And That

Final: AZL Indians1 7, AZL Brewers 3 AZL Brewers Box Score The Baby Brewers drop their first game of 2018 due to pitching struggles from the returning Carlos Luna (2.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1K) and the stateside debut of bonus baby Brayan Salaya (0.2 IPS, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 K). We'll give Luna a pass though, as it was his first in-game action since 8/8/15. Outside of those two, Jorge Ortega made his 2018 debut, as last we saw him was last fall in the AFL, and pitched 2 scoreless. There was another stateside debut on the pitching in front in the form of Jesus Brea, who finally made it to Arizona after 4 years in the DSL. He pitched 2 scoreless as well. Finally, recent NDFA signees Tyler Tungate and Mitch McIntyre both made successful pro debuts. The offense had its own struggles, too. They managed 6 hits but had 2 walks against 15 strikeouts. There were three pro debuts: -The Brewers' third pick made his pro debut: Micah Bello lead off, played CF, and got two singles and a stolen base. He was also picked off once. -Offseason international signee/native Bahamanian SS Orveo Saint also made his pro debut - he got a single, walked, and was picked off twice. -Recent NDFA Connor McVey played third base and got on base once, via walk. There were four stateside debuts: -2B Edwin Sano played two years in the DSL and made his Arizona debut count with a double and a triple. -DH (and INF/personal favorite) Aaron Familia and C Luis Avalo also played in the DSL for the last two years; neither earned their way on base. -RF Anderson Melendez played last year in the DSL. He did not make it on base. Final note: I'll check it out in a few days, but I do believe there's a possibility that the AZL team is actually older as a group than the Helena team. Which is odd. AZL Brewers Game Log The only runs, though it was short-circuited by two pickoffs: AZL Brewers Bottom of the 5th Orveo Saint walks. With Connor McVey batting, Yeffersson Yannuzzi picks off Orveo Saint at 1st on throw to Michael Cooper. Connor McVey walks. With Aaron Familia batting, throwing error by Yeffersson Yannuzzi on the pickoff attempt, Connor McVey to 2nd. Aaron Familia strikes out swinging. Passed ball by catcher Bryan Lavastida. Connor McVey to 3rd. Aaron Familia to 1st. Anderson Melendez called out on strikes. Pitching Change: Hector Figueroa replaces Yeffersson Yannuzzi. Edwin Sano triples (1) on a line drive to left fielder Ronny Dominguez. Connor McVey scores. Aaron Familia scores. Micah Bello singles on a ground ball to second baseman Richard Palacios. Edwin Sano scores. Nic Pierre singles on a line drive to right fielder Johnathan Rodriguez. Micah Bello to 2nd. With Ernesto Martinez batting, Hector Figueroa picks off Micah Bello at 2nd on throw to Marcos Gonzalez.

Helena rained out at Great Falls.

C Mitch Ghelfi and 1B Ronnie Gideon have been released from the Biloxi and Carolina rosters, respectively.

Brewers 60-day DL assignments on the AZL roster, which again is for guys that most likely won’t play this year: LHP Luis Cordero RHP Yosmer Leal RHP Matt Smith RHP Andrew Vernon Yosmer Leal has not pitched since 2014 (!). Additionally, INF Luis Manon, who played in the DSL last season, has been placed on the AZL's 7-day DL.

C Johan Mojica, signed as a UDFA last year, has been transferred from the AZL roster to Biloxi's and placed on the 7-day DL. Mojica has been Biloxi's bullpen catcher for a while now so this was expected. He got only 4 ABs into his pro career before breaking his hamate bone last July.

Final Game Two: Helena 9, Great Falls 1 Seven Run Inning Vaults Helena To Double Header Sweep Brewers Send 12 To Plate In Game Deciding Frame By Greg Mroz / Helena Brewers HELENA, MT - Tied at one going into the bottom of the third inning in game two of the Helena Brewers' double header against the Great Falls Voyagers, the Brew Crew brought out the big bats to put the game away. Helena sent 12 men to the plate and scored seven runs en route to a 9-1 victory over Great Falls and a double header sweep. Starter Wilfred Salaman (W, 1-0) picked up the victory, going six strong innings and allowing just one run on five hits. The Puerto Rican lefty walked only one and struck out seven in the winning effort. Great Falls started the game with a blast of their own, as Ramon Beltre belted a solo homer against Salaman with one out in the first to give the Voyagers the early lead. Yeison Coca came back in the bottom of the first and launched a solo shot against Spencer Moran, tying the game at one. The game remained tied until the third, when the Brewers made their mark. Jesus Lujano started the inning with a single, and got to third on a successfully executed hit and run by Coca. Antonio Pinero followed with a suicide squeeze play, scoring Lujano and giving Helena the lead. Chad McClanahan then followed with an RBI double that scored Coca, and an error from Beltre at third base on a Nick Egnatuk ground ball brought McClanahan home to make it 4-1 Brewers. David Fry then knocked home a run with a double, and the Brewers then loaded the bases after an LG Castillo single and a walk from Robie Rojas. Pablo Abreu popped out for the second out, but Lujano smoked a ball in the left center field game scoring two to extend the lead to 7-1 and ending the day for Moran. Coca plated the seventh run of the inning with a single, and Helena added another run in the fourth on a Rojas single, giving them their ninth run of the game. Salaman allowed just one runner to reach past second base after the first inning, and never faced more than four batters in an inning from the second inning on. J.T. Hintzen entered for the seventh, retiring the side in order in his first professional appearance. The Brewers return to action tomorrow as they head back to Great Falls to complete the final game of this split four game series. Victor Castaneda takes the ball for Helena, while the Voyagers tab former Coastal Carolina right hander Jason Bilous. First pitch is at 7:00 PM, with the pregame show airing at 6:45 on helenabrewers.net & the TuneIn App. *** Photo gallery and additional game story from 406 MT Sports. *** Helena Box Score A fantastic outing from Wilfred Salaman, the 20-year-old Puerto Rican lefty. The game also saw successful pro debuts from 7th rounder David Fry (drafted as a catcher, playing DH) and 10th round RHP J.T. Hintzen. Offensively, the Brewers got multihit efforts from Yeison Coca, Chad McClanahan, LG Castillo, and Jesus Lujano. Through 3 games, the young group has a .337 team BA and a 939 team OPS - good for 2nd and 1st in the Pioneer league respectively. Helena Game Log Seven run third: Helena Bottom of the 3rd Jesus Lujano singles on a line drive to center fielder Ian Dawkins. Yeison Coca singles on a line drive to center fielder Ian Dawkins. Jesus Lujano to 3rd. Antonio Pinero out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Spencer Moran to first baseman Amado Nunez. Jesus Lujano scores. Yeison Coca to 2nd. With Chad McClanahan batting, Yeison Coca steals (2) 3rd base. Chad McClanahan doubles (1) on a fly ball to right fielder Alex Destino. Yeison Coca scores. Nick Egnatuk reaches on a fielding error by third baseman Ramon Beltre. Chad McClanahan scores. David Fry doubles (1) on a line drive to left fielder Logan Sowers. Nick Egnatuk scores. Leugim Castillo singles on a ground ball to shortstop Lenyn Sosa. Robie Rojas walks. David Fry to 3rd. Leugim Castillo to 2nd. Pablo Abreu pops out to first baseman Amado Nunez on the infield fly rule. Jesus Lujano doubles (1) on a line drive to left fielder Logan Sowers. David Fry scores. Leugim Castillo scores. Robie Rojas to 3rd. Pitching Change: Lane Ramsey replaces Spencer Moran. Yeison Coca singles on a line drive to left fielder Logan Sowers. Robie Rojas scores. Jesus Lujano to 3rd. Antonio Pinero flies out to right fielder Alex Destino.

Final Game One: Helena 9, Great Falls 8 (8 innings) Sibrian's Blast Walks Brewers Off In First Of Twin Bill Brewers Rally Down Three In Extras By Greg Mroz / Helena Brewers HELENA, MT - Down three runs in the eighth inning of a scheduled seven inning game, the Helena Brewers rallied for four runs to win the first game of a scheduled double header 9-8 against the Great Falls Voyagers. Jean Carmona blasted a three run home run to tie the game, and two batters later Jose Sibrian uncorked a laser beam to left center to give Helena its first win of the season in walk off fashion. Great Falls raced out to a four run lead after their first two turns at the plate, but the Brewers struck for two in the second and two in the third to tie the game at four. Pablo Abreu had a sacrifice fly in the second, and Nick Egnatuk's two out two run home run tied the game. Starter Justin Bullock last just two innings, but Jenri Montas came on in relief and pitched three scoreless frames. Montas was in line for the win after the fifth, as Chad McClanahan's two out RBI single brought home the go ahead run, staking Helena to a 5-4 lead. The lead was short lived, as with two on and two out in the top of the sixth, Jimmy Galusky singled against Kody Rock to bring home a run and tie the game. Neither team scored in the seventh inning, and thus the game went to extra innings. New to Minor League Baseball in 2018 is the extra inning tie breaker rule, in which a runner starts each half inning at second base. Lenyn Sosa put a bunt down to move Nunez, the placed runner, to third. He beat the throw to first, and after a pop out, Gunnar Troutwine singled home Nunez, ending the day for Rock. Austin Rubick (W,1-0) entered for Helena, getting a pop out, but then walked Galusky to load the bases for Friday night's hero Ian Dawkins, who singled home two, to make it 8-5 Voyagers. Drew Weston (L, 0-1) came on to lock down the save, but walked leadoff hitter Chad McClanahan to out the tying run at the plate. Carmona stepped in with one out, and with one swing sent a moonshot down the left field line for his first home run of the season, knotting the game at eight. Two batters later, Sibrian unloaded on an inside pitch for his first Pioneer League homer, giving the Brewers their first victory of the season. *** Helena Box Score The league's youngest offense (by far) came back from deficits of 4 early and 3 late to walk off in an exciting home opener. Chad McClanahan was on base 4 times and the offense was aided by 3 long balls, 1 each from Nick Egnatuk, Jean Carmona, and Jose Sibrian. Carmona and Sibrian's home runs were the catalyst behind the deciding rally in the bottom of the 8th (the game was scheduled for 7 innings) as you'll see below. If you want to familiarize yourself, in the picture above that's Yeison Coca, Antonio Pinero, Chad McClanahan, Nick Egnatuk, and Jean Carmona giving fistbumps and Jesus Lujano receiving fist bumps. Helena Game Log Two bombs to win: Helena Bottom of the 8th Pitching Change: Drew Weston replaces Wyatt Burns. Antonio Pinero starts inning at 2nd base. Chad McClanahan walks. Nick Egnatuk strikes out swinging. Jean Carmona homers (1) on a fly ball to left field. Antonio Pinero scores. Chad McClanahan scores. Leugim Castillo grounds out, third baseman Lenyn Sosa to first baseman Amado Nunez. Jose Sibrian homers (1) on a fly ball to left field.

Nick Ramirez promoted to Colorado Springs to fill the roster spot vacated by Adrian Houser. The Sky Sox will need to make another move once Jorge Lopez rejoins the club. Filing his spot on the Biloxi roster is INF Gabriel Noriega, who was transferred from Colorado Springs’ disabled list.

Final: DSL Red Sox2 10, DSL Brewers/Indians 6 DSL Brewers/Indians Box Score For the third day in a row, the co-op team gave up a bunch of runs early and then could not muster enough offense to come all the way back. Starting pitcher Moises Ruiz was pulled after getting just 2 outs in the first, though the damage could have been worse. Daniel Acosta allowed 1 earned run in his 2.1 innings in relief of Ruiz, and Claudio Mota allowed a run in his inning of work in the 8th. The lineup consisted mostly of Indians players today. The two Brewers representatives were CF Reidy Mercado (0-4, BB) and RF Vitor Watanabe (2-3, 2B). Watanabe has 4 hits in 16 ABs, but 3 of them have been for extra bases (today's double plus two triples). That gives him a shiny 931 OPS to open his pro career. DSL Brewers/Indians Game Log

Final: DSL Brewers 14, DSL Cardinals Red 5 DSL Brewers Box Score Down 5-1 early, the Brewers scored the final 13 runs of the game to win their 9th game. Larry Ernesto, playing LF today, had a breakout game. In 6 PAs he logged 2 singles, a double, a home run, and a walk. OPS is now 759 after being at 249 this time last week. RF Carlos Rodriguez and 1B Luis Silva each had three of their own hits and CF Oswel Leones was on base three times with two singles and a walk. Rodriguez is batting .440 now on the year, good enough for 4th in the DSL. Leones' average is up to .353. As mentioned above, Andres Melendez was back playing for the first time since June 4th. He started at catcher and walked in 3 plate appearances before being replaced by Farlyn Manon. Wilmy De Jesus started and allowed all 5 Cardinals runs over his 4 innings of work. Relievers Joandris Tolentino and Jose Alberro would hold the Cardinals hitless over the final 5 innings. The improvements Alberro seems to have made since last year are very encouraging. DSL Brewers Game Log

https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2018/06/16/phillies-4-brewers-1-zach-eflin-effective-boone-logan-struggles/693269002/ TWO MORE PICKS SIGNED: The Brewers announced the signings of two more draft picks: Left-hander Clayton Andrews, a 17th rounder from Long Beach State; and catcher Caleb Marquez, a 39th rounder from Blue Springs (Mo.) High School. Andrews is an interesting player. He was one of the Dirtbags’ best pitchers and their starting centerfielder but slid to the 17th round because he is only 5-foot-6.

INF Darren Seferina activated off of Biloxi's 7-day DL to backfill the roster spot vacated by Rijo's trade.

Helena rained out; doubleheader tomorrow.

Andres Melendez back in action today for the DSL Brewers.

Final: Great Falls 6, Helena 5 Brewers Can't Hold Lead In Opening Night Loss Voyagers Erase Five Run Deficit In 7th & Walk Off In 9th By Mackenzie Parker / Helena Brewers Great Falls, MT - The Helena Brewers got off to a hot start Friday night, but couldn't hold the a five run lead as Great Falls walked off on Helena with a 6-5 victory on opening night. In what began as an impressive performance from both the Brewers offense and starting pitcher Max Lazar, Helena knocked in five runs on 11 hits in the first six innings. Producing a strong opening start for the Brewers, Lazar pitched six innings of one-hit baseball in his Pioneer league debut. The 6'3" right-hander struck out five while walking two and hitting one in 25 batters faced. After remaining scoreless for the first three innings, Helena brought in all five of its runs in the next three frames. Pablo Abreu (1-for-3, BB, 2R) started the scoring for the Brewers, hitting the squad's first home run of the season in the top of the fourth inning. Abreu's two-run dinger brought in Je'Von Ward (1-for-5, R). With the top of the order leading off in the fifth inning, Yeison Coca (2-for-5, R) reached on a bunt, followed by a base hit to center field from Antonio Piñero (2-for-5, R, RBI). After Chad McClanahan (1-for-3, BB, HBP) knocked an infield hit to load the bases, Nick Egnatuk (3-for-5, 2 RBI) came up big for the Brewers with a double to center field to bring in two and push the Helena lead to four. Helena added one run in the sixth inning on a base hit from Piñero that plated Abreu and rounded out the scoring for the Brewers. With no answers through six innings, the Great Falls bats came alive in the bottom of the seventh inning. Following the removal of Lazar after six frames, the Voyagers put three runners on before recording an out versus Helena reliever Brandon Presley. Lenyn Sosa started the onslaught for Great Falls with a double to plate the first run. Jhoandro Alfaro followed with a ground out that then plated Sosa, followed by a one-out triple the brought in Logan Sowers. Travis Moniot hit an RBI-double, forcing manager Nestor Corredor pulled Presley for right-hander Roberto Delgado. Leadoff hitter Ian Dawkins reached on an error by third baseman Jean Carmona-plating a run-before forcing two-consecutive ground outs to second base and ending the inning. Remaining tied at five through the following inning-and-a-half, the Brewers looked to hold Great Falls in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings. With Delgado still in the game, Helena couldn't record an out after giving up a hit and two consecutive walks (the latter being intentional) before giving up the walk-off hit to Dawkins. Pinch runner Jay Estes scored, and the Voyagers won the battle 6-5. Helena begins the home season Saturday, June 16, when they host Great Falls with a chance at redemption. First pitch is at 7:05 PM at Kindrick Legion Field. *** Photo Gallery courtesy Montanasports.com - First picture is that of opening day Brewers starter Max Lazar *** Helena Box Score Helena Game Log ***

In addition to Villalobos, the Brewers have inked two RHPs named Ortiz: Robert Ortiz, born 7/23/01 and to be super confusing: Luis Ortiz, born 1/27/99 All three have assigned to the DSL club and are on the restricted list awaiting activation. We'll work on a middle name for this Luis Ortiz.

Apparently. Extended spring training injury reports are basically non-existant so we usually get a few bad surprises this time of the year.

Yankees Acquire International Pool Space From Brewers Guessing whatever they didn't use on Lun went to the Yankees. The Brewers get RHP Chad Whitmer, a 10th round pick out of Southern Illinois U (go Salukis!) last year by the Yankees, for some international pool money. Whitmer pitched in the GCL in 2017, which is the east coast version of the AZL. He posted a gaudy 22:2 K:BB ratio and got a lot of ground balls, though he also yielded a .312 opponent batting average. My guess is he gets assigned to Helena.

McCalvey confirmed that Lun was signed using '17-'18 pool money. Which makes sense because...

Final: DSL Pirates1 5, DSL Brewers/Indians 2 DSL Brewers/Indians Box Score The co-op team once again coughed up some runs and the offense couldn't do enough late. Starter Alexis Ramirez, the lone Brewers' pitching participant in this one, allowed 3 of the runs in his 4 innings of work in his 2nd pro start. I'm not sure if there is something wonky going on with the box score in this game, but if what it says is true, outfielder Reidy Mercado made a start and first pro appearance at 3B and OF Bryan Connell made a start and first pro appearance at catcher. I'm dubious about either of those things, but I guess we'll find out if/when they play those positions again. Maybe the manager just drew names out of a hat for each position. Anyway, wherever Mercado played, he had 2 hits including a double. Connell had a single. Roberto Molina, who usually is a catcher, played first base today and got a double as well. Today's RF (?) but usual infielder was Jose Arteaga and Jose took an 0-4, which runs his career-opening hitless streak to 10 ABs. DSL Brewers/Indians Game Log The only runs: DSL Indians/Brewers Top of the 9th Marlin Made flies out to center fielder Daniel Rivero. Nehemias Celesten strikes out swinging. Bryan Connell singles on a line drive to center fielder Daniel Rivero. Roberto Molina doubles (1) on a line drive to left fielder Randy Romero. Bryan Connell scores. Elian Gonzalez walks. With Jose Arteaga batting, passed ball by Yeison Ceballo, Roberto Molina to 3rd. Elian Gonzalez to 2nd. With Jose Arteaga batting, wild pitch by Andres Arrieta, Roberto Molina scores. With Jose Arteaga batting, wild pitch by Andres Arrieta, Elian Gonzalez to 3rd. Jose Arteaga flies out to left fielder Randy Romero.

Final: DSL Brewers 10, DSL Tigers1 2 DSL Brewers Box Score Another day, another win for the main DSL club. The Brewers scored at least one run for the first six innings and the pitching staff held up their end of the bargain to complete the decisive win. In most of the DSL divisions, an 8-4 record would put the Brewers in first place, but unfortunately they are 2 games behind the team with the best record as the DSL Rangers2 check in at 10-2. 16-year-old catcher Jesus Chirinos lead the way offensively with 4 hits including 3 doubles. Extremely small sample alert, but a .313/.421/.563 slash at 16 years of age will do. He was the youngest player in the entire Brewers' organization until Jolon Lun was signed yesterday. Chirinos turns 17 on July 27th. Chirinos' playing time would seem to have expanded with the disappearance of Andres Melendez from the lineup. Still not sure what happened with Melendez as he hasn't played since the 4th but remains on the active roster. Oh, and Carlos Rodriguez had another multi-hit effort. He notched 2 singles and added a double as well. Again, small sample, but Rodriguez is hitting .432 through about his first 50 PAs as a pro. SS Victor Maria, 1B Farlyn Manon, and RF Alwinson Valdez all had two hits. Valdez, Maria, and CF Larry Ernesto each got a double. On the pitching side, starter Henry Medina had an odd pitching line as noted by Jim above. In his third DSL season, Medina has taken "pitch to contact" to heart - in 14.1 innings, he has issued 2 walks and struck out just 3. Today's 6 inning, 0 BB/0 K effort has to be some sort of baseball anomaly, but I'll leave that research up to someone else. Recently signed RHP Wellington Nunez made his pro debut, pitching a scoreless inning with a walk. Johan Dominguez, who at 22 is somewhat surprisingly still in the DSL after two good seasons, pitched the final two innings and struck out 2, the only 2 Ks of the day for the staff. DSL Brewers Game Log Finally, strikeouts: DSL Tigers1 Top of the 8th Pitching Change: Johan Dominguez replaces Wellington Nunez. Alvaro Gonzalez strikes out swinging. Esney Chacon grounds out, shortstop Victor Maria to first baseman Farlyn Manon. Pedro Garcia called out on strikes.

Micah Bello signed for $550k, about $275k less than slot value, according to Jonathan Mayo.

Brewers 60-day DL assignments on the Helena roster, which is essentially for guys that most likely won’t play this year: RHP Harold Chirino LHP Jake Drossner RHP Cody Martin RHP Daniel Missaki LHP Christian Trent RHP Nash Walters

Simmons is one of the most valuable players in the game. Even if you added Keston Hiura to that offer, I don’t think the Angels go for it.

It should be for this period because he's already signed. I'm trying to track down bonus information. This is sort of shades of Ernesto Martinez' signing towards the end of the 2016-2017 period last year. Guessing as in that case, the Brewers used whatever remaining money they had to sign Lun.