TheCrew07

You don't start building a team with the bullpen, it doesn't make any sense to spend money there when you have greater needs elsewhere. I would prefer to start with the rotation, then position players, then round out the team with the bullpen. The problem with the Brewers developing relievers is the exact same problem as the starting pitching, if you don't have enough quality arms you're going to end up neither enough starting pitching or enough bullpen arms. Most of your relievers were starting pitchers that didn't cut it and ended up in the bullpen, so if your starting pitcher depth stinks, so does your relief. The point is that if you take a guy who pitches 60 innings in a year and flip him for an everyday player or better yet a starter you do it every time because you are trading up significantly in value which makes the team and organization stronger. Starting pitching > position players > bullpen. Work from the top down not the bottom up. We were so bad for so long that it seems since we actually have good players many people are afraid to flip them for fear of the unknown or a return to the 90s. We currently have a paper thin organization, the same as last year, we have no depth behind the MLB roster, last year we didn't have a single season ending injury, this year we have 3 already and the lack of depth is getting exposed. The idea should be to acquire as much as talent as possible and build as strong an organization as possible for many reasons but the 3 key reasons in my mind are; 1) depth as I'm very much a next man up kind of guy, 2) keep the talent cycling to sustain success as long as possible, and 3) younger players tend be more healthy than older players, which means less DL time, which leads to less worry about immediate depth and ultimately fewer concerns about contract value. Players like Hart may be underrated nationally, but when people suggest trading him or Axford or anyone else it's not about how the player is rated by that particular person, it's about the ultimate value of the move. Very few players are irreplaceable and those that are typically price themselves outside of the Brewer's means. Trying to lock up players as "Brewers for life" definitely has some sentimental value, but the contract value at the end is typically going to be pretty bad as older players are generally less productive and more injury prone. In Hart's case he's clearly lost a step, maybe 2, and while he will be a productive player for the immediate future if you can flip him for similar or better physical talent it's worth the risk. Yes the prospect might not produce at the same level immediately if ever, but now you've freed up resources to target an impact player such as Greinke for example. While many people seem to be chasing payroll flexibility I'm chasing roster flexibility where we have enough talent depth that we don't go from a Hall, to McGehee, to Ramirez and can make contract extension decisions based on more than just profitability.

Bucs' Cole solid again over six innings Pittsburgh's first-rounder in '11 allows one run, strikes out four By Danny Wild / MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/05/17/iVJ7cX7c.jpg Gerrit Cole is 2-1 with a 2.92 ERA in eight starts for Bradenton. (Mark LoMoglio/MiLB.com) As Gerrit Cole turned in another solid start on Thursday, his eighth game in the Minors, Pirates fans must be wondering when the team's No. 1 Draft pick will take his next step toward Pittsburgh. Cole, the organization's No. 2 prospect behind Jameson Taillon, struck out four and held the Dunedin Blue Jays to one run on five hits over six innings, his sixth straight start in which he's worked at least five innings and allowed three earned runs or fewer. But Class A Advanced Bradenton couldn't protect its 1-0 lead and fell to Dunedin in 11 innings, 2-1. So a month-and-a-half into the 2012 season, how does Cole match up with the 2011 edition that went on to be selected as the No. 1 overall pick in last summer's Draft? Through Cole's first eight starts last year with UCLA, the right-hander was 4-4 with a 3.58 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 60 1/3 innings, including four complete games and four double-digit strikeout efforts. Thursday's no-decision has the Newport Beach, Calif., native at 2-1 with a 2.92 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 40 frames in the Florida State League. The numbers, if anything, show that Cole has adjusted well to the professional level while the Pirates remain set on limiting his innings and pitch counts. He hasn't gone beyond six innings in a start this year and his high-water mark for strikeouts is seven, which he's managed twice. Opponents are batting just .192 against the righty, and Thursday's start was his first without issuing a walk this year. Cole's eventual promotion to Double-A Altoona remains a mystery, especially after Marauders teammate Taillon said last week the Pirates have not even discussed a potential roadmap for the season with him. Both Cole and Taillon project to be elite right-handers for the Pirates. Dunedin's lone rally against the Marauders' starter came in the fourth when Kevin Nolan laced a leadoff double and Marcus Knecht singled him home with two outs. Cole retired the first seven batters he faced before working around a pair of singles in the third. He worked a 1-2-3 fifth and struck out Gabe Jacobo after surrendering his final hit, a two-out double by Jon Talley in the sixth. Bradenton gave Cole a lead in the third when Justin Howard drew a leadoff walk and scored when Gift Ngoepe's sacrifice bunt led to a fielding error by Blue Jays second baseman Ryan Schimpf. Dunedin scored the go-ahead run in the 11th when Kevin Nolan singled and a wild pitch by Jason Townsend allowed him to score. Egan Smith started for Dunedin and held the Marauders to an unearned run on four hits and six walks over 4 2/3 innings. Scott Gracey, Boomer Potts, Dustin Antolin and Danny Barnes patched together the final 6 1/3 scoreless frames to finish the win.

With Escobar behind him, trading Hardy was inevitable, the organization never even approached him about an extension. Extending Hardy prior to arbitration just a couple of years into FA would have been a better plan as it would have increased his trade value and hedged a bit against an Escobar complete collapse. Trading Hardy is the kind of tough decision that is a necessary one for Milwaukee to make, but it's the timing that determines the ultimate value. The problem wasn't Trading Hardy, the problem was 2 trading MLB caliber SSs in 3 years, both moves were completely reactionary and neither move may have netted any kind of long-term solution. I'm not sure it's fair to say that flipping an everyday SS for a platoon CF with a career .659 OPS was good value. Gomez will be a FA in 2014 and if he does finally breakout the Brewers shouldn't sign him to the kind of contract he'd be looking for, there are just too many variables there. As for Greinke we gave up a ton if we only manage to hang onto him for 2 years which seems likely. Cain is hurt again and Jeffress still hasn't put it together but Escobar will be a better than average SS for KC and Odorizzi is putting up huge numbers in AA pitching in a tremendous hitter's park. Up until last week Jake only had 1 start on the road all season, that's just how the schedule shook out for him, so he's been putting up all his numbers his bandbox home park. He's been featured in a BA blog post just about every week so far this season. I still have no doubt he's going to be a very good pitcher, he has 3 plus pitches, maybe 4 depending on whom you ask. Jeffress won't ever provide tremendous value because he's a reliever, but he still has back of the pen upside, and if Lo Cain can stay healthy he'll be a better than average CF as well. Does 2 years of Greinke justify giving up 5 years of Escobar and 6+ of Odorizzi? What if Cain and Jeffress become everyday MLB players? For me there just no way 2 years of anyone carries that much value, now if we're talking 6 years of Greinke my perspective changes, but for 2 years it wasn't worth it. I understand how bad the organization's pitching situation has been which is why I've been continually whining to address it with long-term solutions since 2006. The Brewers didn't have to end up in the situation they did and Melvin didn't have to trade for Greinke when he did, it was simply Melvin's belief in high floor veteran pitching solutions that led us down this road. His inability to identify solutions outside of CY candidate pitchers to fix the rotation is the only thing that has been holding this organization back. Plenty of GMs would have made the Greinke trade and I'd guess the overwhelming majority of the posters on this forum would have as well, but I don't think any of the GMs who I'd consider the best in the game would have made that deal. Maybe Daniels would have, he did trade for Lee, but he's also made some fantastic trades for prospects as well, he sees the value both ways. I'm not opposed to trading prospects, not in the least, but I am vehemently opposed to rental player solutions (thankfully a relic of the past with the new CBA) or any kind of band-aid fix. If I'm trading surplus talent I'm looking for solutions I can control for 3+ years. Anything less and you aren't plugging a hole because you don't have time to develop a player to replace the one you just traded for, you're just temporarily putting your finger in the dyke to slow the leak down. Even the with the Marcum and Greinke trades we'll end up in 2013 exactly where we were coming out of 2010 pitching wise... Gallardo and no other established impact pitching behind him in the rotation. Peralta and Thornburg certainly could have an immediate impact but then again they might need time to build into their careers a little bit as well, that's why the smart course of action would be to get Peralta some experience this season so that if he goes a little Matt Moore he does it as the #5 and is ready to go for 2013. I would really like to get to the place the Rays and Rangers are as organizations, very competitive MLB teams and yet they manage to have incredibly strong farm systems at the same time. It doesn't have to be 1 or the other, it could be both, but that's never going to happen with Melvin as our GM. Somehow the Rays continually manage to break in a young starting pitcher and/or position player every year and yet remain competitive, it can be done. With Melvin there is absolutely nothing in his trade history going to back to his time in Texas to suggest he's interested in stockpiling talent throughout the organization. He's a short-sighted and reactionary GM who isn't able to play both sides of the talent pool effectively. He can buy obvious talent with prospects, but he's unable to ever sell high on a MLB player and replenish the talent pool because he doesn't trade for impact prospects. Cycling talent effectively is perhaps the most important trait for any mid to small market GM, but there's no talent cycle in Milwaukee other than the draft.

Nine after 9 for May 17, 2012

Final: Chattanooga 6, Huntsville 3 Huntsville Box Score Well this wraps up a cruddy night on the farm, a Tee's walkoff away from being swept as an organization. Josh Stinson was the starting pitcher and like every other starter tonight he didn't fare particularly well. Josh threw 52 of 82 pitches for strikes over 5IP allowing 7H, 5R, 4ER, 1BB, and 1HBP while striking out 3. To top it off he didn't collect a hit and his AVE fell to .444 on the season. He was followed by Mitch Stetter who allowed 1 run in his 1.1IP, Mitch's stats aren't eye popping at the moment. Bradley Banks and R.J. Seidel finished up the final 1.2 innings without allowing a run. Huntsville actually out hit Chattanooga 12-9, both Josh Prince and Hunter Morris collected 3 hits a piece while Hunter had the only Stars' XBH, a double. Tommy Manzella collect the other mulit-hit game with a 2-4 effort. Scooter Gennett had his worst day in the field of the season, committing 2 throwing errors, he now has 5 on the season. Prince also committed a throwing error, his 3rd. Huntsville Play By Play Huntsville missed a chance to put up a crooked number in the 2nd. Huntsville Top of the 2nd Jay Gibbons grounds out, third baseman Pedro Baez to first baseman J. T. Wise. Tommy Manzella singles on a line drive to right fielder Blake Smith. Juan Sanchez singles on a ground ball to left fielder Luis Nunez. Tommy Manzella to 2nd. Josh Stinson out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Aaron Miller to second baseman Rafael Ynoa. Tommy Manzella to 3rd. Juan Sanchez to 2nd. Kentrail Davis walks. Josh Prince singles on a ground ball to center fielder Nick Buss. Tommy Manzella scores. Juan Sanchez out at home on the throw, center fielder Nick Buss to catcher Gorman Erickson. Stinson's only clean inning was the first. Chattanooga Bottom of the 2nd J. T. Wise called out on strikes. Pedro Baez singles on a ground ball to left fielder Jay Gibbons. Blake Smith singles on a sharp ground ball to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Pedro Baez to 2nd. Rafael Ynoa grounds into a force out, third baseman Josh Prince to second baseman Scooter Gennett. Pedro Baez scores. Blake Smith out at 2nd. Rafael Ynoa advances to 1st, on throwing error by second baseman Scooter Gennett. Gorman Erickson walks. Rafael Ynoa to 2nd. Aaron Miller triples (1) on a fly ball to center fielder Juan Sanchez. Rafael Ynoa scores. Gorman Erickson scores. Nick Buss hit by pitch. Jake Lemmerman grounds out, second baseman Scooter Gennett to first baseman Hunter Morris. Chattanooga Bottom of the 3rd Luis Nunez singles on a ground ball to shortstop Tommy Manzella, deflected by pitcher Josh Stinson. With J. T. Wise batting, Luis Nunez steals (7) 2nd base. J. T. Wise singles on a line drive to left fielder Jay Gibbons. Luis Nunez to 3rd. Pedro Baez grounds into double play, shortstop Tommy Manzella to second baseman Scooter Gennett to first baseman Hunter Morris. Luis Nunez scores. J. Wise out at 2nd. Blake Smith grounds out, second baseman Scooter Gennett to first baseman Hunter Morris. Chattanooga Bottom of the 5th Nick Buss strikes out swinging. Jake Lemmerman singles on a line drive to left fielder Jay Gibbons. Luis Nunez reaches on force attempt, throwing error by third baseman Josh Prince. Jake Lemmerman to 3rd. J. T. Wise grounds into a force out, shortstop Tommy Manzella to second baseman Scooter Gennett. Jake Lemmerman scores. Luis Nunez out at 2nd. Wise advances to 2nd, on throwing error by second baseman Scooter Gennett. Pedro Baez strikes out swinging.

Final: Burlington 8, Wisconsin 3 Bees sting Rattlers with 7 two-out runs in 8-3 win By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Burlington Bees snapped a five game losing streak by cracking four key two-out hits to beat the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 8-3 Thursday night at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The Bees got five RBI from Wade Kirkland and six solid innings from Raul Alcantara to top the Rattlers. Burlington (18-22) scored single runs in the first and second inning off Wisconsin starting pitcher Matt Miller to take a 2-0 lead. A two-out RBI double by Dusty Robinson in the first and a two-out RBI single by Sean Jamieson in the second gave the Bees their runs. Wisconsin (24-17) came back in the bottom of the second inning with a couple of two out runs of their own to tie the game. Max Walla singled with two away and none on base. Yadiel Rivera drove in Walla with a triple. Tyler Roberts was at the plate and waiting on a 3-2 pitch from Alcantara. The Bees righty was on the way home with the pitch when he stopped in mid-delivery. The balk allowed Rivera to trot home with the tying run. But, Miller gave up a two-out, two-run homer to Kirkalnd in the top of the third inning and the Rattlers trailed 4-2. The Rattlers starting pitcher reached 70 pitches and was done after three innings. He allowed four runs on eight hits with a walk and a strikeout. Wisconsin reliever Michael Strong took over in the fourth and loaded the bases with one out on two walks and a single. Strong got the second out, but Kirkland came through with another big hit. The Bees third baseman doubled into the left field corner on an 0-2 pitch to drive in all three runs for a 7-2 lead. Walla drove in Wisconsin's third run with a two out single in the bottom of the fourth inning. But, Alcantara retired seven of the last eight batters he faced and kept the Rattlers from scoring again as he wrapped up his six innings of work. He walked one and struck out four in the game for his third win of the season. Strong settled in after his first inning of relief and would strike out nine over four innings. Strong, who struck out 13 in seven innings during a game in the Arizona League last season, set a new season high for K's by a Timber Rattlers pitcher in a single game. The Bees got one more run when Robinson hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning off Tyler Cravy. Robinson's ninth home run of the season came with one out in the inning. The final game of the series is Friday night at 6:35pm. Drew Gagnon (3-1, 2.01) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Sean Murphy (3-3, 1.27) is slated to start for the Cougars. Break out the costumes and get ready to trick or treat! The Rattlers have a lot of spooky plots for Halloween in May at the ballpark on Friday night! Plus, it's a North Shore Bank Family night. Children 12 and under eat free and - after the game - children 14 and under may participate in Kids Run the Bases presented by Jernegan's Health Mart. If you can't make it out to the game, tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:15pm. Friday's game is also available to subscribers of MiLB.TV. WP: Raul Alcantara (3-4) LP: Matt Miller (2-4) TIME: 2:42 ATTN: 3,662 Wisconsin Box Score I wanted to post the pitching wasn't as bad as you would think by the score but it's hard to excuse away that many 2 out hits, the T-Rat pitchers just couldn't make the 1 pitch they needed all night long. Last year's 10th round pick Michael Strong is intriguing, here's the scouting report on him from BA: Offensively this game was all about the 4-7 hitters in the line-up. Max Walla went 3-4, Ben McMahan went 2-4, Yadiel Rivera went 2-4 with a triple, and finally Nick Ramirez added a double. [sarcasm]It's a good thing he's busting out in MLB[/sarcasm] because Carlos Gomez has yet to get a hit off of an A ball pitcher, now 0-6 during his rehab, maybe he'll go 3-3 tomorrow and turn his 4 game single A season around. Brandon Macias was CS as was McMahan who got picked off by my least favorite move, the fake throw to 3rd and throw to 1st. I've just never understood how people fall for that pickoff heading out for second on the first move, it never looks like the pitcher is going home in my experience, yet you see players getting nabbed by it at all levels of baseball, crazy. Tyler Robers had an error on a dropped catch and Rivera booted a routine grounder for an error, his 4th on the season. Wisconsin Play By Play 1 out and sometimes even 1 pitch away and couldn't get it done through the 4th. Burlington Top of the 1st Sean Jamieson pops out to shortstop Yadiel Rivera. Aaron Shipman singles on a ground ball to center fielder Carlos Gomez. B. A. Vollmuth grounds out, third baseman Brandon Macias to first baseman Nick Ramirez. Aaron Shipman to 2nd. Dusty Robinson doubles (7) on a line drive to left fielder Ben McMahan. Aaron Shipman scores. Nick Rickles walks. Wade Kirkland strikes out swinging. Burlington Top of the 2nd Bobby Crocker grounds out, third baseman Brandon Macias to first baseman Nick Ramirez. Ryan Pineda singles on a line drive to right fielder Max Walla. Eliezer Mesa grounds into a force out, second baseman Carlos George to shortstop Yadiel Rivera. Ryan Pineda out at 2nd. Eliezer Mesa to 1st. With Sean Jamieson batting, Eliezer Mesa steals (3) 2nd base. Sean Jamieson singles on a line drive to right fielder Max Walla. Eliezer Mesa scores. Sean Jamieson advances to 2nd, on missed catch error by catcher Tyler Roberts. Aaron Shipman grounds out, second baseman Carlos George to first baseman Nick Ramirez. Burlington Top of the 3rd B. A. Vollmuth singles on a line drive to left fielder Ben McMahan. Dusty Robinson grounds out, third baseman Brandon Macias to first baseman Nick Ramirez. B. A. Vollmuth to 2nd. Nick Rickles reaches on a fielder's choice out, shortstop Yadiel Rivera to third baseman Brandon Macias. B. A. Vollmuth out at 3rd. Wade Kirkland homers (2) on a line drive to left field. Nick Rickles scores. Bobby Crocker singles on a ground ball to left fielder Ben McMahan. Ryan Pineda singles on a ground ball to third baseman Brandon Macias. Bobby Crocker to 2nd. Eliezer Mesa flies out to right fielder Max Walla. Burlington Top of the 4th Pitcher Change: Michael Strong replaces Matthew Miller. Sean Jamieson flies out to center fielder Carlos Gomez. Aaron Shipman walks. B. A. Vollmuth singles on a line drive to right fielder Max Walla. Aaron Shipman to 2nd. Dusty Robinson walks. Aaron Shipman to 3rd. B. Vollmuth to 2nd. Nick Rickles strikes out swinging. Wade Kirkland doubles (6) on a line drive to left fielder Ben McMahan. Aaron Shipman scores. B. Vollmuth scores. Dusty Robinson scores. Bobby Crocker called out on strikes.

also from yesterday FSL notes: Szczur conquers struggles Daytona outfielder flashing potential following sluggish start By Guy Curtright / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/05/15/3mS45tJG.jpg Matt Szczur is hitting .286 with 10 runs scored in his last 10 games. (Kevin Hill/MiLB.com) The shirts play off the pronunciation of Matt Szczur's last name (pronounced like the Roman emperor Caesar) and are a clever way for the Daytona Cubs to make a few extra souvenir sales. "Hail Szczur," the $15 T-shirts read, with a laurel wreath crown surrounding Szcur's No. 4 and the D-Cubs logo. It's a good thing the shirts didn't arrive until fairly recently, though. There wasn't much to hail the first couple of weeks of the season when it came to the center fielder or the team. Szczur, the Chicago Cubs' No. 4 prospect, had just five hits in his first 37 at-bats and was hitting .176 when Daytona's record bottomed out at 2-11 on April 19. But the former Villanova football standout began hitting as expected soon afterward, and the D-Cubs have improved as well, although they are still near the bottom of the Florida State League's North Division. "It was a tough start," Szczur said. "But things have been getting better." The early struggles in Daytona were in contrast to last year, when the D-Cubs started red-hot en route to the North's first-half championship and won the Florida State League title with a three-game sweep of St. Lucie in the championship series. Szczur joined Daytona for the second half after hitting .311 for Peoria of the Midwest League and batted .368 in the postseason. But with Brett Jackson playing center field for Triple-A Iowa and Jae-Hoon Ha doing the same at Double-A Tennessee, Szczur found himself back in Class A Advanced to start this season. Szczur, 22, insists it wasn't disappointment, though, that contributed to his slow start at the plate. "This is a tough league," he said. "It's a challenge. I obviously still have things I'm working on." Szczur's .250 average through 33 games may not be where he'd like it yet, but his stolen bases and walks show that he has been making solid strides even with his early lack of hits. Szczur, who took a few days off to attend his grandmother's funeral, had drawn 17 walks compared to 22 strikeouts and had swiped 16 bases in 21 attempts. Last season, he had 26 walks and 24 steals in 109 games with Peoria and Daytona. Last year was Szczur's first full year of baseball. After being taken in the fifth round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft, he got $1.4 million from the Cubs early last year to pass on the NFL Draft in addition to his original signing bonus of $100,000. The MVP of the 2009 NCAA Football Championship Subdivision title game was a do-everything offensive threat for Villanova. But the New Jersey native picked baseball, and it is his speed and aggressiveness that set him apart as a prospect. Szczur can already run down almost any ball in center field. But the would-be leadoff hitter needs to get on base more frequently to maximize his disruptive potential. After going full speed year-round while playing both football and baseball, Szczur took time off last October to visit Hawaii and hike the Grand Canyon. "It was great being able to have a month to relax and let my body recover," Szczur said. "But then I got right after it so I'd be ready for Spring Training." In brief Mejia gets first win: St. Lucie's Jenrry Mejia got a victory in the second start of his comeback from Tommy John surgery, allowing a run on three hits over six innings against Bradenton. The one-time top Mets prospect struck out seven and walked one, the run he allowed coming on a homer. Burgos promoted: Brevard County's Hiram Burgos, who led all regular Florida State League starters with a 0.87 ERA, was promoted to Double-A Huntsville. The right-hander was 2-1 in seven games and had 41 strikeouts to six walks over 41 1/3 innings. Surgery for Fields: Lakeland center fielder Daniel Fields will need surgery to repair an abdominal muscle tear. Fields, who is ranked as the Tigers' No. 7 prospect and received a $1.6 million bonus as a sixth-round choice in 2009, was hitting .250 with 13 RBIs in 18 games. Neil stays unbeaten: Jupiter's Matthew Neil pitched six scoreless innings against Palm Beach, improving to 6-0 while lowering his ERA to 2.06. The 6-foot-6 right-hander walked one and struck out four.

catching up from yesterday Redbirds' Miller plays role of stopper Cards' top prospect goes six scoreless in best outing of 2012 By Ashley Marshall / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/05/16/nrP7oqRO.jpg Shelby Miller has allowed one run or fewer in four of his last six games. (Allison Rhoades) Shelby Miller may only have five weeks of experience pitching at Triple-A, but he's already turning into a leader on the mound. On Tuesday, he took on the role of stopper. MLB.com's No. 4 prospect scattered three hits over six scoreless innings in the Memphis Redbirds' 6-0 win over the Colorado Springs Sky Sox to snap a nine-game losing streak. "The clubhouse was down," the 21-year-old Texas native said. "Baseball's just not fun when you're losing, especially nine in a row. Winning was key for the game today. "I didn't want to go out there and get the loss. After last night, I wanted to be the guy that changed that." Miller stranded runners on first and second in the first inning, and he worked around Chad Tracy's leadoff base hit in the second. The Cardinals' top prospect then walked Hernan Iribarren and yielded a two-out double to Matt McBride in the third, but he retired the next 10 batters he faced before turning over a 6-0 lead to the bullpen. "It was probably my best so far," said Miller, who threw 56 of 89 pitches for strikes. "I was just looking for a win. The team put a shutout together and we got a 'W'. "I really didn't throw the off-speed much. I threw a couple curveballs and changeups, but my out pitch was definitely my fastball. I got a lot of pitches in play with it and I think all of my strikeouts were on fastballs. It's obviously my best pitch and it was working tonight." Miller's best Triple-A start -- and his fourth victory -- didn't come easily. The Redbirds were held without a hit until the fifth inning by Rob Scahill (3-4), who kept the game scoreless until Memphis pounced for six runs -- five earned -- in the home half of the fifth. "It's tough when you know the other pitcher is going well," said Miller, selected 19th overall in the 2009 Draft. "He had a no-hitter through four innings and you knew he was on top of his game. It brings out the best in you because you want to do better than he is." The 6-foot-3 right-hander has now won four consecutive decisions, and he has not lost since dropping consecutive games to Oklahoma City at the start of the season. In eight Pacific Coast League games, Miller has a 3.79 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 40 1/3 innings. He has issued 18 free passes and allowed five homers, and opponents are batting .291 against him. With plenty of room for improvement, the Cardinals' Minor League Pitcher of the Year hopes to replicate Tuesday's performance in his next couple outings. "I'm just getting stronger and working out really hard and doing the right things between starts," he said. "Triple-A is a grind, the whole Minor Leagues are. But here is a tough league to pitch in. The hitters are better. I didn't think it would be as big of a jump, but there's no doubt that Triple-A hitters are much better than at Double-A." And Miller's schedule between starts? "Day one is usually legs, all lower body, and the second day after a start I throw my bullpen. Then it's upper body on day three, I'm off on the fourth day and then I pitch again on the fifth. "I'm pitching more than I'm throwing and it's all coming together. Hopefully I can get better. You can always get better somewhere. I have to keep doing all the right things; getting my running and lifting right and making sure I'm on top of my game 24/7." On Tuesday, left-hander Barret Browning struck out one batter over an inning of relief, fellow southpaw Sam Freeman tossed a perfect eighth and Chuckie Fick worked around a pair of hits to complete the shutout. First baseman Matt Adams smacked a three-run homer -- his seventh longball of the year -- and second baseman Pete Kozma plated two runs in the win.

very long and interesting article, note that I'm not including all the links that are in the MiLB story, Jed Bradley notes near the bottom What a relief: 'Pen prospects do exist Phillies' Aumont prime example of valued, bullpen-bound arm By Andrew Pentis / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/05/15/lfugMfxb.jpg Phillippe Aumont made 29 starts in the Minors before shifting to the 'pen. (Frank Mitman) Addison Reed is a member of "The 1 Percent," and not because of his Major League salary. Reed is the lone relief pitcher in MLB.com's ever-evolving Top 100 Prospects rankings, which are based on polling of scouts. How can this be when seven members of the modern-day 25-man roster are relievers, some of whom take the ball for the game's most crucial moments? "I'm not sure why the perception is that relief pitchers aren't as valuable," White Sox pitching coordinator Curt Hasler said. "Tell that to Addison, because this guy is going to be very valuable." Surely Reed, now a late-inning stopper in Chicago, isn't the lone bullpen prospect worth discussing. Are his short-stint successors in the Minors being short-changed? To answer this question, let's establish two different positions: First, there simply aren't elite relief prospects currently; and second, there are elite relief prospects -- but they're currently stuck in starting roles. And if the latter is affirmative, is this a workable way to develop the next shutdown setup man or closer? "There simply aren't elite relief prospects currently:" This straw-man argument is easy to dismantle. A review of bullpens in the Minors reveals that some live arms are on their way. Here is one to watch in nine of the 10 full-season leagues: Relievers To Watch in 2012 Name Ranking League Club APP K/IP Corey Williams Twins' No. 19 Midwest Beloit 12 1.26 Bruce Rondon Tigers No. 6 Florida State Lakeland 12 1.62 Clayton Schrader Orioles' No. 17 Carolina Frederick 10 1.42 Juan Rodriguez Dodgers' No. 12 California Rancho Cucamonga 8 1.61 Kevin Chapman Astros' No. 14 Texas Corpus Christi 14 1.35 Donnie Joseph Reds' No. 10 Southern Pensacola 16 1.42 Lisalberto Bonilla Phillies' No. 13 Eastern Reading 15 1.47 Stephen Pryor Mariners' No. 9 Pacific Coast Tacoma 14 1.55 Jhan Marinez White Sox's No. 10 International Charlotte 11 1.14 "Future relievers are stuck in starting roles:" So we've established that there are, in fact, relief pitching prospects in baseball. Phew. But who the heck is Lisalberto Bonilla? He's not ringing any bells. Maybe fellow Phils farmhand Phillippe Aumont, one of three players sent from Seattle in the December 2009 Cliff Lee trade, will register. Before they shipped him east, the Mariners deemed Aumont, the 11th overall draftee in 2007, more suitable for the bullpen and did so after he made just eight pro starts in 2008. So why did the Phils return him to the rotation in 2010? "You can't diminish the value of a guy if he can start -- it's harder to develop starters," Phillies assistant G.M. Benny Looper said. "More of our thought process is looking at the individual pitcher trying to develop them and [find] what role fits them best. Even if we see them as a bullpen guy, how can we help them develop that other pitch?" Aumont, the owner of a plus fastball and curveball, did not dramatically improve the consistency of his splitter as a starter. By 2011 and back in the bullpen, where two above-average offerings is more than enough, he flourished. His 2.68 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings at Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley helped him regain his once-lost luster. "His arm and his body reacted better pitching more often than every five days [so] that he has command of those pitches and can maintain," Looper said of the 6-foot-7, 260-pound right-hander. "The velocity of shorter periods [is higher]." The Phillies don't make these decision overnight. Like Aumont, the organization's No. 5 prospect, No. 7 Justin De Fratus and recent callup Jake Diekman made 34 and 39 starts respectively in the Minors before they were given new roles. De Fratus, currently out of action with a forearm strain, features a fastball-slider combo with a lagging changeup, while Diekman remade himself with a lower-arm angle. Both possess the requisite power for the 'pen. "A guy that [starts] knows how to pitch, can make you swing at pitches out of the strike zone -- moved the ball up and down, in and out, change speeds," Looper said, "Even though you want relievers doing that, if they have power arms and power pitches, they can get by with more mistakes that aren't up and down and in and out." "To be a reliever later in the game," agreed the White Sox's Hasler, "they need to show plus stuff." And he would know. In addition to Reed, a fast-moving reliever from the beginning of his career, Hasler has presided over the development of starters-turned-relievers Hector Santiago and Nate Jones (and before he returned to the rotation, Chris Sale). All have gone from prospects to important pieces; all were given the opportunity to make the transition. "When you have a good arm come into the organization, maybe we see him as a starter, maybe we see him as a reliever -- sometimes we're not sure," Hasler said, stopping to think. "Maybe it's good that they fly under the radar." Prospect Up So we know Red Sox No. 18 prospect Jackie Bradley has not seen the film adaptation of Moneyball, but have we asked him if he he'd like to star in the sequel? Bradley has reached base in 28 straight games, upping his on-base percentage through 33 games to an even .500. Like Kurt Suzuki and Dustin Pedroia before him -- products of college powerhouses who didn't go early in the Draft's first round because of a perceived low ceiling -- Bradley is looking like a very good player, even if he is still early into his first full season. Prospect Down The base on balls and the American League East, huh? Then let's go with No 37 overall prospect Dellin Betances, who has issued a remarkable 35 free passes (to go with his 35 strikeouts) through 40 innings of 2012. The Yanks' right-hander is not new to issues with command, but he's now 24 and in his second Triple-A stint, so if he's not close to solving them now, then when will he? Notebook Items Spend enough time talking with the game's best pitching prospects and one thing you will notice many of them have in common -- a personal pitching coach from a young age. That's the case for both No. 10 prospect Gerrit Cole (Pirates) and No. 92 Jed Bradley (Brewers). Cole learned his changeup and curveball in Little League from his mentor, Zak Doan. Cole started working with Doan when he was 11 and still talks pitching with him to this day. "He introduced me to all of it," Cole said. After Pittsburgh chose the right-hander first overall in the 2011 Draft, the organization asked him to reincorporate that original curveball into his five-pitch mix, which also comprises a four-seam fastball, a two-seam fastball, a circle-changeup and a slider. Bradley, whom Milwaukee selected 14 spots after Cole last June, learned his 80-mph slider from his private guru, Joe Fletcher. During his sophomore year of high school, Bradley started working on everything from mound presence to nutrition with Fletcher, who passed away during Bradley's career at Georgia Tech University. "I wouldn't be where I am today if I didn't work with him," he said. "He taught me everything I know about pitching." Speaking of elite starting pitching prospects, here are the probables for what has to be among the season's best matchups: When Mobile visits Jackson on Thursday, Trevor Bauer (D-backs' No. 1) will meet Danny Hultzen (Mariners' No. 1) on the mound. Also expect to see Tyler Skaggs (D-backs' No. 3) and Taijuan Walker, James Paxton and Brandon Maurer (all among the M's Top 20). The five-game series concludes Monday. These clubs also meet Aug. 19-23, but do we really expect all these guys to still be at Double-A by then? Already gone from these still-sterling staffs: Patrick Corbin (Mobile to the Majors), Charles Brewer (Mobile to Triple-A Reno) and Andrew Carraway (Jackson to Triple-A Tacoma). Memo from Mayo For Draft and prospects expert Jonathan Mayo's analysis, visit MLB.com's Prospects Central. Your Questions, Answered Tweet your prospect-related queries to @AndrewMiLB and @MinorLeagues. Reading Material Trevor Story is worth scouting, writes Fangraphs' Mike Newman. Prospects' long-tossing could go a long way, writes SI.com's Albert Chen. Jace Peterson has leadership down pat, writes MLB.com's Corey Brock. Nick Castellanos' average isn't average, writes MLB.com's Jason Beck. Charlie Culberson is not a finished product, writes MLB.com's Bernie Pleskoff. The Astros are on the clock at pick No. 1, writes MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. Speaking of the Draft, it's time to mock, writes Minor League Ball's John Sickels. Jameson Taillon is learning to like his changeup, writes MiLB.com's Danny Wild. Bryce Brentz is becoming a man of routine, writes MiLB.com's Sam Dykstra. Prospect Tweet Worth Re-tweeting: "Things I hate: 1- Lists And 2- hypocrites.....". -- San Antonio Missions slugger Cody Decker, aka @Decker6.

Not division related, but this is worth keeping an eye on. Rangers Rolling In The Minors Too As Profar’s Hit Streak Hits 25 Posted May. 15, 2012 10:09 pm by J.J. Cooper The Rangers are generally acknowledged to be the best team in the majors right now, even if they don't have the best record in baseball. Texas also ranked as Baseball America's No. 1 farm system heading into the season, and there is little that has happened in the early going to change that assessment. No. 1 on the Rangers' prospect list coming into the season was shortstop Jurickson Profar. With the top four prospects on our Preseason Top 100 now in the majors, Profar, ranked No. 7 on the preseason Top 100, is in the conversation for the best prospect currently in the minors. Double-A Frisco's shortstop extended his hitting streak to 25 games with a 3-for-5 night against Midland. Profar also stole his sixth bag of the season in six tries. While Profar was extending his hitting streak, Frisco starter Barrett Loux improved to 8-0 in eight starts this year. While wins are not the most useful stat to measure a pitcher's success, Loux's eight wins have been largely deserved. He hasn't allowed more than three runs in any start and currently has a 2.70 ERA. But most importantly considering his backstory, he's made every one of his eight scheduled starts. As many prospect followers know, Loux's medical history made him one of the most unusual draft picks in recent years. The No. 6 pick overall in the 2010 draft, Loux failed his physical with the Diamondbacks as they had concerns about his shoulder and elbow. With the Diamondbacks not offering him a contract, Major League Baseball ended up declaring Loux a free agent (while granting the Diamondbacks a compensatory first-round pick in the 2011 draft). The Rangers signed him for $312,000, and up to now, he's proven durable. Texas did shut Loux down in August last year, but that came after he made 21 starts and threw 109 innings. He's made all eight starts this year as well. While there are some scouts who see him as a reliever in the big leagues, he's shown up to now that he can handle a starting job.

Pirates’ Alen Hanson Continues Breakout Spring Posted May. 17, 2012 9:44 am by Jim Shonerd It was only natural that Pirates shortstop Alen Hanson would cool off after his blistering April, when the 19-year-old ranked second in the entire minors with a .410 average for low Class A West Virginia. Hanson’s hitting a more modest .263/.317/.474 so far in May, but he’s already put himself solidly on the prospect radar. A night after taking home a golden sombrero, going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts on Tuesday, Hansen righted the ship by going 3-for-5 with a double and a homer, his sixth of the campaign. Hanson raised his slash line back up to .358/.397/.617. He ranks second in the South Atlantic League in average and slugging and leads the circuit in hits (58) and doubles (16). The blight on Hanson’s spring has been his defense, as he’s made 17 errors in 32 games, easily the most of any SAL shortstop. He made four errors on Wednesday, all of them fielding errors. Hanson’s throwing arm is expected to be the biggest obstacle to him staying at shortstop, but just three of his 17 errors have been of the throwing variety. His errors have also tended to come in bunches. Wednesday was his fifth multi-error game, and he committed seven in his first 11 games at shortstop in April.

I understand that people see the payroll going up, the new local TV deal, the rumored MLB tv deal, and think that the Brewers have a shot to sign Greinke. However, I think some economic realities are being glossed over or simply overlooked. The Brewers new local TV contract is better than what they had which was the worst in the league, but I'd venture a guess it's still in the bottom third league wide. Some teams, especially the large market teams are signing monster local contracts and there's still no equality in local revenue. The LAA contract dwarfed any upgrade in revenue the Brewers are receiving, and it will be similar for any large market team. From a local media contract perspective the gulf is only widening between the haves and the have nots, Milwaukee is actually losing ground. Every team shares the MLB TV national contract equally... as such there's no competitive advantage for the Brewers vs the other teams in the league. What this will do is artificially inflate player salaries, the demand will remain the same, but since there is more money to go around, the salaries for the top players will rise significantly which will have a trickle down effect for all players on the 25 man roster. While the increase in revenue for Milwaukee means that a $100 million payroll is likely sustainable at least in the short term, it doesn't mean the Brewers have any more buying power than before. A windfall of cash for every team simply means that while the Brewers will have more money to spend, the cost to acquire the talent will also rise significantly. Despite obtaining more revenue the Brewers will not gain any kind of competitive advantage which would make us significant players in free agency. It will have an effect on the Yankees as they lose some of their spending advantage as other large markets close the gap on their revenue, they just won't be able to outspend everyone else all the time. However the teams at the bottom won't be any better off than they were before. Some horrible contracts won't look as bad as the average cost per win rises, some contracts like Lucroy's will look like extreme bargains, but in the end the Brewers relative buying power will stay the same. Greinke will get more money than Cain, not because he necessarily deserves it, but because there will be more money in the pool to be spent. The Brewers can probably match dollars short term, but the difference will always be the years. Can the Brewers afford the risk of giving Greinke a 7 year (or more) contract? I wouldn't do it, not for any FA pitcher. I would certainly do it for younger players locking them up until their early 30s but after that I'll pass, I'll take the risk on core type (impact talent, no McGehee types) pre-arby almost 100% of the time. This isn't the NFL where you can just cut a guy if he stinks late in his career, once that contract is signed, it's guaranteed money for the player regardless what happens. Who here is willing to risk having to eat $20 million for a season or more? For all the talk of what risky propositions prospects are, what about the significant risk of FA contracts, especially for the top pitchers? Personally, I'd rather take my risks on talented prospects and Gallardo type contracts where the long-term financial ramifications are rather minor, nothing done in the shallow end of the pool is going to cripple the franchise. Rather than playing on the deep end of the pool where the significant risk of signing players who are downside of their careers from a production standpoint and the upside from an injury perspective for big money has the potential to cripple a franchise like Milwaukee. I might want to take an occasional dip over there on a hitter, but I've never wanted to be there for a pitcher. It's not so much about year or 1 or 2 or 3, it's what you're paying for at the end of the deal which is the issue. Will Ramirez be an $8 million player this season? Probably. Will he be a $16 million dollar player in 2014? I highly doubt it. Likewise will any pitcher be worth $20 million per year in their late 30s? Possibly, it's an awfully short list.

Final: Wisconsin 5, Burlington 4 (10 Innings) Ramirez, Rattlers beat Bees in ten Nick Ramirez delivers an RBI single in the tenth for 5-4 Wisconsin win By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/images/2012/05/16/noKEkfyK.jpg The Timber Rattlers are all smiles after Nick Ramirez delivered the game winning hit on Wednesday night. (Ann Mollica/Wisconsin Timber Rattlers) GRAND CHUTE, WI - A lot happened between Nick Ramirez driving in the first run of the game in the first inning and the winning run in the tenth inning on Wednesday night at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. However, the end result was a 5-4 victory for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers over the Burlington Bees. Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez got into the action from the second pitch of the game. Gomez made a long run to catch a fly ball off the bat of Burlington the leadoff batter in right-center. He also ran down a ball just shy of the wall in center field for the final out of the top of the first. Gomez reached on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the first inning. Then, he went from first to third on a single to center by Jason Rogers. A sacrifice fly by Ramirez sent Gomez home with the first run of the game. Wisconsin (24-16) made it 2-0 later in the inning as Greg Hopkins singled to get Rogers home with a run. Ben McMahan and Rogers would hit solo home runs in the fourth and fifth innings respectively to push Wisconsin's lead to 4-0. Moye, who was named the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week on Monday, was the starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers and he cruised after allowing a two out triple in the second inning. The right-hander retired twelve straight until Sean Jamieson hit a solo homer with two outs in the top of the sixth. That homer ended Moye's scoreless streak at 17-2/3 innings. Moye struck out six, allowed three hits, walked none, and looked like he was in line for his third win of the season. But, the Bees (17-22) rallied with one hit in the top of the eighth against the Wisconsin bullpen. Stephen Peterson, who worked a 1-2-3 seventh inning issued a walk, gave up a double, and handed out another free pass to load the bases with no outs. Then, Peterson walked Aaron Shipman to force in a run. Timber Rattlers closer Seth Harvey took over for Peterson, but walked Jamieson to force in another run. A sacrifice fly by Royce Consigli got the third run of the inning home and tied the game 4-4. The Bees threatened to take the lead in the top of the tenth against Tommy Toledo. Consecutive singles, a sacrifice bunt, and an intentional walk loaded the bases with one out. Toledo escaped when he got BA Vollmuth to ground into an inning ending 4-6-3 double play. Max Walla started the winning rally for the Rattlers with a one out double in the tenth. Walla entered the game as a defensive replacement for Gomez in the sixth inning after Gomez had finished his planned five innings in the game. His double ended a string of 13 straight Rattlers retired by Burlington reliever Seth Frankoff. Jason Rogers drew a walk from Frankoff to put two runners on with one out and brought Ramirez to the plate. Burlington went to the bullpen and brought lefty Jeff Urlaub on to face the left-handed Ramirez to try to get the double play and extend the game to the eleventh. Ramirez fouled off a tough 2-2 pitch before lining the next offering on one hop off the left field wall to send Walla home with the winning run to snap Wisconsin's three game losing streak. The win was the fourth "walkoff" in 24 home games this season for the Timber Rattlers. In 2011, Wisconsin had four "walkoff" wins in 70 home games. Game two of the series is Thursday night. Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez is scheduled to make his second rehabilitation start for the Timber Rattlers in this game. The scheduling pitching matchup is Matt Miller (2-3, 3.95) for the Timber Rattlers and Raul Alcantara (2-4, 4.41) for the Bees. Game time is 6:35pm. The first 1,000 fans to attend this game will receive a poster of Timber Rattlers RBI leader Jason Rogers. This poster is the fourth in a series of ten that are to be given away during the 2012 season. Thursday is a Slugger's Sports Bar Thirsty Thursday presented by 95.9 KISS FM and College Night. As part of College Night, college students may take advantage of $1 reserved bleacher tickets just by showing their college ID when they purchase the ticket. All fans can enjoy 16oz soda and beer for just $2 as part of Thirsty Thursday presented by Slugger's Sports Bar! After the game, those in attendance can take their ticket stub to Sluggers Sports Bar - located in Super Bowl on Northland Avenue - to win Miller Lite drinks and prizes. HOME RUNS: BUR: Sean Jamieson (1st, 0 in 6th inning off Andy Moye, 2 out) WIS: Ben McMahan (2nd, 0 on in 4th inning off Brent Powers, 0 out) Jason Rogers (4th, 0 on in 5th inning, off Brent Powers, 1 out) WP: Tommy Toledo (5-0) LP: Seth Frankoff (0-2) TIME: 2:52 ATTN: 3,788 Wisconsin Box Score The losing streak is over! Andy Moye pitched pretty darn well again, his final line was 6IP, 3H 1ER, 1HR, 0BB, and 6SO while throwing only 65 pitches but 45 for strikes. I don't have a good explanation for his continuously low pitch counts, it's been happening all season. He's extremely efficient with his pitches but I'm unsure why they wouldn't stretch him out to 85 pitches unless he's destined for a relief role? He could easily pitch a complete game or very close to if allowed to go the full 85 like the rest of the staff. Chris covered the rest of the pitching above. Did anyone else find it a bit amusing that Max Walla was the defensive replacement for Carlos Gomez? At least Max made it count with the 2B and then scoring the game winning run. Jason Rogers, Gregory Hopkins, and Ben McMahan had 2 hits a pieces, the Rogers and McMahan homers will covered above. Yadiel Rivera also added a double to complete the offensive side of the coin for the T-Rats tonight. Chadwin Stang stole 2 bases for a total of 8 on the season while Hopkins was caught stealing for the third time (he was actually picked off). The Rattlers played clean D and no Bees tried to steal a base. Wisconsin Play By Play As usual Chris covered it all.

The 100 pitch count is completely arbitrary, there is no way every single MLB pitcher should be on the exact same pitch count. Once a pitcher is physically mature, I'm much more concerned about his stressful inning count than I am his total pitch count. If every inning is 12-18 pitches and the pitcher has it going on, let him pitch. The idea should be to minimize the BP's use, not maximize it, your best pitchers are in your starting rotation. If he has 2-3 20+ pitch innings I'm okay pulling him around the magical 100 pitch limit but with pitchers in their prime that count should be extended to around 110-115. The 100 pitch limit was never scientifically proven, it's just a nice round number, for all we know it might be 85 pitches or as high as 125 pitches. The point of the pitch count should be to keep pitchers from pitching past the point of fatigue when the potential for injury is greatest. In that regard stressful innings are much more important than the total pitch count.

After he had that tremendous season in AA last year I vaulted Peralta past Thornburg and have been regretting it since, if I would make a list again today Thornburg would be #1. My gut was telling me that I needed to see 1 more excellent campaign from Peralta to officially jump on his bandwagon but I found it hard to deny his success at a higher level. I don't have the same faith in Wily as I do Tyler at this point and that could certainly change by the end of the season if Peralta jumps up to MLB and pitches the way he can. I'm guessing that both pitchers will be pitching on the same staff in AAA after the break and I'll be pissed because the Brewers are passing up an excellent opportunity to get a young arm acclimated to the big leagues at the tail end of an already strong rotation. We don't need our young pitchers this year like we will next year, I'd much rather break one as a #5 letting him get his feet under him that way then counting on maybe as many as 3 young pitchers to have initial big league success next season as mid to back of the rotation starters. Yes Estrada is "proven", I understand and appreciate that point of view, but he's not someone you build a rotation around but both Peralta and Thornburg could be. We won't know until they get an extended look or 2 in MLB, but all the minor league experience in the world won't tell us more than their performance in MLB will. Marco is a fine pitcher, but his talent is replaceable, and it's foolish to block legitimate impact talent with that kind of player. You don't pencil him into your rotation as a long-term solution anymore than you should Brady Clark in CF or Casey McGehee at 3B. They are "good enough" until you find someone better, and for all we know Peralta could outperform Estrada. I'm fine with Wily staying down until the end of June, but at that point we lose nothing by starting his clock, he'll have the same service time with organization if he comes up in July or starts next season in the rotation. The only difference is that he'd pickup 20-30 more innings pitching through Sept stretching him out to 170-180 which would put him on track for 200 in 2013 and he'd have 3 months of invaluable experience. I'd much rather send Henderson to the MLB pen and bump Sanchez to AAA than mess around with Fiers in the bullpen this season.

Not sure on the rookie league teams, Helena is usually pretty fun to cover as the Independent Record provides good coverage and Steve is an excellent radio personality, much like the T-Rats/Chris/Post-Crescent here in WI. I'll willingly give up 1 of my teams and take over Nashville until we get some more assistance if you like, it's always more fun to report on teams that are doing well.

Huntsville notes near the bottom, Jay Gibbons gets some kind words. Southern League notes: Joseph takes control Pensacola closer showing better command in Double-A return By Guy Curtright / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/05/14/kKY9pJzQ.jpg Donnie Joseph is ranked as the No. 10 prospect in the Reds organization. (Jae C. Hong/AP) Donnie Joseph puts everything into his pitches. "I have a violent delivery," the Pensacola closer said. It's controlled violence, though, and opposing Southern League hitters are the victims. But Joseph rarely was working ahead in the count last year. That's changed this season. A third-round pick by the Reds in the 2009 Draft out of the University of Houston, Joseph had struck out 27 and walked just four over 18 innings in his first 16 appearances. With that improved ratio has come a 4-0 record, six saves and a 0.46 ERA for Pensacola after struggling a year ago when the Reds' Double-A team was based at Carolina. Joseph has a mid-90s fastball and sharp slider. His lack of control, though, did him in last season. The 24-year-old Texas native had 66 strikeouts in 58 1/3 innings, but he walked 30 and had a 6.94 ERA in 57 appearances. "Last season was tough," Joseph said. "But looking back, it was a blessing in disguise." Joseph worked with pitching coach Tom Brown on his mechanics, and things began to click the last month or so of the season and carried over to the Arizona Fall League. Pitching for the Phoenix Desert Dogs, Joseph had a 2.96 ERA in 12 appearances and had 17 strikeouts to six walks in 17 innings. That earned him an invitation to Spring Training with the Reds. He got into four Cactus League games and came into the 2012 season looking little like the inconsistent pitcher Southern League hitters faced a year ago. Now Joseph keeps his head steady as he releases the ball, and he no longer jerks toward the third-base line on his follow-through. "I'm pretty much straight on now," he said. "My mechanics are a lot better." So are the results. Joseph didn't allow a run in his first 12 appearances, with his only blown save coming on a game-tying two-out homer by Keenan Wiley in the ninth inning at Mississippi on May 6. Pensacola came back to win that game, 4-3, in 12 innings, and Joseph had allowed only seven other hits in his first 16 games. Opponents were batting just .127. It has been a fresh start for Joseph and the team, which had the worst record in the Southern League last year while based in Carolina. Gone are the long road trips. In are large and enthusiastic crowds. The Blue Wahoos had sold out 13 games and led the Southern League in attendance through Sunday. "This is a great place to play," Joseph said. "When we go on a road trip, we can't wait to get back home." In brief Pryor promoted: The Mariners' top three pitching prospects -- Danny Hultzen, Taijuan Walker and James Paxton -- still lead the Jackson rotation, but closer Stephen Pryor was promoted to Triple-A Tacoma earlier this month to join former Generals starter Andrew Carraway. Pryor, No. 9 on the Mariners' prospect list, had a 1.13 ERA with seven saves and a 1-0 record plus 24 strikeouts to five walks in 16 innings for the Generals. He's yet to yield a run in three appearances with the Rainiers. Colome near return: Montgomery right-hander Alex Colome is about ready to return to the mound after straining an oblique during his second start of the season at Mississippi on April 11. Tampa Bay's No. 14 prospect, he was 12-9 with a 3.82 ERA between the Biscuits and Class A Advanced Charlotte last season. Gibbons steps in: Huntsville lost two of its best hitters when Jeff Bianchi (.351) was promoted to Triple-A Nashville and Khris Davis (.328) went on the disabled list. But the Stars are still battling Jackson for first place in the North Division thanks to Jay Gibbons. The former Major Leaguer hit .381 in his first 12 games with Huntsville. Simmons still shines: Andrelton Simmons, No. 60 among MLB.com's Top 100 prospects, continued to show why he is considered Atlanta's shortstop of the future. The native of Curacao has made just two errors in his first 29 games for Mississippi and is batting .304 with a .388 on-base percentage. He has 15 RBIs and seven stolen bases.

Final: Mississippi 5, Huntsville 1 Huntsville Box Score As previously discussed in the thread Hiram Burgos struggled early and cruised late, it will be interesting to see how he fares. I didn't post much at all last summer but in the past I regularly commented on his K rate when doing my statistical analysis on the organization's pitchers. His H/9 has always been the only thing holding him back, hopefully he can continue to hit his spots and keep his recent success going. Hiram's final line 6IP allowing 8H, 4ER, and 0BB against 5SO while throwing 53 of 82 pitches for strikes. His GO:FO ratio for those that care was 7:5 (how i feel about the ground ball ratio depends on the defense behind the pitcher which is why I don't discuss it much). Darren Byrd followed Burgos pitching a clean 2 innings while giving up 2 hits and a walk against a single strike out. He's only given up 1 earned run in his last 6 appearances covering 11.2 innings. R.J. Seidel allowed a HR to the first batter he faced in the 9th, retired the next hitter, then was lifted for Mitch Stetter who recorded the final 2 outs. The Stars only managed 3 hits against the #21 prospect in the Brave organization David Hale. Here's what BA had to say about him this off season: Hale has experienced Jekyll-and-Hyde seasons during his first two full years as a pro. In 2010, he began the year by going 0-4, 7.99 in six starts at Rome before changing roles and going 5-3, 2.16 with five saves as a reliever. Last year at Lynchburg, he posted a 5.91 ERA out of the Lynchburg bullpen before moving back to the rotation and going 3-4, 3.66 in 13 starts. A two-way player who spent most of his time at Princeton as a center fielder, Hale still is figuring out the cat-and-mouse game that is the duel between pitcher and batter. Scouts rave about his lightning-quick arm, which generates a 92-94 mph fastball that touches 96. He also throws a mid-80s slider that's one of the best in the system, but he's still trying to improve his feel for a changeup. He works behind hitters too often because an inconsistent release point hampers his command. Hale initially preferred working as a reliever because the routine was more similar to being an everyday player. The development of his changeup will determine what role he serves in the future. A promotion to Double-A is next on his agenda. Unsurprisingly no Huntsville players had multiple hits or an XBH, though both Kentrail Davis and Tommy Manzella did walk 2 times a piece. Byrd committed the only Stars error on a PO attempt which was his first of the season. Doesn't it seem like we're having an abnormally high number of errors on pitchers this year? Specifically on PO attempts? I wonder if the organization has been pushing to limit the running game more effectively in the lower levels of the minors? Huntsville Play By Play This was all the Braves would get until the 9th, and unfortunately it was also all they needed. Mississippi Top of the 1st Keenan Wiley strikes out swinging. Andrelton Simmons called out on strikes. Philip Gosselin doubles (9) on a fly ball to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Evan Gattis triples (1) on a fly ball to center fielder Josh Prince. Philip Gosselin scores. Joe Leonard strikes out swinging. Mississippi Top of the 2nd Ian Gac doubles (12) on a line drive to left fielder Lee Haydel. Todd Cunningham singles on a fly ball to center fielder Josh Prince. Ian Gac to 3rd. Cory Harrilchak singles on a fly ball to left fielder Lee Haydel. Ian Gac scores. Todd Cunningham to 2nd. David Hale out on a sacrifice bunt, catcher Anderson De La Rosa to second baseman Scooter Gennett. Todd Cunningham to 3rd. Cory Harrilchak to 2nd. Keenan Wiley doubles (4) on a ground ball to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Todd Cunningham scores. Cory Harrilchak scores. Andrelton Simmons pops out to third baseman Domnit Bolivar. Philip Gosselin grounds out, shortstop Tommy Manzella to first baseman Hunter Morris.

Final: Kane County 11, Wisconsin 5 Cougars top Rattlers for third straight game Kane County hits grand slam for second straight day and beats Rattlers 11-5 By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GENEVA, IL - The Kane County Cougars hit their second grand slam in as many days and defeated the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 11-5 at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark on Tuesday afternoon. Justin Trapp's bases loaded home run capped a seven run third inning and paved the way to Kane County's third straight win over the Rattlers. Kane County (21-18) went in front with a run on an RBI grounder in the bottom of the first. Wisconsin (23-16) stormed back with four runs in the third inning to take the lead. Carlos George singled to start the inning. Chadwin Stang followed with an RBI double. After Brandon Macias drew a walk, Jason Rogers doubled off the wall in right-center to send both Stang and Macias home. Later in the inning, Ben McMahan's two-out RBI single put the Rattlers up 4-1. Rattlers starting pitcher David Goforth went out with that three run lead but struggled in the bottom of the third. He walked the leadoff batter and allowed a single to the put two runners on base. Adams followed with a two-run triple to cut Wisconsin's lead to one run. Goforth got the first out of the inning and held Adams at third. Then, the hard-throwing right-hander lost the strike zone. He walked the next two batters to load the bases to bring Edul Escobar to the plate. Goforth walked the Cougars catcher on four straight pitches to push Adams home with the tying run. The next batter grounded into a force play at the plate for the second out. But, Goforth gave up a grand slam to Trapp and the Cougars went up 8-4. The Cougars collected three doubles and two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning off Rattlers reliever Chad Pierce to push their lead to 10-4. Nick Ramirez extended his hitting streak to five games and gave Wisconsin their fifth run of the game with a one out solo homer in the top of the fifth. The next two hitters had singles and a rally seemed apparent. But, Max Walla's line drive was caught on a diving back-handed play by third baseman Danny Mateo. Cougars reliever Brooks Pounders got the final out with a strikeout, his second of seven in five innings, to stop a potential Rattlers comeback. Kane County closed out the scoring on an RBI single by Michael Antonio in the bottom of the sixth. The Timber Rattlers begin a six-game homestand on Wednesday night with a game against the Burlington Bees at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Newly crowned Midwest League Pitcher of the Week Andy Moye (3-0, 1.44) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. Jose Macias (1-4, 7.16) is set to start for the Bees. Game time is 6:35pm. Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez is scheduled to be in the starting lineup for the Rattlers to begin a minor league rehab assignment. Wednesday is a 105.7 WAPL Bang for Your Buck Night and a College Night. Fans can take advantage of $1 Cher-Make hot dogs, $1 Pepsi Products, and $1 Miller Beers! Also, college students may purchase reserved bleacher tickets for just $1 when presenting college ID at time of ticket purchase. If you can't make it out to the game, tune in for the action on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:15pm. Wednesday's game is also available to subscribers of MiLB.TV. HOME RUNS: WIS: Nick Ramirez (1st, 0 on in 5th inning off Brooks Pounders, 1 out) KC: Justin Trapp (3rd, 3 on in 3rd inning off David Goforth, 2 out) WP: Brooks Pounding (2-1) LP: David Goforth (3-3) TIME: 2:41 ATTN: 4,733 Wisconsin Box Score Apparently the water in Kane Country doesn't agree with the Rattler pitchers because they just put up 3 pretty poor starts in a row. Kane County has one of the better offenses in the league, but the Rattlers had one of the better pitching staffs in the league coming to the series as well, so this series was a good measuring stick for the team. There isn't much to say about David Goforth's outing, I mentioned after watching him pitch on TW32 that I wasn't impressed with his mechanics at all. He simply has serious work to do if he's going to be a MLB pitcher, there's no doubt he has the raw tools to be successful, he has a rare gift in his arm, the rest will be up to him. As Chris discussed above Chad Pierce was also hit hard. Tyler Cravy also loaded the bases in the 8th with 1 out but managed to escape unscathed. Tyler is someone casual followers of the LR probably aren't all that familiar with other than his poorish results thus far in his professional career. However he hasn't even approached his ceiling as he's another player with a legitimate arm and upside if he can get out of his own way. He was my pick for a breakout candidate a while back, I'm still holding out hope for him. Offensively Ben McMahan and Jason Rogers both had 2 hits a piece with Rogers adding a double. Chadwin Stang and Max Walla both doubled while Nick Ramirez launched his first HR as discussed above. Some may have noticed Walla's sagging line but I'm not concerned yet, he's been a bit unfortunate at the plate lately, he's still making good contact. The Rattlers played errorless baseball again and McMahan stole his 4th base. Wisconsin Play By Play Chris covered this in excruciating detail above but David had to throw a ton of pitches in the inning, I'm not sure I would have pushed him that far. Kane County Bottom of the 3rd Daniel Mateo walks. Jorge Bonifacio singles on a line drive to left fielder Jason Rogers. Daniel Mateo to 2nd. Lane Adams triples (4) on a fly ball to right fielder Max Walla. Daniel Mateo scores. Jorge Bonifacio scores. Michael Antonio grounds out, shortstop Brandon Macias to first baseman Nick Ramirez. Murray Watts walks. Dean Espy walks. Murray Watts to 2nd. Edul Escobar walks. Lane Adams scores. Murray Watts to 3rd. Dean Espy to 2nd. Tim Ferguson grounds into a force out, third baseman Gregory Hopkins to catcher Parker Berberet. Murray Watts out at home. Dean Espy to 3rd. Edul Escobar to 2nd. Tim Ferguson to 1st. Justin Trapp hits a grand slam (3) to right field. Dean Espy scores. Edul Escobar scores. Tim Ferguson scores. Pitcher Change: Chad Pierce replaces David Goforth. Daniel Mateo flies out to left fielder Jason Rogers. It's not very often you'll see a pitcher give up 3 doubles in an inning. Kane County Bottom of the 4th Jorge Bonifacio doubles (8) on a fly ball to right fielder Max Walla. Lane Adams strikes out swinging. Michael Antonio doubles (6) on a fly ball to center fielder Chadwin Stang. Jorge Bonifacio scores. With Murray Watts batting, wild pitch by Chad Pierce, Michael Antonio to 3rd. Murray Watts doubles (6) on a fly ball to left fielder Jason Rogers. Michael Antonio scores. Dean Espy called out on strikes. Edul Escobar flies out to center fielder Chadwin Stang. Cravy's 8th. Kane County Bottom of the 8th Pitcher Change: Tyler Cravy replaces Chad Pierce. Lane Adams flies out to center fielder Chadwin Stang. Michael Antonio singles on a line drive to center fielder Chadwin Stang. Murray Watts walks. Michael Antonio to 2nd. Dean Espy singles on a soft fly ball to center fielder Chadwin Stang. Michael Antonio to 3rd. Murray Watts to 2nd. Edul Escobar strikes out swinging. Tim Ferguson flies out to center fielder Chadwin Stang.

We've had many radio personalities that do very good interviews, but no one does an interview like Steve. A couple of years ago he did an interview with Tunnell that I must have listened to 4-5 times, it was that good. I 2nd the video interview idea!

I feel bad for Tedaldtada as when I chose Huntsville and Wisconsin as my 2 teams I was simply looking to recuse myself from the BC pitching staff, my favorite prospect was in AA, and I've always enjoyed listening to Chris. I had no idea was I going to end up bogarting the best 2 teams in the organization. Tedaldtada if you want to switch out I'll take Nashville because I still don't think it's a good idea for me to report on BC, but you can take whomever you wish from me.

Bucs' Wilson exits with groin injury Pirates left-hander to be re-evaulated by team on Tuesday By Danny Wild / MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/05/14/nHpRQGCA.jpg Justin Wilson has won three of his eight starts this season. (Bill Gentry/Indians) Pirates prospect Justin Wilson left his Triple-A start with a groin injury after three innings on Monday afternoon, the team said. Wilson held Norfolk to one hit over three innings for Indianapolis before exiting with tightness in his right groin while warming up to start the fourth inning. The Pirates said it was a "precautionary measure" and that Wilson, Pittsburgh's No. 2-ranked left-handed prospect, will be re-evaluated on Tuesday. Wilson threw 30 pitches -- 21 for strikes -- and allowed just one hit, a two-out single to center in the first inning. The left-hander is 3-3 with a 3.14 ERA in eight starts this season, with 41 strikeouts in 43 innings, including a game on April 29 in which he combined with Jose Diaz and Doug Slaten on Indy's first no-hitter in nearly seven years when the Indians blanked the Durham Bulls, 2-0. The Fresno State alum was named the International League's Pitcher of the Week on April 30 and has held opponents to a .184 average this season. Veteran Rick VandenHurk pitched five scoreless innings in relief of Wilson, holding the Tides to five hits for his first win. Matt Hague's sacrifice fly scored Gorkys Hernandez in the fourth for the game's lone run. Norfolk's Steve Johnson took the tough-luck loss, allowing an unearned run on three hits over eight innings. He struck out eight and walked one.

Manatees' Bradley leaves with injury Left-hander suffers mild groin strain, replaced after 3 1/3 frames By David Heck / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/05/14/nkNNQBvi.jpg Jed Bradley, the 15th overall pick in 2011, has posted a 3.53 ERA this year. (Cliff Welch/MiLB.com) An injury limited Jed Bradley to the shortest start of his career Monday. The Brewers' No. 2 prospect lasted just 3 1/3 innings -- coming out in the middle of an at-bat -- in Class A Advanced Brevard County's 2-1 loss to Daytona. Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash told MLB.com that Bradley was removed with a mild groin strain. On the night, Bradley (4-3) surrendered two runs on three hits and two walks. The outing marks the first time that he failed to pitch at least five innings, as well as the first time that he did not record a strikeout. The 21-year-old left-hander scuffled in the first inning, allowing four of the first five batters he faced to reach base. Arismendy Alcantara led off the game with a single, while Ronald Torreyes followed with a walk. After a popout by Rubi Silva, Greg Rohan drew a free pass and Nelson Perez delivered a two-run single. Bradley went on to retire the next eight batters he faced before Perez again singled in the fourth. He then threw one pitch to John Andreoli, but was replaced by reliever Brian Garman in the middle of the at-bat. "It was weird, he didn't even limp or anything," said Robbie Aaron, the Daytona Cubs' director of broadcasting and media relations. "We didn't know if he was injured or something happened. The coaching staff and trainer came out. We didn't know if he was hurt, but he didn't look like he was in pain." Drafted with the 15th overall pick in June, Bradley has posted a 3.53 ERA through 43 1/3 innings with the Manatees. He has fanned 36 while walking 14.

Final Game 2: Mississippi 6, Huntsville 0 (7 innings) Game 2 Box Score Someday a psychologist is going to sit down and figure out what it is with splitting doubleheaders. I know they were my least favorite part of baseball when I played. I was fortunate to come through school during my town's prime so I competed with some awfully talented people and we didn't lose much so after changing into shorts and taking off the jersey top, then getting something to eat, I never felt like suiting back up to play another game against a team we already beat, especially in July and August. I don't recall ever losing the front end of a doubleheader, but I can imagine there is a sense of urgency that comes with that 2nd game to put a win on the board and get a return on the investment. Unfortunately Kyle Heckathorn had his worst start of the season in Game 2, he last 4.2IP giving up 7H, 5ER, 0BB, 1WP, and 1HR against 3SO. Kyle only threw 73 pitches but 46 strikes so efficiency with the pitch count wasn't his problem he just got hit hard, he was especially burned by XBHs which accounted for all 5 runs against him. Daniel Meadows came on to get the last out in the 5th then gave way to Bradley Blanks who allowed a run on 2 hits against 3 strike outs in his 2 innings. Positive spin for game 2... Stars pitchers did not walk a batter. The offense was pretty anemic in game 2 only putting 5 hits on the board and no Huntsville player had multiple hits or an XBH. Josh Prince did steal his 8th and the Stars played clean defense. Game 2 Play By Play The Braves XBH barrage... Mississippi Top of the 1st Todd Cunningham singles on a line drive to left fielder Juan Sanchez. Cory Harrilchak flies out to center fielder Josh Prince. Joe Leonard homers (1) on a fly ball to left field. Todd Cunningham scores. Ian Gac singles on a ground ball to second baseman Scooter Gennett, deflected by pitcher Kyle Heckathorn. Adam Milligan grounds out to first baseman Jay Gibbons. Ian Gac to 2nd. Mathew Kennelly flies out to left fielder Juan Sanchez. Mississippi Top of the 2nd Alden Carrithers flies out to center fielder Josh Prince. Barrett Kleinknecht doubles (5) on a fly ball to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Sean Gilmartin out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Kyle Heckathorn to second baseman Scooter Gennett. Barrett Kleinknecht to 3rd. Todd Cunningham triples (2) on a ground ball to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Barrett Kleinknecht scores. Cory Harrilchak flies out to left fielder Juan Sanchez. Mississippi Top of the 5th Sean Gilmartin doubles (1) on a fly ball to center fielder Josh Prince. Todd Cunningham out on a sacrifice bunt, third baseman Matt Cline to first baseman Jay Gibbons. Sean Gilmartin to 3rd. Cory Harrilchak hit by pitch. With Joe Leonard batting, Cory Harrilchak steals (4) 2nd base. Joe Leonard reaches on a fielder's choice out, shortstop Tommy Manzella to catcher Jason Jaramillo to third baseman Matt Cline. Sean Gilmartin out at home. Cory Harrilchak to 3rd. Ian Gac doubles (11) on a fly ball to center fielder Josh Prince. Cory Harrilchak scores. Joe Leonard scores. Pitcher Change: Daniel Meadows replaces Kyle Heckathorn, batting 9th. Adam Milligan flies out to left fielder Juan Sanchez.

I'm not sure where his stuff is, but he's only pitching an inning every 4-7 days (2 times he went 1+) which leads me to believe that young Mr. Arnett and coach Dewey are doing a ton of work in the bullpen. Typically when the Brewers are limiting innings due to injury the schedule is very regular... every third day, every fourth day, etc. Since his schedule is fairly random but with plenty of time to get BP sessions in between that would be my guess. I doubt we get anything out of the local news, we'd have to get something from another source like Ash, BA, MiLB, etc.