And That

Shuckers move into first place tie after comeback win on Wednesday Clint Coulter's two-run single capped comeback win to clinch series By Biloxi Shuckers (Photo: Hunter Reed) Biloxi Boxscore Like the title says, Biloxi moves into a first place tie with their 10th win in 13 games. The offense, previously left for dead, added another few points to its team batting average by pounding out 10 hits. Mauricio Dubon, Michael Choice, Clint Coulter, and Dustin Houle all chipped in with two hits. Houle is now batting .311 on the year, which isn't necessarily surprising to me given my long time prospect crush on him, but it is great to see that he keeps forcing himself into the lineup. At this point last year, Rene Garcia had made it into 8 games as Nottingham's backup. Houle is at 14. And he has caught 6 of the 10 runners attempting to steal on him. That is not bad. Taylor Williams started and was pulled after his standard 45ish pitches. It was one of his better starts in a sea of solid starts, primarily because he allowed no walks in his 2 1/3 innings pitched. Two hits, four strikeouts, and his K:BB ratio is now better than 2:1. Jon Perrin, who has quietly struggled a bit as Williams' tandem buddy, also had one of his better performances of the early season, allowing just an unearned run in 3 2/3 innings, though it should be said that the unearned run was caused by his error, so it really should be earned, shouldn't it? Tayler Scott picked up his first save of the season. Earned it, too, getting out of a jam in the eighth inning (noted below). Matt Ramsey pitched three of the previous four days, so that's probably why he wasn't in the game in the ninth. Biloxi Game Log Shuckers get out of this situation...... wait for it.......Scott free: Jacksonville Bottom of the 8th Michael Reed remains in the game as the left fielder. Jeremias Pineda singles on a ground ball to center fielder Johnny Davis. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter Cal Towey replaces Esmerling De La Rosa. Cal Towey strikes out swinging. Jeremias Pineda steals (6) 2nd base. Yefri Perez walks. Alex Yarbrough singles on a fly ball to center fielder Johnny Davis. Jeremias Pineda to 3rd. Yefri Perez to 2nd. Pitching Change: Tayler Scott replaces Forrest Snow, batting 9th. Brian Anderson strikes out swinging. John Norwood grounds out, third baseman Angel Ortega to first baseman Dustin DeMuth.

In order to improve board functionality, I've split this topic into two sections, the second of which starts on 1/1/17. The original thread is here (and locked): viewtopic.php?f=66&t=34528

Thanks-title fixed.

Patrick touched on Peterson a few posts above - reply #387.

Perfect Game Mock Draft Version 1.0.

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 Carolina Media Notes - Linked on the Mudcats 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 - Carolina League Southern Division A - Midwest League Western Division *** Sortable individual stat pages: Colorado Springs Biloxi Carolina Wisconsin *** Weather.com: Colorado Springs, CO Jacksonville, FL Lynchburg, VA Fort Wayne, IN

NOTE: No MiLB.TV for Wisconsin on their current road trip to Fort Wayne and Lake County. Also, no MiLB.TV for the Mudcats on their trip to Lynchburg.

Wednesday's Daily Menu: All times are Central Colorado Springs: Idle ********** Biloxi: RHP Taylor Williams at Jacksonville (Marlins), 10:45 AM pre-game, 11:05 AM 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. Erik Bremer (@Erik_Bremer) 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. Only games in Chattanooga and Mobile won't be available. ********** Carolina: RHP Corbin Burnes and RHP Wuilder Rodriguez in a doubleheader at Lynchburg (Indians), 4:15 PM pre-game, 4:30 PM gametime; each contest slated for seven innings Free Live Audio Link We look forward to Mudcats audio with Greg Young (@gregyoungjr), especially after going without gameday audio for much of the Brewers' stay in Brevard County. MiLB.TV - Yes, Carolina home games will be on MiLB.TV, sweet. It appears three other Carolina League teams (Salem, Myrtle Beach, and Winston-Salem) broadcast as well. ********** Wisconsin: RHP David Burkhalter at Fort Wayne (Padres), 9:45 AM pre-game, 10:05 AM gametime 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. In 2017, fifteen games will be broadcast on Spectrum Sports in Wisconsin, available on channel 32 and in HD on channel 1332. We'll keep you posted with our "DVR Alerts" days in advance.

Carolina has the youngest offensive unit in the Carolina League, at 21.6 years of age. The next youngest is Buies Creek, at 22.2. Average is 22.5. They have the second-youngest pitching staff, at 22.5 years of age, though half of the league is either 22.5 or 22.6. Wilmington is the youngest at 22.2. Average is 22.9.

They don't need three catchers in AAA. When Garcia gets ready to return, they'll either just put him on the Helena roster until needed, or activate him and Helena-ize Heineman.

Yamamoto is still with the team. Not sure to what extent he is injured, and/or to what extent they don't have a place for him in the rotation at the moment.

Supak Strikes Out 11 in Rattlers Win Wisconsin beats Fort Wayne 5-2 By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Photo: Wisconsin Timber Rattlers) Wisconsin Boxscore The worst team in the Midwest League is once again taken down by the Rattlers, with the headline (see the headline above) being Trey Supak. One run on three hits and one walk in 5 2/3 innings, and oh yah, eleven punch outs too. So in 30 innings this season, Supak has given up only 16 hits and 7 walks, and struck out 42. He also continues his remarkable ability to keep opposing home runs at bay, considering he is a flyball-oriented pitcher. I would guess he won't be promoted for awhile yet, though, as he has accumulated only 74 innings in A ball, and there is not currently a hole in the Carolina rotation. Joantgel Segovia and Mario Feliciano each had a pair of hits to pace the Rattlers' offense. Feliciano now leads the Rattlers in batting average, at .280. The team managed six walks as well, which is both welcome and surprising. Caleb Whalen struck out twice and walked once in his Rattlers (and full season ball) debut. Wisconsin Game Log Supak was pulled once he hit 90 pitches, nothing to worry about here: Fort Wayne Bottom of the 6th Jorge Ona grounds out, first baseman Ronnie Gideon to pitcher Trey Supak. Hudson Potts flies out to left fielder Caleb Whalen. Pitching Change: Daniel Brown replaces Trey Supak. Jack Suwinski strikes out swinging.

Doubles barrage lifts Shuckers over Jumbo Shrimp Michael Reed blasted his sixth home run in the victory on Tuesday By Biloxi Shuckers (Photo: BENTON REED) Biloxi Boxscore The Shuckers have won 9 of 12 and pull back to .500 for the first time since the 8th game of the season. Their team batting average has risen 23 points since bottoming out at .199 on April 25th. Not great shakes yet, but now not horrifying either. Three Shuckers chipped in with 2 hits. Angel Ortega, who is hitting .310 in his past 10 games, bagged two doubles to see his OPS climb to 724, which is very respectable for the Southern League. He's looked capable on defense at the not-first base infield positions as well. He's a pretty big kid now, too. I'd say his listed height of 6'2 is selling him a bit short. Jacob Nottingham also hit two doubles, though his batting average still hits below .200. He's hit into some pretty awful luck this season, and I fully expect the offensive production to keep picking up. More importantly, to my eye he looks improved and more comfortable behind the plate, most notably in the pitch blocking department. He never will have plus agility behind the dish, so it is important he gets what he can get to. Lateral movement technique looks better as he's moving more centered, as opposed to leading with his knees. And he's thrown out 47% of runners to boot. This is not a full endorsement of his defense - he still has a lot of work left - but he's closer to getting there than he was last year. Dustin DeMuth was the third Shucker with two hits, one of which was a double. Michael Reed hit his 6th home run of the season, which is only two shy of his career single season high set last year. Michael Choice doubled too, his first extra base hit as a member of the organization. Jorge Lopez was ok but inconsistent with his command again. He gave up three earned runs in 4 2/3 innings, striking out 7 but also giving up two jacks. Matt Ramsey, who as I mentioned elsewhere has shown pretty impressive stuff, closed it out for his Southern League-leading 9th save. It feels a bit like Jaye Chapman's start to the season with Biloxi last year. Hopefully Matt's Brewers story ends better than Jaye's. Biloxi Game Log Biloxi takes the lead for keeps: Biloxi Top of the 7th Mauricio Dubon strikes out swinging. Angel Ortega doubles (5) on a ground ball to right fielder John Norwood. Michael Choice doubles (1) on a line drive to left fielder Alex Glenn. Angel Ortega scores. Michael Reed pops out to first baseman Taylor Ard in foul territory. Dustin DeMuth doubles (5) on a line drive to center fielder Yefri Perez. Michael Choice scores. Jacob Nottingham doubles (7) on a sharp ground ball to left fielder Alex Glenn. Dustin DeMuth scores. With Blake Allemand batting, Jacob Nottingham advances to 3rd on a balk. Blake Allemand lines out to third baseman Brian Anderson.

Supak is the new Perrin.

OF Caleb Whalen activated for Wisconsin from the Helena roster. He replaces SS Trever Morrison, who goes on the Rattlers' 7 day DL.

Matt Ramsey gave up a run, but looked impressive. Nice, tight 12-6 curveball (he throws at a pretty high arm slot), and fastballs in the middle 90s. There's something there. Angels Ventura's mechanics are still all overly complicated, and he gets out of whack at times, but he looked pretty good last night as well. Fresno's team ERA was 5.36 before the Sky Sox series began. It's now 6.13. That's quite the jump, even in early May.

I am pessimistic that Gore will still be there at 9, at least as things stand now. If you're looking HS arm at 9, it's probably among the DL Hall/Shane Baz/Trevor Rogers/Sam Carlson/Hans Crouse group.

No, they aren't, unless they think he's still going to be as productive in 2020. They are, more likely than not, trading for Braun's production over the next year or two and are fully aware he probably won't be the same player in 2020. Who should pay for 2020 Braun may well be why he hasn't been traded. That part can be negotiated. But production 4 years down the line is not what teams are trading for. So in a way it doesn't really matter what his WAR will be 2020.

1.0 WAR is worth closer to $8 million. Braun would have to produce about 9 WAR between '17-'20 to justify his contract, based on the WAR measurement. I'd probably take the over on 9, but how much excess value other teams would assign his contract is a little dubious. That said, teams wouldn't be trading for 2020 Ryan Braun, they'd be trading for 2017-2018 Ryan Braun.

I like to take the WAR average of BR, FG, and BP. Like you said, 4.5 bWAR, 3.2 fWAR. 4.3 WARP, so average is exactly 4 WAR for Braun's 2016 season.

Ramirez sits around 90 MPH, maybe a tick more, so he has plenty of velocity for a LHP. His primary offspeed pitch is a changeup, which is atypical for a LOOGY. I haven't seen him pitch much, but I've seen a curveball a few times as well. He hasn't been getting very many strikeouts, and of the few I've seen, they were on fastballs. Command is not great, though his fastball does move a little. It will be interesting to see where he is a few months from now. If he can find a breaking pitch he feels comfortable with, he has a chance.

Dayton Edges Wisconsin 3-2 Dragons complete the sweep of the Rattlers By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Photo: Wisconsin Timber Rattlers) Wisconsin Boxscore Another listless performance at the plate has brought Wisconsin's team batting average down to .212, which at last is now worse than Biloxi's. To illustrate the pain, Trever Morrison has a 475 OPS, and that was only the third-worst OPS in the Rattlers' lineup today. Monte Harrison drew two walks, but his batting average has plunged almost 70 points in the past few weeks. At this point, I don't understand the point of continuing to throw Gilbert Lara out on the field. He looks lost at the plate, and his swing just isn't working. I am unaware of the injury status of Trey York and Nick Roscetti, but if they are healthy one or both could/should find their way onto the Wisconsin roster soon. Tom Jankins was solid again, allowing 2 earned runs over six inning of work. He seems like a guy that could easily enough be moved up to, and handle, the Carolina League if the need arose. Not sure which one of he, Jordan Desguin, or Trey Supak would get the call if it happened right now. Someone who may be in Wisconsin for even less time than any of those guys is Parker Berberet, who continues to look the part. He once again could not lose, hurling three scoreless innings. His ERA is down to 0.61 through 14 2/3 innings of work as a professional pitcher. Move him up, guys. Wisconsin Log Wisconsin did have a chance to bust the floodgates in the 6th, but that bust went bust: Wisconsin Bottom of the 6th Trever Morrison walks. Demi Orimoloye doubles (6) on a line drive to left fielder Taylor Trammell. Trever Morrison scores. Mario Feliciano pops out to first baseman James Vasquez in foul territory. Tucker Neuhaus singles on a ground ball to center fielder Jose Siri. Demi Orimoloye scores. Pitching Change: Aaron Fossas replaces Andrew Jordan. Monte Harrison walks. Tucker Neuhaus to 2nd. Ryan Aguilar walks. Tucker Neuhaus to 3rd. Monte Harrison to 2nd. Ronnie Gideon strikes out swinging. Jose Cuas strikes out swinging. (Yes, that would be the nephew of Tony Fossas working into and out of trouble.)

I don't. It might be a nice gesture, but the Thornburg injury was out of the Brewers control, and I am pretty sure the Red Sox acknowledge that. Injuries happen. If it were an injury the Brewers tried to conceal, that would be a different issue. In this case, a deal is a deal, and if the Brewers play the good Samaritan here, other teams might expect that of the Brewers going forward. That's not a great bargaining position to be in. If the Brewers take the money, which I just don't see happening but it's possible, it will be a baseball decision because they soured on all of the players on the list. However many players that is. 3,5,10,87, whatever.

Yah, I think it is pretty unusual for an MLB trade to have a performance component to it. I doubt any of the players on the agreed-upon list will be yanked because Tyler got hurt.

Player promotions last year not including 2016 draft picks (there really weren't a whole lot involving major prospects, and almost all were pitchers): Marcos Diplan A to A+: 7/10 Freddy Peralta A to A+: 7/9 Josh Hader AA to AAA: 6/11 Brandon Woodruff A+ to AA: 5/15 Jon Perrin A to A+: 5/11 Devin Willimas A to A+: 8/9 Wei-Chung Wang AA to AAA: 8/9 Angel Ventura A+ to AA: 7/9 Clint Coulter A+ to AA: 8/5 Kyle Wren: AA to AAA: 6/4 Dustin DeMuth A+ to AA: 7/26 Mitch Ghelfi: A to A+: 7/26