And That

AZL Brewers 8, AZL Rangers 2 AZL Brewers Boxscore Home runs from Keston Hiura and Pat McInerney powered the Cerverceritos' offense past the Rangers and ended a three game slide. It was Hiura's 4th home run and McInerney's league-leading 6th. Hiura also singled to compete his 4th consecutive multi-hit game. Kenny Corey was on base three times with two singles and a walk. Corey's .520 OBP is good enough for third in the league. Yup, just third. Hiura's 1.339 OPS leads the AZL. Joaquin De La Cruz no-hit the Rangers through 4 innings and finished the game with yet another nice pitching like. He gave up a hit, two walks, and struck out nine. Splitter power. De La Cruz' 2.63 ERA is good for 11th in the league. Brewers pitchers struck out 16 and walked 3. The 1st half magic number is down to 9. AZL Brewers Game Log Big fifth inning: AZL Brewers Bottom of the 5th Pitching Change: Kyle Keith replaces Domingo Pena. Francisco Thomas walks. Jesus Lujano grounds into a force out, shortstop Chris Seise to second baseman Justin Jacobs. Francisco Thomas out at 2nd. Jesus Lujano to 1st. Robert Henry bunt pops out to pitcher Kyle Keith. Keston Hiura singles on a line drive to center fielder Bubba Thompson. Jesus Lujano to 3rd. Pat McInerney homers (6) on a fly ball to left field. Jesus Lujano scores. Keston Hiura scores. Kenny Corey singles on a ground ball to shortstop Chris Seise. Julio Mendez singles on a line drive to center fielder Bubba Thompson. Kenny Corey to 2nd. Je'Von Ward singles on a ground ball to center fielder Bubba Thompson. Kenny Corey scores. Julio Mendez to 3rd. Tyler Lawrence walks. Je'Von Ward to 2nd. Pitching Change: Greidy Martinez replaces Kyle Keith. Francisco Thomas singles on a fly ball to right fielder Starling Joseph. Julio Mendez scores. Je'Von Ward scores. Tyler Lawrence to 3rd. Jesus Lujano grounds out, first baseman Tyreque Reed to pitcher Greidy Martinez.

AZL Indians 7, AZL Brewers 6 AZL Brewers Boxscore The Brewers had been able to survive their pitching for much of the first few weeks of the season, but over the past three games that offensive luck has run out. Three late runs for the Indians snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. The club is still in first place by 1.5 games, and has a 1st half magic number of 10. After going hitless for the first (and so far only) time in his career last Wednesday, Keston Hiura has had three multi-hit games in a row. Sunday night's effort was 3-4 with a HBP. All three hits were singles, which is not the norm for Hiura. No other Brewers player had more than one hit. Kenny Corey smacked his league leading tenth double on the year, and Tristen Lutz hit his second career triple. Six Baby Brewer pitchers hit the mound, including an organizational debut for soon-to-be Colorado Springs bound Jeanmar Gomez, and a pro debut for recent indy ball signee Alec Kenilvort. Gabe Friese was dominant in his 1 1/3 innings of work, striking out all four batters he faced. Youngsters Wilfred Salaman and Brendan Murphy had less success. AZL Brewers Game Log Winning until: AZL Indians Bottom of the 8th Tre Gantt grounds out, second baseman Julio Mendez to first baseman Pat McInerney. Henry Pujols walks. Josh Rolette lines out to shortstop Kenny Corey. Jhan Rodriguez singles on a line drive to center fielder Tristen Lutz. Henry Pujols to 2nd. Ronny Dominguez walks. Henry Pujols to 3rd. Jhan Rodriguez to 2nd. Tyler Freeman singles on a line drive to right fielder Robert Henry. Henry Pujols scores. Jhan Rodriguez scores. Ronny Dominguez to 3rd. Pitching Change: Cameron Hanes replaces Brendan Murphy. With Mitch Reeves batting, wild pitch by Cameron Hanes, Ronny Dominguez scores. Tyler Freeman to 2nd. Mitch Reeves walks. Miguel Jerez strikes out swinging.

AZL Royals 6, AZL Brewers 4 AZL Brewers Boxscore Brandon Woodruff's return was the biggest note on the night as the Brewers dropped their second in a row. He pitched two complete innings and to one batter in the third as well. AZL box scores do not keep track of pitches, so it's a guess, but perhaps his pitch count was in the 30-40 range. Keston Hiura, Robie Rojas, and Robert Henry each had three hits, including a double for Henry and a triple for Hiura. Julio Mendez had the only other hit in the lineup, a single. AZL Brewers Game Log Woodruff's day: AZL White Sox Top of the 1st Logan Taylor lines out to first baseman Pat McInerney. Alex Call grounds out, third baseman Nick Egnatuk to first baseman Pat McInerney. Michael Hickman called out on strikes. AZL White Sox Top of the 2nd Evan Skoug singles on a line drive to right fielder Robert Henry. Michael Staudinger grounds out, shortstop Kenny Corey to first baseman Pat McInerney. Evan Skoug to 2nd. Lenyn Sosa grounds out, first baseman Pat McInerney to pitcher Brandon Woodruff. Evan Skoug to 3rd. David Cronin walks. Laz Rivera pops out to first baseman Pat McInerney. AZL White Sox Top of the 3rd Austin Crutcher doubles (3) on a fly ball to right fielder Robert Henry. Pitching Change: Tyler Thorne replaces Brandon Woodruff.

Hader has the 4th highest WPA in the Brewers bullpen this year. http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=rel&lg=all&qual=0&type=3&season=2017&month=0&season1=2017&ind=0&team=23&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=12,d

I tried going there to see what was happening, but my eyeballs exploded between all of the ads, obnoxious jpegs, gifs, and quotes of quotes of quotes. It's kind of like a message board representation of going to a game at Wrigley Field.

AZL Royals 8, AZL Brewers 6 AZL Brewers Boxscore Baby Brewers pitchers gave up 17 hits, and for one of the rare times this season the offense wasn't able to keep up as the team drops to 12-4. Their lead in the AZL central drops to 2 games over the Dodgers. The 17 hits propelled the staff into first place in hits allowed. The team ERA of 5.63 is still only fifth-worst. The pitching peripherals weren't that bad, though, as the four Brewers hurlers combined for 10 strikeouts against only one walk. And of the 17 hits allowed, 13 were singles. NDFA Landon Holifield still has not allowed a run through five outings, 4 2/3 innings pitched. 7th rounder Bowden Francis got touched up for 6 hits and 5 runs in his 2 1/3 innings, and though his 12.15 ERA is unseemly, he's walked only one, struck out 8, and induced a bunch of ground balls in his first 6 2/3 pro innings. He'll be ok. Side note: Daniel Tillo was the Royals' starter - he was one of my favorite pitchers in the 2017 draft class. He slipped to 90th overall, and I would not have been sad if he had been the Brewers' pick at 46 or 84. With absolutely no disrespect meant to Caden Lemons or KJ Harrison. Keston Hiura decided one hitless game was enough as he set up to begin a new hitting streak with a 2-4 night at the plate. Both hits were for extra bases, a double and a triple. Hiura's 4 triples account for half of the Baby Brewers' total. He's already tied for 7th in the organization in triples. If I had to pick one nit with Hiura's game so far, is that his K% is higher than I would have thought for what he'd be doing against AZL pitching. It's 21%, which is not terrible by any stretch, but I would have guessed he'd put up something closer to 15%, if not less. For comparison's sake, Trent Clark, who is 3 months younger than Hiura right now, put up an 17.5 K% between the AZL and Pioneer League back in 2015. There are extenuating factors with Hiura to be sure, given the work his doing on his arm and small sample alarm bells, but something to keep an eye on nonetheless. Julio Mendez was the only other Brewer with a multi-hit effort, and both hits were doubles. It's only 40 PAs, but Mendez has a wRC+ over 100 for the first time in his career, with a nice .297/.350/.432 slash. Nick Egnatuk and Pat McInerney each doubled for their lone hit. 36th rounder Kenny Corey, utility man extraordinaire, walked two more times. He's slashing a smooth .408/.532/.592 through 62 career PAs. If you want to see what Jesus Lujano, Tristen Lutz, or Je'Von Ward did, look at the box score. I did not mention them for a reason. AZL Brewers Game Log Brewers patch together four runs against Bryar: AZL Brewers Top of the 5th Pitching Change: Bryar Johnson replaces Charlie Neuweiler. Pat McInerney walks. With Nick Egnatuk batting, wild pitch by Bryar Johnson, Pat McInerney to 2nd. Nick Egnatuk grounds out, shortstop Cristian Perez to first baseman Nick Pratto. Pat McInerney to 3rd. With Kenny Corey batting, passed ball by MJ Melendez, Pat McInerney scores. Kenny Corey walks. Robie Rojas singles on a fly ball to center fielder Isaiah Henry. Kenny Corey to 2nd. Je'Von Ward strikes out swinging. Julio Mendez doubles (4) on a ground ball to left fielder Isaiah Smith. Kenny Corey scores. Robie Rojas scores. With Jesus Lujano batting, Julio Mendez steals (3) 3rd base. Jesus Lujano reaches on a fielding error by pitcher Bryar Johnson. Julio Mendez scores. Pitching Change: Gustavo Tejeda replaces Bryar Johnson. With Tristen Lutz batting, Jesus Lujano caught stealing 2nd base, catcher MJ Melendez to shortstop Cristian Perez.

Yes, there was a 25-man spot opened with Guerra's DLing and a 40-man spot opened a week ago with Reed's outright.

Jimenez is a better prospect than Brinson. Jjgott's Brinson/Hader/Phillips guess a few posts above is closer than Brinson/Ortiz/fliers, IMO.

The only guys that are absolutely untouchable are the 2017 draftees - because they can't be traded until after the World Series. IMO, the correct way to group guys is to organize by future value, whether you want to do that by OFP/FV, or some other measure. The goal for any trade is to get at least as much value as you're giving up. So if the Brewers valued, say, Quintana as having $50 million in excess value (I just made that up for argument's sake), they should think it worthwhile to trade up to $50 million in excess value to the White Sox. That might include Brinson, or it might not. Saying a deal cannot include Brinson is more risk averse for sure, but it also makes the prospects of acquiring value more difficult.

AZL Brewers 9, AZL Angels 3 AZL Brewers Boxscore The Brewers' magical run continues as the team moves to a league-best 12-3 record. They have a magic number of 11 for the first half Central division crown, if you're wondering. Tristen Lutz did not hit any more home runs, but he did go 3-4 with a triple and a walk. He has yet to strike out through 11 pro PAs. Keston Hiura saw his hitting streak end at 10 - he went 0-2 with 3 walks. Je'Von Ward notched his first two pro hits, both singles, and he had a walk in three official at-bats. Robert Henry, Hiura UC-Irvine teammate Alex Guenette, and Julio Mendez all also had two hits. Guennette and Mendez both launched a double. Joaquin De La Cruz was once again pretty great, allowing one run in five innings of work. In my humble opinion, he should be in Helena. AZL Brewers Game Log Six in the seventh: AZL Brewers Bottom of the 7th Kenny Corey hit by pitch. Tristen Lutz singles on a line drive to left fielder Jacob Pearson. Kenny Corey to 2nd. Keston Hiura walks. Kenny Corey to 3rd. Tristen Lutz to 2nd. Pitching Change: Jorge Tavarez replaces Ryan Clark. Pat McInerney called out on strikes. Robert Henry singles on a ground ball to center fielder Johan Sala. Kenny Corey scores. Tristen Lutz scores. Keston Hiura to 3rd. Je'Von Ward walks. Robert Henry to 2nd. Alexandre Guenette doubles (1) on a fly ball to right fielder Jimmy Barnes. Keston Hiura scores. Robert Henry scores. Je'Von Ward to 3rd. Julio Mendez hits a ground-rule double (3) on a fly ball to left field. Je'Von Ward scores. Alexandre Guenette scores. Francisco Thomas strikes out swinging. Pitching Change: Kida De La Cruz replaces Jorge Tavarez. Kenny Corey flies out to center fielder Johan Sala.

Jeff Suppan is the Idaho Falls pitching coach. So there's that.

Helena's starting pitcher Nelson Hernandez is working at a pace that would make Brent Suter blush.

I already have him penciled in as a 2022 Brewers color analyst - no thanks. Unless for Kershaw.

Big deal, that's one name. You can't fathom the number of friends of cousins' friends that I know connected to the game. Yah but I know THEIR friends.

True story: I used to play in an online OOTP league with a current member of the Brewers' front office. I won't go into the trades they made.

That was one of the more epic humblebrags I've read recently, though it managed to almost completely avoid the pretense of humbleness. I would say this - assuming it is your goal to impart wisdom by conveying your knowledge of baseball, is the best tactic for this really to attempt to put yourself on a pedestal? The most knowledgeable people tend not to do that. Maybe that's a discussion point for the next time you play croquet with Pat Murphy.

Tristen Lutz and Je'Von Ward were activated onto the AZL Brewers' active roster last night. That brings that roster to the league limit of 35. LG Castillo, Cam Robinson, Justin Bullock, and Karlos Morales will all need to be activated in the near future as well, so there is still a fair bit of roster maneuvering to accomplish.

AZL Brewers 10, AZL White Sox 9 (10 innings) AZL Brewers Boxscore Not to be outdone by KJ Harrison's two double debut up in Helena, debuting Tristan Lutz smacked two home runs in his pro debut, en route to a 5 RBI game and another AZL Brewer win. The first homer went over the scoreboard in left field, and the second was a three run job that gave the Brewers am 8-6 lead. They would need all of those eight runs to make it to the tenth inning, where they were gifted two runs and ended up holding on to win the game. It's also worth noting that Lutz played in center field. There's somewhat of a consensus within the scouting community that he'll wind up in right field - he looks the part for the right corner post to be sure - but he's obviously that much more valuable if he can stay in center. Speaking of debuting outfielders, 12th round pick Je'Von Ward started in right field. Ward might be playing a little out of position there as he's generally seen as a left field/first base type due to his arm. But, trying these things out is what rookie ball is for. Ward took an 0-4, though he did have a walk. Outside of Lutz, the only Brewer hitter with more than one hit was Pat McInerney, who hit another double (#5 on the year) and another home run (#5 on the year - this leads the AZL). It's not hard to see McInerney developing a cult following if he keeps this up. He's slashing .286/.453/.694 through 64 pro PAs. He was signed as an undrafted free agent, and he's a big boy at 6'5, 245. The Baby Brewer offense walked 13 times, though somewhat oddly no one walked more than twice. Spreading the walk love around. The only Brewers who did not walk were McInerney (who leads the AZL in walks) and Francisco Thomas. Robie Rojas threw out the only runner attempting a stolen base against him. He's thrown out 4 of 7 potential base stealers. I imagine if there weren't a glut of catchers directly ahead of him in Helena, he'd be there already. The pitching was... the Brewers needed 10 runs to win again. 4th round pick and Illinois native Brendan Murphy made his pro debut and allowed two runs in two innings of work. Scott Serigstad likewise allowed two runs in two innings. Wilfred Salaman allowed one earned run in four innings. No pickoffs for Salaman - his pickoff streak ends at five games. Cameron Hanes allowed the tying run in the ninth and put the tying run on base in the tenth before Tyler Thorne shut the door on the White Sox. Interesting note about the extra innings automatic runner at second base - if the pitcher allows that runner to score, it is an unearned run. AZL Brewers Game Log Lutz HR #1: AZL Brewers Top of the 4th Tyler Lawrence walks. Francisco Thomas flies out to right fielder Alex Call. Jesus Lujano grounds into a force out, second baseman Laz Rivera to shortstop Lenyn Sosa. Tyler Lawrence out at 2nd. Jesus Lujano to 1st. Tristen Lutz homers (1) on a line drive to left field. Jesus Lujano scores. Nick Egnatuk grounds out, shortstop Lenyn Sosa to first baseman Michael Hickman. Lutz HR #2: AZL Brewers Top of the 8th Pitching Change: Andre Wheeler replaces Kevin George. Francisco Thomas singles on a line drive to center fielder Logan Taylor. Jesus Lujano singles on a line drive to right fielder Alex Call. Francisco Thomas to 2nd. Tristen Lutz homers (2) on a fly ball to left field. Francisco Thomas scores. Jesus Lujano scores. Nick Egnatuk grounds out, third baseman Amado Nunez to first baseman Michael Hickman. Pat McInerney doubles (5) on a line drive to right fielder Alex Call. Julio Mendez called out on strikes. Robie Rojas flies out to center fielder Logan Taylor. Lutz IBB #1/the winning rally: AZL Brewers Top of the 10th Pitching Change: Joseph Benitez replaces Greg Minier. David Cronin remains in the game as the designated hitter. Francisco Thomas starts inning at 2nd base. Jesus Lujano out on a sacrifice bunt, third baseman Amado Nunez to first baseman Michael Hickman. Francisco Thomas to 3rd. Joseph Benitez intentionally walks Tristen Lutz. Nick Egnatuk strikes out swinging. Tristen Lutz steals (1) 2nd base. Pat McInerney reaches on a fielding error by first baseman Michael Hickman. Francisco Thomas scores. Tristen Lutz scores. Julio Mendez lines out to second baseman Laz Rivera.

Quintin Torres-Costa was indeed promoted to Biloxi's roster, but he finds himself on their Temp Inactive list.

Tristen Lutz and Je'Von Ward are in Maryvale's lineup tonight, and the Baby Brewers' starting pitcher is Brendan Murphy. Debut-a-palooza.

KJ Harrison debuting tonight for Helena. He's batting third and DHing.

We really need to have a "People here..." Hall of Fame. While almost anything that follows those words is by nature pretty ridiculous, there have been some gems over the years. Where's Hoffy when you need him?

The last I heard, maybe a week ago, was that the Brewers hope Woodruff can start throwing after the All-Star break and return before the end of July. I'd look at Tristan Archer as a pen option this September, if not earlier. And I would be surprised if the Brewers don't give Ramirez a shot this season.

AZL Brewers 14, AZL Dodgers 13 AZL Brewers Boxscore Saturday the Baby Brewers beat the Diaper Dodgers by a football-esque 7-6 score; on Sunday, they did again by an even-more football score of 14-13. I know AZL players probably don't get too frustrated by these kinds of losses as complex leagues do not foment long standing rivalries, but these games are kind of reminiscent of the mid-90's Brewers-Cubs affairs where no lead was safe and each new update to the box score could be cringe-worthy. Paul Wagner is relieving Jeff Juden? Oh, crap. To summarize Sunday's game, the Brewers were up 4-1 after 1, down 8-4 after 2, up 14-8 after 5, and then held on to win 14-13. The AZL season is now 13 games old for the Maryvale kids. In those 13 games, the winning team has averaged 10.4 runs per games - that's crazy. Thankfully the winning team has been the Brewers' boys 10 times. 10-3, despite a 5.62 team ERA. Pat McInerney lead the way on offense, going 4-5 with a home run and a double. Kenny Corey was right behind him, at 3-4 with a double and a walk. Robert Henry hit his first pro home run; Nick Egnatuk, Julian Jarrard, Jesus Lujano, Julio Mendez, and Robie Rojas all contributed a double. Egnatuk and Rojas both had a single and a walk, too. Keston Hiura did not play. He's regularly had days off, presumably for throwing work. We're waiting on pro debuts from Tristen Lutz, Je'Von Ward, and LG Castillo. I do suppose it is possible Lutz skips directly to Helena, though. I've tried to avoid dwelling too much on the negatives as far as pitching, which has left those parts of the AZL summaries shorter more often than not. Just to bring it up, to say that 18 year old righty Michael Gonzalez ha been struggling this season would be a tremendous understatement: .472 batting average against, 3.50 WHIP, 5 HRs allowed in 10 innings. We obviously hope the 2016 24th rounder turns things around, but no matter what happens the rest of the season, the overall stats are going to wind up being pretty ugly. NDFA Branden Nunn pitched well in relief of Gonzalez, throwing 3 1/3 scoreless innings. He struck out three, walked one, allowed two hits, and stranded two of Gonzalez' runners. He picked up his second professional win. Fellow NDFA Gabe Friese picked up his second professional save, throwing a clean final two innings. Friese has yet to allow a run over his first 10 pro innings. Although, just barely - see below. Just to track it, we're still waiting on pro debuts for Caden Lemons, Max Lazar, Cam Robinson, Justin Bullock, Brendan Murphy, and Karlos Morales. AZL Brewers Game Log Take your pick, really. The Brewers averted a 9th inning tie game - that 14th run is always the hardest: AZL Dodgers Top of the 9th Kevin Aponte flies out to center fielder Jesus Lujano. Jair Camargo singles on a ground ball to left fielder Kenny Corey. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-runner Preston Grand Pre replaces Jair Camargo. With Alvaro Rubi batting, Preston Grand Pre steals (2) 2nd base. Alvaro Rubi walks. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-runner Samuel Ortiz replaces Alvaro Rubi. Jefrey Souffront reaches on a force attempt, missed catch error by shortstop Julian Jarrard, assist to second baseman Julio Mendez. Preston Grand Pre to 3rd. Samuel Ortiz to 2nd. Jeremy Arocho grounds into a force out, third baseman Nick Egnatuk to catcher Moises Perez. Preston Grand Pre out at home. Samuel Ortiz to 3rd. Jefrey Souffront to 2nd. Jeremy Arocho to 1st. Chris Roller strikes out swinging.

The Shuckers provide some further detail via press release. Tyrone Taylor activated from the 7-day DL for Biloxi as he concludes his AZL rehab assignment. Michael Reed placed back on the 7-day DL. As Jim noted, A.J. Murray transferred to Biloxi, but he was placed on the 7-day DL there. Essentially transferred from Wisconsin's DL to Biloxi's DL. The Biloxi PR also confirms the Charles release and the addition of 1/3 of Hawaii KO.