TheCrew07

He gets rocked once and we're going to give up on him? Let's get real, the only way he continues to progress as a player is to pitch, he's not going to get better sitting on the bench learning through osmosis. It would be nice if he could just be hidden but the simple fact is that he can't. The bright spot about this situation is that Lee Tunnell is in the bullpen and can work him and actually coach him. If the Brewers are serious about keeping him then they have to use him, but I wouldn't be calling for his head after 1 bad outing. I didn't watch him pitch, I had the game up on gameday, I was working on other things, in fact I haven't watched him pitch one time. My opinions are based solely on what's best for Wang's continued progression as a pitcher, he needs to throw on a regular basis if he's going to have any value down the road. The problem with baseball is that there is no patience in the sport... the rule is basically that prospects need to instantly succeed or they aren't ready because they've already been developed in the minor leagues, but that's not just realistic. For 1 there hasn't been all that much development in the minor leagues, it's been largely a trial by fire, learn to succeed on your own or get out environment. Lohse even touched on that in that article about Duncan actually teaching him how to pitch, it doesn't seem like coaches at MLB are all that interested in actually teaching anything, nor are the players all that interested in being taught. Regardless when evaluating a starting pitcher you aren't able to tell anything about a guy after just 6 starts, good or bad, and certainly aren't able to tell anything about a reliever after just 2 outings, 1 bad. The player needs positive reinforcement, a long leash to learn from failure, and about a full year to adequately see where a player is going to fall. Most players don't get that because there's very little practice time during the season and the rosters are only 25 men. Every player is going to develop as his own rate and sometimes failure is actually the best teacher. What good does it a guy to dominate AAA but continually get sent back down there because he's not instantly successful at MLB? How does he make the necessary adjustments if he's only getting sporadic playing time at best when he's used to playing every single day? He's not only being asked to adjust to a new role, but making the ultimate jump in talent as at the same time, it's a poor theory and a system that's never really worked, but it's what has always been done. Giving a pitcher 2 starts here, 3 starts there, 5 starts the following year like the Brewers did with Parra is a recipe for failure, and no I'm not suggesting Parra would have been better, but the team would have known for certain what he was much sooner, there would have been no reason to hold out hope. The same for Gamel, or any top prospect, if he's up in the majors, let him play every day and progress. The Macha theory with Escobar was horrible, every time he went 0-8 he was looking over his shoulder waiting to be benched, the last thing you want any player thinking about is failing. It has nothing to do with being a player's manager or disciplinarian, it's just the same ole way things have always been done. The more I think about the Cardinals, the more I think that "coaching" has been their edge, they have people up and down the organization who really buy into teaching players how to play the game. They don't hand players anything but at the same time they also make sure they have every resource they need, even at the big league level. Milwaukee has never really had that outside of Yost's staff, it's always been about "production", about this year, not about maximizing a player's production over the course of his career, that's been dumped entirely on the player. I really wanted a guy like Davey Johnson when RR was hired, and I don't mean to suggest that RR is a bad guy or a poor baseball man. I'm just saying the Brewers have to actually buy into developing players, even at the big league level, if they are going to be successful. What I'm talking about is that there will be 4-5 stories per year about a pitcher in the Brewer organization who just started watching film or is watching film by himself, what the hell is that? Sometimes it's a MLB guy, sometimes in a minor leaguer but regardless why isn't the pitching coach watching with and pointing out various issues? They take film of every start at every level, and I realize I come from a football background where film is a critical teaching tool, but it should be the same for baseball as well. Why wouldn't you watch your ABs to see what pitchers are trying to do to you? Or if you are pitcher look to see why you can hit a certain spot sometimes, but not others, what's changing with your delivery? I've spent 100s of hours with QBs even at the high school level looking at and breaking down their throwing mechanics with them, from throwing drills, to practice, to games and I would expect pitching coaches to be doing the same, but that's not been the case. Football is all about timing and mechanics, but so is baseball and unfortunately too many pitchers give back much of their advantage with unnecessary garbage in their deliveries... Those tenths of second always matter, especially with runners on base. If the Brewers are committed to keeping Wang on the 25 man roster I hope they are also equally committed to progressing him as a pitcher and are doing all of the little things including putting in extra time with him. If not then regardless of his upside they might as well ship him back to the Pirates because he'll come of out the season with his confidence shot and not amount to much anyway. He has decent upside and he's a lefty, something the Brewers are sorely lacking, but again if this blow up means he's relegated to sacrificial lamb duty, then it's best to move on.

Firstly I disagree with how you judge the value of a trade... it's not about what the prospects do after they are traded, it should be about the ultimate value of the return. The prospects had an assigned value at the time of the trade, what they do after the fact is moot, they aren't coming back, the core issue is always the value received back. You can say Escobar ultimately became Segura, but that's a stretch because the situation isn't that simple. Acquiring Segura only happened because the Brewers went after Marcum and Greinke in the first place. Those moves only happened because of everything that Melvin did prior to that point both in trades and in Free Agency. It could have just as easily have been Mike Olt instead of Segura who would have has his career derailed by getting hit in the head with a pitch during winter ball. The core issue here is if acquiring players like Sabathia, Marcum, and Greinke is worth years like 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013? All of those moves came with greater opportunity costs than just the prospects whom were traded away. Secondly, how are Gomez and Cain related? Those moves are on 2 different trade arcs and I would have taken Cain or Gomez over Aoki in RF any day. I realize Cain hasn't been able to stay healthy but I'll take my chances with toolsy players who are excellent defenders and hope they can ascend offensively, at least through arbitration. Cain will never hit for the same level of power as Gomez but until last season Gomez wasn't anything special offensively either. I have no problem admitting I never thought Gomez would be anywhere near this productive offensively, kudos to him for proving me very wrong. But I also think that Cain will be above average offensively in CF IF he can stay healthy. It's too bad really, the Brewers pushed Cain in 2009 to come back from an injury but the first injury led to a second more serious injury, and he's only had 2 fully healthy seasons since. I've said many times that I like BR.com's WAR better for pitchers and Fangraphs better for hitters. I don't put much stock into FIP because it's too strike out driven, which is why I prefer Baseball-reference's number when it comes to pitching. Baseball-reference has Greinke giving the Brewers 3.7 war combined between 2011 and 2012... 1.5 in 2011 and 2.2 in 2012. So to me, the question I'm asking myself is if all of the value traded away was worth 3.7 wins? Could there have been a different solution where we pulled more WAR for the same value given away? I understand that WAR has its issues as well, so how about this, could we have gotten more than 294.2 total innings at a good ERA? Or have gotten the same # of innings but not had to deal with Yuni B at SS? There are literally dozens of ways to improve the "team" rather than just looking at a single position. Marcum only netted us 202.1 total innings over 2 years, could we have found better value than him as well? Replacing any negative WAR player with even a league average player is at least a 2 win swing. In terms of the Greinke trade we upgraded 1 spot and downgraded another, Yuni B's craptasticness negatively affected Greinke's value in the same way that Fielder's inability to scoop a ball at 1st base hurt his overall value to the team. Trading for all these short term solutions directly led to signing Looper, Davis, Wolf, Lohse, and so on. If we had more longevity in the rotation we could have looked to spend our monetary resources elsewhere, the team could look entirely different. Maybe instead of trading for Sabathia they go for a different more long term solution, it's possible we don't make the playoffs in 2008, but maybe we have better run in 2009-2013, the dominoes could have fallen a much different way. A trade isn't a win just because the players we traded away don't become all-stars, it's just not that simple. The ultimate value of the move is what should matter most. Acquiring Segura will work out well, he's productive and has longevity, he'll be at least be 12 WAR player during his time in Milwaukee (3.3 for 2013). In trades we should always be doing 2 things... 1) looking to move up in value SP > PP > RP and 2) looking to acquire as many wins as possible. Generally speaking to acquire the most wins possible you need to target solutions with the greatest longevity, players you have for 6+ years are hopefully going to provide more wins than players you control for 2 or less. When you aren't interested maximizing the return of the assets you trade away, and settle for the best solution for a single season, then you end up having to constantly readdress the same issue over and over again, like we have with the rotation. If we want to actually plug a hole, then it has to be done with a player who we can control 3+ years, that gives us enough time to develop a player to fill that spot down the road. Anything less and the hole just comes right back around again.

You'd think the area scout would have made at least 1 game when none of the high school teams were playing, what else was there to do in the north east besides hit up the college games for the first 6-7 weeks of the season? All of the big name D1 pitchers are usually Friday/Saturday starters so it would seem like the rest of the week is a good time to scout position players and pitchers from other programs. I would have thought they'd have been there at least to do due diligence even if they don't think he has the goods... which I find hard to believe given some of the soft tossing guys with no future who have come through WI. If they scouted him but didn't talk to him that doesn't make much sense either, why wouldn't you at least show interest in a home state kid if for no other reason than to provide a bit of recognition for the young man? Speaking from personal experience kids are thrilled when they know that anyone from the next level is at their game and watching. The Brewers do have a lengthy history of drafting players they had no contact with, which suggests that they are playing a game not trying to tip their hand with their sleeper picks. However the flip side is that if you don't talk to anyone about the young man, how well do you really know his situation? I realize that parents, coaches, and the kid aren't going to say much of value, it's going to mostly be fluff, but shouldn't you at least have an idea of what's happening in a young man's personal life before you draft him?

Polanco has just been unreal, once Super 2 status has passed you gotta believe the Pirates will call him up. Winkler isn't all that toolsy but he can hit, the Reds did well with that pick, and of course Kris Bryant continues to mash. Unfortunately no Brewer prospects made the list, I thought Coulter had a chance with his 3 HRs but his AVE wasn't high enough for the week. Prospect Hot Sheet (April 18): Jon Singleton Assaults PCL Pitchers IN THE TEAM PHOTO Kris Bryant, 3b, Cubs: It didn’t take long for Southern League pitchers to decide that they didn’t really want to challenge Bryant. The Double-A Tennessee third baseman produced three doubles and a home run this week along with two steals, but mainly pitchers pitched around him. He drew six walks, which explains his .316/.519/.632 line. After walking 11 times in 36 games last year, Bryant has walked 10 times this season. NOT-SO HOT Alen Hanson, ss, Pirates. Promoted to Double-A Altoona last July, Hanson didn’t hit a whole lot (.679 OPS in 35 games), and the hits continue to not fall in 2014. The 21-year-old switch-hitter is hitting .196 overall after a 3-for-21 (.143) week in which he tallied no extra-base hits and seven strikeouts against two walks. Hanson did steal three bases in four tries and ranks third in the Eastern League with five total.

Are the Brewers showing any interest at all?

Sounds Edge Redbirds, 5-4 Burgos Fans Career-High 10, Earns First Victory Of Year Nashville Sounds http://www.milb.com/assets/images/9/0/8/44020908/cuts/_MPS1041_3zan2603_zccch6vb.jpg (Mike Strasinger / Nashville Sounds) NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Nashville Sounds edged the cross-state rival Memphis Redbirds, 5-4, on Thursday evening at Greer Stadium. Hiram Burgos (1-2) picked up his first win of the season as he matched his career high with 10 strikeouts while allowing three runs on five hits over five innings of work. The top of the Nashville lineup propelled an 11-hit attack. Leadoff man Pete Orr went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored while Eugenio Velez followed him with a 4-for-5, three-RBI effort. Both hitters have been swinging hot sticks. Orr is hitting .379 (11-for-29) in his last eight games, while Velez has recorded a knock in each of his 10 starts this season and batting a team-best .474 on the year. The Sounds took an early lead against Memphis right-hander Scott McGregor, opening the game with three consecutive singles by Orr, Velez, and Caleb Gindl, the last of which spotted the home team a 1-0 advantage. Nashville increased its lead to 3-0 with a two-out rally in the second against McGregor. After the first two batters were retired, third baseman Taylor Green belted his second home run of the young season, a solo shot to right. The Sounds continued the two-out rally to plate another run as Burgos drew a walk, moved to third via a pair of wild pitches, and scored on a Velez single up the middle that caromed off McGregor's foot. Memphis right fielder Stephen Piscotty put the visitors on the board with a solo homer to left-center in the top of the fourth off Burgos, the outfielder's first big fly of the year. The red-hot Velez continued his strong start to the season with a two-run double in the fourth that extended the Sounds' lead to 5-1. McGregor (0-2) suffered the loss for Memphis after giving up five runs on eight hits in four frames of work. A pair of mistakes came back to haunt Burgos in the fifth as he hit a batter and issued a walk before both runners scored on Randal Grichuk's one-out double to left, reducing the Sounds' lead to 5-3. The visitors loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the sixth against Dustin Molleken but got only one run on Grichuk's single to left as Velez gunned down Thomas Pham at the dish to keep a 5-4 Nashville lead intact. Brent Leach and Alfredo Figaro each worked a scoreless frame of relief for the Sounds to get the ball to closer Donovan Hand in the ninth. Hand worked around a pair of baserunners to close out the game and nail down his third save of the year. The Sounds will look to gain a series split when the teams wrap up their four-game series with a 7:05 p.m. finale on Friday night. Left-hander Brad Mills (1-0, 2.25) will toe the slab for the Sounds to face Memphis right-hander Boone Whiting (0-1, 1.98). Nashville Boxscore Hiram Burgos pitched his best game of the season but he still gave up 3 runs, in fact he's given up 3 earned runs in every start so far. Hiram is one of those guys who isn't going to have much margin for error, he was rolling until the Piscotty HR in the 4th. Regardless it's nice to beat loaded Memphis line up and stick it to the Cards in this one. Hunter Morris, Caleb Gindl, and Taylor Green (HR) each had 1 hit a piece. Morris started off hot facing mostly lefties in that first week, Gindl has been cold most of the season, and Green has been pretty steady and is currently hitting .308. Nashville Recap Even though they didn't score after the 4th the Sounds had baserunners in every inning but the 6th. Nashville Gameday

Loons stop Rattlers winning streak Great Lakes tops Wisconsin 4-3 By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers made it close but couldn't rally from all the way back from a 4-0 deficit against the Great Lakes Loons on Thursday night. The Loons held on for 4-3 win at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium to end Wisconsin's four game winning streak. The Loons (9-5) took the lead in the first inning. Malcolm Holland reached on a single to start the game, stole second, and moved to third on a deep fly ball to center. A wild pitch by Rattlers starting pitcher Victor Diaz with two outs allowed Holland to score. Great Lakes added to their lead in fifth inning against reliever Trevor Seidenberger with help from a pair of walks and a pair of errors. A one out walk to Jesmuel Valentin was followed by a single by Dillon Moyer. Holland was next and his single to shallow center was overrun by Johnny Davis and allowed Valentin to score. Another walk by Seidenberger - this one to Jacob Scavuzzo - loaded the bases. Kyle Farmer flew out to center to drive in Moyer, sent Holland to third base and made the score 3-0. Scavuzzo broke for second and catcher Clint Coulter's throw to second was on the base. But, shortstop Angel Ortgea did not cover the base and was charged with an error. The ball wound up in center and Holland scored again for a 4-0 lead. Wisconsin (8-5) chipped away with a single run in the bottom of the fifth Steve Halcomb reached on an error. Davis singled with one away. A grounder moved both runners up a base. That allowed Halcomb to score when Paul Hoenecke booted a grounder off the bat of Chris McFarland. Davis started the Wisconsin seventh inning with a triple, his third hit of the game. Omar Garcia drove in Davis with a sacrifice fly and the Rattlers were down 4-2. Angel Ortega doubled with two outs in the eighth inning. Davis beat out a high chopper to the first baseman for his fourth hit of the game and Ortega scooted home to cut the Loons lead to 4-3. Reliever Mark Pope the fourth Great Lakes pitcher of the night, came out of the pen. Davis would steal second to get into scoring position, but Pope stopped the rally with a strikeout. Clint Coulter was up with two outs in the ninth and lifted a high fly ball deep to right field against Pope. But, the ball didn't carry and Joey Curletta made the catch on the warning track two steps shy of the wall. Davis went 4-for-4 with a pair of stolen bases, a run scored, and an RBI for the Rattlers. Anthony Banda pitched four scoreless innings of relief and struck out four to keep Wisconsin in the game. But, Wisconsin's offense stranded ten runners and went 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Loons starting pitcher Victor Arano struck out eight over five innings and allowed an unearned run on two hits for his first win. Great Lakes has won five straight games. Game two of the series is Friday night at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The Timber Rattlers have Preston Gainey (1-0, 0.00) as their scheduled starting pitcher. The Loons have Luis Chirinos set to start for them. Game time is 6:35 PM. Friday night is a North Shore Bank Family Night and children 12 and under receive a free hot dog and soda. After the game, kids 14 and under may participate in Kids Run the Bases thanks to Molina Healthcare. If you can't make it out to the ballpark, the game will be available through several outlets. MyNEW 32's Sports Showdown will have the game on television starting with the pregame show at 6:00 PM. The radio broadcast will be available on AM1280, WNAM and IHeartRadio starting with the pregame show at 6:15 PM. Friday's game is also available to subscribers of MiLB.tv. WP: Victor Arano (1-0) LP: Victor Diaz (0-1) SAVE: Mark Pope (1) TIME: 2:51 ATTN: 1,386 Chris's postgame has his interview with Lance Roenicke, additional thoughts on some key moments in the game, and of course the video highlights. Postgame Post – April 17, 2014 Wisconsin Boxscore In case you are wondering because of Victor Arano's excellent work tonight he was #29 on the Dodgers' top 30 prospects coming into the season. This was an ugly game defensively but the T-Rats still had a chance and just couldn't come through. David Denson's AVE is slowly creeping north, though he continues to make solid contact a couple of times a game and what's not to like about his .333 OBP coming into today? I'd be happy with that if he was hitting .250, let alone his current .158. The T-Rats committed 3 errors but at least one of the WPs on Diaz could have been a PB as well. Wisconsin Recap So stop me if you heard this one before... The Rattlers had a chance to get on the board in the 1st but came up short... Wisconsin Bottom of the 1st Omar Garcia strikes out swinging. Christopher McFarland walks. With Jose Pena batting, Christopher McFarland steals (6) 2nd base. Jose Pena called out on strikes. Clint Coulter grounds out, second baseman Jesmuel Valentin to first baseman Justin Chigbogu. All of the free bases in this inning sealed Wisconsin's fate tonight. Great Lakes Top of the 5th Pitching Change: Trevor Seidenberger replaces Victor Diaz. Alex Santana strikes out swinging. Jesmuel Valentin walks. Dillon Moyer singles on a line drive to pitcher Trevor Seidenberger. Jesmuel Valentin to 2nd. Malcolm Holland singles on a line drive to center fielder Johnny Davis. Jesmuel Valentin scores. Dillon Moyer to 3rd. Malcolm Holland to 2nd. Fielding error by center fielder Johnny Davis. Trevor Seidenberger intentionally walks Jacob Scavuzzo. Kyle Farmer out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Johnny Davis. Dillon Moyer scores. Malcolm Holland to 3rd. With Paul Hoenecke batting, Jacob Scavuzzo steals (6) 2nd base, Malcolm Holland scores. Missed catch error by shortstop Angel Ortega. Paul Hoenecke called out on strikes. Wisconsin Gameday

I know it's convenient to say but Segura's shoulder isn't causing him to swing at every pitch and ground out. It's the exact same thing he did in the second half last year. But I was told there was nothing wrong with him the second half last year. He was just tired. That's all. Just tired. ... and Gallardo's problem was the WBC, and so on.... as a fan we're very good at making excuses for the players we like.

I'm surprised, thought I shouldn't be, that you were there in the extreme cold yesterday taking pictures while I watched baseball from the warmth of my couch. I'm a wuss!

Lively posts more zeros, fans 10 batters Reds right-hander continues to shine in his sophomore campaign

Please hit Colby up with your draft related questions today! MLB Draft Chat: April 17 Welcome to the Perfect Game chat room. We will take your draft/prospect related questions from 11 am to 1 pm CST. Be sure to follow some of our panelists on Twitter for more news leading up to the 2014 MLB Draft.

Rodon No Longer a Fixture at No. 1

Quite a few differences between this list and the BA list I posted last week, check it out. 2014 MLB Draft: Top 100 Prospects

Brendan McKay via Perfect Game. Ht/Wt - 6-2, 205 lbs. Bats/Throws - L/L HS - Blackhawk | Graduates in 2014 Hometown - Darlington, PA Results from 2013 PG WWBA World Championship, Oct 24, 2013 - Oct 28, 2013 DBacks Team BC 25 FB - 89 Range 84-89 CB-75 CH-78

Astin & Archer combine for 1-0 shutout and Rattlers sweep Lansing Astin tosses six scoreless for third win of the season By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattler NOTE: There was a scoring change in game one of the doubleheader. The E-6 that scored Chris McFarland in the bottom of the eighth inning has been changed to an RBI single for Clint Coulter. The corrected boxscore for game one may be found here. There will be an edit to the game story on the Timber Rattlers website ASAP, but it may take time for the correction to show up in the story. GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pitching tandem of Barrett Astin and Tristan Archer combined on a four-hit shutout of the Lansing Lugnuts in game two of Wednesday's doubleheader at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Steve Halcomb drove the lone run of the game for a 1-0 win to give the Rattlers a doubleheader sweep of the Lugnuts. Astin allowed just three hits, didn't walk a batter and struck out three over six innings as he picked up his third victory in his third appearance of the season. The Rattlers (8-4) had trouble breaking through against Lansing starting pitcher Chase De Jong, who allowed two hits and struck out four over four innings. But, Wisconsin got going in the fifth against reliever Adonys Cardona. David Denson started the Wisconsin rally in the fifth with a single. Taylor Brennan followed with a single to put runners on first and second with no outs. Chris McFarland couldn't get the bunt down to move the runners along, but a grounder to third resulted in only a force play at second base to put runners on the corners for Halcomb. Halcomb grounded out to second to knock in Denson for the 1-0 lead. Astin went back out for the top of the sixth and retired the side in order to extend his current scoreless streak to 10-1/3 innings. Tristan Archer came on in the top of the seventh to protect the one run lead. Then, he walked the leadoff batter and allowed a single to the first two batters he faced. Lansing (3-9) had runners at first and second with no outs. Archer regrouped and retired the next three batters to close out the game and earn his second save of the season. The previous game that featured Archer and Astin as the tandem for the Rattlers was a 3-0 Wisconsin win on April 10 at West Michigan. Archer tossed five scoreless innings and Astin went four scoreless frames as the duo shutout the Whitecaps on three hits. They haven't allowed a run in 16-1/3 innings. The victory moved Wisconsin's current winning streak to four games. The Timber Rattlers begin a three game series with the Great Lakes Loons on Thursday night. Victor Diaz (0-0, 1.50) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. Great Lakes has announced Victor Arano (0-0, 1.93) as their starting pitcher. Game time at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium is 6:35pm. The first 1,000 fans to attend the game will receive a poster of Timber Rattlers infielder Chris McFarland courtesy of Dunkin Donuts. Plus, tomorrow is an Arty's Old Fashioned Thirsty Thursday. Fans may enjoy 22 ounce sodas, 16 ounce beers, and Arty's Old Fashioned drinks courtesy of Arty's and 95.9 KISS-FM. If you can't make it out to the ballpark, tune in for the broadcast on AM1280 or IHeartRadio starting with the pregame show at 6:15pm. Thursday's game is also available on MiLB.TV. WP: Barrett Astin (3-0) LP: Adonys Cardona (0-2) SAVE: Tristan Archer (2) TIME: 1:32 ATTN: 493 Wisconsin Game 2 Boxscore Barrett Astin is having a fine start to his season. The only velocity reading Chris gave on Tristan Archer was something 86 MPH on the outside corner. Taylor Brennan had a perfect nightcap going 2-2 and accounted for half the Rattler's offense as they had 4 total hits. Wisconsin Game 2 Recap With a game just over 90 minutes not much to see here, though they did run themselves out of the 2nd, Coulter was headed to 3rd on the pitch. Wisconsin Bottom of the 2nd Clint Coulter singles on a ground ball to center fielder D. J. Davis. With David Denson batting, Clint Coulter steals (2) 2nd base. David Denson lines into a double play, second baseman Dickie Joe Thon to shortstop Jason Leblebijian. Clint Coulter doubled off 2nd. Taylor Smith-Brennan singles on a line drive to left fielder Ian Parmley. Christopher McFarland lines out to left fielder Ian Parmley. Wisconsin Game 2 Gameday

Baseball America Wednesday Chat With Matt Eddy

Alcantara making progress at plate for Cubs Chicago prospect hits key triple, flirts with cycle to beat Zephyrs

Pena's walkoff homer lifts Rattlers to win in game one Wisconsin tops Lansing 10-7 in eight innings By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - Jose Pena finished an up-and-down eighth inning on a high note with a three-run, walkoff home run to cap the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 10-7 comeback victory over the Lansing Lugnuts Wednesday night in game one of a doubleheader at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. DJ Davis started the game with a bunt single that hugged the third base line and clipped the left corner of the bag. Mitch Nay drove him in from second base with a two-out single to put Lansing (3-8) up 1-0. The Rattlers (7-4) had runners at second and third with two outs in the bottom of the first. Jose Pena lifted a fly ball deep to left-center, but Davis denied the Rattlers any runs with a spectacular diving catch for the final out of the frame. Wisconsin grabbed the lead in the bottom of the second inning. Taylor Brennan and David Denson reached on singles and an error moved both of them into scoring position. Rafael Neda drove in Brennan with a grounder. Angel Ortega drove in Denson with a sacrifice fly and the Rattlers were up 2-1. The Lugnuts went back in front with a two-out rally in the top of the third. Wisconsin starting pitcher Taylor Williams retired the first two batters of the inning, but walked Dickie Joe Thon to extend the inning. Matt Dean lined the next pitch over the wall in left for a two-run homer. Lansing extended their lead with three runs in the top of the fourth. Derrick Loveless knocked in the first two runs of the inning with a single. He would score on a double to left by Davis. The Rattlers came back again in the bottom of the fourth inning. Lansing starting pitcher Jairo Labourt walked the first three batters of the inning. Ortega drove in two with a double and knocked Labourt out of the game. Omar Garcia greeted Lugnut reliever Brady Dagmire with a two-run double to tie the game 6-6. Lansing broke the tie with an unearned run off Wisconsin reliever Tyler Alexander in the top of the seventh. Jason Leblebijian started the inning and reached second when there were two errors on his grounder to third base. Alexander got the next two outs. He appeared to get the third out when Loveless sent a fly ball to left. But, the wind fooled Pena. He came in on the ball and the wind blew the ball to the warning track for an RBI double and a 7-6 lead. The Rattlers rallied again in the bottom of the ninth. Chris McFarland hustled into second with a one out double.and Michael Ratterree drew a walk, his third of the game. Clint Coulter's grounder to the hole deflected off the glove of shortstop Dawel Lugo for an error and McFarland raced home with the tying run. That brought Pena to the plate with a chance to redeem his miscue in the top of the inning. Pena, who hit ten home runs in the Arizona League during the 2013 season, lifted a deep fly down the left field line and it stayed fair for his first home run of the season to give the Rattlers a 10-7 win in game one of the doubleheader. The win was the third straight for the Rattlers. The loss was the fifth straight for the Lugnuts. HOME RUNS: LAN: Matt Dean (1st, 1 on in 3rd inning off Taylor Williams, 2 out) WIS: Jose Pena (1st, 2 on in 8th inning off Scott Silverstein, 1 out) WP: Tyler Alexander (1-1) LP: Scott Silverstein (0-1) TIME: 2:43

Final Game 1: Wisconsin 10, Lansing 7 (8 Innings) Wisconsin Game 1 Boxscore In a sloppy game where it appeared the Rattlers were doing everything they could to lose, Jose Pena plays the hero once again and walks 'em off with a 3HR. I'm pretty sure Erickson hates us (or at least me) because he won't have Clint Coulter catch when a game is being televised so I have nothing to report on him defensively. Chris McFarland was (2-4,2B) raising his average to .343, Jose Pena ended up (2-5,HR) but he was robbed of extra bases on a fantastic diving play by the CF in the left center gap to end the 1st. Angel Ortega and Omar Garcia both doubled for their hits. Tyler Alexander looked much better than the last time I watched him pitch, his final line was 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, and 6 SO while throwing 39 of 53 pitches for strikes. Wisconsin Game 1 Recap In a familiar theme the T-Rats missed a chance early, though the play which ended the inning was fantastic as discussed above. Wisconsin Bottom of the 1st Omar Garcia strikes out swinging. Christopher McFarland doubles (2) on a line drive to right fielder Carlos Ramirez. Michael Ratterree walks. With Clint Coulter batting, Christopher McFarland steals (5) 3rd base. Michael Ratterree steals (1) 2nd base. Clint Coulter pops out to shortstop Dawel Lugo. Jose Pena lines out to center fielder D. Davis. Wisconsin took a 2-1 lead after the 2nd. Wisconsin Bottom of the 2nd Taylor Smith-Brennan singles on a line drive to center fielder D. J. Davis. David Denson singles on a ground ball to shortstop Dawel Lugo. David Denson to 2nd. Taylor Smith-Brennan advances to 3rd, on a throwing error by shortstop Dawel Lugo. Rafael Neda grounds out, shortstop Dawel Lugo to first baseman Matt Dean. Taylor Smith-Brennan scores. David Denson to 3rd. Angel Ortega out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder D. J. Davis. David Denson scores. Omar Garcia bunt grounds out, pitcher Jairo Labourt to first baseman Matt Dean. Taylor Williams had a rough game, it started to unravel in the 3rd and got away in the 4th. Lansing Top of the 3rd Derrick Loveless strikes out swinging. D. J. Davis flies out to left fielder Jose Pena. Dickie Joe Thon walks. Matt Dean homers (1) on a fly ball to left field. Dickie Joe Thon scores. Mitch Nay walks. Dawel Lugo pops out to first baseman David Denson. Lansing Top of the 4th Jason Leblebijian singles on a ground ball to shortstop Angel Ortega. Carlos Ramirez singles on a ground ball to center fielder Omar Garcia. Jason Leblebijian to 2nd. Jorge Saez out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Taylor Williams to second baseman Christopher McFarland. Jason Leblebijian to 3rd. Carlos Ramirez to 2nd. Derrick Loveless singles on a line drive to right fielder Michael Ratterree. Jason Leblebijian scores. Carlos Ramirez scores. D. J. Davis doubles (4) on a ground ball to left fielder Jose Pena. Derrick Loveless scores. Davis to 3rd on the throw. Dickie Joe Thon strikes out swinging. Matt Dean pops out to shortstop Angel Ortega. The T-Rats hung in there and came back to tie the game in the bottom of the 4th. Wisconsin Bottom of the 4th Taylor Smith-Brennan walks. David Denson walks. Taylor Smith-Brennan to 2nd. Rafael Neda walks. Taylor Smith-Brennan to 3rd. David Denson to 2nd. Angel Ortega doubles (4) on a line drive to center fielder D. J. Davis. Taylor Smith-Brennan scores. David Denson scores. Rafael Neda to 3rd. Pitching Change: Brady Dragmire replaces Jairo Labourt. Omar Garcia doubles (3) on a line drive to left fielder Dickie Joe Thon. Rafael Neda scores. Angel Ortega scores. Christopher McFarland grounds out, second baseman Jason Leblebijian to first baseman Matt Dean. With Michael Ratterree batting, Omar Garcia steals (7) 3rd base. Michael Ratterree strikes out swinging, catcher Jorge Saez to first baseman Matt Dean. Clint Coulter strikes out swinging. The first play in extra innings was pretty awful all the way around. Brennan double clutched the throw for some reason which pulled Denson off the bag but David caught the throw and tagged the runner. In the process of the tag he loses the ball as he spins and it flies out of his glove going past 2nd base and into short CF! The go ahead run was also scored on a misplay, Pena came in on the ball but it ended up over his on the warning track for double that shouldn't have been. The final play of the inning was just as strange, I hope Chris covers in that in the blog or there is a video highlight of the play but Alexander picked off the runner at 1st who lit out for 2nd, and the runner on 3rd strayed too far from 3rd, he just froze and Denson ran all the away across the diamond for the tag between home and 3rd. Lansing Top of the 8th Jason Leblebijian reaches on a throwing error by third baseman Taylor Smith-Brennan. Jason Leblebijian advances to 2nd, on a missed catch error by first baseman David Denson. Carlos Ramirez strikes out swinging. Jorge Saez grounds out, shortstop Angel Ortega to first baseman David Denson. Jason Leblebijian to 3rd. Derrick Loveless doubles (1) on a fly ball to left fielder Jose Pena. Jason Leblebijian scores. D. J. Davis singles on a bunt ground ball to pitcher Tyler Alexander. Derrick Loveless to 3rd. With Ian Parmley batting, Derrick Loveless caught stealing home, pitcher Tyler Alexander to first baseman David Denson. The walk off! Wisconsin Bottom of the 8th Pitching Change: Scott Silverstein replaces Alberto Tirado. Omar Garcia strikes out swinging. Christopher McFarland doubles (3) on a line drive to center fielder D. J. Davis. Michael Ratterree walks. Clint Coulter reaches on a fielding error by shortstop Dawel Lugo. Christopher McFarland scores. Michael Ratterree to 2nd. Jose Pena homers (1) on a line drive to left field. Michael Ratterree scores. Clint Coulter scores. Wisconsin Game 1 Gameday

The Cards have no shortage of OF options over the long term, they are loaded in the OF. The divisional prospect thread on the minor league forum as a linked BA article covering their entire OF situation. It's worth a read, as is that entire thread if you are interested where the division teams are heading.

Nelson Strong In Sounds 7-1 Loss Nashville Starter Tosses 3rd Consecutive Quality Start Nashville Sounds http://www.milb.com/assets/images/8/1/0/72294810/cuts/_MPS4547_Medium_7ykdi0uy_6l2oqw5z.jpg (MIKE STRASINGER ) NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Nashville Sounds held it close through seven innings of Wednesday's morning game at Greer Stadium, but a six-spot in the eighth by the visiting Memphis Redbirds proved to be the difference in Nashville's 7-1 loss. Tied 1-1 in the 8th inning, the Redbirds loaded the bases for Memphis outfielder Randal Grichuk, 2-for-3, who drew a walk from Donovan Hand to give Memphis the lead. The inning continued with each of Memphis' batters stepping to the plate. Oscar Taveras and Xavier Scruggs provided the big hits for the R-birds, each with two-run singles. Catcher Audry Perez tacked on one more with his single into right field. Michael Blazek (0-1) started the inning, allowing a hit and walk to Memphis, before Donovan Hand came in with relief. The right-hander allowed both of his inherited runners to score and was charged with four himself over 1/3 inning. Johnnie Lowe closed out the frame, but not before allowing Perez's RBI-single. The bright spot on the day was the performance turned in by Sounds starter and Brewers top prospect Jimmy Nelson, who limited Memphis batters to one run on three hits across six innings of work for his third consecutive quality start this season. He fanned six Redbirds and walked two, throwing 64 of his 101 pitches for strikes. Down 1-0, Sounds catcher Matt Pagnozzi tied the game in the fifth inning with a two-out single into left-field. The hit was Pagnozzi's first of the season and scored outfielder Eugenio Velez from second base. Velez drove a double into right field to begin the inning, giving him hits in each of his nine starts this season. He closed out his 2013 campaign on a 22-game hit streak. Memphis' Grichuk hit a triple in the third inning for the Redbirds first run. The extra-base hit scored starting pitcher Tyler Lyons (2-0), who reached base on balls. Lyons scattered five Nashville hits over seven innings to pick up his second win of the year, striking out six and one walk. The Sounds play game three of their four-game series against the Memphis Redbirds (AAA-Cardinals) on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. The Sounds will send RHP Hiram Burgos (0-2, 6.00) to the hill opposite the Redbirds RHP Scott McGregor (0-1, 3.24). Jeff Hem has the call on 102.5-FM "The GAME". Nashville Boxscore Jimmy Nelson was very good, there's nothing not to like about his line so far this season. The Sounds managed just five hits, Caleb Gindl was (1-3,2B). Nashville Recap Unexpectedly ugly inning for Hand, Blazek has struggled as of late as well. Memphis Top of the 8th Audry Perez singles on a line drive to center fielder Elian Herrera. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter Joey Butler replaces Tyler Lyons. Joey Butler walks. Audry Perez to 2nd. Defensive switch from center field to left field for Elian Herrera. Defensive Substitution: Kevin Mattison replaces pitcher Michael Blazek, batting 5th, playing center field. Pitching Change: Donovan Hand replaces Michael Blazek, batting 9th. Pete Kozma singles on a line drive to center fielder Kevin Mattison. Audry Perez to 3rd. Joey Butler to 2nd. Randal Grichuk walks. Audry Perez scores. Joey Butler to 3rd. Pete Kozma to 2nd. Oscar Taveras singles on a line drive to right fielder Caleb Gindl. Joey Butler scores. Pete Kozma scores. Randal Grichuk to 3rd. Stephen Piscotty reaches on a fielder's choice out, shortstop Hector Gomez to catcher Matt Pagnozzi to third baseman Irving Falu. Randal Grichuk out at home. Oscar Taveras to 2nd. Scott Moore walks. Oscar Taveras to 3rd. Stephen Piscotty to 2nd. Xavier Scruggs singles on a ground ball to left fielder Elian Herrera. Oscar Taveras scores. Stephen Piscotty scores. Scott Moore to 2nd. Pitching Change: Johnnie Lowe replaces Donovan Hand, batting 9th. Jermaine Curtis grounds into a force out, first baseman Sean Halton to shortstop Hector Gomez. Scott Moore to 3rd. Xavier Scruggs out at 2nd. Jermaine Curtis to 1st. Audry Perez singles on a line drive to right fielder Caleb Gindl. Scott Moore scores. Jermaine Curtis to 2nd. Joey Butler flies out to right fielder Caleb Gindl in foul territory. Nashville Gameday

FSL notes: Bell's swing begins to ring true Offseason work paying early dividends for Bradenton outfielder

'Throwback' Blackburn blanks Hot Rods Cubs' No. 15 prospect allows one hit, pitches six scoreless innings

Redbirds Double Up Sounds In Series Opener, 8-4 Hunter Morris Hits First HR Of Year For Nashville Nashville Sounds NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The cross-state rival Memphis Redbirds belted three home runs en route to an 8-4 victory over the Nashville Sounds on a chilly Tuesday evening at Greer Stadium. Nashville (5-7) dropped its seventh game in the last 10 contests and fell to 1-3 in series openers this season. Catcher Robinzon Diaz went 2-for-3 to extend the Sounds' longest hitting streak of the young season to six games, while first baseman Hunter Morris homered as part of a 2-for-4 evening for Nashville. Memphis left fielder Joey Butler (3-for-4) spotted the visitors a 2-0 first-inning advantage when he belted a two-out, two-run homer to right off Sounds starter Johnny Hellweg. The blast was the slugger's third of the year. The Sounds halved the deficit to 2-1 in the home half of the initial frame. Elian Herrera led off with a double to left against Redbirds starter Tim Cooney and later scored on a two-out single off the bat of Sean Halton, who has hit safely in his last six starts at a .375 clip (9-for-24). Memphis extended its lead to 4-1 in the fifth with a two-out rally against Hellweg. With a runner on first and two down, Oscar Taveras and Butler posted consecutive singles to plate one run. After Scott Moore drew a walk to load the bases, Xavier Scruggs followed with a single to right that plated Taveras to extend the Redbirds' lead to three. On the play, right fielder Caleb Gindl gunned down Butler at the dish as he also attempted to score. It marked the third outfield assist of the night for Nashville, one by each outfielder. Morris pulled the Sounds back within one in the sixth when he belted his first home run of the year, a two-run blast to right off Cooney that also plated Diaz (walk). Cooney (3-0) won for his third time in three starts for the Redbirds, holding Nashville to three runs in his 5 1/3 innings while striking out five. Hellweg (1-2) suffered his second loss for the Sounds after allowing four runs on six hits in six innings of work. Memphis center fielder Randal Grichuk made it a two-run lead for the visitors in the top of the seventh when he connected for a one-out solo homer to left off Sounds reliever Brent Leach. Ed Easley tacked on the Redbirds' third roundtripper of the night in the eighth with a two-out solo shot to left off Dustin Molleken and Memphis closed out its scoring in the ninth with a two-run Scruggs double against Alfredo Figaro. Nashville added its final run in the bottom of the ninth against Jorge Rondon. Herrera opened the inning with a triple to center and scored on Irving Falu's sacrifice fly. The teams continue the series with an 11:05 a.m. Education Day contest on Wednesday, when thousands of area school children will attend the game as a reward for reaching their goals in the Nashville Sounds Reading Club program. Brewers top prospect Jimmy Nelson (1-1, 3.00) will make the start for the Sounds and face Memphis southpaw Tyler Lyons (1-0, 4.50). Nashville Boxscore If you look at the boxscore you'll see that Johnny Hellweg's K:BB ratio is backwards, which tells you all you need to know. Hunter Morris was (2-4,HR) but he only has 1 BB on the entire year. I've listened to a hand full of games now and it's tough to tell from the radio call how good the pitches he's putting in play are, but there's no way he's selective enough as a hitter with only 1 walk. Caleb Gindl has had a rough start to the season offensively as well, his OPS is under .550. Nashville Recap Walking the opposing pitcher to lead off an inning never works out well... Thankfully the OF assist from Gindl limited the damage. Memphis Top of the 5th Tim Cooney walks. Greg Garcia grounds out, pitcher Johnny Hellweg to first baseman Hunter Morris. Tim Cooney to 2nd. Randal Grichuk lines out to second baseman Irving Falu. Oscar Taveras singles on a ground ball to third baseman Taylor Green. Tim Cooney to 3rd. Joey Butler singles on a line drive to right fielder Caleb Gindl. Tim Cooney scores. Oscar Taveras to 2nd. Scott Moore walks. Oscar Taveras to 3rd. Joey Butler to 2nd. Xavier Scruggs singles on a line drive to right fielder Caleb Gindl. Oscar Taveras scores. Joey Butler out at home on the throw, right fielder Caleb Gindl to catcher Robinzon Diaz. Nashville Gameday

Cards' Alex Reyes who was pushed to 104 pitches in his first outing of the season against the T-Rats is profiled here. Reyes Stretching The Limits