Jim Goulart

For those that visit the Link report via Twitter link only, catch up with these stories that were posted to other threads on this Minor League Forum in the past 24 hours: Brewers prospect Jacob Nottingham 'growing up' on the diamond in Biloxi Patrick Ochs, Biloxi Sun-Herald *** 2080baseball.com report Detailed scouting profile of catcher Mario Feliciano found within. *** VIDEO Report with Biloxi Pitching Coach Chris Hook *** One of pro baseball's shortest hitters, Helena Brewers' Jose Gomez has knack for going deep Erik C. Anderson, Helena Independent Record

Darn, wish we knew who is shorter than 5'3" in MiLB. I'll shoot a line to Erick. One of pro baseball's shortest hitters, Helena Brewers' Jose Gomez has knack for going deep Erik C. Anderson, Helena Independent Record The Helena Brewers' Jose Gomez makes contact during a game earlier this month against the Billings Mustangs at Kindrick Legion Stadium. (Troy Shockley photo) He’s the second shortest player in minor league baseball, but he’s come up the biggest for the Helena Brewers this season. Outfielder Jose Gomez, all 5-foot-3 of him, has a knack for the deep ball, and it’s paid dividends for the Brewers this season. Tied three ways for the club lead, Gomez has four home runs this season, all of which came in a three-game span. The Brewers have known Gomez can hit. The 23-year old from Pinar Del Rio, Cuba, drew raves from fans and people around the organization before he ever played a game for Helena. Gomez showed early on the walls at Kindrick Legion Field wouldn’t contain his stroke. Once the season began, however, Gomez had some trouble. “I was coming into the game struggling a little bit,” Gomez said, a hint of his Cuban accent underscoring his strong English. “I wasn’t hitting when I wanted to be hitting.” Early on this season, Gomez was batting .115, recording three hits. He looked to be an easy out for opposing pitchers. Part of that could have been a residual effect from his teammate, Harold Chirino. The Brewers played an exhibition game against the Helena Senators prior to Opening Day. The game, by and large, was a fun, light-hearted atmosphere for both clubs. Each team pitched to their own hitters. The Brewers got a chance to get acclimated and take a tougher batting practice. The Senators had a chance to share the field with professionals. Chirino couldn’t find his control during Gomez’s at-bat, and dealt a ball off the side of Gomez’s head. “I was like, 'It’s not a good start, man,'” Gomez said. “You don’t want to get hit in the head. I was a little pissed off. We spent five days (prior to that) without doing anything. I was taking those at-bats really serious to get ready for the season. But whatever. Everything happens for a reason. Maybe something worse could have happened.” Those early season batting woes subsided when the Brewers took a trip to Missoula. Gomez broke out. Against the Osprey on July 1, Gomez blasted a grand slam and a home run as the Brewers rolled to an 11-1 victory. The grand slam came in the seventh inning at Ogren Park. Gomez had a good idea how deep the left-center field wall laid. Gomez had hit a one-run shot over the left wall, which down the left-field line measures 309 feet. His grand slam split the difference between left and center field, which is 398 feet deep. Gomez remembers his 2-1 count. “Our hitting coach is always talking about finding your pitch, and those counts you get the pitch the you want and the pitch you’re looking for. I had a good approach that day and I was just looking for that one pitch.” Jeff Bain took the mound for the Osprey in the seventh inning, and he hurled a 2-1 fastball right down the middle for Gomez. Gomez sent it back over his head, and over the wall. “I put a good short swing on the ball and it went pretty far,” Gomez said. One night later, Gomez blasted another grand slam against Missoula. The night after that, another home run. The Brewers returned back to Helena. Fans expected to see Gomez jack more bombs. A few nights later, he almost did. The Brewers and Billings Mustangs played deep into a 13-inning game. Gomez, at the game’s start, served as the first base coach, a spot he prefers to work when he’s not in the lineup. Sitting in the dugout doesn’t keep him engaged enough, Gomez said. He feels like he’s a part of the game when he’s coaching first. He entered late in the contest, and then, in the bottom of the 13th with bases loaded, Gomez took the plate. He swears he didn’t know he had bases loaded. Most of the time Gomez goes to bat, he doesn’t check the bases beyond third base, a subtle reminder that he needs to bring a run in, and a pressure alleviating exercise, so he doesn’t lose the mental battle in the box. “The last two times I hit the grand slams I come into the dugout and I ask there were bases loaded?” he said. Gomez took two balls and ate a strike, before nearly sending the Kindrick Legion faithful into a frenzy, blasting a foul ball that threatened to become grand slam No. 3. “I thought when I hit the first foul, 'Crap, that might have went!'” he said with a laugh. Two pitches later, Gomez singled to right field, walking off with a win. Now with 18 games and 68 at-bats under his belt, Gomez sits at a .206 average, still below where he would like. Though he hasn’t homered since those games in Missoula, he’s still a threat any time he steps into the box. Clearly, size doesn’t matter.

VIDEO from the Biloxi road game: Unfortunately, they're the lowlights *** Details on a dominating Maryvale win later this morning. No minor league matinees on Thursday, we'll leave that to the big league Crew. Also, all the stateside affiliates jump back into action Thursday evening.

Soroka, Ortiz dominant in Double-A duel M-Braves starter fans 12 as opponent hurls six one-hit innings By Josh Jackson / MiLB.com The MiLB.com feature includes a focus on both starting pitchers. The Braves' teenager is special, so learn about him, and here's the text on Luis Ortiz' night -- *** Working quickly, Mike Soroka established a career high with 12 strikeouts over seven innings Wednesday in Double-A Mississippi's 3-2 win over Biloxi. While he allowed two runs on two hits, fourth-ranked Brewers prospect Luis Ortiz yielded one hit over six scoreless frames, fanning six, for the Shuckers. "He had really good command of his fastball and his [slider]," Soroka said of Ortiz. "His breaking ball looked exactly like his fastball -- it spun the same, he didn't pull it, he didn't yank it. He was doing that to our hitters the entire night. He did a very good job. It was easy see why he is [a top prospect]." Ortiz, the No. 51 overall prospect, was working on his finest outing since missing much of June with an undisclosed injury. He's 3-5 with a 3.79 ERA in 16 starts. "Anytime you miss [starts], people think you're going to get right back on the horse and it's going to be easy," Biloxi Pitching Coach Chris Hook said. "I think tonight he was the guy we've seen him be most of the year, a guy who's comfortable attacking hitters. That's really who he is. "He's shown bits and pieces of that over the last five outings, but he hadn't put it all together. You could see it was there, and now he's just got to maintain it." No. 12 Braves prospect Austin Riley poked a two-out single through the left side in the fourth for the only hit against Ortiz. "I think his fastball command was the No. 1 thing. He did an excellent job throwing the baseball at the bottom of the strike zone, and his slider was really good," said Hook, a former big leaguer. "The four pitches that he threw, he threw aggressively. He had an aggressive mind-set and that was key tonight." After six, the California native had thrown 64 of 79 pitches for strikes. "Luis, he wants to pitch the whole game. He never wants to come out," Hook said. "You have to pull the ball away from him, and that's what we had to do tonight. I thought it was a nice, solid outing for him. You can't do much more than what he did." *** Plus, we get this full at-bat video with the Mississippi broadcaster on the call (take note of the pitch clock from the side view as well, Ortiz worked at a quick pace, but the clock doesn't always seem to be in countdown mode):

Final: Colorado Springs 8, Omaha 4, 12 innings Extra-Inning Deja Vu Lifts Sox To 8-4 Win Susac drives in four in second straight 12-inning win By Robby Veronesi / Colorado Springs Sky Sox Read about the Kirk Nieuwenhuis (congrats, new dad!), Yadiel Rivera, and Andrew Susac home runs, the latter of which tied the game in the 9th, and I was fortunate enough to see live on MiLB.TV. Also read how rehabbing Brandon Woodruff fared. The Omaha roster lists 12 pitchers, but they were left short-handed another game, so the winning Sky Sox rally was once again against veteran catcher Brayan Pena. *** Colorado Springs Box Score Eight and one-third innings of one-run relief from a crew of five Sky Sox hurlers, sweet. Contributions from all, except leadoff LF Kyle Wren, who had an uncharacteristic ugly line, as you'll see... Colorado Springs Game Log *** BONUS AUDIO: Via the Sky Sox Tuesday pre-game, a chat about the climb minor league umpires must make

Final: South Bend 4, Wisconsin 3 Cubs score two in eighth to beat Rattlers 4-3 South Bend Squeaks by Wisconsin By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Everything to come in this post will be put in much better context if you first read the summary above. Also, you'll learn about a successful Wisconsin "hidden ball trick" that is not captured in any of the video linked below. *** *** AUDIO via the Rattler Radio Soundcloud: "The Timber Rattlers dropped the first game of this homestand with a 4–3 loss to the South Bend Cubs on Wednesday. The Postgame Podcast has comments from Zack Brown, Weston Wilson, Keston Hiura, and Matt Erickson. *** VIDEO via NBC26: "Keston Hiura and Eric Sogard make their Timber Rattlers debut" *** VIDEO via WBAY: "Hiura, Sogard Make T-Rats Debuts" *** Wisconsin Box Score Wisconsin outfielders batting 7-8-9, Monte Harrison of course long since up in Carolina... Wisconsin Game Log Maybe it was a technical issue, but the final run of the game wasn't included in the full video package from the Rattlers. Not a slight on the production crew, what a magnificent job they do every home game, for which we're much appreciative. South Bend Top of the 8th Isaac Paredes doubles (23) on a line drive to left fielder Joantgel Segovia. Pitching Change: Daniel Brown replaces Andrew Vernon. D. J. Wilson singles on a bunt ground ball to pitcher Daniel Brown. Isaac Paredes to 3rd. D. Wilson out at 2nd, first baseman Weston Wilson. Chris Pieters singles on a ground ball to right fielder Carlos Belonis. Isaac Paredes scores. Tyler Payne pops out to catcher Mario Feliciano in foul territory. Luis Ayala singles on a line drive to center fielder Ryan Aguilar. Chris Pieters to 2nd. With Andruw Monasterio batting, Chris Pieters steals (8) 3rd base, Chris Pieters scores. Luis Ayala steals (16) 2nd base. Luis Ayala advances to 3rd. Throwing error by catcher Mario Feliciano. Andruw Monasterio strikes out swinging.

Via Wisconsin's Media Notes -- Gilbert Lara has been transferred to Helena. *** This time it's not the paper roster, either.

Via the Sky Sox -- The Colorado Springs Sky Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers have announced that RHP Brandon Woodruff has been transferred from Rookie Arizona to Colorado Springs on a Major League rehab assignment. OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis has been reinstated from the temporary inactive list. In moves, INF’s Gabriel Noriega (noted above) and Tyler Bortnick have been transferred from Colorado Springs to Double-A Biloxi and RHP Tim Dillard has been placed on the disabled list retroactive to July 18. Roster at 25.

Biloxi Press Release -- Noriega returns to Biloxi, Choice placed on the temporary inactive list Michael Choice hit five home runs over an eight-game stretch for the Shuckers *** Choice confirms he's going to Korea.

From May 4th -- Brewers prospect Bickford has hand surgery By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com

Slew of birthdays today: Tim Dillard - 34 Mauricio Dubon - 23 Travis Hissong - 26 Fidel Pena - 26

Timber Rattler DVR Alert THURS. 7/20 vs. South Bend (Cubs), 7:00 PM Spectrum Sports are available on channel 32 and in HD on channel 1332 in Eastern Wisconsin Conveniently, the big league Brewers are idle on this evening, as they play a matinee.

Look for these just prior to the respective game times -- Colorado Springs Media Notes - Linked on the Sky Sox official blog Biloxi Media Notes - Linked on the Shuck Dynasty blog Carolina Media Notes - Linked on the Mudcats official blog Wisconsin Media Notes - Linked on the Rattler Radio blog *** STANDINGS: AAA - Pacific Coast League American Northern Division AA - Southern League South Division High-A - Carolina League Southern Division A - Midwest League Western Division Pioneer League North Division Arizona League Central Division Dominican Summer League San Pedro Division Dominican Summer League North Division NOTE: Divisional standings for the two DSL teams point to the same shared page link. NOTE #2: The Standings Links above will reflect second-half standings for Biloxi, Carolina, and Wisconsin. You can easily then click on "Overall Standings" once you've reached the initial link. *** Sortable individual stat pages: Colorado Springs Biloxi Carolina Wisconsin Helena Maryvale DSL Brewers DSL Brewers/Indians *** Weather.com: Omaha, NE Pearl, MS Grand Chute, WI Maryvale, AZ Santo Domingo, DR

Follow Wednesday's action as it happens with box score / game log links: Colorado Springs Biloxi Wisconsin Maryvale DSL Brewers DSL Brewers/Indians MiLB.com feature -- organizational scoreboard, Brewers

Wednesday's Daily Menu: All times are Central Colorado Springs: TBD at Omaha (Royals), 6:35 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link Dan Karcher, the longtime play-by-play voice of the Sky Sox is on Twitter @SkySoxKarch; joining him again this season is Dan Acheson (@Dan_Acheson) MiLB.TV -- for subscribers; all Colorado Springs games, home and away, will be available to watch via MiLB.TV's $49.99 season-long package ($12.99 to pay for a single month). The audio feed is from the home team. The video of each game is archived online, which is a nice feature. All MiLB.TV details available at the link. NOTE: Notice that on MiLB.TV's page, you can click on "Filter", then "Milwaukee Brewers", and you'll see just the Crew's organizational TV lineup. ********** Biloxi: RHP Luis Ortiz at Mississippi (Braves), 6:40 PM pre-game, 7:00 gametime Free Live Audio Link Chris Harris is the play-by-play voice of the Shuckers. Follow Chris on Twitter @CHarris731. We'll be linking to his fantastic "Shuck Dynasty" blog. Erik Bremer (@Erik_Bremer) joins Chris often. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be radio broadcast. MiLB.TV - Eight of the ten Southern League teams telecast their home games, and Biloxi is among them. Only games in Chattanooga and Mobile won't be available. ********** Carolina: Idle ********** Wisconsin: RHP Zack Brown at home vs. South Bend (Cubs), 6:45 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link 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 - Eight of the 16 Midwest League teams telecast their home games, and Wisconsin, once again, is among them. We'll let you know when a road TV feed is available. In 2017, fifteen games will be broadcast on Spectrum Sports in Wisconsin, available on channel 32 and in HD on channel 1332. We'll keep you posted with our "DVR Alerts" days in advance. *** Helena: Idle *** Maryvale: at home vs. the Padres' youngsters, 9:00 PM gametime; never audio for games in this league *** DSL Brewers: at the DSL Rangers' #2 Squad, 9:30 AM DSL Brewers/Indians: at home vs. the DSL Rangers' #1, 9:30 AM For each DSL contest, game data won't be available until later in the day We'll link to this Dominican Summer League Brewers' thread as part of the Daily Menu all season to assist you with your familiarity with these young men. You can also use that link to differentiate between Brewer and Indians' prospects on the co-op team.

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

AUDIO via ESPN Milwaukee's "Homer and Gabe" Tue. 7/18: "Fox Sports Wisconsin's Sophia Minnaert joins Homer and Gabe to discuss all things Brewers." *** AUDIO via WTMJ Wed. AM 7/19: Jeff Levering *** AUDIO via Brewers.com Wed. 7/19: Latest episode of Lane Grindle's "Brewers on Tap" listens in on the 1982 reunion and chats with Brett Phillips and Manny Pina *** AUDIO via WSSP 105.7 FM's Morning Show Wed. 7/19: Sports Illustrated's Jonah Keri talks Brewers

These two links weren't working Tuesday as the site had some sort of issue, these should work for you now.

VIDEO Report with Biloxi Pitching Coach Chris Hook

2080baseball.com report Detailed scouting profile of catcher Mario Feliciano found within.

Brewers prospect Jacob Nottingham 'growing up' on the diamond in Biloxi Patrick Ochs, Biloxi Sun-Herald

Final: Ogden 17, Helena 8 Brewers End Road Trip On Sour Note Raptors bat around twice as Brewers fall By Garrett Greene / Helena Brewers Yes, do read the above for details on the H-Crew's eight runs scored... *** Helena Box Score Actually, three of the seven Brewer pitchers fared well, especially recently-turned 21-year-old 24th round RHP Robbie Hitt, who stranded two inherited runners, and then tossed two more scoreless, walking none and fanning three. Helena Game Log If you're into analyzing a five-run 1st and a ten-run 4th for the bad guys, then you'll find it here.

VIDEO TWEET via @BrewerProspect: Mudcats' RHP Jordan Yamamoto K montage *** VIDEO TWEET via @BrewerProspect: Doubles by SkySox' Lewis Brinson/Mauricio Dubon *** Another look at Dubon's --

Final: Omaha 9, Colorado Springs 7 Late-Inning Rally Falls Short In 9-7 Loss Sox send 11 men to the plate in six-run seventh inning By Robby Veronesi / Colorado Springs Sky Sox Relatively brief, so we'll old school it with a copy-and-paste: The Sky Sox offense came alive after the sixth inning for the second straight game, but the Omaha Storm Chasers hung on for a 9-7 win in front of 4,772 at Werner Park Tuesday afternoon. Down 7-0 entering the seventh inning, Colorado Springs (58-35) used a six-run, two-out rally to pull within a run. The Sox drew four walks off reliever Christian Binford, with Tyler Bortnick driving in Lewis Brinson on the final walk. Gabriel Noriega followed one batter later with a two-run single up the middle to score Nick Noonan and Tyler Heineman. Kyle Wren grounded the second consecutive RBI single up the middle to score Bortnick, and Mauricio Dubon drove in Noriega and Wren on a two-run double into the left field corner to complete the inning's offense. In all, the Sky Sox sent 11 batters to the plate and batted around in an inning for the second straight game after sending 10 men to the plate in the 12th inning Monday night. After the hosts plated an eighth run in the bottom of the seventh, the Sky Sox cut the deficit to a single run with one in the top of the eighth. After Nate Orf led off the inning with a double down the left field line, Noonan grounded a single past the diving Dean Anna at second base for the third baseman's first hit of the afternoon. *** Colorado Springs Box Score Chris Colabello 0-for-4 with a walk in his Sky Sox maiden voyage; this box score lineup isn't very recognizable compared to early this season, nothing unusual in that. If you check his most recent ten-game log, while several outings have been positive, RHP Angel Ventura hasn't been totally immune from a tough one like today's. Colorado Springs Game Log Wily Peralta threw 21 pitches, 10 strikes -- Omaha Bottom of the 7th Pitching Change: Wily Peralta replaces Tom Wilhelmsen. Dean Anna walks. Cheslor Cuthbert grounds out, shortstop Mauricio Dubon to first baseman Chris Colabello. Dean Anna to 2nd. Ryan O'Hearn reaches on a fielding error by shortstop Mauricio Dubon. Dean Anna scores. Frank Schwindel grounds into a double play, third baseman Gabriel Noriega to second baseman Tyler Bortnick to first baseman Chris Colabello. Ryan O'Hearn out at 2nd. And a AAA Sky Sox debut -- Omaha Bottom of the 8th Pitching Change: Jeanmar Gomez replaces Wily Peralta. Logan Moon walks. With Garin Cecchini batting, Logan Moon steals (1) 2nd base. Garin Cecchini grounds out, second baseman Tyler Bortnick to first baseman Chris Colabello. Logan Moon to 3rd. Brayan Pena singles on a ground ball to center fielder Lewis Brinson. Logan Moon scores. Jack Lopez out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Jeanmar Gomez to first baseman Chris Colabello. Brayan Pena to 2nd. Ruben Sosa grounds out, shortstop Mauricio Dubon to first baseman Chris Colabello.

AUDIO via the Drew Olson Show Tue. 7/18 (You will need to create a free iHeart Radio account to listen): Bill Schroeder (go to the 29:25 minute mark)