Jim Goulart

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Final: Round Rock 6, Colorado Springs 5 Sky Sox Edged 6-5 By Express Round Rock holds on to win close battle over Sky Sox By Aaron Cheris / Colorado Springs Sky Sox http://www.milb.com/assets/images/6/3/8/176214638/cuts/04_18_0294_pk_4ayb3adz_mjz4p5jw.jpg Austin Ross struck out five in three relief innings on Wednesday. (Paat Kelly) *** Orlando Arcia can't quite deliver this time, but the Sky Sox phenom figures to adjust Brent Briggeman, Colorado Springs Gazette It turns out Orlando Arcia isn't quite perfect. Such a thing doesn't exist in baseball. The Sky Sox shortstop struck out to end a 6-5 loss to Round Rock on a picturesque Wednesday afternoon. The tying run was on base and Colorado Springs had already scored one run in the ninth to extend the game and give Arcia another chance at some heroics. Remember, this is the same top prospect who won a game for the Sky Sox on the last homestand with a walk-off three-run home run, then popped a grand slam in a two-run win at Iowa a few days later. This one didn't have the same storybook ending. Arcia couldn't complete a comeback from a 5-2 deficit after Jorge Lopez, another touted prospect, gave up five runs in four innings after he issued five walks. Arcia still finished the day 2 for 5 with an RBI. He experienced a bit of failure in a key situation, but that's not a bad thing. The reason he's in Colorado Springs now instead of Milwaukee is to fail and adjust against pitching that is almost big-league caliber, and that's what he's done throughout the season. "He's learning," Sky Sox manager Rick Sweet said. "He's making adjustments on the fly. He makes them fast. I've been very impressed with the focus of his game. I like him. He's doing a good job." That's probably selling Arcia's performance a bit short. The youngest player in the Pacific Coast League at 21, he's batting .304 with a team-high 17 RBIs. He entered Wednesday hitting .375 with a .625 slugging percentage with runners on base. He also tied a Sky Sox single-game record with three steals in a game in late April and, while he's not showing much patience with five walks, he's not a free swinger. Wednesday's game-ending strikeout was just his 11th in 97 plate appearances. The offense was the question mark for Arcia coming into the season, as his defense was already deemed ready for the majors. So there's nothing to do now but wait and see how much longer he'll be playing in Colorado Springs. Some fantasy baseball sites are calling him the top minor league player to pick up right now, because he figures to hit the ground running when Milwaukee brings him up. "He is a very smart young man, but he's still learning the game," Sweet said. "The nice part about Orlando is you may fool him once, but you're probably not going to fool him again. That's the development that we're going through right now. Is there anything we're specifically focused on? No. Just his overall game getting him ready for what he's going to face up there as a 21-year-old who is still maturing." Part of that maturation process, again, is failing. His last strikeout before the game-ender Wednesday came in his first at-bat Monday night. He was retired on three pitches, looking overmatched in the process. Over the three at-bats that followed he hit screaming line drives, collecting a pair of hits. No player has the gifts to make it in baseball on talent alone. The ability to adjust is just as critical. That, above all, is what Arcia has shown in his month with the Sky Sox. "You might fool him once, but you're not going to continue to fool him with the same stuff, the same pitch," Sweet said. "He'll make the adjustment on you. Then they'll make an adjustment, and he'll make an adjustment again." *** Colorado Springs Box Score RHP Jacob Barnes has been fantastic, following up on the Arizona Fall League stint that netted him a 40-man roster spot... Colorado Springs Game Log *** Did you listen to Tuesday's Link Report Colorado Springs media? Learn quite a bit, particularly with Hitting Coach Bob Skube. Middlebrooks interview worthwhile as well...

Guys, it was #JuniorGuerraDay!

Day 1 of Trip - Met the prolific Kyle Lesniewski of BrewCrewBall and BP Milwaukee, and his two adorable kids. Enjoyed a fantastically entertaining Brewers win with Brewerfan staff friend 1992Casey, who also provided transportation back to the hotel. And the long-overdue meet-and-greet with a very gracious Mr. McCalvy (hard to tell, but that is a Shuckers cap): http://www.brewerfan.net/images/playerpix/caleb_smith.jpg Perhaps most amazingly, saw someone in a Matt Childers jersey, circa 2002. On to today's non-televised matinee, for out-of-towners, I'll be 2nd row behind the Crew's dugout, yee-hah!

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 Wisconsin Media Notes - Linked on the Rattler Radio blog *** STANDINGS: AAA - Pacific Coast League American Northern Division AA - Southern League South Division High-A - Florida State League North Division A - Midwest League Western Division *** Sortable individual stat pages: Colorado Springs Biloxi Brevard County Wisconsin *** Weather.com: Colorado Springs, CO Pensacola, FL Viera, FL South Bend, IN

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

BROADCAST NOTES for this morning and this evening -- Note that all six games on this Timber Rattlers road trip are available on MiLB.TV (opponent's feed, naturally). Also, at AA, Pensacola is among the Southern League teams to broadcast on MiLB.TV.

Wednesday's Daily Menu: All times are Central Colorado Springs: RHP Jorge Lopez at home vs. Round Rock (Rangers), 11:30 AM pre-game, 12:05 PM gametime Free Live Audio Link Dan Karcher, the longtime play-by-play voice of the Sky Sox is on Twitter @SkySoxKarch; joining him 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 Adrian Houser at Pensacola (Reds), 6:10 PM pre-game, 6:30 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. Thaddeus Krzus (@Shucks1stIntern) 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. ********** Brevard County: LHP Kodi Medeiros at home vs. Dunedin (Blue Jays), 5:35 PM gametime Sorry, no audio is available for this series... Unfortunately, the Manatees have dropped their broadcast coverage for 2016. No Florida State League games are available via MiLB.TV. Ten of the 12 Florida State League teams provide audio (some only for home games), we'll do our best to let you know when an opponent's audio is going to be available. ********** Wisconsin: RHP Freddy Peralta at South Bend (Cubs), 9:15 AM pre-game, 9:35 gametime; expect RHP Marcos Diplan to pitch in a tandem role 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. NOTE: Thirty-nine (!) of the Rattlers' 70 home games will be broadcast on local TV this season. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (10) and WACY-TV My NEW32 (29) will split duties. We'll let you know when and who, and remember to refer to the Rattlers' full TV schedule (scroll to bottom of link) so you can coordinate your DVR activity.

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Final: Brevard County 7, Dunedin 2 Brevard County tees off on Dunedin in 7-2 victory Donald Rieber, Jr., Manatees Examiner We saw what you did with that headline, Donald -- clever... *** Brevard County Box Score Elvis was in the house; continued signs of life from Mr. Coulter; rate stats improving across the board for RHP Brandon Woodruff vs. his 2015 Brevard campaign - and that '15 season wasn't bad, loving the newfound K's... Brevard County Game Log

Final: Round Rock 11, Colorado Springs 3 Early Runs Pace Express Past Sky Sox 11-3 Round Rock scored early and often to beat the Sky Sox on Tuesday night By Aaron Cheris / Colorado Springs Sky Sox http://www.milb.com/assets/images/1/3/6/176100136/cuts/04_09_024_pk_x5l1vplx_b0zhyoj9.jpg Taylor Jungmann suffered the loss in his first appearance with the Sky Sox in 2016. (Paat Kelly photo) *** Recently demoted Taylor Jungmann knocked around in return to Sky Sox Brent Briggeman, Colorado Springs Gazette Taylor Jungmann's struggles followed him down to Triple-A. The pitcher, demoted from Milwaukee before Tuesday's start for the Sky Sox, gave up seven runs in four innings as Colorado Springs fell to Round Rock 11-3 in front of 3,691 at Security Service Field. Jungmann gave up nine hits (five for extra bases), walked four and hit two batters. Tuesday's rough outing was a continuation of what the 26-year-old has experienced over his past four starts with the Brewers, as he gave up an average of five runs while pitching more than four innings just once. "Trying to be consistent in the zone, just didn't happen today," Jungmann said. "There were some good pitches to build on. I definitely threw some good breaking balls that I haven't thrown all season, so you have to take the positives from it." With a 9.15 ERA and an 0-4 record, Jungmann hasn't so far replicated last year's strong rookie season that saw him go 9-8 with a 3.77 ERA. The conditions provided no favors Tuesday, as wind blowing out to right field helped at least two balls carry to the wall against him that might otherwise have been caught. "When you come to a place like this it's always a little frustrating," Jungmann said. "But I did it last year. You learn to get through it. Really you just try to forget about things you can't control like the altitude and wind and things like that and just try to throw the ball down in the zone and you won't have a problem with it." Jungmann's control was an issue, as he was out of the strike zone on 48 of his 97 pitches. "He had all of his pitches, he's just not on top of his game," Sky Sox manager Rick Sweet said. "And it's hard to do in the big leagues, it's a lot easier to do down here. I thought he made some good pitches tonight, just not enough of them. He will get back." To struggle at Colorado Springs is also nothing new for Jungmann, as he owns a 6.96 ERA in 63 1/3 innings with the team. Compare that to Jungmann's 4.56 ERA in 140 major league innings and a 3.98 mark in 101 2/3 innings in Triple-A with Nashville in 2014. Round Rock, which has scored 22 runs in winning the first two games of the series, attacked Jungmann with a veteran lineup. Michael McKenry hit a pair of two-run doubles and Ike Davis and Jurickson Profar also notched hits and RBIs. All three have substantial big-league experience. The Sky Sox scored in the first on a leadoff home run from Keon Broxton, but they trailed 4-0 at that point and were never a part of the game. Sweet offered no excuses, but did say Jungmann's struggles haven't impacted his demeanor. "He came down with the right attitude," the Sky Sox manager said. "He's here to work, he's here to get fixed. He knew he was not going to stay up there. One thing you learn in this game and I think we as an organization are going to do is you're not going to be given free rides. You've got to get the job done. If you do you're going to get promoted and you're going to move up." *** Colorado Springs Box Score Weather: 58 degrees, clear. Wind: 12 mph, Out to LF. Getting better, going to be nice for Wednesday's matinee... Colorado Springs Game Log

Brewers Farm Director Tom Flanagan is Overseeing a Replenished Farm System A Q&A with the first year farm director By Kyle Lobner

Betancourt adjusts to new organization, position with Shuckers Patrick Magee, Biloxi Sun-Herald

Betancourt adjusts to new organization, position with Shuckers Patrick Magee, Biloxi Sun-Herald PHOTO GALLERY via Tim Isbell at the link While the newest members of the Biloxi Shuckers roster are all in an adjustment period to some degree, infielder Javier Betancourt is dealing with more changes than most. As a rising prospect at second base, Betancourt was perfectly comfortable in the Detroit Tigers organization a year ago. Fast forward six months later, Betancourt is no longer with the Tigers and he is dealing with a position change after the Milwaukee Brewers acquired him in a November trade that sent veteran closer Francisco Rodriguez to the Tigers. "It was kind of sad," Betancourt said of his initial response to being traded. "It was really nice with the Tigers. They're my family, brothers." While the unexpected change in employer was difficult early on for Betancourt, the always upbeat Venezuelan is enjoying life so far in the Brewers organization. "They treat me like a new member of the family," Betancourt said. "It's been a great experience. I thought it was going to be hard with a new team, but everything is great. I feel happy to be here." Betancourt, who will turn 21 on Sunday, has seen the majority of his playing time at shortstop this season as he continues to adjust to Double-A with the Shuckers. Betancourt has had no issues against Double-A pitching with a .288 batting average and 10 RBIs, but he's still in the adjustment phase at shortstop with a fielding percentage of .878. Orlando Arcia left big shoes to fill at shortstop in Biloxi after he was named the Brewers' minor league player of the year last season while leading the team to the Southern League Championship Series. He batted .307 with eight homers, 37 doubles and 69 RBIs while playing impressive defense. He is now batting .313 at Triple-A Colorado Springs. When Betancourt found out that he would be joining Arcia in the Brewers organization, he reached out to his fellow Venezuelan. "I told him, 'Hey, I'm on your team so you have to take care me.' He said, 'OK,'" Betancourt said. Betancourt has always been at his most comfortable while playing second base so he worked closely with Arcia over the spring to pick up the finer points of the position. "I played a lot of second base with the Tigers," Betancourt said. "I said, 'Hey, Orlando, you have to teach me. You're a great shortstop.' I was practicing with him in spring training. It's great to have him in in the same position, same workout. That was great and he taught me a lot. "I'm still learning because I have to feel comfortable in that position now. I'm pretty good at second. I thought I'd be playing second here, but now I've changed." Betancourt is still adjusting to life on the opposite side of the infield. "I have to be more aggressive," he said. "You have to move your feet a lot. Those are the things I've been working on." Betancourt started the season hot at the plate with his batting average peaking at .340 last week. He credited the quick adjustment to Double-A pitching to some chances to his approach at the plate. "I got new things from my hitting coach so I've been working hard," he said. "My approach, my stance, my hands. I've been changing everything. I want to get better numbers this year. "It works. I just have to keep it up."

Todd Rosiak's Twitter timeline was full of nuggets via Farm Director Tom Flanagan on Tuesday -- Brewers farm director Tom Flanagan had a chance to see Colorado Springs in Iowa. Said Manny Piña, Garin Cecchini looked good. Cecchini has been playing more 1B of late. Also, OF Keon Broxton (.275/.351/.821 OPS) has settled in nicely since his demotion. RHP Jon Perrin is pitching to strengths at Class A Wisconsin. FB/slider/change, holds runners, always on the attack. No BB in 30 IP. C Carlos Leal is seeing doctors this week about troublesome right shoulder. Could need surgery. Hit team-best .309 in 2015 at Wisconsin. Flanagan said RHP Devin Williams threw three strong innings today in extended spring training in PHX. Said Williams is feeling good. Williams had sore shoulder early in spring then was backed off. Now stretching out again. Likely to head to Wisconsin when he’s ready. Gilbert Lara continues to play SS in extended spring. Trent Clark has been impressing with patient approach at the plate. Also driving ball. Another player Flanagan mentioned as impressing in PHX so far is OF Joantgel Segovia, who finished 2015 with cup of coffee at Helena. *** Thanks Todd (and Tom)!

Sky Sox pregame AUDIO interviews -- Monday - Hitting Coach Bob Skube Tuesday - Will Middlebrooks *** VIDEO via Brewers' site: Lane Grindle's report on Orlando Arcia

BOOM! *** Twitter timeline of @BrewerProspect for more Vine videos from the MiLB broadcasts

Flying in to Milwaukee this AM -- Happy Junior Guerra Day, everyone!

Look for these just prior to the respective game times -- Colorado Springs Media Notes - Linked on the Sky Sox 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 - Florida State League North Division A - Midwest League Western Division *** Sortable individual stat pages: Colorado Springs Biloxi Brevard County Wisconsin *** Weather.com: Colorado Springs, CO Viera, FL South Bend, IN

Follow Tuesday's action as it happens with box score / game log links: Colorado Springs Brevard County Wisconsin MiLB.com feature -- organizational scoreboard, Brewers

And yes, he's still about a 1000 times better than you and I...

Catching up from Sunday --

Sorry folks, forgot to check if there was Dunedin audio last night; someone let us know if you find the broadcast this AM, OK?