And That

"Can't play CF" is not accurate. He can play CF, he's just often been playing beside other players whom the Brewers are giving the priority in CF. He's not a premium defender by any stretch, but he's in the same part of the CF defensive continuum as Kyle Wren. Stokes has played basically a season and a half of baseball so far in his pro career, and carries a .371 OBP. At a 600 PA average, he's averaging 47 SBs (84% success rate at that), and nearly 30 doubles. He has a career wRC+ of 119, which is really good run creation. For reference, average MLB wRC+ for LFers was 97 last year.

Rattlers Get Shut Out By Kane County Cougars pitchers hold Wisconsin to one hit in 13-0 win By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Photo: Wisconsin Timber Rattlers) GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Kane County Cougars completed a three-game sweep of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers with a 13-0 shutout on Wednesday at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Cody Reed pitched six no-hit innings for the Cougars and was supported by a 13-hit attack in which the Kane County offense scored in each of the first five innings. The Rattlers have lost four straight games to fall to two games under .500. Kane County (14-6) took the lead in the top of the first inning. Wisconsin starting pitcher Braden Webb walked the leadoff batter. Luis Silverio was next and he lined the first pitch of his at bat to left-center for an RBI double. The Cougars added to their lead in the second inning. Jasrado Chisholm doubled to start the frame and moved to third on a passed ball. Kyle Smith followed with a bloop single to right for a 2-0 lead. The lead was extended to 4-0 as Kane County scored two more runs in the top of the third inning. Jose Herrera drove in the first run of the inning with a double. Smith drove in the second run of the third with a groundout. Webb walked the first two batters in the top of the fourth inning and was replaced by Andrew Vernon out of the Wisconsin bullpen. Vernon got the first out of the inning, but gave up a two-run double to Marcus Wilson. Later, a wild pitch allowed Wilson to score for a 7-0 lead. The Cougars put the game way out of reach in the top of the fifth inning against Cameron Roegner. They sent ten men to the plate, collected four hits, drew two walks, and scored six runs to pad their lead out to 13-0. Paxton De La Garza had the main hit of the inning with a two-run single to push Kane County's advantage to double digits. The Rattlers (9-11) couldn't figure out Reed. He walked one and struck out eleven over six innings. The only other runner he allowed was when Tucker Neuhaus hit a high popup to short right that was dropped for an error. The three Kane County starters in the series against the Rattlers went 16 innings, allowed three hits, walked two, struck out 24, and allowed no runs. Tucker Neuhaus broke up the no-hit bid with a leadoff double in the bottom of the seventh inning against Riley Smith. However, that was the only hit of the night for the Rattlers. Reliever Parker Berberet was a bright spot for the Timber Rattlers. The catcher-turned-pitcher went four scoreless innings and struck out seven for Wisconsin. Wisconsin concluded their seven-game homestand with a 3-4 record. The Timber Rattlers begin a brief four-game road trip with a series against the Burlington Bees at Community Field in Burlington, Iowa on Thursday night. Jordan Desguin (1-1, 5.06) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. Nate Bertness (0-1, 5.23) is set to start for the Bees. Game time is 6:30pm. Wisconsin Boxscore Wisconsin Log

Patrick, would you be able to talk a little bit about Alex Toral? Doesn't make sense at #9, but PG seems to be pretty high on him, and he almost seems like a Pavin Smith starter kit, should Smith go before the first Brewers pick. Toral to me seems not as athletic as Smith, but he has a similar build and bat to ball skills, and they are obviously both left-handed first basemen. Would he be a reach at 34 or 46?

D1 Baseball has updated its list of top 100 high school prospects. It is behind a paywall. The MLB Pipeline folks will be expanding their top 50 into an updated top 100 by the end of the week.

Just to be clear, those are write-ups done by Sickles and other writers at minorleagueball.com. Which is not to say the non-Sickles write-ups are any worse (or better) than the Sickles ones.

No one will ever replace Keith Ginter.

IF George Iskenderian has been placed on Biloxi's 7-day DL. IF Blake Allemand takes his place on the active roster, after being activated from the 7-day DL.

Biloxi is going to score 10 runs today, calling it right now.

Cougars Send Rattlers to Third Straight Loss Kane County wins 5-1 and holds Wisconsin to two hits By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Photo: Wisconsin Timber Rattlers) Wisconsin Boxscore Not much offense for the second day in a row, and even less than yesterday. The Rattlers were no-hit through seven innings, though they broke up the no-no and the shutout two batters into the eighth. Monte Harrison and Ryan Aguilar had the lone hits for Wisconsin. Aguilar was also hit by a pitch. Lots of zeros elsewhere in the box score. The Kane County Cougars do have a stupid low team ERA of 2.04, so there's that. Tom Jankins does a really good job of keeping the ball down and mixing pitches, but for the second straight game, he paid for a few mistakes. Aaron Myers and Andrew Vernon combined for 3 scoreless innings of relief. For those of you keeping track at home, two more pop ups induced by Myers. After watching him pitch a few times now, I'm a bit more dubious about his prospects than I was entering the season. When he hits his spots, he's great, but he doesn't have the stuff to make mistakes. He gets tagged when he does. Wisconsin Log Not no hit: Wisconsin Bottom of the 8th Pitching Change: Cal Becker replaces Ryan Burr. Monte Harrison doubles (5) on a line drive to right fielder Billy Endris. Ryan Aguilar singles on a line drive to right fielder Billy Endris. Monte Harrison scores. With Jose Cuas batting, wild pitch by Cal Becker, Ryan Aguilar to 2nd. Jose Cuas flies out to center fielder Anfernee Grier. Gilbert Lara grounds out, second baseman Manny Jefferson to first baseman Kyle Smith. Ryan Aguilar to 3rd. Nathan Rodriguez grounds out, pitcher Cal Becker to first baseman Kyle Smith.

RHP Tristan Archer has been transferred from Colorado Springs to Biloxi. He takes the place of RHP Preston Gainey, who goes on Biloxi's 7-day DL.

And for reference, Chris Carter is currently hitting .207/.250/.379. He's hit a home run. Someone was angered (I think is the right word) that they got rid of Josmil Pinto, only to sign Eric Thames. Pinto has not yet played this year for his AAA team.

Hey, they are only fifth worst in HR/9 this year so far. And if you take out Thames' HRs...

Certainly valuable!

RHP Josh Uhen assigned to Biloxi from extended spring training. RHP Aaron Wilkerson placed on Biloxi's temporary inactive list.

The Sky Sox will need to make a roster move once Nieuwenhuis reports.

Chiefs Rally Late to Deny Rattlers a Sweep Wisconsin can't hold late lead and fall 6-5 to Peoria By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Photo: Wisconsin Timber Rattlers) Wisconsin Boxscore I turned the game off after the fifth, assuming the Rattlers just about had this in the bag, but that didn't work out. Nattino Diplan pitched fine by Nattino Diplan standards, but Victor Diaz's second appearance of the season was another hot mess. He has struggled to throw strikes, and his crossfire delivery is kind of all over the place. Even that would have been fine, but Luke Barker also came in and struggled to throw strikes, and then when he did, he gave up the lead. If the Rattlers' pitchers had been pounding the strike zone like the team has been doing a pretty good job doing as of late, I think we would have had a series sweep. Such as it is, annoying loss. Tucker Neuhaus and Monte Harrison both had two more hits, and each had a double. Harrison's double would have been a home run if the wall were 15 feet high instead of 16 feet high. Joantgel Segovia also had two hits, both singles, and Demi Orimoloye collected another double with his lone base knock of the day. Ronnie Gideon struck out two more times and currently has an unsightly 2:21 BB:K ratio. It took a little bit for his bat to start going at Helena last year - hopefully history repeats itself. The bottom four Rattlers in the lineup all had averages under .200, something that should be begin to be alarming in the next few weeks. Wisconsin Log In which they lose the lead: Peoria Top of the 8th Brian O'Keefe homers (2) on a fly ball to left field. Ryan McCarvel strikes out swinging. Andy Young triples (2) on a line drive to center fielder Monte Harrison. Pitching Change: Luke Barker replaces Victor Diaz. Shane Billings singles on a line drive to center fielder Monte Harrison. Andy Young scores. With Matt Davis batting, Shane Billings steals (1) 2nd base. Matt Davis walks. Tommy Edman flies out to right fielder Demi Orimoloye. Shane Billings to 3rd. J. R. Davis singles on a ground ball to right fielder Demi Orimoloye. Shane Billings scores. Matt Davis to 2nd. Stefan Trosclair walks. Matt Davis to 3rd. J. R. Davis to 2nd. Andrew Knizner grounds into a force out, fielded by second baseman Tucker Neuhaus. Stefan Trosclair out at 2nd.

The Sky Sox have the best team ERA in the PCL. Even 16 games into the season, that is both amazing and odd.

Neuhaus Hits Walkoff Homer as Rattlers Rally for 7-6 Win in Ten Innings Wisconsin trailed Peoria 6-0, but hit four homers to storm back for third straight win By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Photo: Wisconsin Timber Rattlers) Wisconsin Boxscore Wisconsin continued to terrorize Peoria pitching, with Tucker Neuhaus the hero this afternoon as he clubbed home runs numbers four and five, the second of which produced a walk-off win in the bottom of the ninth. He hit a third ball hard, but to the warning track, in the 8th. Demi Orimoloye also hit his fifth homer, moving he and Neuhaus into a three-way tie for the team lead in homers, joining Monte Harrison, who hit his fifth yesterday. Orimoloye pulled within 6 points of the OPS for the team in that department - he trails Harrison 1.030 to 1.024. They rank eighth and ninth in the Midwest League in OPS. And all three of the Rattlers with 5 home runs are tied for the league lead. Mario Feliciano and Jose Cuas also both picked up two hits. Feliciano is 13th in the league in OPS himself, just barely trailing Harrison and Orimoloye, and he's only struck out 6 times in 48 ABs. Trever Morrison, who got off to just a brutal start at the plate, added a double. He has a staggering 7 BBs and 13 Ks over 28 recorded at-bats. He's closer to Scooter Gennett than Russ Branyan physically, so being that the third part of the Three-TO isn't coming (he has a serious predilection for hitting ground balls), hopefully Morrison starts making a bit more contact. Four Rattler pitchers covered 10 innings, though none pitched more than 3. Jordan Desguin (3 IP, 4 ER) and Miguel Sanchez (3 IP, 2 ER) both had forgettable outings. Yeoman hurler Parker Berberet turned in a crisp second professional pitching outing (3 IP, 1 H, 3 K), and Dan Brown pitched a perfect 10th, and picked up his second professional win in two decisions in the process. Wisconsin Log That didn't take long: Wisconsin Bottom of the 10th Mario Feliciano grounds out, pitcher Spencer Trayner to first baseman Stefan Trosclair. Tucker Neuhaus homers (5) on a fly ball to right center field.

Brinson, Phillips, and Cordell all have bad walk to strikeout ratios. If they were showing plate discipline to go along with average, then maybe you consider bringing one of them up right away, but right now I think it makes sense to let them play in AAA, and keeping in mind their offensive numbers should be looked at through the lens of playing in the PCL, and playing home games in Colorado Springs at that.

Rattlers Beat Peoria 4-1 Roegner and Harrison provide the pitching and offense for Wisconsin By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Photo: Wisconsin Timber Rattlers) GRAND CHUTE, WI - Cameron Roegner pitched six scoreless innings and Monte Harrison drove in three runs for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Friday night at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium and it was enough for a 4-1 win over the Peoria Chiefs. The win was the second straight for the Rattlers, who moved their record back above the .500 mark. Wisconsin (8-7) went in front with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third. Demi Orimoloye doubled with two outs to drive Joantgel Segovia home from first base to get Wisconsin the lead. Peoria pitcher Ian Oxnevad walked Mario Feliciano and hit Tucker Neuhaus to load the bases. Harrison drew a walk after falling behind 1-2 in the count to force in the second run of the inning. Harrison, who homered twice on Thursday night, lined a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning on Friday to put the Rattlers up 4-0. The homer was the fifth of the season for Harrison, who has twelve RBI this season. He was 1-for-2 with two walks on Friday night to extend his current hitting streak to seven games. He is 12-for-25 during the streak. Roegner pitched six scoreless innings for the Timber Rattlers. The left-handed starter allowed four hits, walked one, and struck out five. The Chiefs (6-8) got on the scoreboard with a solo home run by Danny Hudzina in the top of the seventh inning. Braden Webb entered the game in the top of the eighth for the Rattlers and closed out the game with two scoreless innings to earn his first professional save. Game three of the series is Saturday afternoon. Jordan Desguin (1-1, 2.70) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Steve Farinaro (0-1, 11.25) is set to start for the Chiefs. Game time is 1:05pm. Wisconsin Boxscore Wisconsin Log

Now is the time to take a look at Wren, if they ever do want to see what they have. Once the window opens for Brinson and Phillips, it'll be hard to get ABs for Wren in Milwaukee.

Per a Brewers announcement. I will always remember Kirk's bizarre home/road splits in 2016. A season for the ages.

The Phillies' average margin of defeat last year was 4.18 runs.

Lookouts blank Shuckers to force series rubber match Mauricio Dubon had two more hits and is now 7-for-13 in the series By Biloxi Shuckers (Photo: Mark P Driscoll) CHATTANOOGA, TN - One night after erupting for seven runs in a comeback victory, the Biloxi Shuckers were unable to solve Felix Jorge (W, 2-0) in a 3-0 loss to the Chattanooga Lookouts. The Shuckers had their chances against the Twins pitching prospect, but left runners on the corners in both the second and third innings. Mauricio Dubon continued his torrid hitting with two more singles in three at-bats, but no other batter managed more than one hit in the game. Shuckers starter Luis Ortiz (L, 0-2) pitched well for the second consecutive start, but a few blemishes saddled him with the loss. The righty, coming off five no-hit innings on Saturday, allowed only three hits and a walk over five innings. But a solo home run from Dan Rohlfing in the fourth inning and an RBI single from Engelb Vielma in the fifth inning provided Jorge and reliever Nick Burdi with ample cushion. The Lookouts added one run in the sixth off Bubba Derby, but Derby recovered to finish the final three innings allowing just that one run on three hits. Chattanooga turned to Mason Melotakis (S, 2) in the ninth, who worked around a two-out walk to collect the save and seal the victory. The two teams meet in the rubber game of the five-game set Friday night, as Shuckers righty Taylor Jungmann faces Lookouts righty Paul Clemens. First pitch is scheduled for 6:15 CT, with the Beau Rivage Pregame Show starting at 5:55 CT on Cruisin' WGCM AM-1240/FM-100.9 and the Shuckers Radio Network. The game will also be available at biloxishuckers.com and TuneIn Radio. The Shuckers will return home to begin a five-game series against the Jackson (TN) Generals (Arizona) on Saturday, April 22. On Saturday, the Shuckers will partner with March of Dimes for a benefit jersey auction. The jersey features a unique aquatic design, showcasing the beauty of the Mississippi Gulf Coast and was designed by Ocean Springs tattoo artist Matt Stebly. Saturday also features the second fireworks show of the season. The homestand continues with Family Fun Day and a ZOOperstars! performance on April 23, Bark in the Park presented by Raising Cane's on April 24 and the first Education Day of the year on April 26. Biloxi Boxscore Biloxi Log

Sky Sox Postpone Thursday's Game Due To Rain Game will be made up as part of a double-header on Friday, April 21st starting at 4:30pm MDT By Colorado Springs Sky Sox Thursday's 6:40 PM contest between the Colorado Springs Sky Sox and the Memphis Redbirds has been postponed due to rain and will be rescheduled as part of a double header for Friday, April 21st. Game one will begin at 4:30pm MDT and game two will follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one. Gates will open at 4:00pm MDT. All tickets for the postponed game are considered rain checks and are good for any remaining 2017 regular season game excluding July 4 and September 2 (Sky Fest). To exchange tickets, fans will need to present them at the Sky Sox ticket office. The team's homestand continues tomorrow with Friday Night Fireworks featuring music from Prince. For more information please contact Nick Dobreff at (719) 597-1449 or through e-mail at prdept@skysox.com. The 2017 Sky Sox season is in full swing at Security Service Field. For ticket information, game schedule, promotions calendar or for additional information about the Sky Sox, call (719) 304-5610, visit SkySox.com, like us on Facebook or follow the team on Twitter at @skysox.