TheCrew07

Reds' LHP prospect Ismael Guillon, lefties are a nifty concept... Dragons' Guillon building confidence

Chris picks a quote from one of my favorite historical figures for today's post game. The end of the beginning – Postgame post for June 16, 2013

Final: Kane County (Cubs) 4, Wisconsin 2 Rattlers drop final game of first half Wisconsin strands ten in loss at Kane County By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GENEVA, IL - Pierce Johnson pitched seven scoreless innings and the Kane County Cougars held on to make Johnson the winning pitcher. Kane County topped the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 4-2 on Sunday afternoon at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark. The game was the final game of the first half of the Midwest League schedule for both teams. Reggie Golden gave Kane County (30-36) the lead in the third inning. The Cougars left fielder homered to lead off the frame to make the score 1-0. The Cougars pushed their lead to 4-0 with a two-out rally in the bottom of the fourth. Rock Shoulders hit a solo home run to left-center for the first run. Gioskar Amaya was next and he singled. Carlos Escobar drove in Amaya with a double off the wall in left. Then, Reggie Golden's high popup to short right dropped between three Wisconsin defenders. The ball deflected into the Kane County bullpen off a Rattler who was sliding to make the catch and Golden wound up on third with a triple. Wisconsin (29-36) tried to put together a two-out rally in the top of the sixth. Tyrone Taylor drew a walk. Michael Reed singled and Adam Giacalone drew another walk to load the bases. Mike Garza cracked a line drive, but the ball was hit right at Cougars third baseman Jeimar Candelario who snared the ball for the third out. Johnson allowed four hits, walked three, and struck out five as he set a professional high for innings pitched with seven. Garza got a second chance with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the eighth inning against Cougars reliever Nathan Dorris. Garza cashed in this opportunity with a two-run single to left. In the ninth, the Rattlers rallied against reliever Stephen Perakslis. Adrian Williams singled with one out and Alfredo Rodriguez drew a walk to put the tying runs on base. Max Walla's high fly to right looked like it may drop, but Bijan Rademacher made a sliding catch for the second out. The game ended when Perakslis snuck a 2-2 fastball just on the outside corner past Taylor for strike three. The loss dropped the Timber Rattlers into seventh place in the Western Division of the Midwest League, a half game behind sixth place Kane County. But, the teams will start fresh with 0-0 record when the second half begins on Thursday night. Reed, who had a pair of singles and a walk on Sunday, extended his on base streak to 36 games. That is the third longest on base streak in minor league baseball this season. The Timber Rattlers are off for the Midwest League All-Star Break until Thursday night. Wisconsin opens the second half of the 2013 Midwest League schedule on Thursday night with a home game against the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Game time is 7:05pm. HOME RUNS: Reggie Golden (2nd, 0 on in 3rd inning off Tyler Wagner, 0 out) Rock Shoulders (13th, 0 on in 4th inning off Tyler Wagner, 2 out) WP: Pierce Johnson (5-5) LP: Tyler Wagner (6-5) SAVE: Stephen Perakslis (3) TIME: 2:20 ATTN: 8,460 Wisconsin Boxscore I must say the attendance number jumped out at me, that's like AA numbers... A Cubs affiliate doesn't deserve such fine support! This was a pitcher's duel until the 4th when Tyler Wagner allowed an XBH parade as Chris noted above. Michael Reed and Tyrone Taylor both did what they've been doing for a while now. Orlando Arcia did not play, when I looked at the line-up I thought it was a very Yost-esque Sunday line-up but they had their chances to do some damage and just didn't get much done. I wasn't able to listen to the game as I had to work for the 2nd weekend in a row so I'm not sure what the story with Arcia is/was. Wisconsin Recap Wagner's 4th... Kane County Bottom of the 4th Dan Vogelbach grounds out, pitcher Tyler Wagner to first baseman Adam Giacalone. Jeimer Candelario grounds out, second baseman Christopher McFarland to first baseman Adam Giacalone. Rock Shoulders homers (13) on a fly ball to center field. Gioskar Amaya singles on a ground ball to right fielder Max Walla. Carlos Escobar doubles (4) on a fly ball to right fielder Max Walla. Gioskar Amaya scores. Reggie Golden triples (1) on a fly ball to right fielder Max Walla. Carlos Escobar scores. Brad Zapenas grounds out, shortstop Adrian Williams to first baseman Adam Giacalone. At least the boys went down fighting, gotta swing the bat Ty! Wisconsin Top of the 9th Pitching Change: Stephen Perakslis replaces Nathan Dorris. Parker Berberet grounds out to first baseman Rock Shoulders. Adrian Williams singles on a ground ball to center fielder Albert Almora. Alfredo Rodriguez walks. Adrian Williams to 2nd. Max Walla flies out to right fielder Bijan Rademacher. Tyrone Taylor called out on strikes.

It is a classy brawl because a Cards' affiliate was involved? Video at the link. Brawl mars Redbirds-Isotopes game

Cubs RHP prospect Paul Blackburn. Hawks' Blackburn dominates in debut

Tomorrow is another one – Postgame post for June 15, 2013

Final: Wisconsin 11, Kane County (Cubs) 5 Early offense leads to big Rattlers win Wisconsin goes up 7-0 early and cruises to win By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GENEVA, IL - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers scored four runs in the first inning and three more in the second to build an early 7-0 lead on the way to an 11-5 win over the Kane County Cougars Saturday night at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark. Victor Roache, Adam Giacalone, Mike Garza, and Max Walla each drove in two runs for Wisconsin in the game. The Timber Rattlers (29-35) loaded the bases with one out against Kane County starting pitcher Dillon Maples. Orlando Arcia reached on an error, Tyrone Taylor singled, and Michael Reed drew a walk. Roache smacked the first pitch of his at bat to left for a two-run single and a 2-0 lead. A walk to Giacalone reloaded the bases. Garza drew another walk from Maples to force in a run. Brent Dean knocked in the fourth run of the inning when he grounded into a force play at second. Then, Walla was hit by a pitch thrown by Maples and the Cougars made a pitching change as the bases were reloaded. Justin Amlung entered the game and got the final out of the first. But, Wisconsin got to Amlung for three runs in the top of the second inning. Arcia and Taylor started the inning with singles. Reed, who extended his on-base streak to 35 games with his walk in the first inning, doubled to right-center to drive in Arcia. Amlung got the first out, but Giacalone drove a single through the drawn in infield to plate both Taylor and Reed for a 7-0 Rattlers advantage. Kane County (29-36) collected four hits and three runs against Wisconsin starting pitcher Preston Gainey in the bottom of the third. Bijan Rademacher knocked in the first run with a double. Later in the inning, Dan Vogelbach drove in Rademacher with a ground out. Jeimer Candelario plated the final run of the inning with a two-out RBI single. Garza got one of those runs back with a two-out double in the top of the fourth inning to drive in Reed. The Cougars made it 8-4 with an RBI single by Wilson Contreras in the bottom of the fourth. Gainey worked a scoreless fifth inning and turn that 8-4 lead over to Eric Semmelhack for the sixth. Semmelhack kept the score at 8-4 as he worked three scoreless innings. Then, the Rattlers tacked on three runs in the top of the ninth. Max Walla doubled to drive in two runs and scored later in the inning for an 11-4 lead. The Cougars got the final run of the game when Rademacher homered to right with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Semmelhack ended the game by retiring the next batter. Semmelhack allowed three hits and one run in four innings of work to pick up his first professional save. The win was the third straight for the Timber Rattlers. Taylor went 3-for-6 and scored two runs for Wisconsin. Reed walked twice, stole two bases, drove in one run, and scored three runs for the Rattlers. The final game of the series - and of the first half of the Midwest League schedule - is Sunday afternoon. Tyler Wagner (6-4, 3.00) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Kane County counters with Pierce Johnson (4-5, 3.45). Game time is 1:00pm. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 12:40pm. HOME RUN: KC: Bijan Rademacher (2nd, 9th inning off Eric Semmelhack, 2 out) WP: Preston Gainey (3-5) LP: Dillon Maples (0-2) SAVE: Eric Semmelhack (1) TIME: 3:07 ATTN: 6,803 Wisconsin Boxscore With Tyrone Freaking Taylor's 3-6 effort his AVE all the way up to .294, if he had a couple of more games in the first half he might have broken .300. Chris was talking during the game about the boys giving Michael Reed the business during batting practice because he doesn't even hit HRs there. That's too bad, because power is really the only part of his game he's missing, but that's a big part considering he's a corner OF. Hopefully he gets in the weight room or naturally develops more power. Michael Garza has been a bit of an error machine, but he's sporting a .295 AVE and an .803 OPS. If can keep it going he'll be worth keeping an eye ala Greg Hopkins from last season. Brad mentioned the surprising platoon of Alfredo Rodriguez and Chris McFarland in his Future of the Franchise: Second Base piece. I've been intentionally leaving it alone because there hasn't been any explanation, but I'd rather rotate Rodriguez between 2B, 22, and 3B to get him his ABs so that all of McFarland, Rodriquez, Arcia, and Garza are getting regular reps. Rodriguez profiles as a utility player best case, why not get him regular work all over the IF now? I'm not thrilled about Arica losing ABs in that scenario, but it's better than McFarland sitting half the games. Wisconsin Recap Fun for the whole family! Wisconsin Top of the 1st Alfredo Rodriguez walks. With Orlando Arcia batting, Alfredo Rodriguez caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Willson Contreras to second baseman Gioskar Amaya. Orlando Arcia reaches on a fielding error by second baseman Gioskar Amaya. Tyrone Taylor singles on a ground ball to left fielder Oliver Zapata. Orlando Arcia to 2nd. Michael Reed walks. Orlando Arcia to 3rd. Tyrone Taylor to 2nd. Victor Roache singles on a ground ball to left fielder Oliver Zapata. Orlando Arcia scores. Tyrone Taylor scores. Michael Reed to 2nd. Adam Giacalone walks. Michael Reed to 3rd. Victor Roache to 2nd. Mike Garza walks. Michael Reed scores. Victor Roache to 3rd. Adam Giacalone to 2nd. Brent Dean grounds into a force out, second baseman Gioskar Amaya to shortstop Marco Hernandez. Victor Roache scores. Adam Giacalone to 3rd. Mike Garza out at 2nd. Brent Dean to 1st. Max Walla hit by pitch. Brent Dean to 2nd. Pitching Change: Justin Amlung replaces Dillon Maples. Alfredo Rodriguez strikes out swinging. Wisconsin Top of the 2nd Orlando Arcia singles on a line drive to center fielder Albert Almora. Tyrone Taylor singles on a line drive to left fielder Oliver Zapata. Orlando Arcia to 2nd. Michael Reed doubles (12) on a fly ball to center fielder Albert Almora. Orlando Arcia scores. Tyrone Taylor to 3rd. Victor Roache pops out to catcher Willson Contreras in foul territory. Adam Giacalone singles on a ground ball to right fielder Reggie Golden. Tyrone Taylor scores. Michael Reed scores. Mike Garza grounds out, pitcher Justin Amlung to first baseman Dan Vogelbach. Adam Giacalone to 2nd. Brent Dean strikes out swinging, catcher Willson Contreras to first baseman Dan Vogelbach. Wisconsin Top of the 9th Adam Giacalone strikes out swinging. Mike Garza singles on a ground ball to shortstop Marco Hernandez. Brent Dean walks. Mike Garza to 2nd. Max Walla doubles (3) on a fly ball to right fielder Reggie Golden. Mike Garza scores. Brent Dean scores. Alfredo Rodriguez pops out to catcher Willson Contreras in foul territory. With Orlando Arcia batting, wild pitch by Lendy Castillo, Max Walla to 3rd. Orlando Arcia reaches on a throwing error by third baseman Jeimer Candelario. Max Walla scores. Tyrone Taylor grounds into a force out, third baseman Jeimer Candelario to second baseman Gioskar Amaya. Orlando Arcia out at 2nd.

He is only three years removed from being drafted. His first major league game was two days less than three years ago exactly (6/17/10). He made AAA in less than three years. The power is there... by your reasoning of six years, doesn't he deserve three more years to develop his OBP skills? Deserve? You think Morris would want to spend 4 straight years in AAA? Again this whole option years thing is grasping at straws. He was a college hitter, he started his first full year in A ball, it's not like he was a high school draftee who worked up every level one year at time: AZL > PL > MWL > FSL > SL > PCL so he's running out of option years. He's already in AAA and hasn't had to be protected from the rule 5 draft by being added to the 40 man. He's being added to the 40 man either way this winter. When was the last time we ever graduated a fully developed prospect to MLB? How many teams can ever do that with a prospect? Who gets to decide when someone has nothing left to learn and is ready? Honestly I think baseball is a game that's always changing, if a hitter plugs one hole in their game pitchers are going to work to find another and the cycle will repeat itself. It's a game of constant adjustment, and I think some posters have completely unrealistic expectations regarding "ready for MLB". Certainly I would have liked some more refined play defensively but the organization has done a better job stressing that, both Gennett and Morris have come a long way from their initial MiLB scouting reports. If a hitter has solved the level and playing sound defense, there's very little reason not present him with the next challenge. I have no idea why Morris starts slow, but a slow start has nothing to do with being "ready". The question is whether or not his development would have been set back spending a couple of months in MLB this year. I don't think there's a definitive answer to that question, I do however think that players getting meaningful experience while not having to worry about being productive can have positive impact when they are truly needed, as either Morris or Gamel will be next year. Let's call this 1B situation what it is... Yuni had the best 10 days of his life (I honestly didn't think he even had 3 day stretch like that in him) right when it was looking like the organization would have to do so something at the position. The FO thought they caught lightening in a bottle so they decided to ride out the situation with him getting regular playing time even after Ramirez returned. In the limited games I've watched he's a horrible 1B, he actually looks like he's afraid of the short hop throws. So when he regressed at the plate as expected and basically forced a move because he was providing zero value anywhere Melvin went out and added another stop gap to the MLB roster even after Morris heated up at the plate. While I'd agree that Morris still has parts of his game to work on I'm not convinced that he would have learned quicker in AAA than MLB or that he would have had his development set back if he had started slowly in MLB. On the contrary, I would expect most young hitters to start slow and pickup steam as they go. Off the top of my head Braun is the only Brewer hitting prospect whom I recall raking from day 1. Originally we were talking about a 6-8 week chance to get acclimated to MLB before being sent back down to AAA, now it's looking like it would have been 12 week opportunity. Regardless I think the Brewers missed a reasonable opportunity to get Morris' feet which should have paid dividends in 2014 and wouldn't have affected his service time, we'd still hold Hunter's rights through his age 31 season.

Again, with the way rules have changed we have a prospect from the time we acquire for another 7 years before he has to permanently be on a MLB roster. Gamel and Green have some positional flexibility, though I don't see Green as any long-term possibility at 1B, however both Gamel and Green can play elsewhere or have a bench role, Morris doesn't fit that same mold. Either he's an everyday 1B or he doesn't have a role, he's already 24, Hart is gone after next season. Do people not expect to give him a shot until he's 28 years old? I'd expect Gamel and Morris to battle it out for the 1B job next year, between 1 of those 2 guys we should find a decent productive option at 1B. I think AAA has limited value for hitters, once hitters adjust to the finesse/control pitchers there's very little for them to learn there. I do find it irritating that so many players tank that second time through AAA, but I don't think it's all that difficult to understand how the letdown of not making the opening day roster or getting demoted back to AAA will affect a player. AAA is much more of a stepping stone for pitchers, but the point here is that given the injuries the Brewers had already experienced with Hart/Gamel/Green and the fact that they knew Hart's rehab schedule, there's no good reason for going with crappy established veterans (who also had to be added to the 40 man) over a player who might be a valuable part of our future for this long. If Morris would lose the job to Gamel next year I don't see him stashed in AAA for 3 years waiting for another injury, the organization has too many other needs, in that case he should part of a package looking to acquire a different position of need. If Morris doesn't establish him in MLB by age 28 there's very little chance he ever will, option years are not and should not be primary concern here. The focus should be when all of your current options suck then you look to your future, going to acquire another worthless stop gap for the present should not be the default plan. Clearly there's been very little tangible value over the short term with the veterans and any possible long-term value has been negated as well.

Cubs CF prospect Shawon Dunston profiled. Dunston begins season on high note

Gregory Polanco keeps keeping on. Polanco delivers in Double-A debut

As expected, a ton about Jorge Lopez and much more. Kneel before Zod – Postgame post for June 14, 2013

Final: Wisconsin 5, Kane County (Cubs) 1 Rattlers calm Cougars Lopez tosses six scoreless innings and Taylor gets four hits to lead the way By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GENEVA, IL - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers defeated the Kane County Cougars 5-1 Friday night at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark. Jorge Lopez pitched six shutout innings and the Timber Rattlers offense cashed in on their opportunities to win the first game of the final series of the first half. Both teams threatened in the first inning. Alfredo Rodriguez singled to start the game, but was erased on a force play at second as Orlando Arcia reached on a fielder's choice. Tyrone Taylor followed with a bunt single and Arcia noticed that no one was covering third base. Arcia raced for third, but pitcher Michael Heesch managed to pick up the loose ball and tag out the Rattler runner just before he reached the bag. Then - with Michael Reed at the plate - Taylor got caught stealing 1-3-6 to end the inning. The Cougars (29-35) got a leadoff walk from Bijan Rademacher and a single from Albert Almora to start the bottom of the first. A fly out to center put runners on the corners. The Rattlers got a strike-'em out, throw-'em out double play when Lopez struck out Jeimer Candelario on a 3-2 pitch and catcher Brent Dean's throw to second was in plenty of time to throw out Almora. The game remained scoreless until there were two outs in the top of the fifth. Wisconsin (28-35) had runners at the corners and Alfredo Rodriguez at the plate. Rodriguez doubled to right-center to drive in both runners for a 2-0 lead. Wisconsin extended their lead in the sixth inning. Tyrone Taylor singled, his third hit of the game, to start the inning. Michael Reed, who had walked in the fourth inning to extend his on base streak to 34 game, walked again after Taylor's single. Then, Victor Roache ended an 0-for-27 slump with a sharp single to center to load the bases with no outs. Mike Garza drove in Taylor with a sacrifice fly to deep center. The ball was hit deep enough to allow Reed to tag and move to third base. Parker Berberet dropped a safety squeeze to got Reed home and moved Roache to second base. Dean capped the scoring in the inning with a double to left-center to chase Roache home with the run that made it 5-0 Wisconsin. Lopez finished off his night with a 1-2-3 sixth inning, including a strikeout of the final batter he faced. Lopez allowed two hits, walked one, hit one, and struck out six. The Cougars got on the board in the eighth against reliever Ryan Gibbard. Wilson Contreras tripled with one out. Oliver Zapata knocked in Contreras with a grounder to second base. But, Gibbard got the final out of the eighth and pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his second save. Taylor paced the Timber Rattlers offense with the second four-hit game of his professional career. Rodriguez added a single to his two-run double for a multi-hit game. Game two of the series is Saturday night at 6:30pm. Preston Gainey (2-5, 7.30) is the scheduled starting pitcher of the Timber Rattlers. Dillon Maples (0-1, 7.99) is set to start for the Cougars. Tune in for the Miller Lite Pregame Show on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:10pm. WP: Jorge Lopez (3-5) LP: Michael Heesch (3-5) SAVE: Ryan Gibbard (2) TIME: 2:25 ATTN: 8,511 Wisconsin Boxscore Jorge Lopez with unquestionably his best start of the season, just 2 hits and 1 walk against 6 strike outs. Everyone is happy, happy, happy! Tyrone Taylor says, call me a raw? I'll show you! Leave me off the hot sheet because I don't hit HRs? I'll just keep playing my game. He's extremely easy to like. Victor Roache hit the ball hard all 3 times and finally pushed through a single to end his long hit-less drought. I'm sure Chris will have much more in his blog later tonight. Wisconsin Recap Jorge Lopez' night. Kane County Bottom of the 1st Bijan Rademacher walks. Albert Almora singles on a line drive to left fielder Victor Roache. Bijan Rademacher to 2nd. Dan Vogelbach flies out to center fielder Tyrone Taylor. Bijan Rademacher to 3rd. Jeimer Candelario strikes out swinging and Albert Almora caught stealing 2nd, catcher Brent Dean to shortstop Orlando Arcia. Kane County Bottom of the 2nd Rock Shoulders grounds out, second baseman Alfredo Rodriguez to first baseman Parker Berberet. Marco Hernandez flies out to center fielder Tyrone Taylor. Gioskar Amaya flies out to left fielder Victor Roache. Kane County Bottom of the 3rd Willson Contreras grounds out, third baseman Mike Garza to first baseman Parker Berberet. Oliver Zapata strikes out swinging. Bijan Rademacher flies out to left fielder Victor Roache. Kane County Bottom of the 4th Albert Almora strikes out swinging. Dan Vogelbach flies out to right fielder Michael Reed. Jeimer Candelario grounds out, second baseman Alfredo Rodriguez to first baseman Parker Berberet. Kane County Bottom of the 5th Rock Shoulders called out on strikes. Marco Hernandez hit by pitch. Gioskar Amaya grounds into a force out, third baseman Mike Garza to second baseman Alfredo Rodriguez. Marco Hernandez out at 2nd. Gioskar Amaya to 1st. Willson Contreras singles on a ground ball to left fielder Victor Roache. Gioskar Amaya to 2nd. With Oliver Zapata batting, wild pitch by Jorge Lopez, Gioskar Amaya to 3rd. Willson Contreras to 2nd. Oliver Zapata strikes out swinging. Kane County Bottom of the 6th Bijan Rademacher grounds out, second baseman Alfredo Rodriguez to first baseman Parker Berberet. Albert Almora pops out to shortstop Orlando Arcia. Dan Vogelbach strikes out swinging.

1. Orlando Arcia 2. Tyrone Taylor 3. Jimmy Nelson 4. Tyler Thornburg 5. Hunter Morris 6. Mitch Haniger 7. Johnny Hellweg 8. Devin Williams 9. Victor Roache 10. Scooter Gennett 11. Hiram Burgos 12. Tucker Nuehaus 13. Ariel Pena 14. Caleb Gindl 15. Khris Davis 16. Drew Gagnon 17. Taylor Jungmann 18. Jesus Sanchez 19. Tyler Wagner 20. Michael Reed 21. Jason Rogers 22. Clint Coulter 23. Jorge Lopez 24. Cameron Garfield 25. Jed Bradley 26. Chris McFarland I lean towards upside but I also try to appropriately slot players I think will have a MLB career. 4 of my next 5 players would have been pitchers: Magnifico, Hall, Hand, and Goforth, the position player would have been Kentrail Davis. As far as my top 2... recent performance, upside, and age relative to level weighed extremely heavily. Extremely young players showing an advanced hitting approach in A ball excite me tremendously. I wish Erickson would talk about Arcia more, give me the goods Matt! I'm guessing I'm going to have Coulter lower than everyone else, but I just don't like him as a C at all. I don't think he's has a future there and while he had hit safely in 11 of his 13 games before going on the DL the limited momentum he had going with the bat is probably gone now. I think he's got tremendous upside with the bat but as it stands today I think he's playing out of position. With a move to a corner IF spot and solid performance at the plate he's in that 10-15 range. Roache is only as high as he is based on his power potential. His hit tool has been a huge question mark and his defense has been similarly poor. If I wasn't biased towards power he'd easily 7-8 spots lower. Obviously I came around on Haniger, I actually really like him. I'm still not sure he's an impact type guy, but he's a very well rounded player with positional flexibility, I think he's got a MLB future. I've become cautiously optimistic about Jorge Lopez, and that's actually an upgrade in his status. If he can find his stride control wise he could easily jump into the top 15, however if he just maintains this current level of performance he won't be in my top 25 the next time I do this. Any questions people would have regarding why I have pitchers slotted the way I do can probably be answered by 2 things: SO/9 rates and the difference in value between starters & relievers. Starters always are more valuable and I'm always skeptical of pitchers who don't show an ability to miss bats. edit. I forget Caleb Gindl, I'll think about where to slot him and adjust accordingly later.

Worrying about option years with a 24 year old 1B is stretching the rationalization very thin. What does he need option years for? In case Hart gets resigned? Option years really only matter for legitimate prospects who keep getting hurt and losing development time like Rogers, and maybe I should say legitimate talent instead of legitimate prospects. Regardless if a guy doesn't develop in 6-7 years chances are he's not going to develop. Morris is already in AAA, option years should not be a concern.

Prospect Hot Sheet Chat With J.J. Cooper

Looking ahead to 2014... Luis Ortiz Lights Up Radar Guns at PG National

How Teams Can Stretch Their International Budgets

July 2 Notebook: International Outfielder Bonanza

Prospect Hot Sheet (June 14): Joey Gallo Slugs Seven Home Runs NOT HOT Gift Ngoepe, ss, Pirates: Ngoepe is one of the more interesting human-interest stories in the minors as a South African who was spotted, signed and has made it up to Double-A. Unfortunately for him, he’s going to have to hit a lot better to be more than just a great story. This week he went 1-for-13, lowering his numbers to .159/.255/.253 at Altoona.

Sure, except that they played 2 SS and 2 C there while Halton and Morris were in AAA... With a 1 month stop gap sure, play whomever you want, but as this is situation is apparently going to last through to the all-star break why not go with younger/cheaper options to get them some MLB experience until Hart returns? They've been privy to Hart's rehab progress the entire time, it's not like us from the general fan base who get updates every 2-3 weeks. I know people will point to AAA production but does it really matter if they wouldn't have hit given what the plethora of players who've been at 1B have done? Let one of them get their feet wet (preferably Morris) and then send him down when Hart is finally ready to come back. At least we'd have been plugging the hole with part of future instead of the bunch of has beens and never was that will play there through the first 3 months of season. As for any 40 man arguments... well why is Lalli, Gonzo, or Yuni more deserving of a roster spot than Morris? The "depth" on the 40 man is basically crap, what does it matter if we part with any one of those guys?

Wisconsin gets the split with 2-1 win in game two Blaski earns third victory, Reed keeps on base streak rolling By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers BELOIT, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers defeated the Beloit Snappers 2-1 in game two of Thursday's doubleheader at Pohlman Field. The win allowed the Rattlers to earn the split after the Snappers won game one 3-1. Wisconsin (27-35) wasted no time in game two as they scored in the top of the first. Tyrone Taylor doubled with two outs. Michael Reed followed with a triple to right to drive in Taylor for a 1-0 lead. Reed extended his current on base streak to 33 games with that first inning triple. That ties him with Jeff Holm of West Michigan for the longest on base streak in the Midwest League this season. The Timber Rattlers pushed another run across the plate in the top of the fifth. Max Walla singled to start the inning. Brent Dean dropped a sacrifice bunt to move Walla to second. Beloit starter Seth Streich threw a wild pitch to move Walla to third. He would throw another wild pitch to let Walla score for a 2-0 advantage. Beloit (41-26) got a run off Austin Blaski with three straight singles in the bottom of the fifth inning. Sam Roberts singled with one out. Brett Vertigan reached on a bunt single. Christopher Bostick singled to drive in Roberts. Blaski retired the next two batters to keep Wisconsin in front. Blaski worked five innings and scattered four hits and four walks with four strikeouts mixed in for good measure. Taylor Mangum took over for Blaski in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Snappers had two on with one out, but Mangum got a flyout and a strikeout to end the Beloit sixth with the Rattlers still up 2-1. Mangum worked a scoreless bottom of the seventh to close out Beloit and earn his third save of the season. The win by Wisconsin ended Beloit's nine-game winning streak. The Timber Rattlers begin their final series of the first half on Friday night when they face the Kane County Cougars at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark. Jorge Lopez (2-5, 7.47) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. Michael Heesch (3-4, 3.73) is the probable starting pitcher for Kane County. Game time is 6:30pm. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:10pm. WP: Austin Blaski (3-2) LP: Seth Streich (6-4) SAVE: Taylor Mangum (3) TIME: 2:09 ATTN: 972 Wisconsin Game 2 Boxscore It was dicey in the 5th, Austin Blaski and the Rattlers barely hung on for the W, but I'll take it. Victor Roache took a much needed mental breather in game 2 with Michael Reed playing LF instead. Speaking of Reed, he had 2 hits, while Tyrone Taylor and Orlando Arcia each went 1-3. Taylor has pushed his AVE up to .277 and while Arcia has leveled off a bit in June he has still bumped his average all the way up to .260, that's a far cry from his .180ish bottom. Wisconsin Recap Nunez thought he had hit the go ahead home run, flying out to Reed up against the wall in LF, and I'll quote Chris from the game broadcast "... and the bat flip from Nunez doesn't mean a gosh darn thing!" Beloit Bottom of the 5th Nick Rickles strikes out swinging. Sam Roberts singles on a fly ball to right fielder Max Walla. Brett Vertigan singles on a bunt ground ball to third baseman Mike Garza. Sam Roberts to 2nd. Chris Bostick singles on a ground ball to center fielder Tyrone Taylor. Sam Roberts scores. Brett Vertigan to 2nd. John Wooten strikes out swinging. Renato Nunez flies out to left fielder Michael Reed.

I haven't checked Twitter in like 3 weeks (yes I know... I've just been that busy with work and keeping up on Minor League stuff), anyway Mehring said during the game 2 broadcast that there were some tweets floating around about Seth Harvey having TJ surgery today. Rodolfo Fernandez comes off Wisconsin's DL and Leonard Lorenzo goes on.

Based on proximity to the Majors or ...?

Beloit beats Wisconsin in game one Snappers stop Rattlers 3-1 By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers BELOIT, WI - The Beloit Snappers scored three early runs and that was more than enough for Michael Ynoa to beat the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in game one of Thursday's doubleheader at Pohlman Field. The Snappers beat Wisconsin 3-1 to clinch a first half playoff spot in the Western Division. The Timber Rattlers (26-35) threatened early against Ynoa. Orlando Arcia doubled with one out and Tyrone Taylor walked. But, Ynoa struck out the next two batters to end the inning. Beloit (41-25) broke through with a two-out rally in the bottom of the second inning against Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Hiram Burgos. John Wooten singled to keep the inning alive. Then, Ryan Delgado lined a double high off the batter's eye in center. That scored Wooten for a 1-0 lead. Burgos finished his rehab start with the Rattlers after the second inning. He allowed one run on two hits with a walk and three strikeouts. The Snappers added to their lead in the bottom of the fourth. Delgado doubled with one out. Dayton Alexander followed with a single to left that put runners on the corners. Christopher Bostick lined a double to center to drive in both runners and give Beloit a 3-0 lead. The Rattlers were all but silenced by Ynoa after the first inning. He held Wisconsin to two hits and one walk with five strikeouts over five scoreless innings. Wisconsin avoided the shutout in the top of the seventh inning with a run against reliever Andres Avila. Adam Giacalone singled with one out. Alfredo Rodriguez grounded into a fielder's choice that forced Giacalone, but a wild throw allowed Rodriguez to take second. Max Walla followed with a single to left and Rodriguez scored. Avila would end the game by striking out the next batter for the final out. The Timber Rattlers are 1-7 against Beloit this season. WP: Michael Ynoa (2-1) LP: Hiram Burgos (0-1) SAVE: Andres Avila (2) TIME: 1:32 Wisconsin Boxscore So between Michael Ynoa and Raul Alcantara the Rattlers have faced both pitchers twice in the last week and are 0-4 having scored 1 run in 23 innings.. yuck. Thankfully after this series they won't see the Snappers again until August and maybe at least Alcantara will be gone by then. With only 3 hits and 2 walks, there isn't much else to discuss. Wisconsin Recap