TheCrew07

It is yes, my bad. I've been spelling his name wrong for years apparently.

Taylor Jungmann, Javier Baez of the Cubs, Daniel Corcino of the Reds, Clay Holmes of the Pirates, and Patrick Wisdom of the Cards are the 5 divisional prospects discussed. Work To Do: A Disappointing Prospect From Each Organization

There certainly are no guarantees but they have 3 things going for them that they didn't have when Prior came around. 1. No Dusty Baker to run the young pitchers into the ground 2. A different front office that wouldn't allow that to happen in the first place 3. Pitch counts have become and established part of baseball (right or wrong) The Cubs will get Grey or Appel this year and will be right there with Miami and Houston for Rondon next year. That would be a heck of a 1-2 righty lefty punch and is my single biggest fear. The Pirates, Cards, and Reds are already better than us and have a stronger farm systems. If the Cubs get 2 top of the rotation pitchers in 2 drafts by the time those guys are ready to step in at MLB the rest of their young position players like Soler and Baez will be MLB ready as well. All they would need to do is resign Garza or a similar type pitcher and all of a sudden their 1-3 is pretty competitive with a much improved line-up to go with it. There is just no way Milwaukee is this bad, the Brewers aren't the 3rd worst team in baseball (where they currently would draft next season) but the reality is that by beating up the Cubs it will only help them rise up more quickly. I'm not suggesting we tank but that's the reality of the situation. I don't want the Cubs to have any shot at Rondon, I'd like him in the AL to be honest, so I'd hope Houston had the top pick for a 3rd straight year because they are the only AL team awful enough to be in the conversation.

Bingo. I have a hard time putting into words how much I despise the Cards and Cubs as organizations including their fanbase. I want to destroy them both at every level of baseball. However, I do have admiration for how the Cards continually remain competitive not too mention their rich history as a franchise. Unfortunately I also like what the Cubs have done realigning the front office and the talent evaluators they have brought in and the Cubs will be able to draft a top of the rotation MLB starter that they so desperately need in 2 weeks. /sigh

No divisional mentions today. Tuesday Prospect Notebook: Mondesi Goes For the Cycle

The Rangers have Mitch Moreland (current OPS: .877) at 1B, Adrian Beltre (.833 w/top-tier defense) at 3B, and Lance Berkman (.834) at DH. Now, if Berkman can't stay off the DL (not unlikely), or Moreland hasn't actually taken a nice step forward as a hitter this season & regresses heavily (always possible), that could change. But for now, I don't see how either Aramis or Corey would make sense for them. I think at this point, we have to root for Yovani to recover his form both for the sake of the Brewers' 2013 W-L record, and also for the good of the future of the franchise in terms of his potential trade value. Not to mention some guys named Olt and Profar who are blocked and awaiting their turn in the bigs. Profar is up right now because Kinsler is on the DL but I doubt he stays up once Kinsler returns. Texas is a not a fit for Milwaukee this season... last season yes, this season no. Also I know Olt has been awful this year, but he'll be fine long-term.

Nine Questions MLB Must Address For An International Draft

2013 BA 500 Draft Preview

Manzanillo's star was so bright 2 years ago... now his K:BB is upside down and predictably the results haven't been good. In fact his K/9 is currently the worst of his career, and it's not very close.

I'm not sure why this kid is jumping out at me, maybe it's the relatively new to pitching thing and the fact that the Brewers cover Southern California well, for some reason he just seems like the type of guy the Brewers would be interested in. Of course being a projectable LHP doesn't hurt as all projectable LHPs are always on my radar... With a draft so deep in LHP and the Brewers not having a 1st round pick or a legitimate LHP at this time, I sure hope they look at the HS lefties. Draft Focus: Blake Taylor

Ask BA: Ball Tops Draft’s Two-Way Stars

The Jungmann discussion was spread over 3 or 4 different threads, here's another. I remember kind of doing a PbP of his College WS series starts and not being impressed, but I didn't find those posts. X nailed Bradley pretty much dead on, I had forgotten how many people didn't like the Jungmann pick.

Peoria pops Rattlers in extra innings Chiefs score three in 12th to beat Wisconsin 4-3 By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers PEORIA, IL - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers scored two runs in the top of the twelfth inning at Dozer Park on Memorial Day. But, it wasn't enough. The Peoria Chiefs scored three times in the bottom of the twelfth to hand the Rattlers a heart-breaking 4-3 defeat in extra innings. Parker Berberet put the Timber Rattlers (22-24) up 1-0. He slugged a long home run to left field to lead off the fifth inning. Clint Coulter nearly made it 2-0, but Michael Swinson leapt at the wall and robbed Coulter of a home run. Austin Blaski was solid. He walked two, allowed five hits, but kept the Chiefs off the scoreboard. In the first inning, Breyvic Valera singled to start the frame. Blaski picked him off first base. Then, Ildemaro Vargas singled in the first inning. Blaski picked him off first, too. Valera would single in the sixth inning against Blaski and a balk would move Valera into second with the tying run. Vargas followed with a fly ball to deep right that moved Valera to third with only one out. But, Blaski got out of the inning with a tapper back to the mound and a routine fly ball to center. Taylor Wall entered the game in the bottom of the seventh as the rain started to fall. He worked around a leadoff walk and a two out double to maintain the 1-0 lead. The heavy rain that was headed for Peoria never hit the stadium and it never rained hard enough to stop the game. The rain eventually stopped in the tenth inning. In the eighth, Vargas singled with one out. He was still at first with two outs. Then, Wall threw a wild pitch on a 1-2 pitch with Jacob Wilson at the plate. That allowed Vargas to move to second with the tying run. Wilson lined the next pitch to left for an RBI single to tie the game 1-1. Wisconsin broke that tie in the top of the twelfth. Clint Coulter and Orlando Arcia singled with one out to put runners on the corners. Arcia moved to second on defensive indifference with Chris McFarland at the plate. The Rattlers still had runners at second and third with two outs when Sermo stepped to the plate. He lashed a single to right that drove in both runners for a 3-1 lead.. But, the Chiefs (25-23) rallied in the bottom of the twelfth. Valera singled and Vargas walked to start the inning. Swinson smacked a single up the middle to score Valera and send Vargas to third. Wilson, who tied the game in the eighth, tied the game again on a play that was also the game winner for the Chiefs. Wilson singled to center to drive in Vargas to make the score 3-3. Swinson attempted to go from first to third on the play and the throw from center hit him and trickled into foul territory. Wilson took off for second when he saw the loose ball. The throw to try and get Wilson at second sailed into right field. That allow Swinson to trot home with the winning run. The Timber Rattlers continue their current road trip with the start of a three-game series at Beloit's Pohlman Field on Tuesday night. Ryan Gibbard (2-1, 1.95) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Seth Streich (4-2, 6.81) is set to start for Beloit. 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. HOME RUN: WIS: Parker Berberet (2nd, 0 on in 5th inning off Hector Hernandez, 0 out) WP: Joe Donofrio (2-0) LP: Jono Armold (1-1) TIME: 3:12 ATTN: 1,302 Why do we fall? Postgame post for May 27, 2013 Wisconsin Boxscore People often say football is a game of inches but baseball is more so. Wisconsin wins in regulation without Clint Coulter being robbed of a HR, and the Rattlers lost 2 defensive miscues, a wild pitch and a throwing error by Jose Sermo who went from hero to goat in about 5 mintues. I'm not sure what to make of Austin Blaski, he's getting great results but his K/9 is awful. My impression from the way he works hitters is that he doesn't throw all that hard, but I haven't heard an accurate velocity report on him either. However, the ultimate result has been fantastic and he has a top notch pick-off move. Wisconsin Recap There wasn't much to this game besides the HR that was and the HR that wasn't until the 12th. Wisconsin Top of the 12th Adam Ehrlich remains in the game as the catcher. Parker Berberet grounds out, third baseman Carson Kelly to first baseman Patrick Wisdom. Clint Coulter singles on a ground ball to right fielder Matthew Young. Orlando Arcia singles on a ground ball to right fielder Matthew Young. Clint Coulter to 3rd. With Christopher McFarland batting, Orlando Arcia advances to 2nd on defensive indifference. Christopher McFarland called out on strikes. Jose Sermo singles on a sharp ground ball to right fielder Matthew Young. Clint Coulter scores. Orlando Arcia scores. Alfredo Rodriguez grounds into a force out, shortstop Ildemaro Vargas to second baseman Jacob Wilson. Jose Sermo out at 2nd. Peoria Bottom of the 12th Breyvic Valera singles on a line drive to left fielder Victor Roache. Ildemaro Vargas walks. Breyvic Valera to 2nd. Michael Swinson singles on a ground ball to center fielder Tyrone Taylor. Breyvic Valera scores. Ildemaro Vargas to 3rd. Jacob Wilson singles on a fly ball to center fielder Tyrone Taylor. Ildemaro Vargas scores. Michael Swinson scores. Throwing error by third baseman Jose Sermo. Throwing error by center fielder Tyrone Taylor. Wisconsin Gameday

This is just awful. Former Reds catcher Ellis killed on job

I don't really have a problem with what you are saying other than the idea that Gomez, or any player with 3 more of years of contract time remaining or less is a "core" player. That's not the idea of a core player. Core players are players that you can build around, signed to long-term contracts. Fielder was never a core player because he wouldn't sign into FA. Yes Gomez is playing very well but he's not a core player, he stunk when he could have been and now we have him for at most 3 more seasons before having to pay him market rates. When will our pitching allow us to be competitive again? Not season? The season after? Schafer is a capable CF and he'll never hit like Gomez has this year, but he'll be league average.. We have a plethora of 1B and OF from AAA to MLB, if we're moving pieces we should trade from our position of strength. To get valuable pieces back we have to trade value: Gomez' value is at all time high, as is Aoki's, we need young impact pitching and those 2 guys seem the most likely options to acquire that talent as of today. Hart would have to come back and set the world on fire to have significant deadline value, his injury history will be a problem unless Melvin manages to start a bidding war for him. I would love it some GM was dumb enough to give a starting pitching prospect with significant upside in AA for one of our relievers but I don't see it. We also have a plethora of relief candidates so I'd definitely take starting pitching prospects that were much farther away from MLB like in low A for any of our relievers, but that type of player wouldn't be much help for 3 years or so. It would definitely be a good organization move to acquire impact pitching but I think most people including DM and MA would be looking for more immediate help. Honestly it wouldn't surprise me to see some of our young OF depth packaged for some meaningless MLB piece. I just don't have the faith in the front office anymore and haven't for a long time.

T-Rats are winning in the bottom of the 7th but the heavy rain is about 10 minutes out. They just need to get through the bottom of the 7th and let the game get called.

Actually the philosophy has been to "patch", if the franchise was interested in reloading we wouldn't be in this mess.

IF Michael Garza activated from Wisconsin's DL C Brent Dean who was checked out after a collision at 1B last night to the DL

Rodriguez and Magnifico celebrate birthdays with a Rattlers win Wisconsin beats Peoria 6-3 By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers PEORIA, IL - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers infielder Alfredo Rodriguez turned 23 on Sunday. Rattlers pitcher Damien Magnifico turned 22 last Friday. The pair of birthday boys helped Wisconsin beat the Peoria Chiefs 6-3 at Dozer Park on Sunday night. The Timber Rattlers (22-23) loaded the bases with one out in the top of the fourth inning. Max Walla drew a leadoff walk. Adam Giacalone and Alfredo Rodriguez singled with one out to put a Rattler on every base. Orlando Arcia hit a chopper to the second baseman. Peoria got the out at second, but could not double up Arcia. Walla scored on the play and the Rattlers led 1-0. Walla drew a walk to start the top of the sixth inning. He stole second and took third on a throwing error. However, he was still at third base with two outs. Then, Rodriguez lined a home run to left and the Rattlers were up 3-0. Magnifico, pitching for the first time since his birthday on May 24, finished his night with a scoreless sixth inning. The right-hander worked six shutout innings, allowed four hits, walked none, and struck out two. The Rattlers padded their lead in the top of the seventh. Tyrone Taylor and Michael Reed singled to start the inning. Walla tripled to drive both runners in for a 5-0 lead. The Chiefs brought the infield in, but Victor Roache smacked a single to center to send Walla home for a 6-0 advantage. Walla, in just his second game since joining the Rattlers from extended spring training, walked twice, scored three times, and drove in three runs over five plate appearances. Peoria (24-23) got their bats going against Wisconsin reliever Leonard Lorenzo in the bottom of the seventh. They had runners at first and second with two outs and Adam Ehrlich singled down the left field line to knock in Peoria's first run of the night. Breyvic Valera followed with a single to load the bases with two outs. Then, Ildemaro Vargas delivered a two-run single to cut Wisconsin's lead to 6-3. But, Lorenzo got the final out of the seventh, pitched a scoreless eighth, and worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his second save of the season. Rodriguez went 2-for-4 on the evening and extended his current hitting streak to nine games. He is 14-for-37 (.378) during the streak. Magnifico is now 5-0 on the season. He has not allowed an earned run eleven innings against the Chiefs this season. Related Content The Timber Rattlers and Chiefs play the final game of the series on Monday afternoon. Austin Blaski (2-1, 1.95) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. Peoria sends Hector Hernandez (2-1, 4.31) to the mound. Game time is 1:00pm. Tune in for the Miller Lite Pregame Show on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting at 12:40pm. HOME RUN: WIS: Alfredo Rodriguez (1st, 1 on in 6th inning off Joe Cuda, 2 out) WP: Damien Magnifico (5-0) LP: Joe Cuda (2-3) SAVE: Leonard Lorenzo (2) TIME: 2:42 ATTN: 2,221 Birthday Boys – Postgame Post for May 26, 2013 Wisconsin Boxscore Chris covered all the positives between the game story and this pretty solid effort all the way around with the exception of Orlando Arcia's 2 errors though Orlando did have 2 hits. Wisconsin Recap Missed a chance in the 3rd and 8th... Wisconsin Top of the 3rd Orlando Arcia doubles (6) on a line drive to right fielder Ildemaro Vargas. Brent Dean singles on a ground ball to third baseman Carson Kelly. Orlando Arcia to 3rd. Jose Sermo strikes out swinging. Tyrone Taylor out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Joe Cuda to first baseman Patrick Wisdom. Brent Dean to 2nd. Michael Reed grounds out, shortstop Alex Mejia to first baseman Patrick Wisdom. Wisconsin Top of the 8th Pitching Change: Christopher Thomas replaces Samuel Tuivailala. Brent Dean doubles (1) on a fly ball to center fielder Nick Martini. Jose Sermo strikes out swinging. Tyrone Taylor flies out to center fielder Nick Martini. Michael Reed called out on strikes.

I question whether you read the entire thread or just chose to repeat the same "prospects fail" mantra that you so diligently subscribe to? For example did you read Stache's incredibly thorough breakdown on Melvin's history in management? I would think it's prudent to arm oneself with all of the facts and think the matter through before posting on this topic. Fair enough but that's not a very good reason against moving in a different direction. We already know what we're going to get on this path. Personally I'm not one to let fear of the unknown be a primary motivating factor to keep me from doing anything, I'm not wired that way.

They let him throw 130 pitches... what the hell is wrong with these college coaches? I'm sorry but so many are just idiots... they don't correct mechanics, don't care about pitch counts with young players, don't teach catchers and pitchers how to setup hitters and instead call pitches from the dugout because that's easier. I know I've kind of been beating this drum since looking at Arnett's high pitch counts after he was drafted but I'd much rather take HS pitchers when we can so mechanical issues, pitch counts, and all of those minor details which add up over time are corrected from draft day forward. HS coaches aren't any better, but at least their naivety is somewhat forgivable, and some states have instituted weekly innings limits which help protect the players. I'd much rather the abuse stop after HS than be drafting pitchers who were rode into the ground during their college years. Certainly not all college programs are that way but I would look long and hard at the amount of abuse a college arm has been subjected to before drafting him. You can get bye losing a year after you'd draft special talent like a Strasburg or Rondon to TJ surgery... it's not ideal, but that's the just reality of the system. However I'd definitely do my due diligence on any other college arms prior to drafting them and there are programs that I would stay far away from.

I wish I could help you out but I haven't lived in Minneapolis since 1997 and I haven't been downtown since something like 2002. I've heard it's different down there, bars have changed formats and so on. My MN buddies have given Target field nice reviews but I haven't caught a game there either as it just hasn't worked out to get there.

Power's Allie reaching new heights

Cubs' Burke continues conversion

Helisek shuts down Wisconsin Peoria lefty goes seven scoreless & K's 7 in 6-0 win By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers PEORIA, IL - Kyle Helisek enjoys pitching against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. In April, the lefty allowed one run over 5-1/3 innings and struck out four. On Saturday night at Dozer Park, he tossed seven shutout innings and struck out seven to lead the Peoria Chiefs to a 6-0 win over Wisconsin. The Rattlers only got one runner to third base in the game as they lost their second straight game. The Chiefs (24-22) got on the scoreboard first. Patrick Wisdom doubled with one out in the second inning. He went to third on a passed ball. Carson Kelly singled with two outs to drive in Wisdom for a 1-0 lead. Peoria went up 2-0 on a Wisconsin miscue. Ildemaro Vargas doubled with one out. Alex Mejia was next and he sent a grounder into the hole at short. Shortstop Orlando Arcia tried to throw on the run to third to get Vargas, but the throw was wild and Vargas scored. The Chiefs went up 3-0 in the fourth inning with more aid from the Wisconsin defense. Michael Swinson reached on an error, stole second, and went to third on a passed ball. Adam Ehrlich drove in Swinson with an RBI grounder. The Timber Rattlers (21-23) had chances early. They had a pair of hits in the first inning and a pair of walks in the third inning. But, Helisek got into a groove after the second walk. He set down eleven in a row from the third inning to the seventh. Adam Giacalone and Parker Berberet broke up the streak with consecutive singles with one out in the top of the seventh. But, Helisek got a popup and a strikeout to end the Wisconsin rally. Helisek went seven innings, allowed four hits, and walked two to go along with his seven strikeouts for his second win over the Timber Rattlers in 2013. He is now 4-1 on the season. The Chiefs pulled away in the bottom of the seventh. There were two outs and none on when reliever Martin Viramontes walked the next three batters to load the bases. Wisdom singled to left on a 3-2 pitch to drive in two runs. Michael Swinson was next and he would single on a 3-2 pitch to drive in another run for a 6-0 lead. The Rattlers got a hit from Orlando Arcia in the top of the eighth inning against reliever Michael Aldrete, but could make nothing of it. Aldrete closed out Wisconsin with a 1-2-3 ninth. Game two of the series is Sunday night at Dozer Park. Damien Magnifico (4-0, 4.91) is on the hill for the Timber Rattlers as their starting pitcher on Sunday. Peoria plans to send Joe Cuda (2-2, 6.07) to the mound. 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: Kyle Helisek (4-1) LP: Tyler Wagner (4-3) TIME: 2:35 ATTN: 1,710 Sometimes the day just ends – Postgame post for May 25, 2013 Wisconsin Boxscore Wisconsin Recap Wisconsin Gameday