TheCrew07

BA Hot Sheet Aug 3, 2012 No. 8 GERRIT COLE, RHP PIRATES Team: Double-A Altoona (Eastern) Age: 21 Why He's Here: 0-0, 0.00, 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 6 SO, 1 BB The Scoop: It's fair to expect a pitcher with an elite fastball and two legit plus offspeed pitches to thoroughly dominate minor league competition, but that hasn't really been the case with Cole, the top pick in last year's draft. Sure, he's been effective—witness his mastery of Trenton this week—but his 3.94 ERA in the Eastern League is merely average. Same with his 1.31 WHIP. Watch Cole pitch, though, and visions of Justin Verlander might dance in your head. It may not happen this season for Cole, but he's one minor adjustment away from having the necessary command to dominate even big league competition. No. 10 RONALD TORREYES, 2B CUBS Team: high Class A Daytona (Florida State) Age: 19 Why He's Here: .483/.545/.828 (14-for-29), 7 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 13 RBIs, 3 BB, 0 SO, 1-for-1 SB The Scoop: When Torreyes was hitting .184/.250/.259 at the end of May, it looked like the Reds had sold high on Torreyes by trading him to the Cubs in December in the Sean Marshall deal. Yet even while Torreyes was struggling, his contact rate still was superb. Whether it was a change in skill or just better luck, Torreyes has been one of the best hitters in the Florida State League the last two months, and he's batted .342/.402/.515 in 52 games since June 1. He may look like he'd be more at home atop a racehorse than atop a big league lineup, but don't underestimate Torreyes' ability to square up a baseball. He's one of the few players in the game who has not only more walks (25) than strikeouts (23), but also more extra-base hits (29) than whiffs. He's an unusual prospect, but he's also one of the most fun to follow. No. 13 JAMESON TAILLON, RHP PIRATES Team: high Class A Bradenton (Florida) Age: 20 Why He's Here: 0-0, 0.00, 1 GS, 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 SO, 3 BB The Scoop: After the Pirates carefully managed his innings in 2011 and early this season, Taillon threw seven innings for just the second time in his career on Monday. He didn't allow a run and struck out four against Lakeland. The 6-foot-6 righthander showcased his power arsenal—mid-90s heat, mid-80s curve and developing change—in July's Futures Game, so while his strikeout rate has fallen to 5.6 per nine in his seven starts since then, his ceiling remains one of the highest in the minors. In The Team Photo BLAST FROM THE PAST • Chris Volstad, rhp, Cubs. The 16th pick in the 2005 draft, Volstad seemed like at least a safe mid-rotation bet for the Marlins after a strong age-21 big league debut in 2008. He showed three average pitches back then, and he shows three average pitches today. The problem is that Volstad's location is worse today and his margin for error smaller because batters don't have to gear up for his 88-92 mph sinker. The 25-year-old Volstad flashed the promise this week that enticed the Cubs to trade Carlos Zambrano for him last offseason. He went eight innings for Triple-A Iowa, allowing four hits and no runs while striking out five.

Numerous divisional mentions this week. Top Prospect Performers Over The Weekend, Aug. 3-5

Ask BA August 6, 2012

Pitchers of the Week For the week ending Aug. 5 Pacific Coast League Shelby Miller, Memphis (Cardinals) (2-0, 2.57 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 14 IP, 12 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 HR, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 16 K) It hasn't been a smooth season for Miller, MLB.com's No. 2 prospect. After posting a 2.77 ERA and allowing four home runs over 139 2/3 Class A Advanced and Double-A innings last year, the 21-year-old right-hander owns a 5.25 ERA and has yielded 20 longballs in 22 starts this season. The 19th overall pick in the 2009 Draft, Miller made strides this week, racking up 16 strikeouts -- without walking a batter -- in a pair of seven-inning outings. Having dropped six straight decisions between mid May and mid July, Miller has won three of his last four starts and has not issued a walk in his last 24 innings. Shelby might actually have turned the corner... Florida State League Jameson Taillon, Bradenton (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 12 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 1 HBP, 3 BB, 8 K) Having gone winless in four starts before Monday's outing at Lakeland, Taillon tried something different: he wore a suit to the ballpark. An odd choice for Florida in summer, perhaps, but it seems to have worked -- the 20-year-old righty tossed 12 scoreless innings this week, allowing four hits and striking out eight. The Pirates prospect lowered his ERA to 3.91 and is holding Florida State League hitters to a .226 average.

Offensive Players of the Week For the week ending Aug. 5 Southern League Justin Bour, Tennessee (Cubs) (.409/.536/.864, 8 G, 9-for-22, 1 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 7 R, 6 BB, 7 K, 1 SB) With three of his team-high 14 homers coming this week, Bour has been all about production this season. The Smokies first baseman leads the Southern League in RBIs with 92, ranks second in hits (123) and doubles (30) and is third in batting average with a .304 mark. Of the 476 runs Tennessee has scored this season, Bour has driven in or scored 127 of them himself -- no other Smokies hitter has more than 40 RBIs. The 24-year-old homered twice and drove in six of Tennessee's 17 runs in three games at Jackson over the weekend. Speaking of the Cubs, did everyone see that Vitters and Jackson were promoted? I figured that was covered enough on various other sites

I'm encouraged by the Stars faring relatively well against both Cingrani and Corcino this series and for the season. Hopefully that carries through as the players move up to MLB.

Final Game 2: DSL Brewers 3, DSL Blue Jays 2 (7 innings) DSL Brewers Box Score Hey a win finally! All it took was a complete game from Jorge Ortega who allowed 2 earned runs over the full 7 innings on 5 hits, 1 walk, but curiously he only struck out 2. I'm looking forward to Ortega and Rizzo pitching stateside next season. No Brewer had multiple hits but Juan De Leon (1-3,2B) and Leudi Otano (1-1,2B) both had an XBH. Otano made an appearance after Raphachel Colatosti was hit by a pitch and exited the contest. Francisco Castillo also had an abrupt exit after scoring on a sac fly in the 3rd, Juan Ortiz replaced him in CF for the 4th. DSL Brewers Play By Play Ortega struggled in the first but settled in nicely after. DSL Blue Jays Bottom of the 1st Rolando Segovia singles on a line drive to center fielder Francisco Castillo. With Edwin Fuentes batting, Rolando Segovia steals (13) 2nd base. Edwin Fuentes singles on a line drive to center fielder Francisco Castillo. Rolando Segovia to 3rd. Angel Rojas doubles (6) on a fly ball to center fielder Francisco Castillo. Rolando Segovia scores. Edwin Fuentes to 3rd. Cesar Barazarte out on a sacrifice fly to right fielder Yunior Santana. Edwin Fuentes scores. Leudy Garcia pops out to shortstop Raphachel Colatosti. Gustavo Perinan grounds out, shortstop Raphachel Colatosti to first baseman Yunior De La Cruz. Castillo's exit... DSL Brewers Top of the 3rd Raphachel Colatosti strikes out swinging. Francisco Castillo singles on a fly ball to left fielder Leudy Garcia. Francisco Castillo advances to 2nd, on a fielding error by left fielder Leudy Garcia. With Alejandro Mendoza batting, Francisco Castillo advances to 3rd on a balk. Alejandro Mendoza out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Luis Martin. Francisco Castillo scores. Yunior Santana grounds out, shortstop Rolando Segovia to first baseman Cesar Barazarte. DSL Blue Jays Bottom of the 3rd Defensive Substitution: Juan Ortiz replaces center fielder Francisco Castillo, batting 1st, playing center field. Rolando Segovia flies out to center fielder Juan Ortiz. Edwin Fuentes grounds out, second baseman Alejandro Mendoza to first baseman Yunior De La Cruz. Angel Rojas called out on strikes. Colatosti's exit... bases loaded and no out, then nothing. DSL Brewers Top of the 5th Kevin Martinez walks. With Raphachel Colatosti batting, passed ball by Kervin Santiago, Kevin Martinez to 2nd. With Raphachel Colatosti batting, Kevin Martinez steals (2) 3rd base. Raphachel Colatosti hit by pitch. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-runner Leudi Otano replaces Raphachel Colatosti. Pitching Change: Wilmin Lara replaces Greylor Conde. Wilmin Lara intentionally walks Juan Ortiz. Leudi Otano to 2nd. Alejandro Mendoza strikes out swinging. Yunior Santana called out on strikes. Juan De Leon strikes out swinging.

Final (completion of suspended game 8/1): DSL Blue Jays 7, DSL Brewers 5 DSL Brewers Box Score Well this makes more sense as I was thoroughly confused why the Angels and Brewers didn't complete the game the other day, the box score was mislabeled or I somehow read it wrong. Here's my take on the first 8 innings from Wed. DSL Brewers Play By Play

He struggled early with base runners, he airmailed 3 or 4 in a row into CF between the couple of games I was able catch in June. I listened just about every day though when I was doing LR on WI and he did improve and started gunning some guys, unfortunately my July was horribly busy so I haven't gotten down to game since. As far as blocking balls he was okay, better some days than others, he had excellent game chasing Goforth's pitches around that sticks in my mind. I didn't sit behind home plate as I haven't gone to a game that I actually bought tickets for yet this year to take video and since I was primarily concentrating on the pitchers when I was there I mostly only noticed when he did something very well or made a mistake. I didn't just focus in on him enough to see how he was generally handling his business. Maybe bkrause2 would have better first hand observations.

I really liked this post... Let the young-ens play and see what holes you might need to fill 2014, if any. Potentially Hart/Aoki would stand in the way so we wouldn't get a read on 1B or OF (where we have the most positional depth) but we'd get a pretty good look at the pitching.

That was a condition surrounding contracts I hadn't thought of before, excellent insight.

Since I believe they had him penciled in to be the everyday starting SS in 2012 I don't really have a problem with this. Get the learning out of the way in a season that's already toast. I hope he performs well enough that they buy out his FA through his age 31 season and tack on 2 option years to the back end of the contract. I of course I would also hope this happens before 2015 and not as he's hitting arbitration or approaching his FA. Have fun Jean!

Final: DSL Angels 6, DSL Brewers 1 DSL Brewers Box Score Well the good news is that Orlando Torres who hadn't made an appearance since June 11th got the start, the bad news is that he couldn't finish his only inning of work. Milton Gomez allowed both Torres inherited runners to score but didn't give up anything else through the rest of his outing. Melvin Tejada (1) and Victor Diaz (3) combined to give up 4 runs in their 4 innings. Joan De La Cruz pitched a scoreless final frame. No Brewers had a multi-hit effort though Natanael Mejia (1-2,2B) and Yunior Santana (1-2,2B,BB) both doubled. Juan De Leon was pulled in the bottom of the 4th after striking out in the top half and Santana was pulled in the bottom of the 7th after walking in the top of the inning. There haven't been many "getting guys playing time" type switches in the DSL this year so it's something to keep an eye on. The bats down here haven't done much all season, this team was being carried by it's pitching but it's all fallen apart here in the second half. DSL Brewers Play By Play A tough start for the Brewers... DSL Angels Bottom of the 1st Ayendy Perez walks. Erick Salcedo lines into a double play, second baseman Alejandro Mendoza to first baseman Juan De Leon. Ayendy Perez doubled off 1st. Enyelber Vivas walks. Ismael Dionicio walks. Enyelber Vivas to 2nd. Pitching Change: Milton Gomez replaces Orlando Torrez. Gabriel Villavicencio singles on a line drive to center fielder Juan Ortiz. Enyelber Vivas to 3rd. Ismael Dionicio to 2nd. Angel Montilla doubles (4) on a line drive to center fielder Juan Ortiz. Enyelber Vivas scores. Ismael Dionicio scores. Gabriel Villavicencio to 3rd. Ranyelmy Mendoza lines out to second baseman Alejandro Mendoza. Game. Over. DSL Angels Bottom of the 7th Defensive Substitution: Leudi Otano replaces right fielder Yunior Santana, batting 8th, playing right field. Enyelber Vivas walks. Ismael Dionicio singles on a fly ball to center fielder Juan Ortiz. Enyelber Vivas to 2nd. With Gabriel Villavicencio batting, throwing error by Natanael Mejia on the pickoff attempt, Enyelber Vivas to 3rd. Gabriel Villavicencio grounds into a force out, second baseman Alejandro Mendoza to shortstop Raphachel Colatosti. Enyelber Vivas scores. Ismael Dionicio out at 2nd. Gabriel Villavicencio to 1st. With Angel Montilla batting, Gabriel Villavicencio steals (4) 2nd base. Angel Montilla homers (3) on a fly ball to center field. Gabriel Villavicencio scores. Ranyelmy Mendoza doubles (4) on a fly ball to center fielder Juan Ortiz. With Jose Herrera batting, Ranyelmy Mendoza caught stealing 3rd base, catcher Natanael Mejia to third baseman Jose Dicent. Jose Herrera hit by pitch. Angel Almao grounds out, third baseman Jose Dicent to first baseman Yunior De La Cruz.

Well the 2 NFL teams were the Packers and Steelers, but I beat the Ted Thompson vs Doug Melvin drum many times and didn't want to revisit that argument again. Pittsburgh has had a very good run of success over the last 10 years, more so than the Packers, so I was giving credit where credit is due.

River Cats Overpower Sounds In Opener, 8-3 WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Shane Peterson belted a pair of home runs to highlight a 12-hit attack in Sacramento's 8-3 victory over the Nashville Sounds on Sunday evening at Raley Field in the opener of a four-game series. Nashville got off to a quick start against rehabbing Sacramento starter Brett Anderson, plating three runs in the top of the first inning. Caleb Gindl put the Sounds on the board with a one-out solo homer to right, his ninth roundtripper of the year. The blast extended the outfielder's hitting streak to a season-best eight games. Khris Davis followed with a single and scored the second Nashville run of the inning on Sean Halton's two-out RBI double to center. Jordan Brown concluded the scoring by plating Halton with a single to right. Sacramento rallied to even the contest at 3-3 with three two-out runs off Sounds starter Wily Peralta in the third. Jermaine Mitchell led off the inning with a triple and scored the home team's first run on Colin Cowgill's subsequent groundout. Later in the frame, a pair of walks came around to score against Peralta when Daric Barton and Anthony Recker each drew a free pass before racing to the plate on Grant Green's game-tying two-out double. The River Cats grabbed a 5-3 lead in the fourth with a pair of runs off Peralta, who exited mid-frame due to an undisclosed injury. Peterson led off the frame with a go-ahead solo homer to right-center, his third longball of the season. After Peralta recovered to strike out the next two batters, he issued a walk to Cowgill. Trainer Greg Barajas and pitching coach Fred Dabney headed to the mound after the free pass to visit Peralta, who temporarily remained in the game. After the count reached 2-0 on the next batter, Barton, Barajas again visited the mound and a fiery Peralta exited the contest. Donovan Hand took over on the Nashville hill and surrendered an RBI single to Kila Ka'ahuie. Peralta (6-10) took the loss after he walked a season-high six batters and struck out six while allowing five runs on four hits in just 3 2/3 innings of action. Sacramento continued to pile it on in the fifth with a pair of solo homers against Hand. Green led off with his 13th big fly of the year and Peterson belted his second roundtripper of the night later in the frame to extend the Cats' lead to 7-3. The River Cats added one more run in the sixth against Amaury Rivas when Recker's one-out single to left plated Cowgill, who had opened the frame with a single of his own. Anderson departed due to a scheduled pitch count limit for the River Cats, falling two outs shy of qualifying for the victory. The southpaw allowed three runs on five hits over 4 1/3 innings, tossing 70 pitches. After Justin Souza retired his only two batters faced, Brad Peacock (9-7) worked the final four innings in scoreless fashion for Sacramento to earn the victory. The right-hander struck out nine batters and allowed only two hits over his four dominant frames. The teams continue the series with a 9:05 p.m. CT contest on Monday evening. Right-hander Brian Baker (2-4, 5.17) will make the start for the Sounds. Sacramento will counter with right-hander Graham Godfrey (9-1, 3.18), the PCL ERA leader. Nashville Box Score Nashville Play By Play

I hope Bucci pitches in the AFL, this has basically been a lost season.

Well apparently since Braun is a former MVP the only position he should move to (if he's willing) would be 1B. You see it's not about putting the best possible team together out of the players we have on hand, it's about veteran mystique and awards. You just aren't thinking clearly, baseball is about extending veterans until they retire, being a player at the trade deadline, and maxing the payroll every single year. What we should really do is trade Davis, Morris, and Thornburg for a pitcher, resign Hart for 1B, count on Aoki for RF so Braun can stay in LF, resign Gomez because he's finally figured it out, and so on. Veterans for gritty veteraness! Because all these damn prospects will never be productive because the vast majority of them fail! Sarcasm aside, it's pretty disappointing that some have never put much thought into why complete rebuilds become necessary, not just in baseball, but in every sport. Very few teams in any sport are willing to keep a roster in flux around a core group of players and then not surprisingly when that team becomes too old and too expensive for the poor production on the field/court/ice the GM is fired and the whole thing is torn apart. Off the top of my head I can only think of 4 teams, 2 in baseball and 2 in football, that believe in a constant youth movement. Outside of the teams that have been discussed ad nauseam around here maybe the that's why the Steelers keep making appearances in the Super Bowl and have consistent success? As the old saying goes, it's much better to move on from a player one year too soon than 1 year too late. Lock up your core, move on from the majority once they are past their prime, put the emphasis on development, and if you have good people in place the rest will take care of itself.

video at the link Taillon suited well by novel approach Pirates' top prospect extends scoreless streak to 12 innings By Jonathan Raymond / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/08/05/xcZKXvip.jpg Jameson Taillon is 3-1 with a 3.04 ERA in eight starts since June 13. (Mark LoMoglio/MiLB.com) The clothes don't make the man, it's the man who makes the clothes, the old saying goes. In Jameson Taillon's case, the clothes certainly aren't hurting. The Pirates' top prospect gave up two hits and struck out four over five innings in his second straight scoreless start Saturday as Bradenton blanked Palm Beach, 2-0. Taillon (6-7) has not given up a run in 12 innings over his last two starts, a streak that happens to coincide with a new pregame ritual that will continue for at least one more outing. He wore a suit to the ballpark before tossing seven shutout innings on Monday, then did it again Saturday. "Before we went on the road to Lakeland before my last start, a couple of the guys were mentioning it. They were like, 'Yeah, we should [wear suits].' And then nobody did it but me. I was hoping I would throw well, but it's kind of a hassle," he said, laughing. "But there's no way I can stop wearing it right now, so I'll definitely wear it again in five days." Saturday's suit of choice was a navy blue outfit from Brooks Brothers. The 20-year-old said right-hander he doesn't put a lot of stock in things like scoreless streaks, but that the reaction from coaches and teammates -- and a healthy dose of superstition -- made it worth continuing for the time being. "I'm just mixing it up, giving it a different look," he said. "Everyone thinks it's funny. It's a long season, gets kind of monotonous, day in, day out, so it's kind of fun, puts some smiles on faces. There's been a good reaction so far." The second overall pick in the 2010 Draft has had an up-and-down year. In April, he posted a 1.46 ERA, a mark that increased to 5.40 over the next two months. His most recent run of success is closer to what he expects from himself. "Throwing scoreless innings is obviously great, but at the end of the game you can be throwing really well and not getting results or throwing not as well and get results," he said. "I expect a lot out of myself and this year has been kind of interesting, a lot of ups and downs, and I'd like to limit that. I do expect this out of myself. Obviously, I can't go scoreless every time, but it's good to see some results. "I'm still young and I get ahead of myself sometimes. I want to do well and succeed and put up numbers. It's been a big learning year. I've put in a lot of hard work in between starts, and that's where it matters. It's nice to put up the numbers, but you just have to stay at the grind." Taillon, MLB.com's No. 5 overall prospect lowered his ERA to 3.91 over 115 innings. He ranks eighth in the Florida State League with 92 strikeouts while walking 34 batters. With the end of the season in sight, he'll probably have more outings like Saturday's, in which he threw only 61 pitches. He's already hurled nearly 25 more innings than he logged last year at Class A West Virginia. Pirates No. 11 prospect Alex Dickerson provided Taillon with all the support he needed, going 2-for-3 with a two-run homer in the first.

Sounds Gain Split With 9-1 Finale Win In Fresno Vargas Sharp For Nashville In Victory FRESNO, Calif. - Veteran hurler Claudio Vargas worked seven strong innings to lead the Nashville Sounds to a 9-1 victory over the Fresno Grizzlies on Saturday evening at Chukchansi Park in the finale of a four-game series. With the victory, Nashville (52-63) gained a split of the four-game set. It marked the Sounds' most lopsided win since an 8-0 triumph over New Orleans on June 2. Vargas (5-1) earned his fifth win of the year by holding the Grizzlies to one unearned run on seven hits over seven frames and induced three double plays in recording his fifth quality start. After allowing his lone run in the first frame, he didn't allow a Fresno runner to reach second again until the seventh, stranding a runner on third in his final frame. Vargas helped his own cause at the dish, going 2-for-3 with an RBI single in the contest. Shortstop Jeff Bianchi went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored, catcher Humberto Quintero went 2-for-3 and drove in a pair of runs, and Jordan Brown and Sean Halton each homered to lead the 14-hit Nashville offensive attack. Fresno took a 1-0 lead in the first inning with an unearned run against Vargas. Emmanuel Burriss led off the frame with a triple to right. Two batters later, Francisco Peguero lifted a fly ball to right that Corey Patterson gloved and fired to the plate. His throw beat Burriss but the runner scored as Quintero was charged with a missed catch error on the play. The Sounds responded immediately, grabbing a 2-1 advantage in the top of the second. Taylor Green led off with a single against Fresno starter Yusmeiro Petit and scored the tying run on Bianchi's one-out RBI double. Quintero made up for his gaff in the previous inning by pushing Nashville into the lead with a two-out RBI single, giving the backstop seven RBIs in six games with the Sounds. · AUDIO: Quintero Go-Ahead RBI Single Nashville extended the lead to 4-1 in the fourth against Petit. With runners on second and third, Quintero lifted a sacrifice fly to center to plate Bianchi and Vargas helped his own cause with a two-out RBI single to center to bring in Patterson. Petit (5-4) took the loss for the Grizzlies after giving up four runs (three earned) on six hits over five innings of work. Brown made it a 5-1 contest in the sixth when the Nashville first baseman greeted new Fresno reliever Mitch Lively with a leadoff solo homer to center, his sixth big fly of the year. · AUDIO: Jordan Brown Solo HR The Sounds tacked on a run in the top of the eighth when Brown and Bianchi ripped back-to-back, two-out doubles off Lively to push the visitors' lead to 6-1. Nashville closed out the night's scoring with three ninth-inning runs off Dan Runzler. Halton belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer to center off the right-hander, his 12th roundtripper of the year and second of the pinch-hit variety. Quintero preceded Halton with a double and also scored on the blast. Caleb Gindl followed the homer with a single and later scored the final Nashville tally on a Green groundout. · AUDIO: Sean Halton Pinch-Hit Two-Run HR Donovan Hand followed Vargas with a scoreless eighth from the hill before Mitch Stetter and Jesus Sanchez combined on a scoreless ninth to close out the victory for Nashville. Bianchi ended the game with an incredible play for the Sounds, diving behind the second base bag to snare a Todd Linden liner then, from his back, flipped the ball to Eric Farris at second to complete a game-ending double play, Nashville's fourth twin-killing of the evening. The Sounds travel to Sacramento tonight to continue their West Coast road trip with Sunday's 8:05 p.m. CT opener of a four-game series against the River Cats (AAA-A's) at Raley Field. Right-hander Wily Peralta (6-9, 4.94) will make the start for Nashville and face rehabbing Sacramento left-hander Brett Anderson (0-0, 5.63). Nashville Box Score This might sound odd but I'm actually starting to warm up to the idea of Claudio Vargas in Milwaukee's pen next season... If he gets an invite and wins a job straight out I'd have no problem with it. i do have my fears about recycled players being picked for their "gritty veteraness" and not because they are the best player for the job, but we'll see. Sean Halton has quietly pushed his SLG to .485 and his OPS into the mid 800s, far and away his best season since 2009, and he picked a great time to force his way into the conversation. I wonder though if he'll be given an opportunity to be a bench bat in Milwaukee since he's done well as PH this season or if he'll be relegated to a DH role with The Mayor in AAA next season Nashville Play By Play

Scooter Gennett is not Craig Counsell with bat, doesn't profile like CC with the bat, but unfortunately doesn't profile to be as good as CC was defensively. He may ultimately end up hitting as poorly as CC, his OPS is trending downward with each successive level, but that's not what his tools suggest he is. He's not a slap hitting IF, not at all, and he may not figure it out with the bat but if he does this is a young man who could be a double digit HR hitter despite his size.

Still no DSL updates, I'm off to bed.

Sounds Drop Second Straight To Fresno, 10-5 FRESNO, Calif. - The Nashville Sounds were doubled up by the Fresno Grizzlies on Friday evening at Chukchansi Park, falling 10-5 in the third game of a four-game set. Nashville grabbed a 3-0 first-inning lead against Fresno starter Andrew Kown. Eric Farris (3-for-5) led off the ballgame with a single, stole two bases, and scored the night's first run on a Khris Davis RBI single. Later in the frame, catcher Humberto Quintero (2-for-4) delivered a two-out, two-run double. · AUDIO: Khris Davis RBI Single · AUDIO: Humberto Quintero Two-Run Double Fresno pulled back even in the contest with a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the first, stemming from a two-out Sean Halton throwing error, and one more score in the second against Hiram Burgos. Eli Whiteside knotted the game at 3-3 when he plated Brock Bond with a sac fly in the second. The Sounds reclaimed the lead in the third when Taylor Green belted his third home run of the year, a one-out solo jack to right off Kown that made it a 4-3 contest. · AUDIO: Taylor Green Solo HR Nashville right fielder Jordan Brown kept the one-run cushion in place in the bottom of the inning when he made a leaping grab at the wall to rob Conor Gillaspie of a homer. · AUDIO: Jordan Brown Robs HR From Fresno The Grizzlies pulled back in front in the fifth, when they sent 11 men to the plate against a pair of Sounds hurlers en route to a seven-run inning and a 10-4 lead. Whiteside delivered a pair of hits in the frame, including a two-run single. Ryan Lollis, Justin Christian, and Todd Linden added RBI hits in the inning while Bond drew a bases-loaded walk. Burgos (0-1) took the loss for Nashville after being tagged for nine runs (seven earned) on seven hits over 4 1/3 innings during his second Triple-A start. Caleb Gindl closed out the evening's scoring in the top of the sixth when his two-out single off Fresno reliever Wilmin Rodriguez plated Jeff Bianchi to bring the score to its final 10-5 standing. · AUDIO: Caleb Gindl RBI Single Kown (5-6) picked up the win for Fresno after allowing four runs in five innings of work. The teams wrap up their four-game season series with a 9:05 p.m. CT finale on Saturday evening. Right-hander Claudio Vargas (4-1, 4.24) will man the bump for the Sounds to face Fresno right-hander Yusmeiro Petit (5-3, 3.17). Nashville Box Score Well Hiram Burgos was bound to have a stinker at some point, I still think AAA is much a bigger jump for pitchers than it is for hitters. Regardless, not all of the damage was Hiram's fault, Juan Perez certainly didn't help his cause allowing both inherited runners to score. The good news is that Tim Dillard actually pitched 2 scoreless innings though he did give up 3 hits. Newcomer Fautino De Los Santos had a clean inning to wrap things up as well. Eric Farris (3-5) continued his extremely hot hitting and Humberto Quintero (2-4,2B) also had a nice game. Nashville Play By Play Fresno Bottom of the 5th Eli Whiteside singles on a line drive to left fielder Khris Davis. Skyler Stromsmoe singles on a ground ball to right fielder Jordan Brown. Eli Whiteside to 2nd. Andrew Kown bunt pops out to catcher Humberto Quintero in foul territory. Justin Christian singles on a line drive to left fielder Khris Davis. Eli Whiteside scores. Skyler Stromsmoe to 2nd. Ryan Lollis triples (2) on a fly ball to right fielder Jordan Brown. Skyler Stromsmoe scores. Justin Christian scores. Hiram Burgos intentionally walks Conor Gillaspie. Todd Linden singles on a line drive to right fielder Jordan Brown. Ryan Lollis scores. Conor Gillaspie to 2nd. Pitching Change: Juan Perez replaces Hiram Burgos, batting 9th. Nick Noonan singles on a soft fly ball to left fielder Khris Davis. Conor Gillaspie to 3rd. Todd Linden to 2nd. Brock Bond walks. Conor Gillaspie scores. Todd Linden to 3rd. Nick Noonan to 2nd. Eli Whiteside singles on a line drive to center fielder Caleb Gindl. Todd Linden scores. Nick Noonan scores. Brock Bond to 2nd. Skyler Stromsmoe grounds into a double play, third baseman Taylor Green to second baseman Eric Farris to first baseman Sean Halton. Eli Whiteside out at 2nd.

Villanueva homers twice in Cubs debut Former Ranger goes deep in first two at-bats of Daytona win By Sam Dykstra / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/08/03/9BgvB8O9.jpg Christian Villanueva owned a .285/.356/.777 hitting line for Myrtle Beach. (Dano Keeney/MiLB.com) Maybe the Cubs organization got Christian Villanueva at the right time, or perhaps Villanueva joined the Cubs at just the right moment. Either way, both sides seem plenty pleased to have one another after their first acquaintance. Villanueva homered in his first two bats for Class A Advanced Daytona on Thursday night in the Cubs' 8-2 win over Fort Myers at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. The game, which was Daytona's fifth win in a row and seventh in its last eight, was his first with the club since being sent from the Rangers to the Cubs organization as part of the deal that sent Ryan Dempster to Texas. The 21-year-old third baseman admitted he wasn't particularly trying to impress his new bosses. "I didn't expect anything like that to happen," Villanueva said. "I was just trying to do my best here. I was happy to have new teammates and be part of this organization, and I wanted to do well for them." The Mexico native did just that on the third pitch he saw. With nobody on and two outs in the bottom of the first inning, he drove a 2-0 fastball from Miracle starter Pat Dean over the wall with his first swing in his new home. He didn't have to wait much longer for his second blast. Two innings later, Villanueva parked a first-pitch changeup from Dean deep as well, giving the Cubs back-to-back shots on consecutive pitches after Ronald Torreyes homered in the previous at-bat. The newly anointed Cubs' No. 6 prospect joined his new team just days being named Carolina League Player of the Week with Rangers' Class A Advanced affiliate Myrtle Beach. For the week ending on July 29 -- his last game with the Pelicans -- Villanueva was 14-for-25 (.560) with two homers, a double and 11 RBIs in seven games. That caught the attention of his new organization, which apparently felt good enough about Villanueva's abilities to bat him third in the lineup. "I looked at the last 10 games and saw he was swinging the bat really well," said Daytona hitting coach Desi Wilson. "Then I got some video tape from some of our scouts this morning and saw he had some good hands, some good power. ... The way the ball jumps off the bat, the way he plays defense, you couldn't help but think, 'Wow.'" Villanueva, who batted just .251 in the first half vs. his current .353 average in the second half, added that he saw a resurgence after he took his eyes off his numbers and focused more on his mechanics. "I was looking at my stats a lot and trying to make too many adjustments," he said. "I was in a new league and trying too hard. ... Then I was working hard, and my family was pushing me. I don't know. I think working harder had something to do with it. I tried to enjoy the game more too and don't worry about the stats so much." Now the former Ranger, who admits he was initially distraught by the trade but has since warmed to the move, has a new league to conquer, and the early returns have been excellent. "We just plugged him in, and he didn't skip a beat," Wilson said. "He hadn't done anything to make him really stand out as the new guy. We're certainly glad he's with us and in our organization now."

It's looking like one of those days when the DSL box doesn't pop, only 2 games don't have information and the Brewers are one.

Well Tunnell and "others" (who I don't know maybe Ash and Nichols) spent an unplanned week in Nashville working with Peralta as I linked in an MiLB article way back in June, I would think Bradley would get the same treatment if he hasn't already. They won't be able to put out every fire, but the organization does have a vested interest in its bonus babies. It's no secret I thought the placements were aggressive, but it's awfully late in the season to send him down isn't it? He has 4-5 starts left, if that. If he were my athlete I'd let him finish the year, let him have some time away, and then bring him back early for some TLC and individualized coaching in January. He wouldn't have to throw off the mound, long toss is just as effective for working on mechanical stuff. I'm a big believer in a little time away doing wonders for clearing the mind, it always works for me. Also, he's got to be about burnt out mentally, I wouldn't put him through instructs, just give him time to decompress... Even if he's a grinder and wants to keep working at it I'd still give him the time away, over coaching isn't any better than under coaching, and sometimes worse, which is another lesson I learned the hard way. Let him or force him to step away and then come back fresh in 2013 would be my suggestion.