colbyjack

Final: Nashville 5, Oklahoma 3 Nashville Box Score: A come from behind effort for the Sounds, who ties the game in the 7th, and win it in the 9th. Tony Gwynn and Mike Rivera with 3 hits a piece. Enrique Cruz with the big go-ahead RBI in the 9th. Zach Jack with a decent, not great start, while Kershner, Evert, Stetter and Simpson hold the Redhawks scoreless over the final four frames to keep the Sounds in the game. www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_orhaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_orhaaa_1 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link, text below -- www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=1915 Sounds Keep Rolling, Post 5-3 Last At-Bat Win OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Nashville Sounds plated five runs over the final three innings to record a come-from-behind 5-3 victory over the Oklahoma RedHawks on Saturday night at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in the opener of a four-game series. The win was the first-place Sounds' fourth in a row and tenth in their last 12 games. After former Sound John Wasdin held Nashville scoreless for six innings as Oklahoma built a 3-0 lead, the RedHawks bullpen didn't achieve the same success. Nelson Cruz led off the seventh with his team-leading eighth double of the year, off Oklahoma reliever Kelvin Jimenez. With one out, Mike Rivera (3-for-4) singled him home to put the Sounds on the board. Chris Barnwell plated Rivera later in the frame with a sacrifice fly before Enrique Cruz delivered a two-out RBI double to knot the score at 3-3. Nashville took its first lead of the contest in the top of the ninth against Oklahoma reliever Kevin Walker. Rivera led off the frame with a single and was replaced by pinch-runner Dave Krynzel. After Krynzel was erased on a Brad Nelson fielder's choice, Barnwell singled to put two aboard for Enrique Cruz, who delivered a go-ahead RBI single to right to give the Sounds a 4-3 lead. Tony Gwynn (3-for-5) plated an insurance run with a single of his own. Sounds reliever Mitch Stetter (2-2) picked up the victory after tossing 1 1/3 scoreless frames. Allan Simpson worked a scoreless bottom of the ninth to earn his first save of the year. Walker (0-1) took the loss after surrendering the go-ahead run. Zach Jackson took a no-decision for Nashville in his third start of the year. He allowed three runs on eight hits while striking out four batter in his five innings of work. The teams continue the series with a 2:05 p.m. matinee on Sunday afternoon. Right-hander Ben Hendrickson (1-0, 2.08) takes the hill for the Sounds to face Oklahoma right-hander Edinson Volquez (2-1, 3.86).

Henry was baptized today. We dressed him appropriately... http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/brewerfanHenry.jpg Thanks to Jamie, Mary and Rachel for the bib. It's big enough that Henry doesn't even need to wear clothes under it http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

Final: Mobile 4, Huntsville 0 Huntsville Box Score: The Stars get carved up by Padres 2005 first-round pick Cesar Carrillo tonight. Carlos Villanueva didn't pitch bad at all, with 8 Ks and 1 BB in 5 innings of work, giving up two earned runs. Heether, Crabbe, Anderson, Moss and Palmisano are all better than their numbers, so let's hope for them to catch up and start to make things even out soon. www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Huntsville Site Game Summary: Link, text follow -- www.huntsvillestars.com/n...newsId=795 Carrillo Carries BayBears to Victory Cesar Carrillo tossed seven scoreless innings and knocked in a run to lead Mobile to a 4-0 win Saturday night at Joe Davis Stadium in the opener of a five-game series. The BayBears squared their road record at 3-3 and improved to 7-9 overall, while the Stars dropped to 8-8 overall and 2-4 at home. Huntsville has been shut out three times at home and has scored only 14 runs on home soil in 54 innings. George Kottaras broke up a scoreless game with a leadoff home run in the fourth inning against Carlos Villanueva. The second-rated prospect in the San Diego organization by Baseball America is now 12-for-28 with two home runs and eight runs batted in over seven games in Huntsville. Steve Baker, Drew Macias and Luis Cruz strung together three straight singles with one out to produce the second run of the inning. Stars? starter Carlos Villanueva was taken out after five innings during which he gave up a pair of runs on five hits and a walk. He struck out a season-high eight but suffered the loss to fall to 2-2 on the season. He has given up nine earned runs on 14 hits in nine innings in two starts at home and has tossed 11.2 scoreless frames on the road. Mobile tacked on two more runs in the sixth inning on a run-scoring double by Baker and Carrillo?s run-producing infield hit. Huntsville pitcher Alec Zumwalt should have been out of the inning with only one run scoring but a shallow fly ball off the bat of Fernando Valenzuela was not caught for what would have been the third out, allowing Carillo to come to the plate and help his own cause. The Mobile right-hander allowed three singles, walked one and struck out five to earn his first win of the year. The Padres number-one rated prospect threw 87 pitches and kept the Huntsville hitters off balance throughout the game. Leo Rosales and Geoff Jones each threw a scoreless inning in relief. Greg Sain was the only Stars? runner to reach third base and did so in the ninth inning after singling, stealing second base and moving up on a base hit by Steve Moss. He was left there when Lou Palmisano struck out to end the game. The series continues with a doubleheader on Sunday to make up for Friday night?s rain out. The BayBears will send right-handers Jared Wells and Bubba Nelson to the hill and the Stars will counter with right-handers Tim Dillard and Corey Thurman. Coverage of the twin bill begins at 12:50 p.m. central time and can be heard locally on ESPN Radio 1450 AM and via the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

Colby what is the latest projection on Kiker? I think his status has held steady all spring. He is what he is, and he continued to throw hard. Consistently low-90s from what I heard, and has been able to reach back to touch the 96 range on occasion. His curveball and changeup are also plus pitches. The only holding him back from being ranked higher is his size. He's a late first-rounder. NWFBaseball06, any clue who got him to throw more over the top? I made the comment about his throwing last summer after seeing him take OF drills during the Aflac events, as someone had to work with him to get him to change his throwing mechanics. Any more insight on that?

Player updates for the week of 4/17/06 Jared Hughes 6.2 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 5 K, 3 BB (120 pitches) vs. UC Davis Not the sharpest outing for Hughes this inning, but LBSU still gets the W. Brandon Morrow 7 IP, 3 H, 5 R (0 ER), 5 K, 2 BB vs. Oregon State Morrow picks up a hard luck loss, his first loss of the year, in a duel against Dallas Buck of Oregon State. Dallas Buck 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 K, 4 BB vs. Cal Buck still walks way too many, as it's amazing that he has kept these lines despite not blowing batters away. He's now 8-0 on the year, so the end result is hard to argue with. Joba Chamberlain 6 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 7 K, 4 BB (100 pitches) Chamberlain takes the loss vs. Kyle McCulloch & Texas. Kyle McCulloch 7 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 4 K, 2 BB (117 pitches) A good outing as he pitches better than Chamberlain, being bumped up to the Friday starter to face Nebraska's ace. Andrew Miller 8.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 7 K, 2 BB (105 pitches) vs. NC State Just look at the number of pitches Miller threw in this game, he is a much better pitcher this year maximizing his time on the mound and pitching more to contact while still owning the pure stuff to blow batter away. Ian Kennedy 4.2 IP, 6 H, 7 R (4 ER), 4 K, 3 BB vs. Washington What happened to Kennedy this year? Tim Lincecum 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 11 K, 4 BB vs. USC This game had to be well attended by scouts. He STILL walked too many batters for my liking. David Huff 9 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 6 K, 2 BB (121 pitches) vs. Arizona State Huff with a really nice game against a tough offensive lineup.

Final: West Virginia 7, Lexington 3 West Virginia Box Score: Ned Yost IV with the big game of the night, going 3-4 with a solo shot in the 9th. He also scored three times. Angel Salome with a hit and a walk in five plate appearances, while Kevin Roberts goes 5 strong with 7 Ks. www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_lexafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_lexafx_1 West Virginia Site Game Summary: Text follows -- Power extend Lexington's losing skid After losing their last two games against the Lake County Captains, the first place Lexington Legends entered Saturday night?s game against the West Virginia Power at Applebee?s Park looking to get back to their winning ways. The Power scored early and often and never trailed in the game, beating the Legends 7-3. Tony Festa drove in the first run of the game with an RBI single in the top of the second inning. The Power plated three runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 4-0 lead. Ned Yost singled into center field with two outs scoring Ryan Crew, and the center fielder Josh Flores bobbled the ball, allowing Tony Festa to score, and Yost to reach third. Yost scored during the next at bat on a passed ball. In the bottom of the fifth inning Lexington scored their first run on a solo shot from Ryan Reed, his first of the year. Lorenzo Cain dropped an RBI single in to center field, scoring Ned Yost in the top of the seventh inning to give the Power a 5-1 lead. The Power added two more in the top of the ninth inning on a solo shot from Ned Yost, his second of the year and Mat Gamel brought in the final run with a Sac Fly RBI. In the bottom of the ninth inning Eli Iorg smacked a two run homer, his first of the year, but it was too little and too late for the Legends. Kevin Roberts (2-1) earned the victory, Ronny Malave (2) earned the save and Tip Fairchild (1-2) obtained the loss. The Power are 7-8 after the win and the Legends dropped to 10-6 with the loss. The Power will continue the three game series against the Lexington Legends at Applebee?s Park in Lexington, Kentucky on Sunday afternoon. Left hander Derek Miller (0-0, 1.80) will start for the Power and the Legends will counter with right hander Levi Romero (2-0, 3.60). The first pitch is scheduled for 2:05 PM.

Final: Brevard County 13, Jupiter 1 Brevard County Box Score: Ryan Braun goes deep with two on against Hammerheads starter Gaby Hernandez, one of the many high profile arms the Marlins received this past offseason during fire sale #2. Hernan Iribarren goes 4 for 5 with a double. Plenty of nice offensive numbers to appreciate in this one, mirroring the big-league Brewers day, while Hammond tries his best to mirror David Bush' efforts by giving up only one run in 6.2 innings. www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_jupafa_1 Brevard County Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...p;sid=t503 Brevard County Site Game Summary: Link, text follow -- www.minorleaguebaseball.c...p;sid=t503 Brevard County pounds Jupiter Hernan Iribarren went 5-for-6 in the Manatees' 20-hit thrashing of the Hammerheads, 13-1, in Jupiter on Saturday. Iribarren raised his average to .400 in 60 at-bats this season. Travis Ezi also climbed to .400 after a 3-for-5 performance. Brendan Katin, Steven Sollman, Carlos Corporan and Hasan Rasheed all had two hits. Sollman and Corporan lifted their averages to .392 and .395 respectively. Jupiter starter Gabriel Hernandez (1-2) allowed seven runs on nine hits over three innings. He walked two and struck out six. Reliever Adam Brandenburg didn't fare much better allowing three runs on five hits over three innings. Brevard County starter Steven Hammond (2-0) gave up one run on six hits over 6 2/3 innings with one walk and six strikeouts. Bo Hall one-hit the Hammerheads (5-11) over 2 1/3 innings. The Manatees (13-3) scored three runs in the first inning on an RBI single by Katin and a two-RBI double by Corporan. They tacked on four more in the second on an RBI single by Iribarren and a three-run blast by Ryan Braun. They scored two more in the fifth, one in the sixth and three in the ninth to sweep the series. Jupiter scored their run in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Steve Gendron. Brett Carroll went 3-for-4 in the loss. Brevard County hosts St. Lucie for three games starting at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Nashville Site Game Summary: Link, text follows -- www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=1914 Sounds Complete Homestand With 9-4 Victory NASHVILLE, Tenn. ? The Nashville Sounds belted a season-high three home runs and took sole possession of first place with a 9-4 victory over the division-rival Omaha Royals in the finale of a four-game series on Friday evening at Greer Stadium. Nashville (10-6), which has won nine of its last 11 games, finished a stellar opening homestand with a 7-1 record and has taken a one-game lead in the PCL American Conference Northern Division. The 7-1 mark was the best posted in a two-series homestand since the Sounds went 8-1 against Iowa and Colorado Springs from June 17-24, 2003. Every Sounds player recorded at least one hit in the contest except Jermaine Clark (0-for-4). Tony Gwynn (2-for-4) and Mike Rivera (2-for-4) both extended their hitting streaks to eight games as two of the five Nashville players with multiple-hit evenings. Chris Barnwell went 1-for-4 to run the Sounds? longest hit streak of the year to nine games. The usually-superb Nashville defense had an off night, committing five errors after making only eight in the club?s first 15 games of the season. The five gaffs resulted in three unearned runs for Omaha. Jared Fernandez (1-0), who earned a save in his Sounds debut on Wednesday, picked up a victory in his second Nashville appearance after allowing only two unearned runs over 5 1/3 innings in relief of starter Justin Thompson. Both teams jumped on the board early with unearned runs. Omaha scored in the top of the first inning to grab a 1-0 lead. Kerry Robinson led off with a double to center then stole third and scored when Rivera?s throw bounded into left field. Nashville answered in the bottom of the frame with a two-out rally. Corey Hart singled to left, stole second, and scored on a two-base fielding error by Omaha shortstop Andres Blanco on a Nelson Cruz grounder. Hart became the twelfth different Sounds player to record a stolen base this season. The Sounds jumped out to a 5-1 lead with four runs off Omaha starter Kyle Snyder in the bottom of the second inning. Rivera extended his hitting streak to eight games with a single to lead off the frame. Brent Abernathy (2-for-4, 3 RBIs) followed with his first home run of the season, a two-run shot to left that gave Nashville a 3-1 lead. One out later, Enrique Cruz belted his first roundtripper of the year off the guitar-shaped scoreboard in left-center. Clark, who had reached on a fielder?s choice, scored the inning?s final run on a Hart RBI single. Omaha got a run back in the fourth on a Blanco two-out RBI single off Thompson, who worked 3 2/3 innings and allowed two runs (one earned) before being removed due to a pitch count. The left-hander tossed 63 pitches, 40 for strikes. Nashville tacked on three two-out runs in the bottom of the fifth against Snyder to up the lead to 8-2. The Sounds ripped three doubles in the frame, including RBI two-baggers by Barnwell and Enrique Cruz. Barnwell?s knock extended his team-best hitting streak to nine games. After Omaha plated an unearned run in the top of the seventh following a dropped fly by Gwynn in center field, Rivera got the run right back in the bottom of the frame when he slugged his second longball of the season, a one-out solo shot to left off Royals reliever Eddie Yarnall to push the score to 9-3. The Royals plated the final run of the contest in the eighth when Blanco (3-for-4) hit a single to right off Fernandez that rolled under the glove of Nelson Cruz and allowed Mike Aviles to score unearned. Snyder (0-1) took the loss after allowing eight runs (seven earned) on 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings. The Sounds hit the road on Saturday to open an eight-game road trip with a 7:05 p.m. CT series opener in Oklahoma City, Okla., where they?ll take on the Oklahoma RedHawks in the clubs? second series of the season. Nashville swept a four-game set at Greer Stadium earlier this week. Left-hander Zach Jackson (0-1, 1.64) makes his third start of the season for the Sounds in Saturday?s series opener. The RedHawks will counter with southpaw John Rheinecker (0-1, 5.87).

I'm still on for tomorrow at 1 pm.

Valpo, Brian and bball, if you guys are in I think Sunday is doable for me. I don't have a bat either unfortunately, at least not a metal one. I would be willing to go to McCarthy park if that's a good central location for everyone. Early afternoon, maybe the same 1:00 pm time as Saturday's practice? I need to get some angst out after this recent Brewers run... I do have a couple of softballs, and if Brian comes, maybe he could bring a couple from Saturday's practice. Speaking of bats, any suggestions? I'm willing to spend about $25-30. Every time I go to the Dunham's by me everything has been picked through pretty extensively.

Baseball America has released their mid-season prep top prospect list, along with quite a few draft notes: BA: Draft notes (for all readers) BA: Midseason prep 50 prospects (subscribers) I disagree with the comments on Brett Anderson. They claim he's too "soft." Who cares? They guy knows how to pitch. Fielding his position and covering first base are the last things I'm going to worry about with a player like him. Clayton Kershaw (photo from Baseball America) http://www.baseballamerica.com/images/ckershaw06428309ds.jpg

isnt zach jackson a soft tossing finesse pitcher? Anyways, Kershaw is REALLY intriging. The Zach Jackson comment is more in relationship to his size plus noting he would receive those IF he attended Texas A&M, where Jackson went (after transferring from Louisville that is). And Zach Jack can get it up to the low-90s on occasion. As Gagne noted, Kershaw has been in the low-90s consistently this spring after reports of him throwing in the upper-80s last summer. That jump definitely has bumped him up to first-round consideration. One name notably absent on Callis' list is Brett Anderson. Unless he got hurt, there is no way any lefty jumped ahead of him. Thanks for the picture too Nate. He definitely has been watching Dontrelle.

Jim Callis takes a stab at the top 20 prospects available for this June's draft. I don't agree with a lot of his rankings, but that's irrelevant: www.baseballamerica.com/t...61098.html Clayton Kershaw is definitely a player on the rise who has enjoyed a very big spring. I recently profiled him with the rest of the draft-eligible LHP worth noting: www.brewerfan.net/ViewAma...;draftId=4

Seems like Colbyjack is a good candidate for the "left out" position. Well, I did tell you from the beginning that my participation would be extremely limited. I think you just wanted me for my player fees http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif . bball123h, I might be available to get together on Sunday to throw the ball around and hit a few. I live on the south side, but am willing to travel a little bit if I need to. Hopefully a few others will be interested as well. Otherwise, all of next week stinks as I'm leaving town Wednesday night and am going to Tuesday night's game. Maybe I'll hit the batting cages one of these nights.

Hey Coach, just so you know, I have Henry's baptism this Saturday, and then I'm out of town the following weekend. The earliest I would be able to join in the fun is the first week of May. You may be grateful for that, as I may be better off as a spectator http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

No word on the details Southwest Brewer, just that he has left Baseball America to join Perfect Game. I can tell you that Perfect Game is made up of former players/coaches/scouts and the like, and their specialty is baseball related, particularly when it comes to amateur talent. Baseball America's speciality is to write about baseball. They are not a scouting-driven company in that none of their employees are talent evaluators (Josh Boyd did leave BA to become an area scout, but IIRC he went through scouting school). They're journalists. Simpson was probably the closest thing they had to a talent evaluator, and worked closely with Perfect Game given their mutual relationship with their Prospects Plus publication.

College baseball TV schedule for the week of 4/17/06: Wednesday, 4/19 Florida @ Florida State 6:00 pm, FCSC It's hard to tell who will start this game, as mid-week non-conference games are always hard to project, but both lineups have a few draft-eligible players worth watching. Friday, 4/21 San Diego @ Pepperdine 5:00 pm, CSTV Saturday's game will be televised as well, as listed just below, so this should give people their first chance on one of the two days to see RHP Josh Butler. C Chad Tracy is a player to watch on Pepperdine. Georgia Tech @ Florida State 6:00 pm, FCSA Both GT and FSU have been on TV more and more recently, FSU's Friday starter Bryan Henry will have his hands full with GT's offense. Saturday, 4/22 Duke @ Virginia Tech Noon, FCSA I hate to take anything away from these two teams, but there isn't much draft-eligible talent to watch. Nebraska @ Texas 2:00 pm, FCSC This should be a good, pure college baseball matchup. Kyle McCulloch is likely to go for the Longhorns. Auburn @ Florida 3:00 pm, FCSA It's too bad Florida hasn't been better than they have this year, because they have been on TV more than anyone else. San Diego @ Pepperdine 5:00 pm, CSTV See Friday notes from above for the scoop on this team, if Butler doesn't go Friday, he should be pitching in this game. Georgia Tech @ Florida State 6:00 pm, FCSA Tyler Chambliss takes his turn against GT. Sunday, 4/23 Kansas @ Kansas State 1:00 pm, FCSC Kansas has a good team this year, a good intra-state rivalry. Army vs. Navy 3:00 pm, CSTV Ah yes, that classic Army-Navy rivalry at it's finest.

Thanks for the kind words Erik, but I would rather work with Allan Simpson: Allan Simpson joins Perfect Game USA PG Crosschecker info

Here are some of the players of interest I watched from the college games over the weekend: Drew Stubbs .336/.441/.624 in 149 AB, 10 2B, 3 3B, 9 HR, 27:41 BB:K, 15 for 17 SBs, 4 Es Texas is on fire right now, and their depth makes them poised to be the favorites, at least IMO, once the NCAA tourney starts. Stubbs has been a big part of that, who was hitting in the .290s less than two weeks ago. I saw him turn on a Cory VanAllen fastball that he crushed for a 2-run HR, and showed a very patient eye at the plate when he wasn't smacking the ball around the field. He's still going to strike out a lot, I don't think there is anything to correct that, but I could see him being a .270-.280 hitter with good patience and a exciting power/speed combo at the pro level. I really really really hate to say this, but he reminded me of Dale Murphy, and like Murphy is an unreal athlete. Look at Murphy's career stats and like might give you an idea of what kind of player and hitter Stubbs could become. Kyle McCulloch 4-4, 3.03 ERA, 12 games (11 starts), 71.1 IP, 66 H, 61 K, 21 BB, 1 HR, .248 BAA McCulloch has had a disappointing season in my mind, although the numbers aren't quite that bad. He has been pitching better over the last month, but I still wonder how effective he will be at the next level. For a guy praised for his command, he did not command his fastball very well from what I saw. His fastball tends to fly straight, and when it catches too much of the zone it can be hit very hard. He has a good enough curveball, and I didn't see his change, with an angular leg kick that reminded me of Trevor Hoffman's (another former SS). He does have an obvious, athletic frame, with sloped shoulders and a narrow waist. He's probably a 2nd rounder. Cory Van Allen 4-4, 4.82 ERA, 10 games (9 starts), 52.1 IP, 52 H, 38 K, 19 BB, 7 HR, .254 BAA Van Allen got roughed up by the Longhorns on Friday, and looking at his numbers he has been hittable all season long, particularly in the long ball dep't. After watching him, I'm not surprised, as his fastball is lucky to touch 88 mph. He catches way too much of the zone for a lefty that should be more of a nibbler, and his curveball is far too loopy. Of course, I could have caught him on a bad day, as a 4.82 ERA isn't horrible in the Big 12, but from what I saw he's going to need to add a few ticks to his fastball, shore up his command, and sharpen up his curve. Tyler Chambliss 9-1, 1.80 ERA, 12 games (11 starts), 75 IP, 60 H, 73 K, 32 BB, 2 HR, .221 BAA This was the 2nd time I had the chance to watch Chambliss, and I really am growing fond of the way his pitches. His signature pitch is a big, hammer curveball that is hard to time. He throws his fastball in the low-90s, and commands it pretty well. I've compared Chambliss to Tim Hudson in a previous post, and I stand by that comp as Chambliss is probably going to slip a little in the draft since he's a little on the short side (5' 11"), but he makes up for it with tenacity and a very good 1-2 punch. I could see him being a steal in the 3-6 round area. Shane Robinson .377/.448/.539 in 167 AB, 12 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 20:17 BB:K, 21 for 23 SBs, 1 E Robinson is another player I've seen several times this season. I have a hard time getting a feel for him. I want to like him, as he's an electric player that players much bigger than his size, but again, he is really small, probably smaller than David Eckstein, and I wonder how much he'll hit as a pro. While he had some bigs hits over the weekend (I saw Saturday's and Sunday's games), his swing didn't look that great to me, as he had some funky downward cutting action on the ball in a couple of ABs. It's hard to argue with his numbers, but it's just so hard to project such a little bugger. Jon Jay .341/.473/.473 in 129 AB, 8 2B, 3 HR, 20:15 BB:K, 14 HBP, 17 for 21 SBs, 2 Es This was the second time I saw Jay this season, who I saw several times last year while watching Ryan Braun on the Miami games televised. While Jay is on the short side, he is much more well built than Robinson. He doesn't have the explosiveness Robinson has, but he still has very good wheels, and gets down the line to 1B faster than most. He has a very good idea at the plate, and shows a nice contact swing from the left side. He is very good at punching the ball through the right-side of the infield, and has enough power to drive the ball on occasion. He's hitting in the 2-hole now, as he hit third earlier this year and batted cleanup behind Braun last year. He's much better suited for the leadoff or 2-hole spot in the lineup, so he looked more natural over the weekend. I think Jay is a solid bet to hit at the pro level, it's just a matter of how much power will be there. While he plays CF, I'm not sure if he has the ideal range, so he may be somewhat of a LF/CF tweener similar to someone like Jeremy Reed. Jason Berken 4-3, 2.31 ERA, 9 games (all starts), 46.2 IP, 44 H, 44 K, 23 BB, 2 HR, .250 BAA I was pleased to catch the Wisco native pitch over the weekend. Berken started off a little slow, and then started to cruise in innings 2, 3 and 4 before hitting a wall since he threw too many pitches early in the game (and he is still building up arm strength from TJ surgery). He commands his fastball well, and shows good knowledge of catching the corners of the strike zone. When his curveball started to click he was nearly unhittable, and I also like his slider, which is basically a faster for not as sweeping version of his curve. His body type is very similar to Keith Foulke, who reminded me of Foulke during his days with Oakland with the white shoes and compact, quick delivery (minus the short-arm delivery that Foulke employs). They also showed an interview with Berken in between innings, and he said all the right things and received praise from his coaches, which I have heard about before. He still is a little rough, but if he puts his game together I like the direciton he's headed in. Andy D'Alessio .338/.364/.662 in 145 AB, 11 2B, 12 HR, 7:29 BB:K, 0 Es D'Alessio was one of the top prep 1B available for the 2003 draft. He slipped just a hair, and decided to attend Clemson. His college career started a little slow, but this year he is raking, and he has found his power stroke. I really liked his approach, and despite not walking that much, he is a very selective hitter. His left-handed swing has very intriguing pull, loft power. I'm not sure if he will be a high average hitter, at least not consistently in the .300s, but I would guess he could be a .280 hitter with 20-30 bombs regularly. His best attribute is his glove, as he's as slick as they come at 1B. Scott Maine 6-2, 4.66 ERA, 9 games (all starts), 46.1 IP, 39 H, 37 K, 19 BB, 6 HR, .228 BAA Maine was a potential early round pick coming out of high school. He now wears a face shield after getting badly injured in a car accident within the past year. He started Sunday's game vs. FSU, and while he started slow and got hit hard in the first inning, he settled down nicely and started to cruise. He has a nice delivery, and he throws a nice fastball for a LHP. He seemed to be tipping his breaking pitches, as his arm slowed considerably when he threw a curveball the first couple of times, but then he got in sync, and his curveball started snapping a lot better. He also looked to throw a slider that he like to bounce in the dirt, but both pitches drew a lot of swings and misses. And his fastball gained velocity in the middle innings as the glove started to pop more. I would guess he was in the 90-92 range. His mechanics need some work, and he will need to work on being more ready to pitch when he enters a game, but with a solid pitching coach I think he could be something special at the next level.

For the Wisconsin baseball fans out there, I wanted to point out my recent interview with UIC's Ryan Zink: PG Crack of the Bat: Ryan Zink interview

NWFBaseball06, First of all, thanks for posting, we enjoy the first-hand observations. I have a specific defensive-related question regarding Cody Johnson that I hope you can answer for me. When I saw him shagging flies as part of the IF/OF drills at the Aflac game, I wasn't impressed with his arm. This ties into a big misconception that a strong arm on the mound translates into a strong arm on the field (which it doesn't necessarily, as Johnson can touch 90 as a pitcher), and this applies to Johnson IMO, or at least it did when I saw him. When Johnson pitches, he throws from a low-3/4 delivery, and he makes his throws from RF the same way, which has two huge effects on his throws: 1. It takes away the carry, or the sustained velocity of the throw, and 2. It hurts the accuracy of his throws. Throwing side-arm from the infield is one thing, but for accurate, strong throws from the OF one should be throwing over the top, like if they were playing long toss. Any thoughts on this from seeing him this spring?

First, are there any prospects that teams already know will slip in the draft because of signability issues? Who would the best of these prospects be? On my own top 30, look no further than Jared Mitchell and Riley Cooper. Both are football stars as well, and might be hard to sign away from the gridiron. I haven't heard any names for certain that are tough signs. Most to all players that are drafted in the top five rounds sign, as the money is just too good to pass up. Speaking in generalities, players that commit to Stanford, North Carolina and Vanderbilt tend to be the toughest to sign, while prep Texans with a commitment to Texas are typically considered to be pretty tough signs as well (although not as tough as Stanford, UNC and Vandy, as those three tend to draw the more academic types given their reputations as strong academic institutions). Speaking of strong academic institutions, throw Georgia Tech onto the list. LSU always seems to land more of their recruits than most teams. And while I haven't heard of many prep Scott Boras clients, they tend to favor the college ranks. A few names: Ryan Adams: I just saw that he has had an injured hamstring lately. That won't help his draft stock, and his in-state LSU commitment may be tough to pry him away if he slips at all. Travis Snider: I should have added another category, players from the Pacific Northwest that commit to Arizona or Arizona State. Travis Buck and Colin Curtis were both pretty well known commodities coming out of HS, but both slipped in the draft and headed to college. Torre Langley: Georgia Tech recruit, and he could slide if teams question his size looking past his statistical production. Brandon Belt, Taylor Hammack: Texas LHPs committed to Texas. Clint Stubbs: Drew Stubbs little brother, committed to Texas and may be the heir apparent in CF for the Longhorns. Matthew Petiton: NY LHP committed to UNC. Travis Tartamella: Call this one a gut feeling, but this Pepperdine catching recruit may be poised to replace Chad Tracy. Jake Locker: Washington football recruit. Second, Clayton Kershaw seems like he has been dominating this season. Actually it doesn't seem like it, he has. Have you heard any talk of him gaining helium? He plays against good competition and the anecdotes about him on PG seem to match the numbers he is putting up. Do you see him as a potential pick in the first 2 rounds? Easily. He only slides past the 2nd round if signability is a concern. Kershaw is the type of player that could sneak into the first round come June. He's consistently in the low-90s, and there isn't much not to like about they guy. Third, what kind of committment does Billy Rowell have to Alabama and how high can you see him going? I don't know about Rowell's commitment, but I would guess if he's taken in the third or fourth round, which is about where I would guess he would be taken, that he would sign. Keep in mind, that players are only starting to talk about money about this point in time in the scouting season. We are going to hear a lot more about signability from this point forward, as I'm already hearing some interesting developments, although more from the college side.

Beautiful night in Hunstville tonight... probably about 73 degrees with a light breeze. You know I hate to tell you this Brian, but it's about the same here right now believe it or not (maybe cooler right now, but it was amazingly warm earlier). I only bring that up because I always prefer that it's crummy where I live when I'm out of town http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif . Although you're poised to enjoy many more 70+ degree days over the next week while we're poised for it to go downhill again. Thanks for the reports. I look forward to more of them on your road-trip, although I now wonder why and how Housman hasn't gotten any further if he can throw 93... And since it wasn't brought up, Josh Wahpepah had a big night for BC: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 6 K, 1 BB.

EDIT I just used your quotes to spark my thoughts Colby - I wasn't particuarily taking issue with them. I didn't take it that way, and as always I enjoy your first-hand observations. Even if this year's team does struggle you can either look for some exciting midseason callups such as Fermaint, Braun, Hammond, Gallardo, etc., or look forward to next year http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif . As for Huntsville's offense being the same as Brevard County's, I was largely referring to Heether, Moss, Palmisano and Anderson, a group of mid-level prospects that seem to be moving up together and once again serve as the middle of the lineup. Although I just remembered that Heether was called up to Huntsville late last year.

With that lineup, Huntsville is going to struggle mightily this year. While I'm excited to follow their pitching staff with Dilliard, Villanueva, and hopefully Parra and eventually Mike Jones, that offensive lineup is just not conducive to scoring runs. Not much slugging power on that roster. For the most part, Huntsville's offense is the same one that propelled Brevard County to a late season playoff push last year. They're not going to put up huge numbers, but if Heether, Palmisano, Anderson, Moss and a few others hit a little more as they have done at times in the past, the pitching staff will keep them in a lot of games. In other words, they won't be as bad as the High Desert squad from a few years ago (although that's probably not even possible). I don't know what kind of gun the greensboro stadium uses...but someone in the stands (one of the of day pitchers from WV was using a stalker gun) Thanks pogo. I look forward to your thoughts on Inman. It seems as though everyone was there last night.