TheCrew07

Central Notes: Hamels, Price, Samardzija, ChiSox, Royals, Gonzales By Steve Adams [July 24, 2015 at 12:11am CDT The Hamels to Chicago rumors started picking up steam last winter and subsided for awhile. Speculation this morning on the radio and in the BA Hot Sheet regarding Gleyber Torres seems to suggest the Cubs feel they can acquire Hamels without giving up someone like Baez or Schwarber. Also an article linked the piece above and also cited in other sources this morning says the Cubs aren't interested in spending significant prospects on a rental as they know they aren't quite ready to compete at the highest level. The Cubs acquiring Hamels for something like Torres, McKinney, and one of Underwood/Cease... then signing a stud FA pitcher like David Price this winter is my absolute nightmare scenario. One would have to hope that both of those guys started to breakdown. Hamels is 31 with 3 years + an option remaining, Price is 29 so he probably has 3-4 pretty good years left in him as well. I actually kind of like the Pirates but it's no fun looking up at the Cubs and Cards.

I'm still intrigued by Fiers to the Jays...

The only problem is that since he was a position player the Brewers need to make strides with him very quickly because they are already up against the point he'll need to be added to the 40 man to be protected. I would have preferred a competitive balance pick in what projects to be a very good draft next year but I'm happy with Barrios, he's basically Damien Magnifico without the development time to learn a secondary pitch or 2.

WOOHOO! Guess who? Prospect Hot Sheet (July 24): Frazier Emerging July 24, 2015 by Staff Report

Draft Bonus Spending Drops In 2015, Despite Larger Pools July 24, 2015 by John Manuel

Kernels continue hold over the Rattlers in 6-5 win By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/8/2/6/125459826/cuts/5_19_Sharkey_Web_bum63bwg_wb6peuh6.jpg Alan Sharkey had two hits, including an RBI triple, and scored a run for the Timber Rattlers in Cedar Rapids on Thursday night. (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers/Ann Mollica) CEDAR RAPIDS, IA - The Cedar Rapids Kernels defeated the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 6-5 on Thursday night at Perfect Game Field. The Kernels have won fourteen of the fifteen meetings between the Midwest League clubs this season. Wisconsin had a pair two-run leads in the game, but could not hang onto either advantage. Greg McCall put Wisconsin (31-66 overall, 8-19 second half) in front in the first inning. The Wisconsin catcher lined a two-out double to left-center to drive in Alan Sharkey and Elvis Rubio for a 2-0 lead. The Kernels (57-41, 16-12) took the lead in the bottom of the third. Rattlers starting pitcher Eric Hanhold hit Tanner English to start the inning. English stole second and scored on an single by Nick Gordon. Hanhold got the first out of the inning on a strikeout, but Zack Larson tripled to drive in Gordon and tie the game. Cedar Rapids went in front on a sacrifice fly by Rafael Valera. The Timber Rattlers responded with a two-out rally in the top of the fourth against Kernels starter Zack Tillery. Luis Aviles started the charge with a double. Gregory Munoz cracked a single to center and Aviles scored on the play while Munoz took second on the throw to the plate. Blake Allemand was next and his single to center scored Munoz with the go-ahead run. Sharkey kept the rally going with a triple into the corner in right and Allemand scored for a 5-3 lead. Cedar Rapids came back in the bottom of the fifth inning to tie the game against reliever Luke Curtis. English hit a home run to left to lead off the inning and Wisconsin's lead was down to a run. Curtis got the next two outs, but hit Zack Larson. A wild pitch put Larson in scoring position. Then, Valera drove in Larson with a single and the game was even. Devin Williams, who took over for Curtis in the bottom of the sixth, got into trouble in the bottom of the seventh. Gordon drew a walk to start the frame. Daniel Corcino followed with a double to put runners on second and third with no outs. Williams got the first out with a strikeout. The, the Rattlers elected to intentionally walk Valera to load the bases and set up a double play. The strategy was foiled when Williams grazed Pat Kelly on a 1-2 pitch to force in Gordon with the run to give the Kernels a 6-5 lead. Williams would retire the next two batters, but the damage had been done. Wisconsin couldn't muster a threat to score the tying run in the final three innings and they fell to once again to the Kernels. The Timber Rattlers return home to take on the Clinton LumberKings in the first game of a three-game series on Friday night at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Luis Ortega (1-7, 5.14) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Tyler Herb (4-7, 4.70) is set to start for the LumberKings, who were no-hit by the Peoria Chiefs on Thursday night. The LumberKings have also lost thirteen of their last fourteen games and are 6-22 in the second half. Game time is 7:05pm. Calling all crime fighters! Batman and The Flash are bringing together the Justice League in the Fox Communities Credit Union Fox Club before Friday's game. Contact the Timber Rattlers Box Office to learn how you can meet The Dark Knight and The Fastest Man Alive. They will be around during the game to meet fans and pose for pictures, too. The first 1,000 children 12 & under to attend the game will receive a cape from Neuroscience Group. Children 14 and under may participate in Kids Run the Bases thanks to Molina Healthcare after the postgame Fireworks display on this North Shore Bank/Y100 Family Night. If you can't make it out to the ballpark, there are several ways to catch the action. MyNEW 32's Sports Showdown will televise the game starting at 7:00pm. The radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:45pm. The broadcast may also be heard on Tune In Radio and IHeartRadio. Subscribers to MiLB.TV may watch the game on that platform. HOME RUNS: CR: Tanner English (5th, 0 on in 5th inning off Luke Curtis, 0 out) WP: Michael Theofanopoulos (4-2) LP: Devin Williams (2-7) SAVE: Jared Wilson (1) TIME: 2:45 ATTN: 2,457 Wisconsin Boxscore You know I could say that the Rattlers gave the game away in about 80% of their losses this year and this game was no different. Silly outs on the bases, a hit batsmen to push through the go ahead run... *sigh*. Even without Harrison, Gatewood, and Denson this one of the better Rattler teams from a raw talent standpoint, there's no just no consistency and by extension performance to go with that talent. I've talked quite a bit about the pitchers (no surprise there) and answered questions regarding the Sthervin Matos/Tucker Neuhaus debate most of the season, but Elvis Rubio, Francisco Castillo, Brandon Diaz, Dustin DeMuth, Alan Sharkey, and even Luis Aviles (since his return) all have various tools they can lean on. Unfortunately this group has never really got it going together at the plate and is hitting a combined .234 which is 2nd from the bottom in the league, only better than Beloit. I'll use Matos as an example, he's a wonderful defender but he's hitting just .201 and as Chris pointed today he's something like 3 for 52 or 53 against Cedar Rapids this season. That's an incredibly Ben Sheets like .058 at the plate, it has to be some kind of head thing with him and this team, there's simply no other rational explanation for being that bad against 1 opponent. Taking out Cedar Rapids he would be 53 for 222 or .239 which isn't great, but is a hell of a lot better than .201. I didn't forget Blake Allemand in my assessment above, he's just been pretty average when I've seen him in the field and I haven't made a determination about him as a player yet. None of the pitchers were great and 1 of Devin Williams 3 walks was intentional, but he also hit a batter. Alan Sharkey (2-5) hitting the 2 hole and Luis Aviles (3-4,2B) had good nights at the plate. I'll give some props to Nick Gordon, the 5th overall pick in last year's draft for the Twins. He looked pretty lost early in the season when I saw him on TV (late April/early May) but he's been steadily getting better all year and is starting to make some "wow" plays on occasion. And if you can correctly pronounce the winning pitcher's name in 1 try I'd be thoroughly impressed. Wisconsin Recap

I don't see why we couldn't nab a competitive balance pick as it has only theoretical value as opposed to an actual player. edit. Or a pitcher as I'm posting this according the notification spewing across my phone.

It would be really nice to get out of the FSL.

Excellent point especially when you factor in the other high round disasters they've had like Matusz who ended up in the pen and Hobgood who's never made it past AA, that's quite a bit of potential talent and draft position with nothing to show at the top of the rotation.

I've watched him pitch 3-4 times, including last night. His FB has a ton of life, it's impressive, he just wasn't locating it well last night. He doesn't seem to get much secondary stuff across in good locations either so he's down in the count quite a bit or throwing pretty hittable pitches. His pitch to A-Rod was pretty bad and made me sad as I was watching at the restaurant, looked like some kind of change-up. All of the pieces are there though, I guess just depends on if you trust the Brewers or Gausman to put it together on his own, obviously Baltimore doesn't have much faith since he's available and started the year in the pen. He's either been outstanding or has gotten shelled, not much in-between. MIN really tuned him up on July 7th, and his last 2 starts have bounced his ERA from 3.09 to 5.18. The O's just don't seem to catch a break. Gausman should be better than he is, Bundy went down again with a weird shoulder problem, and Harvey has had 3 different injury issues as well. Any of those 3 guys if healthy and effective is very attractive... right now I'd be pressed to make a deal for any, unless the O's were going to give us all 3 in one shot to hedge our bets.

Josh Romanski, a pitcher turned hitter, finds baseball fun again Abbey Mastracco SEP 13, 2014

He's a tough one to stay impartial with... or at least I'm already struggling.

That's not exactly the way it went, it was the more the yearly "Farve might retire if..." and the saga got very old very fast. No player is bigger than the team I thought the Packers handled the drama year in and year out about as well as could be expected. I found the entire scenario very manipulative but even then I shed a tear or 6 watching his retirement press conference. When he decided to come back I was done with him. I admired the football player but the person left quite a bit to be desired... his exploits with Chmura and Winters as "guest bartenders" are pretty common knowledge around the Fox Valley and I don't think anyone was surprised when Chmura ended up in a hot tub with underage girls or Farve later got caught texting pictures of his junk to someone other than his wife. I'm largely indifferent to Farve now while I will always have a soft spot for players like Driver. Braun... I had serious doubts about his innocence from the start, my personal shine was off him long before he was caught. In the end he's just another professional baseball player who lied about PEDs, like everyone else before him. Only he took it a step farther and convinced everyone including his teammates and friends outside the organization that he wasn't cheating. Rose is by far the worst of the bunch and he doesn't even come across as a good guy, I don't see much latch to onto there but his career was long over by the time I was a huge baseball fan. While steroids were more about personal profit for the athlete, gambling has much greater and farther reaching consequences.

Decent control for his level.

Again, not so much.

Rattlers fight back, but come up short against Kernels By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/7/4/6/138032746/cuts/7_July22_Linehan_Rizzo_Ponce_0iwahklg_2satqxvp.jpg Tyler Linehan, Gian Rizzo, & Cody Ponce combined to toss 4-2/3 scoreless innings of relief on Wednesday afternoon at Cedar Rapids. (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers/Ann Mollica) CEDAR RAPIDS, IA - The Cedar Rapids Kernels scored five times in the bottom of the third inning to put the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in an early hole on Wednesday afternoon at Perfect Game Field. Wisconsin clawed their way back to within a run and had a chance to tie the game in the ninth, but the Kernels held on for a 5-4 victory. Cedar Rapids (56-41 overall, 15-12 second half) loaded the bases against starter David Burkhalter on an infield single, a bunt single, and a walk with no outs in the bottom of the third. Then, Edgar Corcino lined a triple to right-center and all three runners scored for a 3-0 lead. One out later, Tyler Kuresa singled through the drawn-in infield to knock in Corcino. Later in the inning, Alex Real knocked in Kuresa with a ground out and the Kernels were up 5-0. Luis Aviles got the Timber Rattlers (31-65, 8-18) on the board with a two-out solo home run in the top of the fifth. Wisconsin crept closer in the sixth with a rally against Kernels starting pitcher Ethan Mildren . Blake Allemand drew a leadoff walk and Alan Sharkey followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Carlos Leal singled to right. That scored Allemand and sent Sharkey around to third base. Elvis Rubio hit a slow roller for a 6-3 putout that scored Sharkey and moved Leal to second base. Tucker Neuhaus drew a walk and that knocked Mildren out of the game. Yorman Landa took over and got the final two outs of the sixth inning and would pitch a scoreless seventh and a scoreless eighth to keep the 5-3 lead intact for the Kernels. Wisconsin's bullpen tossed 4-2/3 scoreless innings in relief of Burkhalter. Tyler Linehan (1.2IP), Gian Rizzo (1IP), and Cody Ponce (2IP) allowed one hit, walked none, and struck out three to give the offense a chance to pull off a comeback. That comeback almost happened. Cam Booser took over for Landa in the top of the ninth and would walk Gregory Munoz and Allemand with one out. Then, Booser threw two wild pitches with Sharkey at the plate. The second pitch to the screen allowed Munoz to score and Allemand to take third as the tying run. But, Booser regrouped and got a popup and a strikeout to end the game. Allemand went 1-for 2, but was on base four times on Wednesday. He walked twice, singled, and was hit by a pitch. Leal had a two-hit game for Wisconsin, his 21st multi-hit game of the season. However, it wasn't enough and Cedar Rapids is now 13-1 in fourteen games against the Timber Rattlers this season. Game three of the series is Thursday night at Perfect Game Field. Eric Hanhold (0-1, 9.00) will get the start for the Timber Rattlers. Zach Tillery (5-4, 2.67) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Kernels. Game time is 6:35pm. The radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:15pm. The broadcast may also be heard on Tune In Radio and IHeartRadio. HOME RUN: WIS: Luis Aviles (1st, 0 on in 5th inning off Ethan Mildren, 2 outs) WP: Ethan Mildren (3-1) LP: David Burkhalter (3-6) SAVE: Cam Booser (9) TIME: 2:35 ATTN: 3,017 Wisconsin Boxscore I didn't pickup the game until top of the 6th so I missed everything David Burkhalter did and/or didn't do. Gian Rizzo has been on a hot streak, only allowing 2 of his own runs in his last 10 appearances. I'm excited to see Cody Ponce (hopefully) on the next home stand. My plan is to get every game and get as many pitchers on the gun as I can since my schedule is as free as it will be all summer. Oh, for those aren't aware, the stadium gun is regularly 1-3 MPH slow at Neuroscience Group Field for whatever reason and has been that way for years. It's nice when you have both sets of pitchers with their pro stalker IIs and my sport 2 to compare against the stadium gun. Carlos Leal (2-5) had the only multi-hit game but struck out in his other 3 appearances including to cap the game. I haven't been doing in-depth statistical analysis this year on a regular basis (time issues) so I looked up Leal's overall line and his walk rate is a tad low (17 total walks) and his strike out rate is a tad high (57 total) in 225 ABs. Hard to complain about a .799 OPS out of no where though. Wisconsin Recap

I was going to look this up later but why being the smallest were the Brewers odds so low? I figured it had to do something with payroll but if someone knows that would be awesome.

Not really, I think you missed the meaning there. I read it as he believes Kodi is still a project and Kirby will likely jump past him.

This was well said.

reilly thank you very much for the continual work you put into this process!

I'd take that in a heartbeat.

I've literally been talking about him since May. Upper 80s FB, nothing special there, could maybe project to the low 90s if we're fortunate. He's got the makings of a decent curve though at this point it's still a big and loopy high school curve with a 12-6 break, all the way down in the upper 60s - low 70s. It breaks head to knees because it's so slow and when he's good he generally locates it for strikes, if he's not dropping it for a strike hitters sit FB and hurt him bad. With some velocity gains and tightening of the curve into a true hammer he could be something, of course a 3rd pitch would help as well. It's way too early to guess where he ultimately slots though I do like him better than Zach Quintana from last year's T-Rat squad even though Zach peaked out 4 MPH faster with his FB.

Normally this would wait but since it stopped me in my tracks as I was working on a project I thought I'd bounce back to post. Ponce just hit 97 on the stadium gun in Cedar Rapids, is Colby at Perfect Game Field today I wonder? That's very exciting.

Why not both? Make players opt into the draft to take their leverage away and reduce the scouting burden, and do the logical of thing of paying MiLB players a livable wage during the season? I'm not sure why it has to be one or the other.

Dustin DeMuth - Done for the year with a spiral fracture in his hand as noted in the Transaction Thread earlier this week. Francisco Castillo - Fractured the thumb on his glove hand and has remained with the team working hard, he's very close to returning. Brandon Diaz - As noted in Monday's LR Diaz was hit by a pitch and then tagged hard on the hip after his steal of 2nd. Diaz is day to day. Zach Cooper - Elbow soreness, could be down for an extended period of time. Josh Uhen - Elbow soreness, will be activated during the upcoming home stand. Diehards will remember Uhen already had TJ surgery in college. Nathan Kirby - Has joined the team but is not active, he will not pitch for the Rattlers prior to August 1st.