And That

AZL Brewers 12, AZL Reds 3 AZL Brewers Boxscore On the third try over the course of two days, the Brewers finally beat the Reds. Jesus Lujano hit 3 singles and scored 3 runs from the leadoff spot to pace the offense in its big day. Julian Jarrard hit yet another double, his 14th in 19 games played. Brent Diaz and Robie Rojas also each had a two-bagger. Pat McInerney walked 3 times, half the Brewers' total for the day. Chase Williams made his 4th rehab appearance, and made it another successful one. Branden Nunn relieved Williams and made easily his best appearance as a pro, with 4 scoreless innings and 4 strikeouts. Austin Rubick finished things up and allowed 2 runs over 3 innings. He did notch his first professional save, and only walked one. AZL Brewers Game Log

Yep, Lutz has just been absolutely ripping the ball everywhere. Not only bat speed, but I like his swing, and he still has plenty of projection left. Chance to be a special player.

I don't know that Detroit views it that way. Just optically, if they dump Verlander for like Ronnie Gideon, there's going to be a ton of pushback from their fans on that. It might not be worth the fuss it will create.

The changeup he threw to get his first strikeout was completely filthy. His command was spotty, especially with his fastball early, but as others have said, he powered through it and wound up with an impressive performance.

Game One: AZL Reds 11, AZL Brewers 7 Game Two: AZL Reds 4, AZL Brewers 1 Game One AZL Brewers Boxscore Game Two AZL Brewers Boxscore I was pretty jacked up for the rarely-seen AZL doubleheader, but it turned out to be a dud for the good guys as they dropped both games. The lineup is just not the same as it was early in the season when Keston Hiura, Tristen Lutz, and Kenny Corey were in the middle of it. New guys will have to step up to give the team a shot at a championship in the playoffs, and I have no doubt some will. The pitching staff will have to pick up some slack, too, and they have the talent to do it. Coming off his 5 walk day, Rob Henry was the biggest offensive contributor across the two games, with 3 hits including a triple. And because of course, he drew no walks in either game. Henry, who was a draftable prospect in the 2016 class, was not drafted due to his Ivy League status - those guys rarely sign junior year. He has solid tools across the board, and although he hasn't yet, can play center field. The only other player with hits in both games was Julian Jarrard, with a double in game one and a single in game two. Jarrard is putting up some pretty silly power numbers for the AZL. As of the end of July, he had a 235 PX score, which is linear-weighted power normalized for the league environment. That's the same PX score Keston Hiura posted in the AZL. Brent Diaz and Robie Rojas both had two hits in game one. Both of Diaz' base knocks were doubles, as was one of Rojas'. Pat McInerney had a double in game one as well. As for the pitching, Adrian Houser threw a scoreless inning in game one as he continues on the comeback trail. It's not impossible that he could get a few appearances in full season ball before season's end. And in game two, 25th round lefty Karlos Morales made his pro debut with two perfect innings, about a week shy of his 18th birthday. Caden Lemons is the lone remaining member of the 2017 draft class to make his pro debut. Brendan Murphy's struggles continued, though 3 of the 5 runs he surrendered were unearned, and two of them scored after he left the game. Jake Smith pitched 2 scoreless innings, though his peripherals still leave something to be desired - still a project. Canadian NDFA Kody Rock had been really good up to last night's game one, but the wheels came off a bit. 37th rounder (and Brown teammate of Rob Henry) Christian Taugner soaked up the final 4 innings of game two and took the loss, though he didn't pitch terribly. He now has 3 walks and 25 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings. Game One AZL Brewers Game Log Game Two AZL Brewers Game Log

AZL White Sox 11, AZL Brewers 9 AZL Brewers Boxscore The return of Phil Bickford was not enough as a 7-2 5th inning lead went out the window. There wasn't quite enough left in the tank to mount a comeback after giving up 9 runs in innings 6-8. Robie Rojas got 3 hits for the fourth time this year already, and Rob Henry walked 5 times to go along with a single. I do not remember the last time a Brewers minor leaguer walked 5 times in a game, though to be fair, the next time it happens I probably won't remember this game either. Julio Mendez, Jesus Lujano, and Pat McInerney all collected a double. Mendez had the only multi-hit effort outside of Rojas with said double and a single. The Brewers drew 10 walks, though no one outside of Henry had more than 1. AZL box scores don't keep tabs on number of pitches thrown, but it would appear Bickford was on a 40ish pitch limit. He pitched through 1 2/3 innings and wasn't that sharp, surrendering 2 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks. Justin Bullock had a successful second career outing, throwing 2 innings and allowing only a hit, while he struck out 2. Cam Robinson's second career outing did not go so hot, nor did Max Lazar's third outing, but you can check out the box score for further details on that. AZL Brewers Game Log Seven runs good: AZL Brewers Bottom of the 4th Pat McInerney flies out to right fielder Michael Staudinger. Brent Diaz walks. Robie Rojas singles on a ground ball to left fielder Alex Destino. Brent Diaz to 2nd. Je'Von Ward singles on a line drive to right fielder Michael Staudinger. Brent Diaz scores. Robie Rojas to 3rd. With Julio Mendez batting, Je'Von Ward caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Jose Colina to second baseman Ramon Beltre, Robie Rojas scores on the throw. Julio Mendez doubles (6) on a fly ball to left fielder Alex Destino. Yeison Coca reaches on a throwing error by shortstop Laz Rivera. Julio Mendez scores. Yeison Coca to 2nd. Jesus Lujano doubles (4) on a fly ball to right fielder Michael Staudinger. Yeison Coca scores. With Robert Henry batting, passed ball by Jose Colina, Jesus Lujano to 3rd. Robert Henry walks. Julian Jarrard hit by pitch. Robert Henry to 2nd. Defensive Substitution: Adam McGinnis replaces catcher Jose Colina, batting 6th, playing catcher. Pitching Change: Michael McCormick replaces Bryan Saucedo. Pat McInerney doubles (12) on a fly ball to left fielder Alex Destino. Jesus Lujano scores. Robert Henry scores. Julian Jarrard scores. Pat McInerney advances to 3rd, on a fielding error by left fielder Alex Destino. Brent Diaz strikes out swinging. Six runs bad: AZL White Sox Top of the 6th Pitching Change: Cam Robinson replaces Justin Bullock. Michael Hickman singles on a ground ball to right fielder Robert Henry. Michael Staudinger walks. Michael Hickman to 2nd. Adam McGinnis singles on a line drive to left fielder Je'Von Ward. Michael Hickman scores. Michael Staudinger to 2nd. Ramon Beltre singles on a line drive to center fielder Jesus Lujano. Michael Staudinger scores. Adam McGinnis to 2nd. With Alex Maloney batting, wild pitch by Cam Robinson, Adam McGinnis to 3rd. Ramon Beltre to 2nd. Alex Maloney walks. JJ Muno singles on a line drive to left fielder Je'Von Ward. Adam McGinnis scores. Ramon Beltre scores. JJ Muno to 2nd. Alex Maloney advances to 3rd, on a throwing error by left fielder Je'Von Ward. Pitching Change: Landon Holifield replaces Cam Robinson. Laz Rivera grounds out, shortstop Yeison Coca to first baseman Pat McInerney. Louis Silverio singles on a line drive to right fielder Robert Henry. Alex Maloney scores. JJ Muno scores. Alex Destino called out on strikes. Michael Hickman grounds into a force out, second baseman Julio Mendez to shortstop Yeison Coca. Louis Silverio out at 2nd.

I really like Brian Anderson, with the exception of the Pina pronunciation thing, his infatuation with saying "butcher boy" and lack of a home run call. As for being a homer, to a certain extent home team announcers have to be, and I've heard a LOT worse than he is, which I think in part because he does so much national stuff. Like, Dick Bremer and Bert Blyleven on the Twins broadcast are unbearably homer-ish, and have been for 20 years. I think Anderson is a great middle ground between Matt Vasgersian, who was a little too pop culture forward for Rock to keep up with, and the stodginess of a Dick Bremer or Jim Paschke type of guy.

No - he's on a throwing program and at last report was said to be ready to get in the field by the middle of August. I assume he'll get extensive work in the field in fall instructionals as well, if not the Arizona Fall League.

Susac has about an 800 OPS since April and about 860 in July/August. His overall stats are really hurt by him playing early in the season through his trap and headache issues. Since those have been resolved, he's been fine.

Medeiros was actually even hitting a few of his spots with his slider during his last start. He threw a nice back foot slider to get a RHB swinging, which I don't recall seeing before from him. His slider has wandered a bit further into slurve territory, but he seems to control it better when it breaks a little earlier. He also got a few strikes with his change-up. Slider command and ability to throw a competent change will be the keys to keeping him in the rotation going forward. He's certainly made progress this year after backing up big time in 2016, similar to what Nottingham is doing in Biloxi behind the plate.

MLB.com has also updated their farm system rankings and the Brewers and lo their few Prospect Points have fallen all the way to... 8th. Prospect Points correlation indeed.

Also per his own tweet, Wes Wilson is going back to Carolina after mashing in Wisconsin for over a month.

Per his own tweet, Tristen Lutz has been promoted to Helena. And as Mass Haas mentioned in the link report yesterday, Gabe Friese is joining him. Probably bodes well for Lutz breaking camp with the Rattlers next spring.

Wes Wilson was a pretty well regarded prospect coming out of high school, but never really put it together at Clemson for whatever reason. He has legit plus raw power and he seems to me to show some ability to recognize offspeed stuff, though he has modest bat speed and has trouble catching up. He has a big frame and could add more good weight to help him tap into his power more, which is his only plus tool at the moment. After adjusting for league factors, below average production across the board in Carolina, but above average across the board in Wisconsin. He's a little old for the Midwest League, but not unreasonably so. I don't know that he's a starting prospect at second or third, but I like him and think he has a good shot to be a utility guy at the highest level.

Baseball America has updated their organizational rankings and the Brewers drop all the way to... 8th. I'd have to break out my abacus, but that still does not appear to be "lower half."

If a player is on a 40-man roster, he needs to pass through waivers to be traded. So if Kinsler was claimed by the Brewers, Villar would either have to be claimed by the Tigers (and no one before them) or go unclaimed.

AZL Brewers 5, AZL Cubs 4 (10 innings) AZL Brewers Boxscore Cubs' starter Yunior Perez had a 14.59 ERA coming into Tuesday night's game: check. The Brewers have had the best offensive output in the AZL this year: check. Predictably, Perez throws 5 innings of scoreless ball, striking out 8: check. Brewers win anyway: check. It's not often you win a game scoring 5 runs while also striking out 14 times while walking nary once, but here we are. After getting to extra innings with a few late runs, the Brewers won in the extra innings due to some good baserunning, and some bad baserunning as you'll see in the game log highlight below. Julian Jarrard smacked two doubles, his 11th and 12th on the year. Jarrard is a 24 year old NDFA who has shown some very serious pop at the plate to go along with defensive versatility on the field. Though Jarrard doesn't walk much and will turn 25 next week, there is some skill there. Hope to see him promoted soon because the clock is ticking. Chase Williams made his third rehab appearance and pitched 2 scoreless innings. He hasn't allowed a run yet through 4 innings this year. He was used as a reliever late last season with Wisconsin, so there's a chance that he may be nearing the end of his rehab process. Wilfred Salaman allowed 4 runs in 5 innings, though he did pick off his 10th batter of the year. Gabe Friese ran his career-opening earned run-less streak to 20 1/3 innings with three perfect innings, including getting out of the 10th inning "jam." Get this guy out of Arizona already. AZL Brewers Game Log The 10th inning baserunning: AZL Brewers Top of the 10th Kevin Zamudio remains in the game as the designated hitter. Jesus Lujano starts inning at 2nd base. Tristen Lutz out on a sacrifice bunt, catcher Marcus Mastrobuoni to second baseman Yonathan Perlaza. Jesus Lujano to 3rd. With Kenny Corey batting, wild pitch by Ivan Medina, Jesus Lujano scores. Kenny Corey hit by pitch. Pat McInerney called out on strikes. Julian Jarrard flies out to center fielder Jose Gutierrez. AZL Cubs Bottom of the 10th Kevin Zamudio starts inning at 2nd base. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-runner Yovanny Cuevas replaces Kevin Zamudio. Jose Gutierrez reaches on a fielder's choice out, pitcher Gabe Friese to third baseman Julian Jarrard to shortstop Yeison Coca to pitcher Gabe Friese. Yovanny Cuevas out at 3rd. Jose Gutierrez to 2nd on the throw. Yonathan Perlaza strikes out swinging. With Jonathan Sierra batting, Jose Gutierrez caught stealing 3rd base, pitcher Gabe Friese to third baseman Julian Jarrard.

At least for me, if something is blatantly obvious I tend not to mention it, because it's blatantly obvious. My first thought upon hearing about the trade was that I recall there being a positive connection between Jeffress and the team's psychologist (I forget his name), so if there is anything blocking him mentally at the moment, perhaps that could be cleared up. Beyond that, Jeffress has pitched his best ball in Milwaukee and seemed to feed on the positive environment, which was encouraging for his prospects here the rest of the season. I feel that most of that paragraph and especially the last sentence is common knowledge though, which is why I felt no particularly strong need to acknowledge it. But that's just me. And in the end, I think it's kind of a silly thing to be arguing about.

AZL Brewers 8, AZL Diamondbacks 2 AZL Brewers Boxscore Revenge over the Diamondbacks for the loss yesterday. The offense came back alive, pounding out 15 hits. Brent Diaz and Je'Von Ward lead the way with three hits apiece, career highs for both. Two of Ward's three hits were doubles. His overall production isn't quite there yet, but remember that he was one of the younger players in the draft class and doesn't turn 18 until after the season. Tristen Lutz contributed with a single and a double, boosting his OPS to .965. Kenny Corey, a regular mention in the game summaries, also had two hits - a double and a triple. Moises Perez had two hits as well, both singles. Austin Rubick did well in his second pro start, with no runs allowed in his 4 innings of work. Tyler Thorne followed that up with 3 2/3 innings which saw the lone earned run for the D-Backs cross the plate. Jake Smith, still with control problems, finished things up. Thorne is in the same group as Gabe Friese and Christian Taugner as college guys with amazing K:BB ratios, but who should probably be challenged at Helena, if there were only room. AZL Brewers Game Log Half the runs: AZL Brewers Bottom of the 5th Robert Henry hit by pitch. With Tristen Lutz batting, Robert Henry steals (7) 2nd base. Tristen Lutz singles on a ground ball to second baseman Gerardo Romero. Robert Henry to 3rd. Kenny Corey doubles (13) on a ground ball to right fielder Didimo Bracho. Robert Henry scores. Tristen Lutz to 3rd. Pitching Change: West Tunnell replaces Jake Polancic. Julio Mendez strikes out swinging. With Brent Diaz batting, wild pitch by West Tunnell, Tristen Lutz scores. Kenny Corey to 3rd. Brent Diaz singles on a line drive to center fielder Jesus Marriaga. Kenny Corey scores. With Moises Perez batting, throwing error by West Tunnell on the pickoff attempt, Brent Diaz to 2nd. Moises Perez grounds out, third baseman Buddy Kennedy to first baseman Luke Van Rycheghem. Je'Von Ward doubles (2) on a line drive to center fielder Jesus Marriaga. Brent Diaz scores. Yeison Coca grounds out, shortstop Chaz Meadows to first baseman Luke Van Rycheghem.

Just a reminder, please keep prospect discussion out of this thread. Let's make reilly's job a little easier by only posting the lists. Thanks!

Entertainment value.

That there wasn't one traded might make it brilliant. Teams weren't willing to pay up for top end, relievers who were controllable at all at the trade deadline - they were last offseason, at least in the this case.

If you need some cheering up, Freisis Adames threw a complete game 2-hitter for the DSL squad today.

Nieuwenhuis has a more lucrative-than-normal AAA deal, so I would be shocked if he does not accept assignment if/when he makes it through waivers.

AZL Diamondbacks 6, AZL Brewers 2 AZL Brewers Boxscore Could it be a championship hangover (not that most of these guys are old enough to drink)? The Baby Brewers' offense managed only 4 hits and a walk and lost their first game of the second half. Three of the four hits were for extra bases: 24 year old Julian Jarrard got two doubles and Tristen Lutz had one. LG Castillo had a single and the walk. 37th round pick Christian Taugner got the start and went a career-high 4 innings, though he allowed 3 earned runs on 6 hits. In 20 1/3 career innings now, he's allowed 28 hits but also only walked 2, and struck out 21. NDFAs Kadon Simmons and Branden Nunn both pitched two innings to finish out the game - Simmons allowed a run, Nunn did not. AZL Brewers Game Log