers high hopes By Brett Christopherson, Post-Crescent staff writer The bus carrying the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers barreled north along U.S. 41 on Monday en route to Grand Chute's Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Aboard were power arms, hot bats, athleticism, speed and overall good chemistry — all reasons why Rattlers second-year manager Jeff Isom couldn't wait to trade the Arizona warmth for the unpredictability of a Wisconsin spring. "I have a lot of excitement for the season," said Isom, whose team flew from Phoenix to Milwaukee before hopping on the bus for the final leg of the trip. "Not only for the talent I've seen, but the (team) attitude in general has been awesome. We've had an awesome spring training. Guys have worked their tails off, and I'm expecting a fun season." The Rattlers revealed their roster as pegged by the Milwaukee Brewers, a talented collection that includes seven of the Crew's top 30 minor-league prospects, according to Baseball America. Wisconsin and Milwaukee are entering the second year of a four-year pact that will station the Brewers' Low-A talent in Grand Chute through 2012. The Rattlers host Kane County on Thursday at 6:35 p.m. in their Midwest League opener. "You look up and down the roster, and it's just prospect after prospect," Rattlers president Rob Zerjav said. "I'd get the daily (minor-league spring training) box scores from Brewers, and these guys were quite impressive. It seems like they're the real deal." Headlining this year's club is right-hander Eric Arnett, the Brewers' top draft choice in 2009. The 22-year-old was selected 26th overall out of Indiana University and is rated as the fourth-best prospect in the Milwaukee system behind shortstop Alcides Escobar, second baseman Brett Lawrie and third baseman Mat Gamel. A Baseball America scouting report said the 6-foot-5 Arnett throws a consistent low- to mid-90s fastball that has reached 97 mph on the radar gun. He also tosses a mid-80s slider. Arnett struggled at rookie level Helena (Mont.) last season, losing all four of his decisions and producing a 4.41 ERA over 35 innings pitched. But he was coming off a busy college season in which he went 12-2 with 109 strikeouts and a 2.50 ERA over 108 innings en route to earning Big Ten co-pitcher of the year and all-conference first team honors as a junior. In addition to Arnett, the Rattlers clubhouse will be home to a number of organization's top-rated hurlers: Right-hander Jake Odorizzi (ranked ninth by Baseball America). Right-hander Kyle Heckathorn (No. 10). Left-hander Del Howell (No. 22). Right-hander Nick Bucci (No. 29). Right-hander Maverick Lasker (No. 30). Of that group, Odorizzi (2008) and Heckathorn (supplemental pick in '09) are also first-round draft selections. Isom said all but Arnett would be part of a tandem system in which two pitchers are scheduled throw in the same game. The designated starter will open the season on a pitch count of between 75 to 80 pitches and will then reverse roles with the designated reliever the next time their spot arrives in the rotation. He noted Rattlers pitching surrendered no more than four runs in any of the 14 spring training games they played in compiling a 10-2-2 record. Isom said the offense also impressed, averaging between seven and eight runs per contest behind a blend of speed and power. Baseball America has outfielder D'Vontrey Richardson rated as the Rattlers' top position player at No. 18, calling the 21-year-old the best athlete in the Brewers' system. Richardson, a fifth-round draft choice in 2009 and entering his first professional season, played baseball and football at Florida State, where he set a school record for the longest touchdown run by a quarterback with a 55-yard dash against Chattanooga as a backup in 2008. Of course, last year's team also featured a handful of Milwaukee's top minor-league talent and came in with high expectations, only to scuffle to a 58-81 finish. Isom doesn't expect that same fate in 2010. "There are a lot of things we have to work on, no question about that," he said. "But the players know what they have to work on, and that's the awesome thing. They really get after it, and it's really refreshing to see how they approach games and to watch their daily work in general." "This group has been a fun group to work with just because of the energy they have and the work ethic they have. And that has already set them apart from last year's club."

Link while active, text follows: By Mark McCarter General manager sees big season for team, which opens season on road ThursdayHuntsville Times Sports Staff No one will ever accuse Huntsville Stars general manager Buck Rogers of being low-key or pessimistic. Even if it means that he's putting more than a tad of pressure on team manager Mike Guerrero and the 2010 Stars. "We had a good team last year," Rogers said Monday night after the club arrived from its spring training camp in Maryvale, Ariz. "We're going to be even better this year. "We should be ordering Southern League championship rings in August." That might be more than a bit premature, but as Rogers noted "we kept close eyes on Brevard County (Milwaukee's Class A team in the Florida State League) last year. The core group of that team had the best record of 170 minor league teams. We have most of them here this year." The Stars open the season on Thursday at Chattanooga, then hold the home opener on April 14. The team will work out at Joe Davis Stadium tonight and Wednesday. Various local dignitaries and VIPs will join the team for batting practice Wednesday. What Rogers would like to see nearly as much as a competitive team is cooperative weather. "The Farmer's Almanac says cool, dry weather," he said. The Stars had 47 percent of their games impacted by weather last season. "I think we deserve good weather," he said. "Mother Nature has to be on our side this year." The Stars, whose attendance was the lowest in the Southern League last season, have a variety of promotions this season, though Rogers admitted much of the off-season work has dealt with organizing this season's Southern League All-Star Game (July 12 at Joe Davis Stadium). "We've got a core group of interns who are building some fun nights," he said. According to Rogers, virtually every home game this season will have discounted tickets, food or drink prices through their work with corporate sponsors. For instance, children are admitted free every Sunday when wearing an athletic uniform and accompanied by a parent.

Kind of a dual update to the previous post: More players delayed by injuries who likely won't open the season on an active roster -- INF Mike Brownstein SS Josh Prince LHP Mike Ramlow (missed most of 2009 with elbow immflamation No word on the nature of injury for Mike and Josh *** More players will be awaiting assignments from extended spring training in Maryvale. They are still with the organization -- can't seem to remember situations like this in the past, as to how long the Brewers can "carry" players who won't necessarily be rookie ball candidates -- we don't believe injuries are a hindrance for these players at this time -- RHP R.J. Seidel INF Kyle Dhanani INF Brandon Sizemore C Shawn Zarraga *** In the meantime, we are being exceedingly patient as we wait on an official roster from Brevard County. Given the pieces of the puzzle that have unfolded, you can pretty much figure things out to a great extent.

Three players will be awaiting assignments from extended spring training in Maryvale. They are still with the organization -- Veteran (31-year-old) utility infielder Johnny Raburn INF Steve Braun (25 years old in May) -- fractured right ankle from last June should be good to go 23-year-old OF Scott Krieger, the 2009 19th round selection out of George Mason University who posted a .774 OPS with Helena, but also fanned a league-leading 103 times in just 277 AB's *** RHP Cody Adams (2nd round, 2008), RHP Pedro Lambertus, and C Brett Whiteside (who had Tommy John surgery last summer -- we never did learn if his four pitching appearances in 2009 were the start of a position switch or even the cause of his injury), will all be staying in Maryvale working their way back from injuries. As is often the case, we don't have injury details on Adams and Lambertus at this time.

23-year-old reliever Rigoberto Almonte, who has pitched state-side the past two seasons (even opened at Brevard in 2009), will begin 2010 with the DSL Brewers in his native Dominican Republic.

Brutal news for Rob Wooten fans (and of course, Rob), but we've learned that he has or is about to undergo Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction (Tommy John Surgery) -- sorry we don't have more specifics on the timing or such. Obviously Wooten is out for 2010. The 24-year-old former North Carolina Tar Heel Closer, chosen in the 13th round (bargain) in 2008, has dazzled us with an amazing 122-to-28 K-to-BB ratio in 89 pro innings thus far. He will officially reside on Huntsville's DL all season.

I'm just thankful Mike's alive and OK. With so many similarly subjected threads in the off-topic forum, I have to admit I thought the subject of this one read RIP Mike McClendon AAA http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/embarassed.gif

Come Monday

Yeah, it's kind of buried, but you go to the Brewerfan home page (which we realize is seriously out of date in content, we're choosing to focus most efforts on keeping this the most awesome Brewer fan forum right now), and then select the "Milwaukee Brewers" choice off the sidebar. Then go to the 40-man roster page, which is where you see the Options info, which the Brewers have verified is up-to-date and accurate. As for the home page, we're keeping the Scoreboard, Player Index, Transactions, Birthdays, Article Crawler, and nearly most other functionality current. We hope to get back into feature story and interview mode soon. Like the "Daily Brew" (abandoned in 2008), the "News" section we feel can be better captured here in the forums, especially with the ability to "feature" threads above the master forum list.

Chris' blog -- The Rattlers on TV Sunday

25-year-old RHP Nick Green is another pitcher you'd expect to see in Huntsville (not listed), along with RHP Ruben "Buddy" Flores, also 25. So maybe we'll get news on them Sunday. Looks like LHP Dan Merklinger will build off his his strong second half with Brevard last season to be a big part of the Manatee staff to start 2010. *** Like many of you, many of us here at Brewerfan will be out and about today on the holiday. We'll do our best to keep you all posted, feel free to help us out if you see official reports of roster announcements, thanks.

One note from the Sounds site: One roster move will have to be made before Thursday's season opener to reduce the Nashville roster to the 24-man active limit. Also, while no word of a release is official, it appears as though utility infielder Ray Olmedo's acquisition may have spelled trouble for Johnny Raburn.

Remember that's what Mark McCarter got from Mike Guerrero or other sources. It can't be 100% accurate (it only lists 22 players, and the roster limit is 24 at the AAA and AA levels), and because Taylor Green is omitted and he's going to be a 6th infielder (starting at third base). We already know that RHP Evan Anundsen is opening on the DL (LHP Chris Cody to the rotation), so only ten active pitchers are listed in the Huntsville Times story. RHP Robert Hinton is probably one. Closer Rob Wooten would be an obvious choice, but we haven't seen his name in a box score all spring, so there's cause for DL concern there. The Brewers make it clear they're not going to bump SS Brent Brewer simply based on service time (but on performance), so 5'10", 220-lb. Zelous Wheeler makes for an interesting "everyday" shortstop. If you remember, an earlier Huntsville Times story indicated Sergio Miranda would be the starting shortstop. Apparently not the case... 24-year-old catcher Sean McCraw, the former Met farmhand, gets bumped past high-A (although he spent parts of 2007 and 2008 there for New York) to make his AA debut, even though he scraped together a .211 season with 13 errors at Wisconsin last season. Expect lots of Jonathan Lucroy, obviously. The "barber", 23-year-old Martin Maldonado, not the choice here.

NOTE: This is one of our "Your 2010 ___________ threads. There will be one for each of the full-season teams in place by Monday, when the other rosters are expected to be announced. Within these threads, you will find updates and feature news stories that don't necessarily relate to game action (those would be found within the Daily Link Reports), so it will be an active thread all season long. -- Jim (Mass Haas) Link while active, text follows: Many Stars familiar to manager Guerrero expects team to be mostly from Brevard By Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times Sports Staff Familiarity, in the case of the Huntsville Stars, will perhaps breed a contender. That's what manager Mike Guerrero is hoping as the Stars prepare to open their 2010 season this week. A majority of the players were with Guerrero at Brevard County last season, where the team led the Florida State League in both earned-run average and batting average, or have been with him in past seasons. "They know what to expect from me and they know I expect a lot from them," Guerrero said Saturday from the Stars' spring training camp in Maryvale, Ariz. "They know the type of game I like to play." Guerrero said the Stars' offense should be productive, with some potential for power but also with speed and ability to hit for average. "I know it's a lot of guys going to a higher level, but they should be able to do everything," he said. "They can do the little things and be explosive." Though the final roster will be set today, barring major changes, this is how it'll look: Catchers: Jonathan Lucroy, Sean McCraw. Infield: Chris Errecart (1B), Brett Lawrie (2B), Zelous Wheeler (SS), Steffan Wilson (3B), Anderson Machado (utility). Outfield: Lee Haydel (LF), Lorenzo Cain (CF), Caleb Gindl (RF), Chuck Caufield (utility) Starting pitchers: Mark Rogers, Evan Anundsen, Michael Bowman, Amaury Rivas, Alex Periard. Relievers: Donovan Hand, Mike Jones, Chris Cody, Jim Henderson, Casey Baron, Brandon Kintzler. The Stars fly from Phoenix to Nashville on Monday, then bus to Huntsville. There will be a "meet and greet" dinner at Wintzell's Oyster House on Wynn Drive from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m., with a cost of $15 per person. Fans wishing to attend need to make reservation and payment at the Stars' office by noon on Monday. The Stars open the season at Chattanooga on Thursday. The home opener is April 14. "They'll come ready to play every day," Guerrero said. "the chemistry is good." Lucroy (125 games), Errecart (18), Lawrie (13), Caufield (113) and Cain (82) have some Double-A experience and Machado is a 29-year-old journeyman. But it is basically a young club. Only Periard (eight starts in 2008), among the starters, has appeared in Double-A but he, Rivas and Rogers are highly touted enough to have been on the Milwaukee 40-man major league roster this spring, Bowman had a 2.57 ERA last year at Brevard and Anundsen a 2.69 ERA, with a no-hitter last season. "We'll have to be able to pitch," said Guerrero.

Tom H. looks at the top Brewer pitching prospects

Our friend David Weiser would know, but this will be Mike Jones' 7th season of making an appearance in AA Huntsville, which has to be a record. If RHP Robert Hinton is assigned to AA again (not listed on the Nashville roster), that would be four consecutive seasons of spending most of his time there. Hinton will be a minor league free agent at season's end. Let Braddock get his work in whenever and wherever, regardless of closing. Disagree on Marco Estrada, the Brewers really like him.

My Massachusetts kid Costello needs to be in Wisconsin pronto (age 23 season coming up). Deserves it.