Jim Goulart

Woodruff on top of his game in Manatees loss to Jupiter Michael Parsons, FLORIDA TODAY http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/49f4789b36fd20c217cfb37ac3ac8954e57c8eb4/c=0-87-2241-3075&r=537&c=0-0-534-712/local/-/media/2015/06/18/Brevard/B9317787913Z.1_20150618224015_000_GL6B4DD8T.1-0.jpg Brevard County starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff went eight innings against Jupiter on Thursday night. (Photo: Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY) The Brevard County Manatees got another big outing from a starting pitcher, but Jupiter matched them pitch for pitch Thursday night in front of 1,906 fans at Space Coast Stadium. Brandon Woodruff tossed a career high eight innings, allowing just one unearned run on seven hits with four strikeouts. “He did a heck of a job, was more efficient with his pitches, just didn’t have the run support tonight,” Manatees coach said. “He did a much better job, was more competitive with his pitches and filled the zone.” Joe Ayrault But he left with the game tied 1-1 heading to the ninth inning. From there it was a battle of bullpens as Jupiter relievers pitched seven shutout innings, allowing three hits and struck out 10. Mark Williams matched them with 3 2/3 innings of work, striking out five. Jupiter’s Harold Riggins crushed a ball 418 feet over the right-center field wall with one out in the 12th. Esmerling De La Rosa picked up the win, striking out two of the three hitters in the 12th. “I said every guy has a good arm over there, all over 95 and are just impressive,” Ayrault said. Taylor Brennan made three outstanding plays at third base to keep the game tied. “I was thinking about what to write in my report, I mean he looked like Brooks Robinson tonight. And (Angel) Ortega played a solid shortstop. Both of them had a heck of a game tonight.” The Manatees will take a break as the All-Star Game is Saturday night. Brevard County will be back in action Monday night when they travel to Lakeland for a four-game series.

Veteran Sky Sox utilityman Pete Orr will be allowed to join his Canadian Pan Am Games teammates this July - details and full Canucks squad listed - LINK

Thursday's Brewers farmhand birthday - Wisconsin's Tucker Neuhaus' own thoughts on his 20th

Nice note from Chris Mehring -- Note on the @TimberRattlers transactions: Leal should be fine for the All-Star game in Peoria next Tuesday.

Via @BrewersPD: Carlos Leal has been placed on the DL with Wisconsin. Natanael Mejia has been activated from the DL. Juan Centeno also to DL w/ Col Springs. Hopefully nothing too serious on the injuries (Rick Sweet indicated Centeno's injury was indeed, minor). This will be the season debut for Mejia, the 5th year pro who struggled in 93 Helena AB's last summer.

You'll find yesterday’s pregame interview with Pitching Coach Chris Hook there...

Filling in for Wren: Handful of Shuckers to step into leadoff role Subero looks to three different players to top lineup By Patrick Magee, Biloxi Sun-Herald PHOTO GALLERY (Amanda McCoy) at link Kyle Wren's recent promotion from the Shuckers to Triple-A Colorado Springs is a nice step in his career, but it provides a dilemma at the top of the order for Biloxi. Wren played a big role in the Shuckers' first-half title Southern League South title with a .300 batting average and 20 stolen bases. Wren was a perfect fit at leadoff and there's no clear replacement to fill his spot as the Shuckers finish out the season's first half in their current series with the Montgomery Biscuits at MGM Park. Josh Fellhauer stepped in well at leadoff the first two games after Wren's promotion. In Wednesday's 6-2 win over the Biscuits, Fellhauer reached base four times in five at-bats with a double and a run scored. However, the former Cal State Fullerton star won't be the only man seeing time at leadoff the rest of the way for the Shuckers. "You lose some speed at the top and a table setter," Shuckers manager Carlos Subero said of Wren's departure. "Hopefully guys that will be there like (Tyrone) Taylor and (Nathan) Orf, especially when we play National League games, hopefully they're able to get on base. "We do lose speed. Kyle not only had speed, but he was aggressive on the bases. We lose a little bit of that. Anytime you lose somebody that's been valuable for the team, it's time for other guys to step in. Not necessarily with that style of play, but hopefully something similar by setting up walks and working counts." The designated hitter is in use this week for the series against the Biscuits, the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. That gives Fellhauer, the team's fourth outfielder, the opportunity to see more chances as the leadoff man for the Shuckers (41-24). While Taylor and Orf provide quality options at leadoff, Fellhauer provides a left-handed bat like Wren and he has a good on-base percentage this season at .405. "Wren was pretty good at it," Fellhauer said. "He's definitely going to have more stolen bases than I am. I pride myself on not swinging at pitches out of the zone and getting on base. Hopefully, I can do the job he did." The best stolen base man remaining on the Shuckers roster is Michael Reed with 19 this season, but his potent bat will keep him in the middle of the lineup. That makes Taylor the fastest option at leadoff with six stolen bases in seven attempts this season. His batting average is fine at .276, but his on base percentage lags behind what you would typically expect out of the leadoff man at .314. Orf is a good athlete who could fit in well in the leadoff role when necessary. He is always a tough out and has a nice on base percentage of .373 with a .273 batting average. Former first-round selection Victor Roache will take over as the primary left fielder for the Shuckers after he was recently promoted from Advanced-A Brevard County, Fla., this week. Roache has good speed for a man who stands 6-foot-2, 223 pounds, but he's a true power hitter who will find a spot in the middle of the Biloxi lineup. He was batting .259 with 10 homers and 36 RBIs when he was promoted to Biloxi. Roache, a former Georgia Southern star, went 1-for-4 in his Double-A debut on Wednesday. "Victor had a good year down there at A ball," Subero said. "He hit some home runs. Double-A is a challenge right now, but he'll make the proper adjustments."

The Timber Rattlers face the Diamondbacks' starter Wei-Chieh Huang tonight. Can't wait until he's on the same minor league level as Wei-Chung Wang.

Opening Night Helena lineup, courtesy of Dustin Opposing pitcher Bo Takahashi, an 18-year-old 2nd-year pro, was born in, wait for it... ...Brazil.

This was an interesting note in the Tyler Cravy feature we linked to earlier this week as well -- By earning a call-up, even though it lasted just two days, Cravy is on the major league medical plan for the rest of the year. I wonder if that's because of his new 40-man status. For instance, does LHP Mike Strong, a 40-man member, get that same benefit even though he has not appeared in the bigs. I'm guessing yes, once you're on the 40-man, much of that big league roster stuff kicks in.

AUDIO: 28th round catcher Mitch Ghelfi of UW-Milwaukee talks to Bill Michaels from Maryvale, where he'll be playing with the rookie Brewers No idea if Michaels was short on time, but the interview is less than three minutes long. Weak. (Not Mitch, Bill...)

Latest on Schwanke: Against expectations, former Wakeland pitcher drafted by Brewers Michael Ramirez, Frisco Enterprise (Plano, TX) http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/starlocalmedia.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/5d/95d04db8-15e7-11e5-990a-afc488049269/55830da24436a.image.jpg?resize=647%2C760 Photo Courtesy of Wichita State Athletics With the 661st pick in the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers selected Frisco Wakeland alum Willie Schwanke, a redshirt junior from Wichita State University. After 22 rounds, the pitcher had his named called by the Brew Crew, who selected Schwanke against all odds. “I had no idea it was going to happen,” Schwanke said, “I put my phone away, but then I kept getting congratulations from people and then the Brewers called.” Going into the night, Schwanke did think he had a small chance of getting drafted because some clubs contacted him the night before. “I honestly had no idea, but I knew that some teams were interested,” Schwanke said. “I was still recovering [from injury], so yeah it was a real possibility.” In contrast to Schwanke’s opinions, his former high school coach Barry Rose thought it wouldn’t take too long for Schwanke’s name to be called. “He was good,” Rose said. “He still had a couple of years left at Wichita, but I still knew he was going to get drafted.” It’s a coach’s dream for one of his players to get drafted and reach the professional level. Ever since high school, Schwanke had shown promise, including a .424 batting average, 23 home runs, 152 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. As a pitcher, he went 28-2 with one save and a phenomenal 1.79 ERA. After playing his freshman season at Arkansas, Schwanke transferred to Grayson College in Texas, and struggled on the field as well as off the field with injuries. “He had a few setbacks with his arm, but he came back strong.” Rose said. Due to injuries, Schwanke hasn’t thrown going back to Wichita State to play one more year out of the door completely. “I was still recovering so yeah it’s a real possibility,” he said. “It’s sort of a redo process because I want to play again at 100 percent with my teammates at Wichita and I feel we could have a pretty good season, but we’ll see what happens.” Even though he is considering going back to Wichita, Kansas, that didn’t take away any of the excitement he and his family had when his name was taken off the draft board. “My dad texted me quickly to congratulate me,” Schwanke said, “so then I called my mom who was at work and she was absolutely stunned.” “It’s crazy,” Rose said. “My reaction was just really happy for Willie.” The transition got a little easier for Schwanke when a catcher in the Brewers system contacted him to say congratulations. “The catcher of their farm system gave me a call, so it’s pretty cool to get to know whom I might be throwing to in the future,” he said. Expectations are high now for Schwanke whether he opts to sign with Milwaukee or not, but Rose is confident in his former player regardless of when he chooses to pursue the pros. “[schwanke] already knows how to play like a professional mentally,” he said. “I think when it’s his time to play [in the majors], he’ll be more than ready.” Schwanke has not signed with the Brewers yet and his decision to go or stay in college has not yet been made. He still has plenty of time because the 2015 draft-signing deadline is July 17.

DVR ALERT! College World Series - Friday afternoon 6/19 ESPN2 2:00 PM Central SB NATION POST: Nathan Kirby to pitch for UVA Friday against Florida I think as great as it would is to be such a high draft pick, I'm bummed for Kirby because for life he can't say he was the Brewers first-round pick or second-round pick, he has to stumble his way of saying he was the "Brewers' Competitive Balance Round 1 Pick". Guess he'll just stick to saying he was the 40th pick overall in the 2015 draft .

DVR ALERT! College World Series - Friday afternoon 6/19 ESPN2 2:00 PM Central SB NATION POST: Nathan Kirby to pitch for UVA Friday against Florida I think as great as it would is to be such a high draft pick, I'm bummed for Kirby because for life he can't say he was the Brewers first-round pick or second-round pick, he has to stumble his way of saying he was the "Brewers' Competitive Balance Round 1 Pick". Guess he'll just stick to saying he was the 40th pick overall in the 2015 draft .

Colorado Springs press release: Fred Dabney Named Pitching Coach For PCL All-Stars The First National Bank 2015 Triple-A All-Star Game will be held at Omaha's Werner Park on July 15 By Nick Dobreff / Colorado Springs Sky Sox

We've been kicking off the 2015 season-long Helena / Maryvale feature and archive thread the past few days. If you haven't checked out the discussion there yet, here you go.

OK, it's a 17 seed vs. a 1 seed tonight, but with Brewerfan's help (and if nobody from Billings and their new ballpark finds out), we can help Helena's Kindrick Field win this matchup (vote by 9:00 PM Central Friday night, so just vote now, only one vote per IP address allowed). VOTE! THANKS!

EXAMINER ARTICLE: Photo, more quotes and details on Javi Salas' awesome complete game performance in his matchup with Jose Fernandez last night

Biloxi's Taylor Green slugs a three-run homer as the Shuckers beat Montgomery, 6-2, on Wednesday

Look for these just prior to the respective game times -- Colorado Springs Media Notes - Home games only, it's a unique link each day, but look for it under the "Multimedia" banner on the Sky Sox' site. Biloxi Media Notes - Linked on the Shuck Dynasty blog Brevard County Media Notes - It's a unique link each day, but look for it under the "Multimedia" banner on the Manatees' site. 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 Biloxi, MS Viera, FL Geneva, IL Helena, MT San Pedro de Macoris, DR

To see tweets as to when the Link Report has been technically "completed" with available links, as well as to know when the new day's Report has been posted, please follow @Mass_Haas on Twitter.

Let the knashing of teeth subside (ncluding mine) -- LHP Wei-Chung Wang cleared waivers and was outrighted to Brevard County.

Let the knashing of teeth subside (ncluding mine) -- LHP Wei-Chung Wang cleared waivers and was outrighted to Brevard County.

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

Thursday's Daily Menu: All times are Central Colorado Springs: RHP Tyler Cravy at home vs. New Orleans (Marlins), 7:35 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link We welcome Dan Karcher, who is the longtime play-by-play voice of the Sky Sox; follow him on Twitter @SkySoxKarch 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: LHP Hobbs Johnson at home vs. Montgomery (Rays), 6:55 PM pre-game, 7:10 gametime Free Live Audio Link We also welcome Chris Harris as the very first play-by-play voice of the Shuckers! Follow Chris on Twitter @CHarris731. We'll be looking off to his very promising "Shuck Dynasty" blog. 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: RHP Brandon Woodruff at home vs. Jupiter (Marlins), 5:05 PM pre-game, 5:35 gametime Free Live Audio Link Dave Walkovic returns as the play-by-play voice of the 'Tees; follow the Brevard broadcast booth staff on Twitter @BCManateesRadio, as all home games and the "commuter" road games are scheduled to be broadcast in 2015. No Florida State League games are available via MiLB.TV. ********** Wisconsin: LHP Zach Hirsch at Kane County (Diamondbacks), 6:10 PM pre-game, 6:30 gametime Free Live Audio Link - WNAM 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. NOTE: Forty-two (!) of the Rattlers' 70 home games will be broadcast on TV this season. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (9) and WACY-TV My NEW32 (34) 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. So, for the $49.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sky Sox games, most Shuckers games, and all Timber Rattlers home games and some road games. NOTE: Kane County does provide MiLB TV, you'd be hearing the Cougars' audio feed as well *** Helena: RHP Jordan Yamamoto at home vs. Missoula (Diamondbacks), 7:45 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link We welcome back and again look forward to hearing second-year Voice of the H-Crew Dustin Daniel (@dustin__daniel on Twitter). MiLB.TV -- When the H-Crew makes their way to Grand Junction and Orem in July, and Idaho Falls in August, those games will be available to watch online. *** Maryvale Rookie: Season begins Saturday June 20th at the Cubs' complex *** DSL Brewers: at home vs. the DSL Mets #2 squad, 9:30 AM, although 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.