battlekow

Manatees hit it off tonight Mark DeCotis/Florida Today The Brevard County Manatees open their 17th Florida State League baseball season at home against Daytona Beach tonight with the franchise's mission the same as it was the day it was born: To develop Major League-quality talent. The responsibility for shepherding the talent for the Milwaukee Brewers affiliate through the 140-game grind falls to Bob Miscik, the 13th manager in the Manatees' history. Miscik is no stranger to the FSL, having managed the then-Texas Rangers-affiliated Port Charlotte team to a 78-61 record in 2000. He also managed the Brewers' Class AA team in Huntsville, Ala., to a 63-75 record last season before swapping jobs with Mike Guerrero, who managed the Manatees for two campaigns. Under Guerrero, the Manatees had the best season statistically in their existence in 2009, won the first-half championship and reached the first round of the playoffs. Also, two of their stars, outfielder Logan Schafer and right-handed pitcher Amaury Rivas, were honored with the Brewers' Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year awards respectively. In the process, they and their teammates set the bar high for the 2010 Manatees, and regardless of past accomplishments, the baseball goals remain the same: Prepare players for the next level, and beyond. Ten players who wore the Manatees red, white and blue in 2009 -- infielders Brent Brewer, Sergio Miranda, Matthew Cline and Juan Sanchez, pitchers Michael Fiers, Ruben Flores, Lucas Luetge and Dan Merklinger, and catchers Martin Maldonado and Anderson De La Rosa -- are on the 2010 roster. Also returning is pitching coach Fred Dabney. On the business side, ownership led by Orlando orthopedic surgeon Dr. Thomas F. Winters Jr., faces the same hurdles of its peers: convincing fans and sponsors to spend money on minor league baseball. Manatees attendance last season was 68,741, up from 66,256 in 2009 but on an average basis good enough only for the middle of the pack in the 12-team league. Brevard County Manatees manager Bob Miscik, left, instructs his minor league baseball team during practice Wednesday. (Photo by Christina Stuart, FLORIDA TODAY) http://cmsimg.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=A9&Date=20100408&Category=SPORTS&ArtNo=4080308&Ref=AR&Profile=1002&MaxW=550&MaxH=650&title=0

Timber Rattlers' Young Guns John Gillespie/WBAY.com (The link includes a video report of this story.) The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers open their season Thursday night at Fox Cities Stadium with seven of the Brewers' top 30 prospects. Six of those seven are pitchers. The Brewers' emphasis on bolstering their farm system's pitching is clearly being seen at the Single A level. First-round draft pick Eric Arnett, along with two former supplemental first-rounders, will pitch for the Rattlers this season. "They're trying to build up their pitching, and it starts in the minor leagues," Rattlers manager Jeff Isom said, "and this is the first step in trying to move up in the big leagues." Headlining the group is last year's top draft pick, the right-handed pitching Arnett. The former Indiana Hoosier is the Brewers' number-four prospect. "It's a good feeling knowing how much emphasis they put on pitching," Arnett said. "We're coming up as a team, and hopefully we can help them out in the future." The pitching prospects will see up-close what it takes to be a major league pitcher on Friday when Brewers starter Jeff Suppan make a rehab start here at Fox Cities Stadium. "I was with the big league team in the spring, and I couldn't believe I was sitting next to Trevor Hoffmann [sic]. It'll be great to learn from him," Arnett said. Joining Arnett on the Rattlers pitching staff are two supplemental first-rounders, Kyle Heckathorn from last year's draft and Jake Odorizzi from the previous year. The three hope this is the first step in a journey that will eventually lead to Miller Park.

Chris Mehring reports that Jeff Suppan will be making a rehab start for the T-Rats on Friday. http://wisconsin.timberrattlers.milb.com/images/2010/04/07/zLZYCDZN.jpg

Hardy's first Twins homer.

I made a post about the team pages being down in the Issues forum.

They're both center fielders. Schafer has a slight groin tear; when he's healthy, it seems logical that he'll be activated at Huntsville and Cain will be promoted to Nashville.

Green joins big league Brewers at Spring Training Earle Couper/Comox Valley Record It was Miller time for Taylor Green when he joined the Milwaukee Brewers for their final two MLB preseason exhibition games on the weekend. The Comox Valley infielder saw action in both games with the big club against the Detroit Tigers at newly renovated Miller Park in Milwaukee, pinch-hitting for first baseman Prince Fielder. He got in one at-bat both games, reaching base both times but was left stranded both times. The Brew Crew swept the Tigers, winning 3-2 Friday and 13-12 Saturday. It was a great way to wrap up spring training for the 24-year-old Green, who is expected to start the season with AA Huntsville Stars of the Southern League in Alabama. MLB teams have two training camps, minor league and major league, explained Taylor’s father, Bill. “Most players, except the big shots and a few select invitees, go to minor league camp ... that’s all the rookie, A, AA and AAA players. Taylor had been in the minor league camp and had been doing well. He was playing on the AAA Nashville roster,” Bill Green said. In the third week of March, the major league camps are whittled down to a very select group of proven major leaguers and three or four other prospects. “Players are being sent back to minor league camp. So, Taylor (playing on the AAA roster) felt that as soon as players were released from the Major League camp, he would be displaced to the AA roster. This is usually what happens,” explained Bill Green. However, on March 22 while in Minor League camp he was told to pack his bags and go over to Big League camp. He thought he was just being invited over for a game that day with the Big League team. (The previous week in Phoenix, Taylor had been invited to play in the big league games against the Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants). “He was wrong ... it wasn’t a one-day invite ... it was ‘Pack your bags son, you’re now on the Big League spring training roster!’” Bill Green said. “Taylor said his feet barely touched the ground as he walked into the dressing room with Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Trevor Hoffman, Greg Zaun, etc.etc. And the $1,000/week meal money is a lot better than $20/day in the minor leagues!” Bill Green added. That kind of move at that time, with just over a week in spring training left, is highly unusual and a real big vote of confidence, Bill Green said. “The Brewers obviously are taking a good look at Taylor fitting into the major league team right away. He played an outstanding game against the Kansas City Royals last week ... hitting a towering home run, stealing a base, and making two diving plays at third ... all in front of the GM Doug Melvin and assistant GM Gord Ash. “What happens will all depend on a number of factors relating to trades, other players, and how well Casey McGehee, the Brewer’s present third baseman, is playing,” said Bill Green, noting McGehee has not enjoyed a stellar preseason. Despite that, McGehee will start the season at third for the Brewers, a position where the team has good depth. Perhaps for that reason, the Brewers had been moving Green around the infield during spring training. http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/320*320/29561NewS.8.20100406105436.Baseball_20100407.jpg

As I recall, Periard's velocity was down last year after returning from his shoulder injury. It will be interesting to see if he gets it back this year.

Prince is indeed injured, but we have no specifics.

That's a great question. Apart from Lawrie and Odorizzi, whom everyone expected to be good, Logan Schafer is really salvaging that draft right now.

Not per se, but the lack of news combined with Brevard County still having not released its roster is news enough in this case.

I think it's the other way around: because they think he's advanced enough to start the season at Brevard County, it's by default possible that he'd see Huntsville sometime this season. It's not like there's some pressing need to get him to AA this year that would require them to start him higher than they'd like. Interesting that Nieves will be one of the standalone starters given the contrast between his build and Heckathorn's.

That's actually a really good comparison, but unfortunately for more reasons than you intended. That hypothetical Braddock, being too fragile to start but fully equipped to get through an order more than once, is a good comp for Kuo '08, when Kuo was something of a long man-closer hybrid, as opposed to your standard long man of the crappy Dessens-ian variety. After yet another arm injury, however, Kuo '09 was never used more than an inning at a time and never brought back out after finishing an inning, which sadly is closer to the Braddock of reality, or at least Braddock '09. Then again, Kuo has had a truly heroic number of arm problems as opposed to Braddock's pretty standard amount, but even leaving aside injury concerns, getting a manager to carve out a nonstandard bullpen role like that, especially for a completely unproven player, is going to be difficult. A more realistic goal is the Todd Coffey fireman-esque role from last year, though he obviously wouldn't be able to pitch as often as Coffey did.

Oddly, it appears that Adams was suspended with exactly 50 games remaining on the T-Rats' schedule, except that the 8/27 game at Burlington was canceled, so by my count he has one game left to serve.

Technically, they did--K. Davis, even! As to your second point, Space Coast is particularly punishing of right-handed hitters; as a lefty, Kentrail Davis should be okay, though the overall offensive context of the FSL as a whole is indeed low.

Just to be clear, that was 15 consecutive outs recorded via strikeout, not 15 consecutive strikeouts; he allowed three hits during that span.

Best of the West turning into scouts' dream Mark Hunter/Kamloops Daily News Marty Lehn calls it a “one-stop shop.” Whatever you call it, the Best of the West showcase baseball tournament is turning into a premier event for Major-League scouts to see some of Canada’s top prospects. Around 30 scouts representing 15 big-league clubs were seen around NorBrock Stadium and Canada Games Field during the four-day Best of the West. Lehn, a Milwaukee Brewers scout and a tournament organizer, isn’t surprised that so many showed up to the event, which was comprised of 12 premier teams. “I started it up for that reason — to make it a premier, No. 1 scouted event,” said Lehn, who runs Big League Experience baseball camps. “The mindset was to make this a premier tournament in Canada and a one-stop shop for scouts.” Although the Best of the West has had a pretty short history — it started in 2007 — the tournament has churned out a few solid draft picks. Among them were Langley Blaze infielder Brett Lawrie, who competed here in 2008 and was drafted in the first round, 16th overall, by the Brewers that same summer, and shortstop Wes Darvill, whom the Chicago Cubs selected in the fifth round of the 2009 draft. Lehn, who coached Canada’s entry at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, said the timing of the Best in the West makes it optimal for scouts. “It’s a perfect time to hold this tournament if you want to get scouting directors in here,” said Lehn, who was joined this weekend by two fellow Brewers scouts. “Once you get closer to the draft, it tends to get more difficult to get them up here.” This year’s tournament featured 10 or so prospects, including Langley catcher Kellin Deglan, who is ranked No. 66 on Baseball America’s top 100 high school prospects list. “He’s going to be going down to Orlando in the middle of April with a junior national team,” Lehn said. “If he continues to do what he does . . . he’ll probably be the first Canadian guy to go.” In previous years, the Best of the West featured 12 or 13 teams, with one division featuring AAA teams, including the host Kamloops RiverDogs. There was no local entry this year — instead, organizers decided to go with all premier teams, and even drew a select team from Ontario, the Terriers. “I think you’re going to see more and more Ontario teams and more Ontario prospects coming out,” Lehn said. “We want to get the best talent from Western Canada, but also get some from Ontario, too.” But, even with increased interest from teams and scouts alike, Lehn doesn’t see the tournament getting any bigger than its 12-team draw. For one, there is a limited number of midget-size fields in Kamloops, not to mention that it’s already a four-day tournament. But, more importantly, Lehn likes the tournament the way it is. “I might just want to keep it at 12,” he said. “I don’t know if we need more than 12 teams. Those teams that don’t get into the tournament, their better prospects get picked up by other teams, so we see most of the best players off all the teams.”

How about Gennett getting the Brett Lawrie treatment and going right to A-ball?

From 2006-2009, the duration of Rivera's Brewers career, NL catchers hit .259/.324/.396; Rivera's neutralized line over that time span was .255/.328/.419. Yes, it was only 374 plate appearances in aggregate, but nevertheless, Rivera was an above-average offensive catcher for the Brewers.

Yeah, he injured his groin.

You're not alone--I've read it that way every time I've opened the forum.

Official Huntsville roster: Rotation RHP Michael Bowman LHP Chris Cody RHP Alex Periard RHP Amaury Rivas RHP Mark Rogers Bullpen LHP Casey Baron RHP Donovan Hand RHP Jim Henderson RHP Robert Hinton RHP Mike Jones RHP Brandon Kintzler RHP Mark Willinsky Catchers C Jonathan Lucroy C Sean McCraw Infielders 1B Chris Errecart 3B Taylor Green 2B Brett Lawrie Util Anderson Machado SS Zelous Wheeler 1B/3B Steffan Wilson Outfielders CF Lorenzo Cain OF Chuckie Caufield RF Caleb Gindl LF Lee Haydel Disabled list RHP Evan Anundsen LHP Bobby Bramhall RHP Rob Wooten LHP Brae Wright

Mid-80s is pretty standard velocity for Anundsen, unfortunately.

It is indeed. After missing 2008 because of shoulder surgery, he logged ten innings with Helena last year. Robinson was, along with Rob Bryson and Lee Haydel, one of the high-profile members of the Brewers' 2006 draft-and-follow class, the last class before that practice was legislated out of existence; he signed for $500,000.