Jim Goulart

As also posted in our season-long Mudcats feature article archive thread -- Mudcats pitcher Trey Supak eyes bright future By PATRICK MASON, Rocky Mount Telegram "A big donkey", says Joe Ayrault Full article a fine read, includes this info we hadn't seen previously: Supak was drafted by the Pirates with the 73rd overall pick in 2014, but had been on the Brewers’ radar. The major league club called Supak on draft day to express interest in drafting the pitcher out of La Grange High School in Texas. The Brewers, instead, drafted Monte Harrison who Milwaukee later flipped to the Marlins for big league outfielder Christian Yelich. But the Brewers still kept tabs on Supak, and when the opportunity to snag Supak in a trade popped up with the Pirates in 2015, they went in and got their man that slipped away on draft day. “I got a call from them on draft night, but they took Monte Harrison,” Supak said. “It was a great pick, honestly, he’s got a lot going for him and was a great teammate last year. But it’s nice knowing you’re wanted somewhere as well when they traded for me.

Mudcats pitcher Trey Supak eyes bright future By PATRICK MASON, Rocky Mount Telegram "A big donkey", says Joe Ayrault Full article a fine read, includes this info we hadn't seen previously: Supak was drafted by the Pirates with the 73rd overall pick in 2014, but had been on the Brewers’ radar. The major league club called Supak on draft day to express interest in drafting the pitcher out of La Grange High School in Texas. The Brewers, instead, drafted Monte Harrison who Milwaukee later flipped to the Marlins for big league outfielder Christian Yelich. But the Brewers still kept tabs on Supak, and when the opportunity to snag Supak in a trade popped up with the Pirates in 2015, they went in and got their man that slipped away on draft day. “I got a call from them on draft night, but they took Monte Harrison,” Supak said. “It was a great pick, honestly, he’s got a lot going for him and was a great teammate last year. But it’s nice knowing you’re wanted somewhere as well when they traded for me."

Underway with a win: Observations from Mudcats opening night by Samuel Evers, Rocky Mount Telegram Two photos at the link as well... “I grabbed (McDowell) after the game. Being an ex-catcher, being around the game a long time, all the games I’ve seen behind the plate, how he handled the pitchers,” (Manager Joe) Ayrault said. “He was locked in. Outstanding game behind the plate. He’s a gamer, a baseball player. When he came in we knew he was a good defensive player.” On Keston Hiura -- “He’s been around the game long enough to know tomorrow’s a new day. That’s what’s great about this game,” Ayrault said. “We get one, two days off. He’ll be out there banging tomorrow.” Full article at the link above.

Final, Game One: Colorado Springs 3, Omaha 1 Final, Game Two: Colorado Springs 4, Omaha 0 SKY SOX TAKE OPENING SERIES DOUBLEHEADER IN OMAHA By Shane Philipps / Colorado Springs Sky Sox With the Sky Sox on the road, an interesting "notes" summary put together by Shane linked above, take a peek to kick off this year's coverage. *** From the Omaha team site -- Colorado Springs center fielder Keon Broxton tallied four hits in a 3-1 game one win, while Sky Sox pitchers combined for a two-hit shutout in a 4-0 nightcap victory to complete a doubleheader sweep on Thursday evening at Werner Park. The Sky Sox brought home two runs in the sixth to take a 2-1 lead. Broxton then crushed his first big fly of the year in the seventh to cap the scoring at 3-1. Colorado Springs starter Junior Guerra (5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) earned the win and Taylor Williams (1.0 IP) notched his first save, while Omaha righty Kevin McCarthy (1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 K) suffered the defeat. The Sky Sox struck quickly in game two of the double header, plating two in the first inning starting with LF Kyle Wren's RBI single. Colorado Springs would tack on single tallies in both the third and sixth innings to bring the game to the eventual final score 4-0. Sky Sox starter Freddy Peralta (5 IP, 1 H, 6 K) earned the victory. Colorado Springs relievers J.J. Hoover (0.2 IP, H), Michael Brady (0.1 IP) and Jorge Lopez (1.0 IP, BB) combined for the final two frames to complete the shutout. The Chasers continue their season-opening five-game homestand against the Sky Sox on Saturday afternoon, with first pitch at Werner Park set for 2:05 p.m. CT. *** Remember, both games were seven-inning affairs. Game One Box / Log Well, Keon wasn't moping, was he? Brett Phillips tripled and walked. Two doubles for Jacob Nottingham. Veteran newcomer Andres Blanco was 0-for-4 with two GIDP's in his Brewers' debut. SS Mauricio Dubon, who had a bit of a sloppy big league camp, committed his first error, but Junior Guerra then did this: Omaha Bottom of the 2nd Frank Schwindel reaches on a throwing error by shortstop Mauricio Dubon. Tyler Collins walks. Frank Schwindel to 2nd. Logan Moon strikes out swinging. Humberto Arteaga flies out to left fielder Tyrone Taylor. Nick Dini strikes out swinging. Pretty lines for Guerra, Mike Zagurski, and Taylor Williams. For all the moaning about pitching in Colorado Springs, let's remember that the majority of Sky Sox road games are in much more friendly locales -- Omaha, Iowa, Oklahoma City, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans. A possible (likely?) move to Fresno next year won't make the overall PCL experience much more friendly. Down 1-0 after five innings: Col. Springs Top of the 6th Pitching Change: Kevin McCarthy replaces Jonathan Dziedzic. Nate Orf singles on a ground ball to first baseman Ryan O'Hearn. Ji-Man Choi strikes out swinging. With Brett Phillips batting, wild pitch by Kevin McCarthy, Nate Orf to 2nd. Brett Phillips triples (1) on a line drive to center fielder Billy Burns. Nate Orf scores. Jacob Nottingham doubles (2) on a sharp ground ball to shortstop Ramon Torres, deflected by third baseman Hunter Dozier. Brett Phillips scores. Tyrone Taylor called out on strikes. Christian Bethancourt grounds out softly, pitcher Kevin McCarthy to first baseman Ryan O'Hearn. Col. Springs Top of the 7th Pitching Change: Seth Maness replaces Kevin McCarthy. Mauricio Dubon grounds out to first baseman Ryan O'Hearn. Keon Broxton homers (1) on a fly ball to right field. Andres Blanco grounds out, shortstop Ramon Torres to first baseman Ryan O'Hearn. Nate Orf grounds out, third baseman Hunter Dozier to first baseman Ryan O'Hearn. *** Game Two Box / Log Oh my, Freddy Peralta (thank you, Adam Lind!). Nottingham walks and singles as the DH, Phillips walked twice, nice. How they scored -- Col. Springs Top of the 1st Keon Broxton walks. With Kyle Wren batting, wild pitch by Trevor Oaks, Keon Broxton to 2nd. Kyle Wren singles on a line drive to left fielder Logan Moon. Keon Broxton scores. Nate Orf flies out to center fielder Terrance Gore. Ji-Man Choi doubles (1) on a ground ball to right fielder Tyler Collins. Kyle Wren to 3rd. With Brett Phillips batting, wild pitch by Trevor Oaks, Kyle Wren scores. Ji-Man Choi to 3rd. Brett Phillips strikes out swinging. Jacob Nottingham grounds out, second baseman Jack Lopez to first baseman Frank Schwindel. Col. Springs Top of the 3rd Nate Orf flies out to center fielder Terrance Gore. Ji-Man Choi flies out to center fielder Terrance Gore. Brett Phillips walks. Jacob Nottingham singles on a soft fly ball to right fielder Tyler Collins. Brett Phillips to 3rd. Shane Opitz singles on a line drive to left fielder Logan Moon. Brett Phillips scores. Jacob Nottingham to 2nd. Christian Bethancourt singles on a line drive to center fielder Terrance Gore. Shane Opitz out at 3rd on the throw, center fielder Terrance Gore to shortstop Ramon Torres to third baseman Hunter Dozier. Col. Springs Top of the 6th Pitching Change: Josh Staumont replaces Richard Lovelady. Jacob Nottingham walks. Shane Opitz called out on strikes. Christian Bethancourt strikes out swinging. Mauricio Dubon doubles (1) on a fly ball to left fielder Logan Moon. Jacob Nottingham scores. With Keon Broxton batting, Mauricio Dubon steals (1) 3rd base. Keon Broxton strikes out swinging. *** Infielder Gabriel Noriega the lone Sky Sox position player not to see action in the twinbill.

UPDATE: Carolina has been assigned on a full-time basis.

Wishing every single farmhand a healthy and successful season, and wishing you, our readers and posters, an enjoyable minor league campaign. If you have any miscellaneous general thoughts or questions on the Link Report itself, feel free to post them in this linked thread, thanks.

Organizational Scoreboard including starting pitcher info, game times, MiLB TV links, and box scores Sky Sox play two tonight. *** Links for affiliate audio Have great seasons Dan and Erik in Colorado Springs, Garrett as he jumps up from Helena to Biloxi, Greg in Carolina, and Chris in Appleton! *** Media notes, standings, and sortable stat pages *** The entire local TV Timber Rattlers broadcast schedule The first TV game is Wednesday April 18th. *** Must-follows for you on Twitter -- In addition to the affiliate Twitter accounts, please follow: @BrewersFarm @BrewCrewBlue Believe me, the way they supplement any coverage and links we might be able to provide is invaluable.

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/store/dailylinkreport.jpg Welcome back, for 2018! For consolidation (and my own sanity), the opening sequence of each Link Report going forward is going to be cut down significantly. Darn, no more weather reports! (Example from last August of what I had been doing for years). However, all the same info will still be provided in the opening post, just with a cleaner way to maneuver, and much easier for yours truly for the next five and a half months. I will rely on the daily organizational schedule posted by MiLB.com. It is at that link where you get your starting pitchers, game times (keep in mind the time zone listed for each game is the time zone where the game is being played. In the past, I had converted everything to Central Time for you). You will also find your MiLB.TV links (subscription strongly suggested) via that scoreboard page, and of course the box scores and game logs once games are underway. I am aware that the listed starting pitchers on the MiLB.com page can be unreliable (not the pitchers themselves of course, the listings). I will add an extra post if I know from other sources who the "TBD" is, or if a listed pitcher is incorrect. But I will also rely on you, our posters, to update us within the Link Report. You will be providing the update more often than I will, including tonight! Feel free to post any postponement updates as well. Thanks in advance. Once games go final, we hope to still provide you on a daily basis, a post for each game that includes final score and links to the affiliate-provided game summaries. Then, in the early morning hours, where we really earn our generous salaries, look for newspaper and TV news reports and other info that came out while you were sleeping. As always, our hope is you can get your entire overnight fix during breakfast. Thanks as we begin our 18th season of doing this, it has certainly evolved over time. The text above will appear in each Link Report through this Sunday, then will be removed as we all get used to the new lean format.

STANDINGS: AAA - Nashville AA - Biloxi High-A - Wisconsin A - Carolina Sortable individual stat pages: Nashville Biloxi Wisconsin Carolina Sortable league stat pages (hitting / pitching): Nashville Biloxi Wisconsin Carolina

Links for affiliate audio: Nashville Biloxi Wisconsin Carolina

On the "Helena" roster for unknown reason at this time.

POST-GAME WED. 4/4: AUDIO via WSSP 105.7 FM: The full post-game show; hear Adam McCalvy at the 01:08:00 hour/minute mark

VIDEO via WXXV - The return of the Shuckers, interview clips

VIDEO via WRBC: Pitching with a Purpose - Cody Ponce

Brewers prospect Tristen Lutz passed up dream of playing in college by Mike Sherry, Appleton Post-Crescent *** Timber Rattlers prepare for cold, start of new baseball season by Mike Sherry, Appleton Post-Crescent

Carolina players, coaches weigh in on new MiLB rule changes By Patrick Mason, Rocky Mount Telegram

First-year Mudcat Ronnie Gideon no stranger to Zebulon By Samuel Evers, Rocky Mount Telegram Also notes on Nathan Kirby and Marcos Diplan...

Former top prospect Tyrone Taylor looks to recapture form at Triple-A Colorado Springs By Brent Briggeman, Colorado Springs Gazette

PRE-GAME WED. 4/4: AUDIO via Brewers.com: "Lane Grindle looks at the Brewers' 4-1 start along with one-on-one conversations with Chase Anderson and Hernan Perez in the latest version of Brewers on Tap. *** AUDIO via the Bill Michaels Show: National baseball writer Seth Everett *** AUDIO via the Drew Olson Show (You will need to create a free iHeart Radio account to listen): Tom Haudricourt (go to the 57:30 minute mark)

Adam McCalvy provided an update on Mario Feliciano -- Feliciano will be assigned to Carolina in the coming weeks, but he experienced soreness in his throwing shoulder during Spring Training and needed more time in extended camp. He has resumed throwing, farm director Tom Flanagan said.

Via WLOX: Video highlights from the Shuckers Tuesday exhibition game *** VIDEO via WXXV: Includes an Adrian Houser quote Jake Gatewood smashed two home runs, but the camera crews had already headed back to the studio...

Sky Sox open final Triple-A season in Colorado Springs with diverse, loaded roster Brent Briggeman, Colorado Springs Gazette

Quotes and photo gallery via the Post-Crescent Timber Rattlers prepare for cold, start of new baseball season Mike Sherry

VIDEO via WXXV: SHUCKERS READY FOR FOURTH SEASON IN BILOXI

Mudcats' Hiura on the rise after hot spring with Brewers Samuel Evers, Rocky Mount Telegram