TheCrew07

In addition to Baez, the Cubs' Brett Jackson, whose career is spiraling downwards, is discussed. Prospect Notebook: Javier Baez Goes On Another Power Binge

Cubs, Rangers Leave Spending Limits Behind

That's a pretty big IF though... many of us were saying that "IF Gallardo could become more efficient with his pitches we'd have something special"... well he's basically gone the other way over the last 3 seasons. I don't think Jimmy is a top #50 prospect, he's a #2 best case and more likely a #3/4 pending his control at MLB. I just don't think he has the combination of velocity, stuff, and pitchability that one needs to be considered as such. He may very well continue to make strides as he matures (which would be awesome) but much like Peralta when a guy has already come so far how much farther should you realistically project him to go? I do think a solid case could be made that he's a top 100 prospect, somewhere in that 80-100 range. I don't have a problem with anyone suggesting he should be higher than that though, after the top 10-25 prospects (depending on the year) rankings are very subjective anyway... gut feelings, how a guy looks, how well you think his stuff with translate, and so on. I personally don't think he has the pitchability yet, but I can definitely see why others would be more excited about him than I am.

Junior Lake Makes Good First Impression With Cubs’ New Front Office

Subscriber content Caleb Gindl Gets His Shot

Javier Baez can certainly hit for power... Baez smokes two more long balls

Clinton win chops away at Rattlers playoff chances Wisconsin falls 4-3 at Clinton By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers CLINTON, IA - Dario Pizzano was there when the Clinton LumberKings needed the big hit. His two-out double in the bottom of the seventh inning drove in a run to break a 3-3 tie. That hit led Clinton to a 4-3 win over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Wednesday night at Ashford University Field. The loss was the third straight for Wisconsin and sent them sliding farther behind the LumberKings in the Wild Card race. Taylor Ard started a two-out rally for Clinton (64-63 overall, 31-27 second half) in the bottom of the second inning with a bloop singled into shallow right-center. Gaby Guerrero was next and he took a close 3-2 pitch from Rattlers starting pitcher Tyler Wagner for a walk. Janelfry Zorilla lined a single to center and drove in Guerrero. The throw home missed the cutoff man and allowed the LumberKings to put runners on second and third. Martin Peguero followed with a two-run single to left and the LumberKings were up 3-0. The Rattlers (54-69, 25-33) got close in the top of the fourth. Tyrone Taylor singled to start the inning. Garrett Cooper followed with a double to drive in Taylor. Victor Roache was next and his double drove in Cooper. But, Roache was left stranded at second when the inning ended. Wisconsin would tie the game in the fifth. Alfredo Rodriguez reached on an error. Michael Reed singled. Then, a wild pitch by Clinton starter David Holman put runners on second and third. Taylor sent a fly ball to deep left-center to allow Rodriguez to tag and score on the play. Wagner pitched six innings and didn't give up another run after the second. He walked three, struck out two, and turned a tie game over to the bullpen in the seventh. Harvey Martin took over after the stretch and gave up a leadoff single, but a pair of force plays at second base left Clinton with a runner at first and two outs. That didn't matter to Dario Pizzano. The Clinton designated hitter lined a double to the gap in left-center to score the go-ahead run from first base. Roache drew a leadoff walk in the top of the ninth inning. He was at second with one out. Max Walla lined a pitch to the gap in right-center, but Guerrero ran the ball down on the fly for the second out. Roache tagged and made it to third base on the play, but he was left stranded at third with the tying run as the LumberKings got the final out of the game on a grounder to short. The loss drops Wisconsin six games behind the LumberKings in the second half Western Division Wild Card race with twelve games remaining in the regular season. Game two of the series is Thursday night at 6:30pm. Jorge Lopez (7-8, 5.15) is scheduled as the starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Clinton has Charles Kaalekahi (5-4, 4.57) as their scheduled starter. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or IHeartRadio starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:10pm. WP: David Holman (4-6) LP: Harvey Martin (2-4) SAVE: Mark Bordanaro (3) TIME: 2:16 ATTN: 971 Wisconsin Boxscore Tyler Wagner went 6 innings allowing 3 earned runs though he allowed 7 hits and 3 walks but only struck out 2. Harvey Martin's first season at A ball has been a bit of a struggle. Orlando Arcia had the only multi-hit game for the T-Rats but he did get caught stealing for the 9th time. Remember Max Walla's pre-draft power display? He had 7 HRs in 409 PAs last year, this year he has 0 HRs through 247 PAs. Max has 15 HRs in 1331 professional ABs, or 1 HR every 88.73333 PAs... the Rattlers SS Arcia has 10 HRs in 696 PAs which is 1 HR every 69.6 PAs. I will always wonder what the story is/was with Max's power. Wisconsin Recap I hope this was a close play at home otherwise a certain scene from A League of Their Own as the extra base cost the Rattlers a run. Clinton Bottom of the 2nd D. J. Peterson lines out to third baseman Mike Garza. Tyler Marlette flies out to center fielder Tyrone Taylor. Taylor Ard singles on a pop up to second baseman Alfredo Rodriguez. Gabriel Guerrero walks. Taylor Ard to 2nd. Janelfry Zorrilla singles on a line drive to center fielder Tyrone Taylor. Taylor Ard scores. Gabriel Guerrero to 3rd. Janelfry Zorrilla to 2nd on the throw Martin Peguero singles on a line drive to left fielder Victor Roache. Gabriel Guerrero scores. Janelfry Zorrilla scores. Brock Hebert lines out to shortstop Orlando Arcia. The T-Rats missed a chance in the 3rd. Wisconsin Top of the 3rd Max Walla strikes out swinging. Parker Berberet singles on a line drive to left fielder Alfredo Morales. Orlando Arcia singles on a line drive to left fielder Alfredo Morales. Parker Berberet to 2nd. Alfredo Rodriguez flies out to center fielder Janelfry Zorrilla. Michael Reed grounds into a force out, shortstop Martin Peguero to second baseman Brock Hebert. Orlando Arcia out at 2nd.

As Teams Scout Masahiro Tanaka, Posting System Changes Could Be Coming

If you've been paying attention to Springer's season this is no surprise. Nothing divisional again today. Prospect Notebook: George Springer’s Quest For 40-40 Enters Final Stretch

Cubs' Kris Bryant again. FSL notes: Cubs' Bryant takes reins

Rattlers stumble early, can't come all the way back at Beloit Taylor goes 5-for-5 for Wisconsin in 6-4 loss to Snappers By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers BELOIT, WI - A six-run deficit was too much for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Tuesday night at Pohlman Field. The Beloit Snappers got in front of Wisconsin 6-0 in the bottom of the third inning and held on for a 6-4 win over their in-state rivals. Tyrone Taylor went 5-for-5 with a double and a pair of runs scored to try and bring the Rattlers back. But the Snappers held on for the win and dampened Wisconsin's playoff chances. The Timber Rattlers (54-68 overall, 25-32 second half) got a walk to start the game against Beloit starting pitcher Dylan Covey, but the right-hander got the next batter to hit into a 6-4-3 double play. Taylor and Garrett Cooper followed with singles to put runners on the corners. Parker Berberet was next and he sent a screaming line drive right at the second baseman for the final out of the inning. Beloit (69-58, 26-31) got their leadoff batter in the bottom of the first inning aboard on an error. A walk, a strikeout, and another walk loaded the bases. John Wooten stepped to the plate, but the first run of the inning scored before he took a swing. A wild pitch by Rattlers starter Mike Strong let a run cross the plate. Wooten would follow that with a double to right-center and the Rattlers were down 3-0. There was controversy in the second inning. Orlando Arcia tried to reach on a bunt single and was called out on a close play. Rattlers manager Matt Erickson discussed the call with base umpire Masa Ichiki and was ejected. Tuesday was the second game in a row Ichiki ran Erickson from the game. On Monday, the Wisconsin skipper was told to shower early after a Timber Rattlers home run was overturned into a foul ball in the top o the seventh. Matt Olson extended Beloit's lead with a three-run home run to right-center in the bottom of the third inning. His 19th home run of the season put the Snappers up 6-0. The Rattlers got to Covey with a two-out rally in the top of the fifth. Taylor reached on an infield single with two outs. Cooper drew a walk. Parker Berberet singled to knock in Taylor and knock Covey out of the game one out shy of qualifying for his first professional win. The Taylor/Cooper duo combined to get Wisconsin their second run of the game. Taylor singled, his fourth hit of the game, with two outs in the seventh. Cooper followed with a triple to right-center to score Taylor and cut Beloit's lead to four runs. Beloit brought Kris Hall into the game for the top of the eighth inning and he proceeded to walk the bases loaded. Max Walla drew a leadoff walk. Hall got the second out, but walked Tyler Roberts and Adrian Williams to load the bases. Chris Lamb took over for Hall to face Rodriguez. The Rattlers leadoff batter worked the count full against Lamb and sent a hard grounder right at Beloit's second baseman. The Snappers got the force at second, but the throw to first was wild. That allowed both Walla and Roberts to score and the Rattlers pulled to within 6-4. Rodolfo Fernandez, who came on for the Rattlers in the bottom of the fourth tossed a perfect bottom of the eighth inning. Fernandez pitched five scoreless innings for Wisconsin on Tuesday night to extend his current scoreless streak to 17 innings. Taylor led off the Wisconsin ninth inning with a double inside the first base bag. Taylor became the first Timber Rattler to get five hits in a game since TJ Mittelstaedt on July 5, 2011. Mittelstaedt also happened to have his five-hit game at Beloit's Pohlman Field. Berberet came to the plate with one out and Taylor still at second base. Berberet sent a line drive ticketed for left field, but shortstop Daniel Robertson speared the liner for out number two and fired to second to double Taylor off for the final out of the game. The Rattlers playoff chances took a big hit with losses in the last two games of the series at Beloit. The Clinton LumberKings won on Monday and Tuesday at Kane County to extend their lead over the Timber Rattlers to five games with thirteen games remaining in the regular season. Wisconsin begins a three-game series at Clinton on Wednesday night. Tyler Wagner (9-8, 3.24) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Clinton has named David Holman (3-6, 3.29) as their scheduled starter. Game time is 6:30pm. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280 or IHeartRadio beginning with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:10pm. HOME RUN: BEL: Matt Olson (19th, 2 on in 3rd inning off Mike Strong, 1 out) WP: Trevor Bayless (1-1) LP: Mike Strong (3-3) SAVE: Chris Lamb (2) TIME: 2:47 ATTN: 1,337 Wisconsin Boxscore Well at least Tyrone Taylor had a heck of a night going 5-5 with a 2B! Oddly even though the Rattlers had 11 hits as a team Garrett Cooper had the only other multi-hit game putting up a 2-4 effort with a 3B and a BB. Cooper has been fantastic since being drafted, hard to have any complaints about his career thus far. Maybe that's not so odd as I think about it as they had 7 of the 11 hits between them. Michael Strong didn't pitch well, but Rodolfo Fernandez was fantastic through his 5 innings, though I still like him as a reliever long-term. Wisconsin Recap Chris will probably cover this above but Wisconsin had chances before finally breaking through in the 5th, and the budding rally in the 9th was nipped in the bud... Wisconsin Top of the 1st Alfredo Rodriguez walks. Michael Reed grounds into a double play, shortstop Daniel Robertson to second baseman Chris Bostick to first baseman Matt Olson. Alfredo Rodriguez out at 2nd. Tyrone Taylor singles on a ground ball to third baseman Renato Nunez. Garrett Cooper singles on a line drive to right fielder Dayton Alexander. Tyrone Taylor to 3rd. Parker Berberet lines out to second baseman Chris Bostick. Wisconsin Top of the 3rd Alfredo Rodriguez grounds out, shortstop Daniel Robertson to first baseman Matt Olson. Michael Reed singles on a ground ball to third baseman Renato Nunez. Tyrone Taylor singles on a line drive to left fielder Ryan Mathews. Michael Reed to 2nd. Garrett Cooper grounds into a force out, fielded by third baseman Renato Nunez. Michael Reed out at 3rd. Tyrone Taylor to 2nd. Garrett Cooper to 1st. Parker Berberet called out on strikes. Wisconsin Top of the 4th Max Walla strikes out swinging. Orlando Arcia reaches on a fielding error by third baseman Renato Nunez. With Tyler Roberts batting, Orlando Arcia steals (20) 2nd base. Tyler Roberts strikes out swinging. Adrian Williams strikes out swinging. Wisconsin Top of the 9th Tyrone Taylor doubles (31) on a line drive to right fielder Dayton Alexander. Garrett Cooper strikes out swinging. Parker Berberet lines into a double play, shortstop Daniel Robertson to second baseman Chris Bostick. Tyrone Taylor doubled off 2nd.

A trio of Cubs prospects discussed. Playing ‘This or That’ with position players

Buck Rogers at it again... Stars giving fans a memorable 'Day Off'

Another quiet day. Prospect Notebook: Erik Johnson Finishing Strong

Subscriber Content. Gerrit Cole Continues To Be Cool, Calm And Collected

Final: Beloit 8, Wisconsin 5 Beloit busts Wisconsin Snappers score five in the third to erase early Rattler lead By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers BELOIT, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers were looking for their third straight win when they took on the Beloit Snappers Monday night at Pohlman Field. Things looked good early as the Rattlers had a 3-1 lead after the top of the second, but the Snappers stormed to the lead with a run in the second and five in the third. Beloit beat Wisconsin 8-5 and the loss dropped the Rattlers another game behind the Wild Card leaders with time running out in the 2013 season. Garrett Cooper put the Rattlers (54-67 overall, 25-31 second half) in front in the top of the first inning. Cooper, who drove in the go-ahead run in the tenth inning on Sunday, sent a towering flyball to left field for a two-run homer with two outs for a 2-0 lead. Christopher Bostick got Beloit (68-58, 25-31) on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first. Bostick homered to right-center with two outs and none on base to make the score 2-1. Wisconsin got that run back in the top of the second. Alfredo Rodriguez drove in Christopher McFarland from second base with a two out single to right and the Rattlers were up 3-1. Matt Olson brought the Snappers back to within a run in the bottom of the second inning with a home run over the wall in center. Beloit charged in front with five runs as they sent nine men to the plate in the third inning. Ryan Mathews started the frame with a double. A one out single by Bostick scored Mathews to tie the game 3-3. Rattlers starting pitcher Ryan Gibbard got the second out of the inning, but walked John Wooten to extend the Snappers turn at bat. Olson delivered a double to drive in Bostick and get Wooten around to third. Brett Vertigan was next and he singled to center to drive in both runners. The throw home missed the cutoff man and allowed Vertigan to take second base. Nick Rickles capped the scoring in the inning with a single to center to drive Vertigan in from second. Max Walla doubled with two outs in the top of the fifth inning to drive in Cooper and Parker Berberet and the Rattlers were within 7-5. But, Beloit added one more run against Gibbard on Olson's RBI double in the bottom of the fifth and the Snappers were up 8-5. Berberet appeared to hit a two-out solo home run off Beloit reliever Vincent Voiro with two outs in the top of the seventh. The line drive to left was initially called a home run by plate umpire Masa Ichiki. Beloit manager Ryan Christenson asked Ichiki to consult with base umpire Sean Allen. There was a discussion between the umpires and the call was overturned. Matt Erickson came down to talk about the call and was eventually ejected by Ichiki. Berberet struck out a few pitches later to end the inning. On Sunday afternoon at Beloit, Wisconsin rallied from a three-run deficit with three runs in the top of the ninth to collect a stirring comeback victory in extra innings. On Monday night, Austin House pitched around a two-out single to Cooper and tossed a scoreless ninth to close out Wisconsin. The Clinton LumberKings, the Western Division Wild Card leader in the second half, defeated Kane County 9-2 on Monday night to move their record for the second half to 29-27. The Timber Rattlers now trail Clinton by four games with fourteen games remaining in the regular season. Game four of the series is Tuesday night at Pohlman Field. Eric Semmelhack (2-6, 4.99) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Beloit has Dylan Covey (0-1, 4.54) as their scheduled starter. Game time is 7:00pm. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or IHeartRadio starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:40pm. HOME RUNS: WIS: Garrett Cooper (2nd, 1 on in 1st inning off Derek DeYoung, 2 out) BEL: Christopher Bostick (14th, 0 on in 1st inning off Ryan Gibbard, 2 out) Matt Olson (18th, 0 on in 2nd inning off Ryan Gibbard, 1 out) WP: Derek DeYoung (6-5) LP: Ryan Gibbard (4-5) SAVE: Austin House (8) TIME: 2:26 ATTN: 691 Wisconsin Boxscore Unfortunately Ryan Gibbard just didn't have it tonight, fortunately Preston Gainey followed with 3 eventful but clean innings and kept the T-Rats in the game. The Rattlers had a decent game at the dish pounding out 11 hits, but only 2 of those for extra bases. Alfredo Rodriguez (2-3), Garrett Cooper (2-4, HR, BB), Victor Roache (2-5), and Chris McFarland (2-4) had multiple hits. Max Walla added a double for his only hit. Wisconsin Recap With the all the scoring early the T-Rats best chance to even the game was in the 6th, but they came up empty. Wisconsin Top of the 6th Pitching Change: Vincent Voiro replaces Derek De Young. Orlando Arcia singles on a ground ball to center fielder Brett Vertigan. Alfredo Rodriguez singles on a ground ball to right fielder John Wooten. Orlando Arcia to 2nd. Michael Reed grounds into a double play, shortstop Sam Roberts to second baseman Chris Bostick to first baseman Matt Olson. Orlando Arcia to 3rd. Alfredo Rodriguez out at 2nd. Tyrone Taylor flies out to center fielder Brett Vertigan.

It's laughable that people are trying to justify speculating about the test collector's "motives" (and yes I use that term very loosely) simply because they wanted to blindly believe that Braun was innocent. It was in poor taste then and any backwards justification now is deplorable. I'm not sure how it got lost in shuffle that Braun wasn't the only player tested that day and that his sample arrived at the facility with the seals intact. While there was an extremely narrow possibility that the collector doctored the samples and managed to replace the seals, recent events have proven that notion was grasping at straws. The collector was just doing his job as outlined to him, no doubt the same way he'd done it numerous times previously. Considering MLB dropped other suspensions based on the same chain of custody issue we can pretty much guess that there was a hole in the testing procedures someplace and not with the actions of this particular collector. There were quite a few of us that didn't like the misdirection strategy from Braun's camp from the start, Braun was pointing at everything and everyone but himself. He never directly answered a single question, skated on the chain of custody issue, then continued to cheat and got caught again. He cheated, he got caught, why are some people still trying to justify it? Is it different now that it's a Brewer and not just A-Rod or other players from large markets? I'd wager that very few people here know Braun personally and I never understood why people would stand up for a player just because they are a fan of his, without full knowledge of the facts or his true personality? I think his character has been exposed, and while I never expected him to tell the truth, the louder he proclaimed his innocence previously the larger the douche he looks like now. Does it really matter if A-Rod sold him out if they were in cahoots together? How is one any better or different than the other? Neither one has much honor or integrity, they'll do whatever they can to secure "theirs" and the rest of us be damned. This is simple. Braun's employer has rules, just like all of our employers do, and when we break the rules there will be consequences. We may not like the rules, but we don't get to the make rules, following them is a condition of our employment. Sometimes those rules were negotiated, sometimes dictated, but regardless it's our responsibility to follow those rules. I think far too many people confuse what "freedoms" and "rights" are all about, but that's a different discussion entirely. In the end Braun was smart to take the suspension now, it directly benefited him, it was his best case scenario. He wasn't healthy, the team wasn't going anywhere, and he loses the least possible amount of money serving the suspension immediately as his contract escalates each year. Yes he got caught, he got exposed, but at the same time by accepting the "plea deal" he made the best of a bad situation for himself. I had become indifferent to Braun over the years and I'd guess I'll remain indifferent, meaning that I like his production in the line-up but don't care about him at all on a personal level, unless of course his performance tanks, then I'm sure I'll be extremely bitter. My loyalty lies with the Brewers and their minor league teams, not any of the players, managers, or front office personnel in particular.

Pirates' Pat Ludwig and the Reds' Ben Lively. Pitchers of the Week

Just Kris Bryant this week. Offensive Players of the Week

Subscriber content regarding a catching prospect in the Reds' organization. Littler Bat Makes Big Difference For Tucker Barnhart

Ask BA: 2014 Draft’s Top Prospects

Normally I don't pass these on even though I read them, but the tweet I quoted was pretty funny. Minoring in Twitter: PF Chang’s, Willy Wonka and Walter White

LHB Jin-De Jhang a C in the Pirates' organization. His career numbers are pretty decent. Jhang homers twice, plates six runs

The Reds' Ben Lively has done exactly what college pitchers should do in the Pioneer League. We'll see what happens with him next year. Reds' Lively maintains perfect keel

Nothing divisional related, but I'll call my shot now and say that Toronto is going to end up looking pretty stupid trading both Syndergaard and Nicolino, didn't like the trades at the time and they look even worse now. So many GMs in baseball just don't get it. /offsoapbox Prospect Notebook: Noah Syndergaard Extends Scoreless Streak