TheCrew07

Right now he'll hit 7-10 HRs over the course of a season, it depends on how he fills out, he could be 10-15 guy. Unfortunately he'll probably play winter ball instead of lifting weights so I think it will come down to natural body maturation, otherwise I'd say he's an easy low 700s hitter.

Cougars rally late to beat Rattlers Herum continues to torment Wisconsin By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/2/0/8/127793208/cuts/May31_Devin_Williams_WEB_fmsluiom_s3c0ulcr.jpg Devin Williams allowed one run and struck out seven over six innings in a no decision at Kane County on Saturday night. (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers/Ann Mollica) GENEVA, IL - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers scored a run in the top of the eighth inning to tie their game with the Kane County Cougars on Saturday night at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark. However, a familiar thorn in the side of the Rattlers drove in the go-ahead run and scored an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth to send Kane County to a 3-1 win. Kane County (56-35 overall, 20-3 second half) scored a two-out run in the bottom of the fourth inning to take the lead. Marty Herum singled with one out and took second on a wild pitch. Rattlers starting pitcher Devin Williams got ahead of Michael Perez with two strikes, but Perez blooped a 2-2 pitch from Williams into right-center just out of the reach of the Wisconsin defense to score Herum from second base. The Rattlers (7-15, 30-62) had a rally snuffed out in the top of the fifth. Elvis Rubio was hit by a pitch with one out and moved to third on a single to right by Tucker Neuhaus. Brandon Diaz dropped a bunt back to the mound and Rubio tried to score. He was out easily. Kane County starter Ethan Elias escaped the jam by getting a grounder to first to end the inning. The Cougars went to the bullpen and brought Wei-Chieh Huang in for Elias to start the sixth inning. Carlos Leal drew a walk with one out and Alan Sharkey put runners on the corners with a two out single, but Huang got out of the inning with a strikeout, his third 'K' of the frame. Williams left after six innings for the Rattlers. He allowed one run on five hits, walked two, and struck out seven, but was in line for the loss. Diaz tried to start a two-out rally against Huang in the top of the seventh with a double, but he was left stranded. The Rattlers broke through in the eighth inning against Jency Solis. Carlos Leal doubled to left-center with one out and took third when Solis committed a balk. Sthervin Matos trickled a single past the mound and into centerfield through the drawn-in infield to send Leal home with the tying run. The run took Williams off the hook. Eric Hanhold, the sixth round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers took over for Williams in the bottom of the seventh inning and worked a scoreless frame. But, he ran into trouble in the bottom of the eighth. Ildemaro Vargas reached on an infield single to start the frame and was sacrificed to second. Herum got a single through the left side of the infield and Vargas just beat the throw home from Wisconsin left fielder Mitch Meyer. Herum is 24-for-60 with eighteen RBI in fifteen games against Wisconsin this season. Kane County added a run when Michael Perez singled off the glove of Neuhaus and Herum raced home before the ball could be tracked down behind the second base bag. Luis Ramirez pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the save for Kane County. Game two of the three-game series is Sunday afternoon. Jon Perrin (0-1, 12.91) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Markus Solbach (8-2, 2.46) is set to start for the Cougars. Game time is 1:00pm. The radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 12:40pm. The broadcast may also be heard on Tune In Radio and IHeartRadio. Subscribers to MiLB.TV may watch the game on that platform with the Kane County announcing crew. WP: Jency Solis (4-1) LP: Eric Hanhold (0-1) SAVE: Luis Ramirez (6) TIME: 2:40 ATTN: 7,637 Wisconsin Boxscore Devin Williams was fantastic after a couple of so-so outings which was good to see. The walks are a tad high but he's taken the jump most of us were hoping for as he's not as hittable as he was in the past. Knock the walks down and he's pretty safe bet to be a #3, if he can continue to improve his change and tighten up his curve he might be a #2. It's just really hard to project guys with 2 pitches when they are this far away. Brandon Diaz (2-5,2B) has raised his AVE all the way up to .240 which is a tremendous accomplishment. Check out his splits to see just how far he's come. Carlos Leal just keeps on keeping on, hopefully he can be our position player version of Mike Fiers. Tucker Neuhaus (2-4) also had a nice game, he had a really slow start to 2nd half so he's still just hitting .194 for the half, but is hitting .265 over his last ten. Matt Erickson is never shy about dropping hitters in the order and Tucker was batting out of the 9 spot in this contest. Wisconsin Recap

In front of Wagner as I have had no doubt his rate stats would have held up as he transitioned to AA but since he hasn't pitched I don't have any stats to back me up. I'll be pissed if they messed around all year trying to avoid TJ surgery only to end up doing it in August or September and have him lose 2 years of development. My last 6 out were Tucker Neuhaus, Tyler Perry, Chris McFarland, Troy Stokes, Yadiel Rivera, and Victor Roache. Having been burned by 1 year wonders in the past I'd like to see more of Rivera and Roache performing well at the plate before I declare WOAH SOLVVD for either. Neuhaus and McFarland are probably deserving but with all of the SS in the system chances are one of them will play 2B pushing our minor league 2B down the depth chart. There's a good chance one of our SS will up being a 3B as well unless the Brewers trade for one along the way. If Coulter doesn't bounce back in the 2nd half he's going to slide significantly the next time we do this, he's just been so slow to make adjustments. Starting out each season on fire followed by long periods of mediocrity is getting old. The good news is that his OPS is actually better at home than on the road.

1. Orlando Arcia 2. Gilbert Lara 3. Tyrone Taylor 4. Clint Coulter 5. Tyler Wagner 6. Kodi Medeiros 7. Devin Williams 8. Trent Clark 9. Monte Harrison 10. Taylor Jungmann 11. Jorge Lopez 12. Michael Reed 13. Taylor Williams 14. Jake Gatewood 15. Nathan Kirby 16. Marcus Diplan 17. Cody Ponce 18. Demi Orimoloye 19. Wei Chung Wang 20. Carlos Leal 21. Joantgel Segovia 22. David Denson 23. Cy Sneed 24. Angel Ventura 25. Miguel Diaz For years these lists have been incredibly easy but after the last 2 drafts this is actually becoming very difficult to do. I don't have a specific methodology, though I do try to weigh all of the variables and combine level, likely hood of a MLB career, and ceiling into my list. I don't personally value relievers anywhere near as highly as starting pitchers or position players so there just wasn't room on my list for them. Nor do I react to extreme variations in performance as some others may do. In the interests of full disclosure here are my comments on the players on my list: 1. Orlando Arcia - I couldn't be more pleased with his development, his tools are special and he already has sneaky power 2. Gilbert Lara - The Brewers only signed 1 player last year on the international marke and the early returns suggest it was worth it. 3. Tyrone Taylor - Steady as always, more a singles hitter right now but a good CF. 4. Clint Coulter - My most frustrating prospect because he just won't rake, he's still very inconsistent at the plate, at least he's not being asked to play CF anymore. 5. Tyler Wagner - Love the low BB rate and his slider, low SO rate worries me. 6. Kodi Medeiros - All the movement one could ask for but doesn't throw many quality strikes yet. 7. Devin Williams - More control orientated than Kodi, but not near as filthy, has a decent change. 8. Trent Clark - Very impressive debut thus far, what's not to like? 9. Monte Harrison - Monte has started to relax and let his talent shine through in Helena, I love me some athleticism. 10. Taylor Jungmann - A hot start at MLB hasn't changed my opinion of where Taylor ultimately slots but his debut could not have gone better. 11. Jorge Lopez - He's been making incremental improvements every year, this has by far been his most consistent season. He's got 2nd tier velocity, flashed a plus curve from time to time when I saw him pitch in WI. 12. Michael Reed - Everything you want in an OF except the range for CF or the power for the corners. Right now he's a tweener but his 5 HRs already match last year's total and is encouraging. 13. Taylor Williams - The organization thought he'd pitch this season, so far not at all, too bad really. 14. Jake Gatewood - A better SS than I would have guessed, he's not a natural but makes quick adjustments. Draft day scouting report still holds... tons of natural power and a long swing. 15. Nathan Kirby - Another high draft pick LHP! I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure why he wasn't throwing strikes which concerns me as do the injury issues. However the raw stuff is good enough to be a top of the rotation starter down the road IF he can throw strikes. 16. Marcus Diplan - Incredibly intriguing young arm, I'm really looking forward to him in WI next year. 17. Cody Ponce - Sort of a similar story to Kirby... good stuff, inconsistent control and results. 18. Demi Orimoloye - See Monte Harrison only change out Helena for AZ. I said during the draft he was probably going end up being my favorite pick, and he has. 19. Wei Chung Wang - Haters will hate, he still has #3 upside even though he started the season poorly. 20. Carlos Leal - What a wonderful surprise, solid all the way around offensively and defensively with a plus arm. 21. Joantgel Segovia - All he's done since signing is hit, unfortunately they are all singles so far this season, hopefully he can develop some power. 22. David Denson - I'm going to have to stop tagging breakout players because every time I do it seems to set them back a year or 2. David has made tremendous strides in the field and he wasn't as overmatched as it appeared in WI, he was just patient to a fault which put him down the count far too often. 23. Cy Sneed - Probably a back of the rotation type at MLB... 90+ FB, decent but not outstanding off speed, good control. 24. Angel Ventura - He's actually filthy, though a notch below Medeiros, his delivery just has a million moving parts so he'll lose the strike zone for extended periods at this point in his career. 25. Miguel Diaz - Lame injuries! Hopefully he's back on the mound for 2016. edit. For Diaz I meant next season, it was late...

Wisconsin hangs on for a win in game two Rattlers top River Bandits 3-2 to earn doubleheader split http://www.milb.com/assets/images/4/0/0/128487400/cuts/6_May3Burkhalter_pxswc5b9_c2viluln.jpg David Burkhalter pitched six scoreless innings in game two of Friday's doubleheader against the Quad Cities River Bandits and earned his third win of the season. GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers took a 3-0 lead into the final inning of the nightcap of Friday's doubleheader against the Quad Cities River Bandits at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Quad Cities loaded the bases with one out, but the Rattlers held on for a 3-2 victory thanks to a diving catch of a line drive by first baseman Alan Sharkey for the final out. Wisconsin (30-61 overall, 7-14 second half) grabbed the lead with two runs in the first inning. Blake Allemand singled and took second on an error. Dustin DeMuth extended his current hitting streak to ten games with a towering ground rule double to deep right-center field to knock in Allemand. Carlos Leal followed with an RBI single to send DeMuth home for a 2-0 lead. David Burkhalter made the start for the Timber Rattlers and pitched six scoreless innings. Burkhalter, the sixth round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2014 draft, allowed four hits, walked one, and struck out one in the longest start of his professional career. The Timber Rattlers added to their lead in the bottom of the sixth. DeMuth, who went 3-for-3 in game two, singled to start the inning. Sthervin Matos lined a triple to right with one out to drive in DeMuth for the insurance run to put Wisconsin up 3-0. Quad Cities (58-32, 13-9) rallied in the seventh against reliever Luke Curtis. Jason Martin tripled and Drew Ferguson drew a walk to start the inning. Curtis got the first out on a shallow fly to left field, but walked Alex Hernandez on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases. Garrett Stubbs knocked in Martin and send Ferguson to third with a sacrifice fly to right. Curtis got ahead of Luis Reynoso with two quick strikes, but the number nine hitter in the River Bandits order lined an 0-2 pitch to right to get Ferguson home and make the score 3-2. Bobby Boyd was next and he hit a hard, low liner heading to right field on the first pitch he saw. But, Sharkey dove to his right and snared the liner for the third out to preserve the Wisconsin victory. Curtis picked up his second save of the season. Allemand went 5-for-7 in the doubleheader and DeMuth added four hits over the twinbill. Burkhalter, who picked up his third win of the season, was aided by Leal, his catcher, throwing out three Quad Cities runners on the bases in the game. The victory over the River Bandits was the first of the season for Wisconsin in nine tries. The Timber Rattlers begin a six-game road trip with a game against the Kane County Cougars on Saturday night. Devin Williams (2-6, 3.36) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Ethan Elias (9-3 2.52) is set to start for the Cougars at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark. Game time is 6:30pm. The radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:10pm. The broadcast may also be heard on Tune In Radio and IHeartRadio. Subscribers to MiLB.TV may watch the game on that platform with the Kane County announcing crew. WP: David Burkhalter (3-5) LP: Christian Powell (1-1) SAVE: Luke Curtis (2) TIME: 1:40 ATTN: 4,943 Wisconsin Game 2 Boxscore David Burkhalter wasn't as sharp as he's been, but he got the job done, such low strike out totals have been a rare occurrence for him this season. Literally every noteworthy hit and or hitting performance was covered in the game story but quite the day for both Blake Allemand and Dustin Demuth. Alan Sharkey can really pick it at 1B, saving the Rattlers in this one! Wisconsin Game 2 Recap

Bandits take game one 4-2 over Rattlers By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/7/0/2/135638702/cuts/Allemand_WEB_aiiwjghs_vm2hsfqr.jpg Blake Allemand had three of Wisconsin's five hits in their game one loss to the Quad Cities River Bandits in Friday's doubleheader GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Quad Cities River Bandits defeated the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 4-2 in game one of a doubleheader on Friday night at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Jason Martin gave the River Bandits (58-31 overall, 13-8 second half) the lead in the second inning. Martin launched a home run to right with one out on a 1-1 pitch from Wisconsin starter Cody Ponce. The solo shot made it 1-0. Quad Cities added to their lead with a two-out rally in the top of the third. Alex Bregman singled with two outs and nobody on base. Nick Tanielu was next and he doubled into the corner in left to drive in Bregman. Ramon Laureano was next and his double off the base of the wall in left field knocked in Tanielu for a 3-0 lead. The Timber Rattlers (29-61, 6-13) threatened to get on the board with a two-out rally in the bottom of the third and Brandon Diaz drew a walk with two away and Blake Allemand reached on an infield single. Dustin DeMuth sent a line drive to the gap in left-center, but centerfielder Bobby Boyd ran down the ball and made the game for the final out. Ponce got the first two outs in the top of the fourth inning, but things got a little sloppy for the Wisconsin defense and that allowed a run to score. Ryan Bottger's sinking line drive dropped between Mitch Meyer and Brandon Diaz as there was miscommunication between the outfielders as to who would make the play. The ball rolled all the way to the fence for a triple. The relay throw from Allemand to third hit Bottger. The ball skipped to the sidewall behind third base and Bottger jogged home with the run to make it 4-0. Wisconsin rallied in the bottom of the fifth inning. Greg McCall drew a walk to start the inning against Bandits starter Francis Martes. He was on third with two outs after a pair of grounders. Martes mishandled a slow chopper out in front of the plate off the bat of Diaz and McCall scored. Allemand kept the inning going with a single, his third hit of the game. DeMuth cashed in Diaz with a single to pull the Rattlers to within 4-2 and knock Martes out of the game. DeMuth also extended his current hitting streak to nine games with his RBI single. Michael Freeman, the seventh round pick of the Houston Astros in the 2015 draft, took over for Martes and got the final out of the fifth to keep Quad Cities up 4-2. Freeman would allow a one out walk in the sixth and a one out double in the seventh, but would not allow a run to earn his first professional victory. The Timber Rattlers are 0-8 against the River Bandits this season. HOME RUN: QC: Jason Martin (7th, 0 on in 2nd inning off Cody Ponce, 1 out) WP: Michael Freeman (1-1) LP: Cody Ponce (0-1) TIME: 1:50 Wisconsin Game 1 Boxscore Blake's Allemand's day highlighted above was about it in this one as the Rattlers managed 5 hits and 3 walks. Wisconsin Game 2 Recap

Wow that was too obvious to miss, good call.

The top of the 2009 draft was awful... no doubt. However it's hard to complain about a draft that produced Khris Davis, Scooter Gennett, Tyler Cravy, Caleb Theilbar, and Mike Fiers. No impact talent there but plenty of averagish MLB role players.

It's been since 2011 that a significant Brewer signing has come down to the wire, and it still sucks. How about some good news please thanks!

Prospect Hot Sheet (July 17): Glasnow In Command July 17, 2015 by Staff Report

So glad we didn't draft him.

I think the Brewers should re-tool a little bit every year and cycle away aging players, I have never been in favor a complete rebuild and have been arguing against that eventuality since I started posting about organization building years ago. However regardless of what happens with trades there is no good reason to extend or offer Parra a QO, he'll be expensive and is having a career year at the plate. Why would we buy high on him? We can obtain similar offensive production to his career norm from cheaper players. Defensively it would depend whom we are playing in LF instead of him, we all know Davis' arm issues... Lind isn't a very good total package, he's a platoon bat who's done nothing to impress me defensively this year. He might be a slight upgrade over Reynolds in that regard, but like Fielder before him he brings down the value of every other IF, himself, and the pitchers. He's also having his best season since he was a 25 year old in 2009. My answer to trading Lind would depend on what the deal is, they don't have to trade him but if some team is willing to offer up a potential impact piece or 2, why not? We could Clark/Rogers platoon 1B for 2016 as I doubt Lind will hit around near a .900 OPS in 2016. Regardless I'm not holding out much hope that the Brewers will make significant moves involving their most valuable players, though that would be my wish, I just don't have any confidence in this front office to work with any type of long term view.

He's basically an organizational stooge, I'm not surprised at all.

T-Rats Postponed, Doubleheader Friday. And the ticket exchange policy is always handy for these events.

Seems like a typical Brewer hitter.

Archer references for all!

Depends on the team and situation, no one has really swapped B type prospects in the past, and it hasn't been done in a while, but that doesn't mean it's not a good idea. Hamilton/Volquez (both limited MLB experience at the time) and Garza/Young are the prospect for prospect trades that immediately come to mind for me. I know there where additional players in those deals, I just grabbed the headliners. If we were looking to do a prospect for prospect swap today we'd be talking about moving someone like Orlando Arcia for Lucas Giolito of the Nationals, or Tyler Glasnow of the Pirates, or Alex Reyes of the Cardinals. Washington has a declining 29 year old Ian Desmond at SS, Pittsburgh a very average 28 year old Jordy Mercer, and St Louis 33 year old Jhonny Peralta who's contract expires after 2017. None of those pitching prospects are can't miss types, but neither is Arcia as questions will linger about his long term offensive production, regardless of what I think about his hand/eye coordination, until he proves otherwise. On a club on the downside of their run I don't think prospect for prospect deals necessarily make much sense, I do believe they would have made a ton of sense in 2008 and 2009. I'd be somewhat down about losing Arcia because he's a personal favorite of mine (like Odorizzi at the time of the Greinke trade) but I'd love to get a legitimate front line starting pitcher to slot into the rotation for 2016 or 2017 so I'd have mixed feelings. However since I believe starting pitching > position players and I think it's always good idea to trade up value a deal like that would be in the best long term interests of the organization. Both strategies have their merits but since the Brewers have been trending downwards at the MLB level I'd rather move MLB pieces and try to acquire 2 possible top of the rotation starters than do a prospect for prospect swap. Let's load up on prospects now to mitigate risk and have ammunition to permanently fill holes at a position of greater need in the future.

I wouldn't touch Appel with a 10 foot pole today, at this point I doubt he'll ever be a top of the rotation starter.

Tucker was the feature interview on the latest edition of Timber Rattlers Field Pass and he indicated that Bob Miscik and Matt Erickson thought he'd be a better fit at 2nd, right now he's just happy to play wherever they ask him. For what it's worth Matos made another outstanding play last night ranging into the hole to his left and cutting off a ball in front of Allemand, then spinning and gunning the runner by 2 steps at 1st. It's not very often a 3B will make the play on that ball, Matos is real deal at 3rd. The longer Neuhaus has been at 2nd, the better he looks over there as well. Going around the horn I think Matos, Allemand, Neuhaus, and Sharkey is the Rattlers' best defensive infield. Neuhaus' range at 2nd is comparable to Gennett, maybe a half step to step better at the same point in their careers, but Tucker has a much better arm than Scooter.

Bandits beat Rattlers in ten innings By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/5/9/0/123941590/cuts/5_May12_DustinMeMuth_5cy0j5xb_z920zg9p.jpg Dustin DeMuth had a double and drove in a run for the Timber Rattlers Wednesday night against Quad Cities. (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers/Ann Mollica) GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers outhit the Quad Cities River Bandits 11-6 on Wednesday night at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. However, the River Bandits defeated the Timber Rattlers 2-1 in ten innings. The River Bandits scored first. Bobby Boyd singled to start the game. He stole second and third with one out. Alex Bregman grounded out to second to drive in Boyd for a 1-0 lead. The Rattlers tied the game in the third inning. Mitch Meyer singled to start the inning and stole second. A single by Blake Allemand moved Meyer to third. Dustin DeMuth followed with an RBI single to drive in Meyer with the tying run. The hit also extended DeMuth's current hitting streak to eight games. Wisconsin had plenty of chances to take the lead. In the fourth, Alan Sharkey and Elvis Rubio had consecutive singles to put runners on the corners with one out. But, Sharkey was thrown out trying to score on a grounder to first and River Bandits starter Joshua James got the final out of the inning. DeMuth doubled off the first base bag with two outs in the fifth inning to knock James out of the game. Reliever Elieser Hernandez got the final out of the frame to keep the game tied. In the seventh, Brandon Diaz and Allemand had consecutive singles with two outs, but Hernandez got the final out to strand the runners. In the eighth, Sharkey doubled with two outs, but Hernandez escaped again to keep the score tied 1-1. The Rattlers pitchers kept the River Bandits quiet from the first through the ninth. Kodi Medeiros allowed one run on two hits over three innings. Jon Perrin tossed two scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Angel Ventura retired twelve of the first thirteen batters he faced in his first four innings of work. Neuhaus singled in the bottom of the ninth to put the winning run on base, but the Rattlers couldn't advance him or pinch runner Gregory Munoz. Ventura retired the first batter he saw in the top of the tenth, but allowed a triple to Sean McMullen on an 0-2 pitch. Ventura jammed Ferguson, but the soft line drive back through the middle of the diamond was just out of Ventura's reach and the ball trickled into centerfield to drive in McMullen with the go-ahead run. Wisconsin went down in order in the bottom of the tenth. It was only the second time in the game the Rattlers were retired 1-2-3. The Timber Rattlers are 0-7 against the River Bandits this season. They are also 1-7 in extra innings and 5-20 in games decided by one run in 2015. Game two of the series is Thursday night. Zach Hirsch (2-4, 3.28) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Quad Cities will send Francis Martes (3-2, 1.14) to the mound. Game time is 7:05pm. The Timber Rattlers will have a special guest to go along with a bobblehead giveaway on Thursday night. Clintonville, Wisconsin native Mike Jirschele is currently the third base coach for the Kansas City Royals. Klein Automotive presents a bobblehead featuring Jirschele from his time as a coach for the Appleton Foxes. Since it is the Major League All-Star Break, Jirschele will also be available for autographs at the ballpark courtesy of Dairy Queen before he heads down to throw out a first pitch. Tomorrow is a 95.9 KISS-FM Thirsty Thursday and that means 16oz soda, beer, and Arty's Old Fashioned drinks are available for just $2. If you can't make it out to the ballpark, there will be several ways to follow the action. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel 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. WP: Ryan Thompson (3-2) LP: Angel Ventura (3-4) TIME: 2:52 ATTN: 4,750 Wisconsin Boxscore I've lost track of how many times I've watched Kodi Medeiros pitch now, but I'm still fascinated at how he gets ground balls out of pitches above the thighs. And That postulated that Kodi is on an innings reduction for the rest of the year and that's exactly what is happening. He's a 2-3 inning guy from here on out, it's been brought up in a couple of interviews now. The Bandits have been really tough on Kodi this year, they don't regularly swing at his stuff out of the zone like some of the other teams and really make him work. Lot's of 2-2 and full counts when he's faced them but he limited the damage to 1 run tonight, and it was a fairly questionable run. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before but Angel Ventura seems to work 90-93 from what I've been able to gather, I still hope to get the gun on him and get an entire outing. Jon Perrin was spotting the outside corner at the knees regularly, he threw 19 of 23 pitches for strikes... just phenomenal. 11 hits and 1 run is kind of the story on the offensive side this season, the Rattlers rarely string enough hits together to score as they should. Brandon Diaz (2-5), Blake Allemand (2-5), Dustin DeMuth (2-5,2B), and Alan Sharkey (3-5,2B) had the multi-hit games for the T-Rats. Wisconsin Recap

Alright I'm starting to get a little nervous about Kirby, I figured that he would be signed by today. Here are the unsigned 1st round picks according to BA: 1 1 Diamondbacks Dansby Swanson SS Vanderbilt TN 1 14 Braves Kolby Allard LHP San Clemente (Calif.) HS CA 1 16 Yankees James Kaprielian RHP UCLA CA 1 24 Dodgers Walker Buehler RHP Vanderbilt TN 1 35 Dodgers Kyle Funkhouser RHP Louisville KY

I haven't been around since last Friday but I just wanted to say that looking at prospects who were traded as "throw ins" on deals and then looking at players who were the legit target of the trade are 2 entirely different concepts. Sure most throw in players down in A ball or lower don't amount to anything, that's why you take a flyer on them there and teams are willing to tack on a couple in trades, and of course prospects in AAA or AA are much easier to project. I have not, nor will I ever advocate trading for a MLB ready back end starter like we did with Overbay, I would much rather search out legitimate talent in the lower minors and pluck it before that players becomes a "thing". I absolutely understand it's the harder road, and requires the most patience, but I think that's the route that will ultimately yield the most talent and impact in the end. Talent is my ultimate focus and unless we're trading someone like Gomez or Lucroy we aren't going to get back MLB ready or near MLB ready impact talent. If we want a pitcher like Daniel Norris of Toronto then we have to be willing to give up a MLB piece with enough value to get him. To arbitrarily say say that MLB player value > prospect value, that's not so true anymore. 10 years ago it was absolutely true, but no one is giving up a potential #1 or #2 starting pitcher in the minors for a player who's MLB average, we have to be willing to give impact talent to get it back it back. To me that's the fundamental disconnect in the debate, the minute we decide any MLB player shouldn't be traded we limit trade possibilities and the potential return. Some teams will be interested in Parra, some teams in Gomez, some in Lucroy, some in Segura... and of course all of those teams will have farm systems of various quality and their best prospects may not match up well with our needs. I believe in trading the player who nets you the greatest return so if there is an awesome deal that matches our organizational needs out there for Lucroy but there are only quantity (vs quality) deals out there for Gomez, then you hang onto Gomez and trade Lucroy. More often than not teams will trade the most expendable player which of course will limit the possible destinations and possible return, unless the team happens into a sweet spot where there is a bidding war for that player. That's why I was willing to trade Hardy and Fielder when very few or maybe in truth no other posters on this site were. If the player isn't or shouldn't be part of the long term future of the team then I'm all about extracting the best possible value for that player. Rarely will that value be achieved through a comp pick after the player leaves in FA or in a rental deadline deal, especially with the rule changes in compensation. Nor am I looking to move Segura and replace him with Arcia, I'd like that group of players in AA to move together and come up around the same time. We have cheap replacements for Segura already within the organization which would allow Arica to finish up this year in AA and start next year in AAA. At the end of last week JB12 said, and I'm paraphrasing, that every season is special and shouldn't be thrown away. I can certainly sympathize with that point of view but I don't feel it's realistic. There was nothing special about Brewer baseball from '92 to '05 and the way the team has operated since has ensured that only 2 of the seasons since were "special". The memories created from family and friends at or watching games with us is special, but the product on the field is not special, nor has it been outside of 2008 and 20011. If we want to build something lasting it will require a different tact. The ownership, front office, and fans have to quit chasing 1 or 2 extra wins at various positions in a calendar year and take a longer view of the franchise. The only compelling reason to sacrifice talent for immediate MLB production is a product of impatience and selfishness; there's very little difference between a team that wins 74 games vs a team that wins 82. Neither is going to post season, neither is going to a win championship, and neither is truly competitive. A .500 record was a big deal to climb out of the hole the organization dug itself, but that shouldn't be the benchmark of a "good" or even "acceptable" season. Something around 92 wins should be the goal, having a top 3 rotation in the NL should be the goal, not building an average rotation with an upper half offense because it's not possible to win a Championship that way. The Phillies tried it for years, they had average pitching with the best offense in the NL and couldn't do anything with it until they acquired the necessary pitching. Compare 2006 and 2007 with 2008 and 2009 from a pitching standpoint, then look at where the Brewers have ranked in pitching and where they ultimately finished since 2005. This league is about pitching and the Brewers haven't had it, that's where the focus needs to be, and until the Brewers get it none of the rest really matters.

So when I woke up after falling asleep last night waiting on the game story I didn't take the time to add any additional thoughts. Last night Zach Hirsch had major issues with the home plate umpire, like Angel Ventura earlier in the week, and he let it get to him. Zach doesn't have much margin for error as you saw when I posted his velocity in Monday's Link Report. Every "lost" strike is going hurt someone like Hirsch much more than the guys who are working 90+, that's just life. However the Rattlers continually seem to be on the wrong end of this stuff... I've watched enough sports to know that right or wrong bad teams rarely get the marginal calls to go in their direction, and the while the Rattlers have good individual talent they aren't playing well as a team, and their record is accurate reflection of what they've done. What I mean to suggest is that they haven't been unlucky, they've just been really poor in one facet of the game or another which limits the team's margin error. If they pitch well then no one hits, if they hit well then the pitching leaves quite a bit to be desired, and so on... they just aren't putting together many well played contests from all angles.

Snappers walkoff Rattlers on Saturday night By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/1/3/8/134167138/cuts/7_1_Diaz_WEB_a7n1p375_20thx6mo.jpg Brandon Diaz had two hits, scored twice, walked twice, drove in a run, and had an outfield assist for the Timber Rattlers on Saturday night. (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers/Ann Mollica) BELOIT, WI - Justin Higley had a big night for the Beloit Snappers as they rallied to defeat the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 6-5 in eleven innings Saturday night at Pohlman Field. Higley drove in three runs, including the game-winner in the bottom of the eleventh, as the Snappers rallied from a 5-1 deficit. The Timber Rattlers bats went to work right away. Brandon Diaz and Tucker Neuhaus drew walks to start the game against Beloit starter Junior Mendez. The Snappers righty got the first out of the inning, but gave up an RBI single to Carlos Leal and an RBI double to Elvis Rubio. Wisconsin (29-58 overall, 6-11 second half) was up 2-0. Wisconsin doubled their lead in the top of the second. Greg McCall was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Diaz doubled to left to knock in McCall. Neuhaus followed with another RBI double and the Rattlers were up 4-0. Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Wily Peralta made the start for the Timber Rattlers as part of his rehabilitation assignment. He retired the side in order in both the first and second inning. Beloit got a pair of hits to start the third and Peralta came back to strikeout the next two batters before leaving on his pitch limit. Zach Cooper took over for Peralta and gave up an RBI single to Trent Gilbert before getting the final out. Wisconsin pushed their lead to 5-1 in the top of the sixth. McCall singled with one out and moved to second on a balk. Greg Munoz singled to left-center and McCall scored. Beloit (33-54, 7-10) rallied to tie the game in the sixth against Zach Hirsch. A hit batsman, a single, and a one-out walk loaded the bases for the Snappers. Iolana Akau hit a hard grounder off Hirsch that deflected to Neuhaus and the Rattlers turned that into an out at first, but a run scored and the other runners on base moved into scoring position. Higley's first big hit of the night came after the Akau grounder. The count was worked to 3-2 before Higley lined a single to center that scored both runs and the Rattlers lead fell to one run. Higley wasn't done in the inning. He stole second with James Harris at the plate and took third on a passed ball. Harris hit a grounder near second and Munoz ranged over from short to field the ball. The pick was clean, but the throw to first was wild and Higley scored the tying run on the error. Wisconsin's best chances to score came in the eighth and the eleventh. In the eighth, Munoz and Diaz drew walks with two outs, but Carlos Navas came out of the bullpen to get the final out. In the eleventh, Dustin DeMuth lined a pitch off the batter's eye in deep center field with two outs for a double. But, Navas got the final out there to set the stage for the bottom of the eleventh. Luke Curtis, Wisconsin's fourth pitcher of the game, took over for Gian Rizzo, who tossed three scoreless innings. Curtis got ahead of Max Kuhn with two quick strikes. Kuhn would work the count full by fouling off eleven different two-strike pitches before walking on the seventeenth pitch of the plate appearance. Curtis got the first out of the inning on a strikeout, but Higley ended the game by lining a double on a 3-2 pitch to the gap in right-center. Kuhn raced around the bases and beat the relay throw easily to score the game-winning run. Watching the Snappers celebrate at Pohlman Field has become a familiar sight for Wisconsin. Saturday night was the fourth time Beloit has beaten the Timber Rattlers in walkoff fashion in 2015. Wisconsin also fell to 1-6 in extra innings this season. Game three of the series is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Pohlman Field. Devin Williams (2-5, 3.27) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. The Snappers will have Brett Graves (7-3, 4.65) as their starter. Game time is 2:00pm. Catch the radio broadcast of the game on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 1:40pm. The broadcast may also be heard on Tune In Radio and IHeartRadio. WP: Carlos Navas (3-1) LP: Luke Curtis (6-2) TIME: 3:50 ATTN: 1,493 Wisconsin Boxscore Wisconsin Recap

The AZ line-up only had 2 guys hitting below .280 tonight while Carlos Leal is the only T-Rat with a significant number of plate appearances over that mark.