TheCrew07

I believe every signing over $15K counts against the pool, I'd have to go back and look for the exact #, but you'd think the Brewers would at least be looking to get "prospects" back onto the team after only singing Lara last year and then signing a bunch of 2nd and 3rd chance players to fill out this year's roster. My point is that Brewers would conceivably have around $1 million of pool space available if they didn't sign another big name so And That's premise still holds, but the Brewers didn't give up much to get extra money to sign Lara last year. Also a reminder that money itself isn't traded, but the "slots". edit. Million, not $1.

Brewers Agree To Sign No. 29 International Prospect Jose Sibrian July 2, 2015 by Ben Badler The Brewers have agreed to sign Venezuelan catcher Jose Sibrian, the No. 29 international prospect for July 2. His bonus will be $550,000. Sibrian, a 16-year-old righthanded hitter, is 6 feet, 175 pounds and hasn’t been catching for long but has already earned praise for his defense and plus arm. He trains with Jose Montero. Baseball America subscribers can access a complete scouting report on Sibrian.

Quiet day so far in the division, but we're just getting started. Team-by-Team International Signings Tracker July 2, 2015 by Ben Badler

Cubs Agree To Sign No. 12 International Prospect Aramis Ademan July 2, 2015 by Ben Badler

Exactly what you would think, the one stop shop to the BA top 30 prospect signings. Where The Top 30 International Prospects Have Signed July 2, 2015 by Ben Badler

I don't really think there's such a thing as a quick rundown, I would suggest reading the various BA articles regarding the signings over the last 3 international signing threads.

Cedar Rapids scores in ninth to beat Wisconsin 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 a pair of doubles, a walk, and an RBI for the Rattlers on Wednesday night. (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers/Ann Mollica) GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers rallied with two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to tie their game with the Cedar Rapids Kernels at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium on Wednesday night. But, Rafael Valera hit a two-out RBI single in the top of the ninth and the Kernels beat the Rattlers 3-2. Max Murphy gave Cedar Rapids (45-32 overall, 4-3 second half) the early lead. He tripled with one out in the top of the second inning to drive in Alex Real from second base. Murphy has thirteen RBI in eleven games against Wisconsin this season. He has a total of 28 RBI in 65 games this season. Rattlers starting pitcher Zach Hirsch eleven of the next twelve batters he faced. In the top of the sixth, Edgar Corcino reached on an error to start the inning. He moved to second on a wild pitch and - after a Hirsch strikeout - took third on a grounder. Real got Corcino home with a single and the unearned run gave the Kernels a 2-0 lead. Cedar Rapids starting pitcher Felix Jorge allowed four hits over six scoreless innings despite allowing the leadoff man to reach in the first three innings. Two of those three leadoff hits were doubles. Michael Theofanopoulos entered the game for the Kernels in the bottom of the seventh and retired the Rattlers (22-52, 2-5) in order. But, it was a different story in the bottom of the eighth. Greg McCall singled to start the Wisconsin eighth and Alan Sharkey drew a walk with one out. Brandon Diaz lined a double to left on a 3-1 pitch and McCall scored. The ball was misplayed in left and that allowed Sharkey to score the tying run. Khris Davis, who is with Wisconsin on a rehabilitation assignment from the Milwaukee Brewers, was the next batter for the Rattlers. However, the Kernels elected to walk Davis intentionally. Theofanopoulos got out of the inning by retiring the next batter on a ground out. Davis went 0-for-3 with a walk in the game. He is scheduled to appear in four more games for the Timber Rattlers on his rehabilitation assignment. Gian Rizzo gave the Rattlers a chance to get back into the game with a perfect seventh and a perfect eighth. In the top of the ninth, Scott Lieser allowed a leadoff single to Real, the third hit of the night for Real. Tanner English came on to pinch run for Real and was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Lieser got the second out on a popout, but Valera lined a single to left and English scored the go-ahead run. Trevor Hildenberger retired the Rattlers in order in the bottom of the ninth for his ninth save of the season. The Kernels are 11-1 against the Timber Rattlers this season, including 9-0 against Wisconsin at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The Timber Rattlers begin a short two-game road trip with a game against the Beloit Snappers on Thursday night. Devin Williams (2-4, 3.12) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Brett Graves (6-3, 4.89) is scheduled to start for the Snappers. Game time is 7:00pm. Catch the radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:40. The broadcast may also be heard on Tune In Radio and IHeartRadio. WP: Michael Theofanopoulos (2-2) LP: Scott Lieser (0-2) SAVE: Trevor Hildenberger (9) TIME: 2:25 ATTN: 3,072 Rattler Radio Postgame Post – July 1, 2015 Am I the only one who doesn't like rehab assignments? Half the interview questions end up being about the big league player which is just of no interest to me. I want nuggets of wisdom, not drivel about the rehab timeline. Wisconsin Boxscore So I was home for literally 15 minutes today, and of course in that 15 minutes between work and family commitments I completely forgot to set the DVR even though I was positive I did, so when I got home 45 minutes ago I was surprised to find I have nothing more to offer regarding Blake Allemand's debut than his 0-4 effort and short discussion in Matt Erickson's post game interview linked above in the Rattler Radio section. Brandon Diaz is ! He's pushed his last 10 up to .433 now, and his BA all the way to .230, which considering where it was is awfully impressive. Dustin DeMuth (2-4,2B) had the other multi-hit game and while he's been fairly consistent, he's been putting up lots of 1-4 type games mixed with the occasional 0-fer so his last 10 was surprisingly only .231. Zach Hirsch continued the recent trend of starting pitching doing very well only to be sabotaged by the BP and lack of offense in the end. If this club ever puts it together they could be quite a bit of fun in the 2nd half. ... and yes, everyone needs a little Sterling Archer, "Danger Zone!" in their life! Wisconsin Recap

I'm not sure why I found that so funny, but I did...

Yep but he's not a lefty!

Starting off much the thread much earlier than usual simply because Jason Groome is my early favorite LHP for 2016! Tournament of Stars: Groome Shines June 26, 2015 by Hudson Belinsky

None in this articled tied to the Brewers at this time. More International Prospects To Watch July 1, 2015 by Ben Badler

People were excited before he set foot on US soil... so I don't think so. Very exciting for you locals to be able to check out 2nd round RHP Cody Ponce so quickly in Appleton, enjoy. Is he moving up to A-ball or did you mean Helena? Gotta keep up!

Are we sure the Brewers aren't already statistically orientated? Players like Wolf, Lohse, Marcum, Lind, and Cameron would seem to fit the sabermetric mode more than the scouting mold, players with warts who aren't sexy but are productive. Mark A. has mentioned "spreadsheets" on a couple of occasions and Melvin talked about taking the organization in that direction early in his tenure as well. I actually think that's one of the reasons the Brewers are relatively good at "patching" but not "building", they analyze their targets sabermetrically. They get most out of the money they have available spend but in the end all that really means the payroll is always near the redline and the team will produce around an average rate. Or put another way, the payroll is maxed out and the team will have the potential to be good, but never great. I don't want Dipoto, I don't want another puppet GM, and I have a hard time believing all front offices aren't using sabermetrics on at least some level. I'm much more concerned with a GM's philosophy on organization building and how they assign value to players than anything else.

The same prospect And That linked to earlier, Jose Sibrian, is the only one linked to the Brewers. I have to wonder if this is about a dearth of talent or the fact that the team is once again putting the majority of it's budget towards the MLB roster in a season of declining attendance and therefore revenue? I don't expect the Brewers to max out their pool every year, but after 2 years of making a splash it would seem we are back to the bargain bin for the most part. I'd like to see a couple of mid range bonuses in that $500k range or more each year, $500k is basically the equivalent of a 4th round pick. I hope to be proven wrong. Projected Signing Teams For Top 30 Prospects July 1, 2015 by Ben Badler

Proven platoon bat sure, proven middle order of the hitter hardly. We need to stop latching onto players because we like them or they are productive in the moment. Lind means basically nothing to the Brewers, he's not part of the solution, he's actually part of the problem. He's a short duration player, over the age of 30, with limited skills and injury issues holding down a roster spot. He shouldn't have a long term future in Milwaukee. He has value as a player, but he's too old to be and doesn't have enough time left on his contract to be a factor the next time the Brewers are competitive. I find it completely frustrating that so many people will not get past individual player vs player arguments and take a wider of view of the organization. Holding onto Lind would be as wasteful as singing Lohse and Garza. We need to stop chasing a couple of extra meaningless wins and focus on building something that can stand up for a decade or more. Just because a player is better than your current alternatives does not mean he is the best choice for the organization in the near or long term. Why is perpetually floating around .500 as we have been since 2005 preferable to other alternatives? I think it's simply because many are afraid of returning the to the futility of the past. Fear of the unknown doesn't motivate me, and this roller coaster of mediocrity is as good as it's going to get operating the way the Brewers have been. Operating in the middle with no clear direction except to patch holes each year is what the majority of sports franchises do, and why the majority of them of them continually fail. They may rise up for a brief moment when the stars align perfectly for them, but they won't sustain success of any significant length of time. Finally, it's awful silly to whine about a prospect being ready for 3-4 years when that's actually exactly when we'll be needing that prospect. Organizational depth should be an idea/concept that sells itself but yet hasn't caught hold not just among fans, but across leagues, sports, and franchises world wide. It's always about the "now" unless a team is in the "rebuilding" cycle.

Kernels quiet Rattlers, 3-2 By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/2/2/8/133807228/cuts/6_30_Rubio_Web_riwzvdk4_2lj4a75x.jpg Elvis Rubio drove in both runs for the Timber Rattlers on Tuesday afternoon. (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers/Ann Mollica) GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers had two hits in a 3-2 loss to the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Tuesday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Clintonville native Luke Westphal allowed one hit, struck out five over five innings, and picked up the win for the Kernels. Cedar Rapids (44-32 overall, 3-2 second half) put the Rattlers behind early. Tanner English led off the game with a double. He would score on a one-out single by Zack Larson. Wisconsin (25-51, 2-4) tied the game in the bottom of the first. Brandon Diaz walked, stole second, and went to third on a sacrifice bunt. Elvis Rubio knocked in Diaz with a ground out to second. But, the Kernels scored again in the top of the second inning. Wisconsin starter David Burkhalter retired the first two batters he faced in the frame, but TJ White reached on an infield single up the third base line. A wild throw to first allowed White to take second and a wild pitch let White go to third. Brian Navarreto singled on a 2-2 pitch from Burkhalter and White scored for a 2-1 lead. The only hit Westphal allowed was a one out single in the fourth to Rubio. In the fifth, Alan Sharkey drew a walk with one out, but Westphal got the next batter to ground into a double play to end the inning. Burkhalter allowed two runs - one earned - and struck out five over four innings. Kodi Medeiros came out of the bullpen and worked two scoreless innings, despite three walks. In the seventh, the Kernels tacked on a run against reliever Zach Cooper. Nick Gordon doubled with one out and Larson followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Then, Larson would steal second to get two runners in scoring position. Alex Real looped a shallow fly down the line in left and Mitch Meyer made a diving tumbling catch to retire Real. But, Gordon tagged and scored on the sacrifice fly for the insurance run. Wisconsin got runners on in the seventh and eighth against Kernels reliever Randy LeBlanc, but each runner was erased on a double play. Meyer started the bottom of the ninth and reached base when he was hit by a pitch from Cedar Rapids closer Cam Booser. Diaz was next and he drew a walk. Then, Gregory Munoz dropped a sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position. Rubio grounded out to second to knock in Meyer and the Rattlers were within 3-2, but that was as close as they would get as Booser ended the game with a foul popout. The Rattlers hits belonged to Rubio and Sharkey. Cedar Rapids has won all eight meetings between the teams in Grand Chute in 2015. Wisconsin is 1-10 in eleven meetings with the Kernels this season. The final game of the series - and the homestand - is Wednesday night. Zach Hirsch (2-4, 3.15) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. The Kernels will have Felix Jorge (3-3, 2.37) as their starter. Game time is 7:05pm. Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Khris Davis will begin his five-game rehabilitation assignment with the Timber Rattlers on Wednesday. Davis was a Timber Rattler in 2010. Wednesday night is a WIXX Bang for Your Buck Night. Fans may enjoy soda, hotdogs, or beer for $1 during the game. If you can't make it out to the ballpark, there are several ways to follow the action. MyNEW32'sSports Showdown will televise the game starting at 7:00pm. The radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:45. The broadcast may also be heard on Tune In Radio and IHeartRadio. Subscribers to MiLB.TV can see the game that way. WP: Luke Westphal (1-0) LP: David Burkhalter (1-5) SAVE: Cam Booser (8) TIME: 2:33 ATTN: 2,884 Rattler Radio Postgame Post – June 30, 2015 Local product Luke Westphal is an interesting story. Wisconsin Boxscore Day games during the week when intriguing pitchers are on the hill stink... and it's hard to win games when you get 2 hits. David Burkhalter pitched relatively well again, and got the start I've been clamoring for. His K/9 is over 9 right now, right there with Kodi Medeiros and Angel Ventura. Medeiros had a nice month limiting walks from mid May to mid June, but the walks are back in his last 3 appearances and have incrementally bounced his BB rate back up over 4, the good news is that aside from 6/14 he's been doing a nice job limiting hits with those walks so he's limiting runs. Wisconsin Recap

Interesting observation, I hadn't looked at it that way. If you look at the T-Rats, in terms of development, we expect our 2nd year high school players to be extremely raw. All of the Latin kids have had much more professional experience but yet aren't advanced skill wise as their domestic counterparts. On the pitching side only Ventura is roughly in the same place as Williams, Medeiros, and Burkhalter but none of the position players are advanced as Neuhaus from a fundamental standpoint, an argument could be made for Castillo, but I don't think he's quite at that same level.

Kernels shutout Wisconsin 4-0 By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/8/3/6/133720836/cuts/6_June_29_Castillo_06rxc8dl_2tomx8m6.jpg Francisco Castillo went 2-for-4 in Monday's game against the Cedar Rapids Kernels. GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Cedar Rapids Kernels shutout the Timber Rattlers 4-0 Monday night at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Sam Gibbons allowed two hits over six innings for the win and Nick Gordon drove in a pair of runs for the Kernels. The Rattlers (25-50 overall, 2-3 second half) had the best early scoring opportunity. Gibbons walked Mitch Meyer and Brandon Diaz with one out in the third inning. Gibbons got the second out on a slow roller back to the mound, but walked Elvis Rubio to load the bases. Dustin DeMuth lined out to right to end the inning. The Kernels (43-32, 2-3) scored first. Alex Real drew a leadoff walk against Wisconsin starting pitcher Luis Ortega. Zack Larson followed with a double to left-center and Real came all the way around to score. That was the only run Ortega allowed in his four innings. Gibbons struck out six over his six innings and got some insurance in the top of the seventh against Wisconsin reliever Angel Ventura. Jorge Fernandez singled with one out and Rafael Valera walked. Both would move into scoring position on a wild pitch with two outs. Gordon's infield single sent Fernandez home for a 2-0 lead. The Rattlers threatened against reliever Luke Bard in the bottom of the seventh. Bard walked Carlos Leal with one out. Alan Sharkey followed with a single. Bard got out of the inning by getting Mitch Meyer to ground into a 4-6-3 double play. The Kernels added two more runs off Ventura in the top of the ninth. Fernandez tripled with one out and scored on a wild pitch. Later in the inning, Gordon drove in his second run of the game with a single. Wisconsin was shutout for just the fourth time this season. They are also 1-9 against the Kernels, including 0-7 at home against Cedar Rapids. Game two of the series is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. David Burkhalter (1-4, 5.01) is the scheduled starter for the Timber Rattlers. Luke Westphal (0-0, 9.00) of Clintonville, Wisconsin is set to start for the Kernels. Game time is 12:05pm. The first 500 fans to attend the game on Tuesday will receive a magnet featuring Timber Rattlers pitcher Kodi Medeiros presented by Lamers Bus Lines, magnet two in a series of four that are being given away this season. Show your business card when you purchase a ticket on Tuesday and for $13.50 you will receive a box seat ticket, a beverage and your choice of brat or hot dog. The offer is also available to senior citizens (55 & older) courtesy of Baker Tilly, WVBO, and AM1280 WNAM. If you can't make it out to the ballpark, the radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 11:45am. The broadcast may also be heard on Tune In Radio and IHeartRadio. Subscribers to MiLB.TV can see the game that way. WP: Sam Gibbons (2-2) LP: Luis Ortega (1-6) TIME: 2:56 (:58 delay) ATTN: 2,946 Wisconsin Boxscore I've been meaning to mention this for sometime but Francisco Castillo has proven to be an average or above average defender every where he's played this season. Speaking of of defense, Sthervin Matos unleashed an absolute accurate cannon shot to gun a runner on a chopper which hopped towards the heavens and didn't want to come down, it seemed like it hung up there forever when I was watching the play live. This young team is still struggling to put it together, complete team efforts have been few and far between to this point in the season. Luis Ortega was better than he had been from a pitching standpoint, the run he allowed was actually on a pretty good pitch. He is however, horrible at holding baserunners. I was surprised that TV crew was admonishing Carlos Leal for stolen bases when runners were literally half way to 2nd before the pitch was thrown, there's no way Carlos (or any catcher for that matter) can overcome that kind of head start. While Ortega had a game on the upswing, Angel Ventura was leaving balls up in the zone all over the place. He too was victimized on a pretty good pitch, but he left enough pitches belt high down the middle that no case for being "unlucky" can be made in this one. He had a wild pitch in the 9th that slipped out of his hand so badly it was both 3 feet high and wide of the batter in the RH batter's box, which of course allowed a run to score. The Rattlers managed just 4 hits, 2 by Castillo, 1 of which was a bunt single in which he deftly avoided the tag of the 1B while staying in the box and diving for the bag at the same time. Nick Gordon did rob Brandon Diaz to start the game, it was one of the better defensive plays I've seen at any level all season. Tucker Neuhaus has tweaked his batting stance since I saw him last... he used to have a pretty wide base, he's more traditional now with his feet slightly wider than the shoulders. The TV crew actually caught it before I did, so props to them. Wisconsin Recap

Best Tools: July 2 Prospects June 29, 2015 by Ben Badler

I don't believe in ever limiting options, but I do believe the Brewers have consistently pinned themselves into a corner following rigid guidelines that are at best dated and at worst were never truly applicable outside of a specific set of seasons. My answer to when to trade any player isn't based anything other than when you're offered the most for him. If we're always waiting for a "sell" season or the last year of a player's contract for the most part we aren't going to get the best possible value back. I've been an advocate of trading just about every player long before the Brewers have been willing. The Brewers aren't progressive, they are predictable, and every other team in the league knows it, we know it. There have always been set criteria for "buying" and "selling" but it's never based on ultimate value, it's been based on team record. Somehow other teams can consistently recycle talent but yet there are posters whom are adamant that those same opportunities haven't existed for the Brewers, or that those other teams were just "lucky". I'm not buying that and never have, I think that line of thinking is just reverse justifying the conclusion and not objectively looking at the data. Or put differently, "I like Melvin and the moves the Brewers have made so there must not have been other alternatives available". There's a psychological principle of saturate, incubate, and illuminate... I believe the reason there is such a divide on these issues is that many posters only have time to look one side of an argument; so instead of taking in all possible data, letting it incubate, and then having those "eureka" moments when they can see the whole truth they don't have information or the time to think these issues all the way to their ultimate conclusion. I posted about the OODA loop a couple of times in the past... these trades, organization building, consistently winning... it's not about following a defined set of rules, it's about being to able to process data and make good decisions quicker than your competition. It doesn't matter if we're talking pitcher vs. batter, or manager vs manager, or gm vs gm, the ability to make decisive decisions quickly is ultimately the key to winning and losing, it forces the opponent to reset and go through the decision making process again. The Brewers knew they wanted to be buyers in 2008 when Gallardo blew out his knee and they made a quick decision, got the absolute best talent available (whether I agreed with the strategy or not), and made the playoffs. When else has the team ever been that decisive about anything? Hell look at all the bad extensions to "producing" players Melvin has tried to hand out over the years, or the "lifetime" contract Attanasio supposedly put on Melvin's desk. There's no demonstrated ability to accurately read the market, or the performance of players, or the performance of the organization. No one with the Brewers has been honest with themselves for a very long time, in the same way that posters here keep trying to pin the blame on the scouting directors. No one drafts perfectly, absolutely no one, some teams are just better at developing talent, others know how to turn chicken crap in chicken salad like Friedman in TB who consistently made trades up the value scale acquiring Kazmir, Garza, and Jackson to build a young rotation, then spinning all of those players off to keep the pitching train moving forward. The Brewers might have been able to do that with pitching recently with Gallardo/Diplan, however look at the logic in what TH wrote yesterday: Who's available, and who's not, from the Brewers I can absolutely agree that Braun would be in the big spender category, but Garza and K-Rod? The logic is completely flawed and in Garza's case is based on the talent he had prior to 2013. Garza isn't done, but he's clearly on the downside of his career, and there's no way the Brewers are getting what the Cubs got for him in 2013, that's not even close to reasonable. K-Rod gets it done with smoke and mirrors, there no gas left in his FB, he's never had much control, but he still has plus off speed stuff and somehow he mixes his pitches well enough to get outs. However he carries the baggage of multiple years, a mid range salary, and a history of domestic abuse to go with raw tools that are difficult to bet on. He doesn't carry significant value either, the Brewers value him more than other teams do. The only true statement in TH's article regarding K-Rod was: Every team is going to value their players the most, I think that's just human nature, but in the game's smallest market we need management that's willing to repeatedly take calculated risks and sell early on players instead of being on the wrong side and continually selling late. It really does need to be as simple as will the young player sign a team friendly extension or not? If the answer is no then the team has to switch gears and start looking to get the most value out of that player, and rarely is the best possible return going to be riding a player out to FA and then resigning that player like what happened with Weeks/Hart and the halfhearted attempt at Fielder. The Brewers need to be willing to sell early and walk away from players a year(s) too soon rather than trying to buy every possible productive season from a player. There are no such things as franchise players, the fans will move on, there's just maximizing the production for the dollar that Brewers are spending in any given year. The only way to do that is to use FA as a stop gap like with Mike Cameron, not to plug holes like the Brewers have done with Suppan, Wolf, Lohse, and Garza. The Brewers have not and will not ever be able to build a 1st division rotation through FA, the Brewers will have to develop or trade for the young key pieces themselves. If we don't have one of the best rotations in the NL, or at least 3 starters that match-up to the best pitchers and an awesome bullpen, then none of the rest of this matters.

Rattlers drop eleven-inning game to Clinton By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/4/6/8/126076468/cuts/5_22_Sneed_WEB_bef3qc1f_6c6synno.jpg Cy Sneed allowed one run on four hits and struck out six over six innings on Sunday against the Clinton LumberKings, but had a no decision. (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers/Ann Mollica) GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers could not hold a 4-1 lead and dropped a 6-5 decision in eleven innings to the Clinton LumberKings Sunday at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Wisconsin (25-49 overall, 2-2 second half) took the early lead with single runs in the first and second inning and Brandon Diaz figured into each run. Diaz singled to start the first, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and took third on a wild pitch. Dustin DeMuth knocked in Diaz with a ground out for a 1-0 lead. The Rattlers loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the second inning and knocked Clinton starting pitcher Lukas Schiraldi out of the game. Diaz greeted reliever Jarrett Brown with an infield single to drive in a run for a 2-0 advantage. Cy Sneed, the starting pitcher for Wisconsin, retired the first eleven Clinton batters he faced, but gave up three consecutive singles with two outs in the top of the fourth. Chantz Mack had the third single of the inning and drove the run to pull the LumberKings to within a run. Tucker Neuhaus got that run back in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Rattlers second baseman hit a leadoff home run over the beach beyond the fence in right-center for his second home run of the season and a 3-1 lead. Later in the inning, Brandon Diaz drove in a run with a sacrifice fly for a 4-1 lead. Sneed went six innings, allowed four hits, and struck out six before turning the three-run lead over to the bullpen. Clinton (28-45, 2-2) scratched back into the game with a run in the seventh. Reliever Scott Lieser hit Joe DeCarlo as the leadoff batter, but DeCarlo was still at first with two outs. Martin Peguero knocked in DeCarlo all the way from first with a double and the Rattlers were down 4-2. The LumberKings tied the game with two runs in the eighth. Lieser got the first out of the inning, but walked Mariscal and gave up an RBI double to Pat Leyland before leaving in favor of Luke Curtis. Curtis threw a wild pitch early in the plate appearance by Chantz Mack to allow pinch runner Gianfranco Wawoe to take third base. Mack would drive Wawoe in from third with the tying run on a sacrifice fly. Both teams had chances to score before extra innings. Wisconsin drew back-to-back walks to start the bottom of the eighth inning, but couldn't score. Clinton had runners on first and second with one out in the top of the ninth, but were denied runs on a couple of nice running catches in center by Diaz. In the eleventh, Tyler Linehan walked Estarlyn Morales to start the inning. A sacrifice bunt and an intentional walk put two runners on with one out. Linehan got Wayne Taylor to ground into a force out at third for the second out, but a wild pitch allowed the LumberKings to have two runners in scoring position. Mariscal cashed in the opportunity with a two-run single to center for a 6-4 lead. Wisconsin wasn't done and it was a crazy bottom of the eleventh inning. Gregory Munoz and Diaz started the bottom of the eleventh with singles. Francisco Castillo attempted to bunt both runners into scoring position, but his bunt was within the reach of Taylor, the Clinton catcher. Taylor fired to third for the out on Munoz and the Timber Rattlers argument that DeCarlo was not on the base when he took the throw was dismissed. DeMuth was at the plate when Diaz took off for third base early. LumberKings pitcher Thyago Vieira stepped off the rubber at got Diaz in a rundown. But, Diaz stayed in the pickle long enough for Clinton to make a mistake as DeCarlo made contact with Diaz after making a throw. The ensuing obstruction call allowed Diaz to take third and Castillo, the tying run to take second. After all of that, DeMuth sent a flyball deep to center to score Diaz and move Castillo to third. Wisconsin's comeback attempt was foiled when Greg McCall's hard grounder toward right field was stopped on a diving grab by first baseman Taylor Zeutenhorst, who flipped to Vieira covering first base for the final out. The teams split the four game series with two wins each. Clinton used seven pitchers in the game. Wisconsin went 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position. The Timber Rattlers begin a three-game series at home on Monday with the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Angel Ventura (3-2, 2.18) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Sam Gibbons (1-2, 6.30) is set to start for the Kernels. Game time is 7:05pm. The first 1,000 fans to attend Monday's game will receive a bobblehead of Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Aramis Ramirez courtesy of American National Bank. The bobblehead of Ramirez is wearing the Brewers Sunday jersey he wore as a member of the Timber Rattlers while on a rehabilitation assignment last season. As part of American Heart Association CPR Night fans can have their blood pressure checked, view a heart attack survivor gallery, and tour the inside of a giant inflated heart. Plus, purchase an entrée at any Qdoba location in Appleton, Neenah, or Oshkosh on Monday and receive a ticket to any Monday home game during the 2015 season. If you can't make it out to the ballpark, there are several ways to follow the action. MyNEW32'sSports Showdown will televise the game starting at 7:00pm. The radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:45. The broadcast may also be heard on Tune In Radio and IHeartRadio. Subscribers to MiLB.TV can see the game that way. HOME RUN: WIS: Tucker Neuhaus (2nd, 0 on in 4th inning off Jarrett Brown, 0 out) WP: Thyago Vieira (1-0) LP: Tyler Linehan (1-2) TIME: 4:05 ATTN: 3,270 Rattler Radio Postgame Post – June 28, 2015 The usual assortment of goodies, Erickson's comments spot on an usual. Note that the direct link to the actual post is broken at this time so I'm linking to the blog's main page. Wisconsin Boxscore Dammit! Cy Sneed doing what we've come to expect from him for the T-Rats this season. The bullpen was bad on the ends of the outing but solid in the middle. Brandon Diaz (3-5) is on fire! He's hitting .412 over his last 10 games. Also joining him with multi-hit efforts were Sthervin Matos (2-3,2B) and Tucker Neuhaus (2-3,HR). This was Matos' first multi-hit game in quite a while. Wisconsin Recap

Medeiros isn't top 3 for me right now, he doesn't control the zone and the pitch he commands the best within the zone is his curve. He's filthy, but very raw. Williams doesn't have Kodi's stuff, but I was really impressed by how he worked with his FB. This is how prioritize pitching and how I coach it. 1. FB control and general mechanics 2. Introduce 1st secondary pitch 3. FB command within the zone 4. 1st secondary pitch control 5. Introduce 2nd off speed pitch 6. 2nd off speed pitch control Once a pitch is controlled we continue working on command drills for those pitches. Control would be finding the zone, command would locating the pitch within the zone or being able drop it in places outside the zone to induces swings and misses, for example burying a CB. An ideal swing and miss curve starts above the knees and ends up just above the dirt. Kodi is sick, but if he doesn't learn to control his FB he won't come close to his ceiling. Colby thinks he's athletic enough, I'm in wait and see mode. I still think the best 3 prospects are all position players. Arica, Taylor, and Coulter. Outside of Arcia who's rapidly separating from the pack all the rest have pretty significant warts so rankings would depend on what people are personally looking for. I personally don't get super excited about hot months or a good half, I'm looking at full season progression. Lopez has always been a 2 steps forward, 1 step back type of guy, he's shown flashes of brilliance of everywhere he's been, just never consistent.

Diaz homers late in Rattlers win By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/8/4/4/133343844/cuts/6_27_WEB_c54u8tgm_shp4xllk.jpg The Timber Rattlers infield celebrate after their 6-5 win over the Clinton LumberKings on Saturday night GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers had a 5-0 lead heading into the top of the seventh against the Clinton LumberKings on Saturday night at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. But, the Rattlers needed a home run from Brandon Diaz in the bottom of the seventh to break a 5-5 tie. Then, the Rattlers held on for a 6-5 win. Sthervin Matos gave the Timber Rattlers (25-48 overall, 2-1 second half) a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning with a two-out home run. The blast was the sixth of the season for Matos. Wisconsin expanded their lead in the fifth inning with a little help from the Clinton defense. Natanael Mejia drew a walk with one out. Mitch Meyer was next and his grounder to short was thrown away on a force play at second. Mejia raced around to score ahead of the throw from foul territory down the line in right for a 2-0 lead. Diaz followed with a walk. Then, Francisco Castillo singled to center and the ball got past Arby Fields to allow Meyer to score. One out later, Dustin DeMuth drove in both Diaz and Castillo with a single and Wisconsin was up 5-0. Timber Rattlers starting pitcher Devin Williams cruised through six shutout innings. He allowed two hits, walked one, hit a batter, and matched his single game high for strikeouts as a professional with seven. Clinton (27-45, 1-2) started their comeback in the top of the seventh as reliever Tyler Linehan gave up a walk and a single to the first two batters of the inning. Linehan got the second out on a deep fly ball to right-center, but both runners tagged on the catch and made it into scoring position. A wild pitch allowed the runner to score from third to get the LumberKings on the scoreboard. Taylor Zeutenhorst drew a walk to put runners on the corners before Linehan struck out James Alfonso for the second out. But, another wild pitch with Gianfranco Wawoe at the plate let the second run score. Linehan would walk Wawoe and end his night. Wisconsin called on Zach Cooper to face Fields, who was at the plate as the tying run. Cooper fell behind 2-0 and Fields, who homered in the first inning on Friday night against the Rattlers, lined the third pitch from Cooper over the 360' marker in right field for a game-tying, three-run homer. Diaz was Wisconsin's second hitter after the stretch and he lined a 1-0 pitch from Osmer Morales over the wall in right for a solo homer and a 6-5 lead. It was the bat of Diaz that put the Rattlers in front and it was the glove of Diaz that kept the Rattlers in front in the top of the eighth. Clinton had runners at first and second with two outs when Zeutenhorst hit a high popup to shallow right-center. Diaz charged in from center and made a diving catch for the final out of the inning. The Rattlers would catch a break in the top of the ninth. Alfonso singled off Cooper to start the inning and was replaced by pinch-runner Martin Peguero. A sacrifice bunt moved Peguero to second and brought Fields back to the plate. Fields sent a line drive down the line in left on a 1-2 pitch from Cooper and the ball was ruled just foul. Cooper regrouped to strike out Fields on the next pitch. A wild pitch would allow Peguero to take third base, but Cooper got Chris Mariscal to ground out to second to end the game. Diaz went 3-for-3 with a walk and two singles to go along with his home run. He is tied with Matos for the team lead in homers with six. The win marked the first time Wisconsin has won a game in which they have given up five or more runs this season. Wisconsin is now 1-31 in that situation. Game four of the series is Sunday afternoon. Wisconsin has named Cy Sneed (3-7, 2.78) as their scheduled starting pitcher. Clinton will go with Lukas Schiraldi (4-4, 4.54) as their scheduled starter. Game time is 1:05pm. Sunday's festivities begin with Yoga at the Ballpark with Empower Yoga when the gates to the ballpark open at 10:30am for those who have already purchased tickets for the yoga session that will be held on the field from 10:45 until 11:45am. The first 1,000 fans to enter the ballpark on Sunday will receive a team photo of the 2015 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. This is poster number five in a series of ten that are being given away by Dunkin Donuts in 2015. Fans may play catch on-field courtesy of Rasmussen College starting at noon. As part of 107.5, The Fan's Brewers Sunday, Timber Rattlers players will wear their special Brewers Sunday jerseys for this game. Players will be available for a postgame autograph session sponsored by Tundraland Home Improvements, too. If you can't make it out to the ballpark, the radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 12:45. The broadcast may also be heard on Tune In Radio and IHeartRadio. Subscribers to MiLB.TV can see the game that way. HOME RUNS: CLN: Arby Fields (3rd, 2 on in 7th inning off Zach Cooper, 2 out) WIS: Sthervin Matos (6th, 0 on in 4th inning off Pat Peterson, 2 out) Brandon Diaz (6th, 0 on in 7th inning off Osmer Morales, 1 out) WP: Zach Cooper (1-1) LP: Osmer Morales (0-5 TIME: 2:56 ATTN: 3,648 Wisconsin Boxscore I'd only caught 1 of Devin Williams' starts on the radio, unfortunately I've had prior commitments just about every time he's on the mound. I wasn't sure what to expect but he blew me completely away. His motion is somewhat similar to Michael Fiers except that he doesn't spike the ball down to 6 o'clock as hard as Mike, and Devin doesn't maintain his balance as well falling towards 1st some at the end. Not as bad as K-Rod or Angel Ventura for example, it's not that extreme, but he falls that way none the less. He worked primarily down in the zone, and most of his misses were low, the T-Rats don't have many pitchers who can consistently work down in the zone so I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't get any velocity readings from the TV crew on him, he looked to be upper 80s/low 90s though I can't say for sure, I may have missed it as well since I was multi-tasking. It looked like his primary secondary pitch was a change, it was fading back arm side so I would guess circle change. He's pretty athletic, he made a nice a nice play off the mound to get himself out of the only mini jam he faced all game. I was legitimately impressed. I'm pretty excited about the 2nd half from a pitching standpoint, I'm liking the rotation as it stands now, and on a macro level Burkhalter is really the only pitcher who needs more innings. Zach Cooper's first pitch was 99, his second was 91, his 3rd was 88 and was smoked for a no doubt 3 run HR to right field. All 3 pitches were awful straight so I couldn't tell if he backed of his FB that far or hung some sort of change. I believe he's given up 5-6 hits in WI, but 3 were HRs. The guys in the booth were commenting on his velocity because of that first pitch. Brandon Diaz (3-3,HR,BB) had an awesome day at the plate and the only multi-hit game for the T-Rats. I haven't been impressed with Natanael Mejia's defense behind the plate in limited exposure. Wisconsin Recap

No, he's not even top 3 in the Brewer organization right now. He's made quite a bit of progress though, I agree with you on that.

Nine-run sixth gives Clinton the win By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/5/0/0/133168500/cuts/6_26_WEB_0q2wxbir_6qtkp9hv.jpg Tucker Neuhaus congratulates Gregory Munoz on his sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second inning on Friday night. (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers) GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Clinton LumberKings were up 4-2 over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers heading into the sixth inning on Friday night at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. In the sixth, the LumberKings sent thirteen batters to the plate and scored nine runs to pull away for a 13-2 victory. Clinton (27-44 overall, 1-1 second half) took the lead in the top of the first inning. Arby Fields, the leadoff batter for the LumberKings the third pitch of the game over the wall in left for a homer and a 1-0 lead. The LumberKings loaded the bases with one out against Wisconsin starting pitcher Zach Hirsch in the second inning. Chris Mariscal unloaded the bases with a three-run triple and Clinton was up 4-0. The LumberKings loaded the bases again in the inning, but Hirsch escaped without more damage. Wisconsin (24-48, 1-1) got to within two runs in the bottom of the second. They would load the bases on Clinton starter Tyler Herb with one out on a walk to Tucker Neuhaus and singles by Alan Sharkey and Mitch Meyer. Gregory Munoz plated Neuhaus with a sacrifice fly. Dustin DeMuth made the score 4-2 with a two-out RBI single to knock in Sharkey. Hirsch pitched scoreless innings in the third and fourth, but left after four with over ninety pitches. Josh Uhen relieved Hirsch to start the fifth and retired the LumberKings in order with a pair of strikeouts. Herb kept the Rattlers from threatening after the second as a one-out single to Greg McCall in the third was the only hit he allowed over his final four innings. Gianfranco Wawoe started the top of the sixth inning by reaching first on a hit batter. Fields followed with a bunt single and Mariscal moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Pat Leyland got Wawoe home with a single for a 5-2 lead. Leyland would finish the game 5-for-6. Taylor Zeutenhorst was next and he knocked in Fields with a single. Uhen walked the next batter to load the bases and hit Joe DeCarlo to force in a run for a 7-2 Clinton advantage. Uhen got the second out on a strikeout, but could not find the third out. James Alfonso singled to knock in two runs. Wawoe, in his second plate appearance of the inning, singled to reload the bases. Fields drew a walk to force in another run and knock Uhen out of the game. Mariscal greeted reliever Gian Rizzo by lining the first pitch he saw to the gap in right-center. All three runners on base crossed home plate and Mariscal wound up on third with a triple. He went 4-for-4 with six RBI in the game. Neither team threatened after the sixth. Meyer walked twice in the game and also singled in the ninth for Wisconsin's first hit since the single by McCall in the third. Meyer ended the game with two of Wisconsin's six hits. Game three of the series is scheduled for Saturday night. Devin Williams (2-4, 3.62) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Clinton has named Pat Peterson (4-4, 4.04) as their scheduled starter. Game time is 6:35pm. The MegaBrain returns to the Fox Cities on Saturday night. Neuroscience Group is bringing back the MegaBrain as part of Strike Out Stroke. Take a tour through the center of the mind before heading into the ballpark on Saturday. The Timber Rattlers will also be awarding one lucky fan four tickets to the August 25th One Direction concert at Miller Park. Stick around after the game for a great FOX 11 Fireworks display on a Festival Foods Saturday. If you can't make it out to the ballpark, there are several ways to follow the action. MyNEW32'sSports Showdown will televise the game starting at 6:30pm. The radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:15. The broadcast may also be heard on Tune In Radio and IHeartRadio. Subscribers to MiLB.TV can see the game that way. HOME RUN: CLN: Arby Fields (2nd, 0 on in 1st inning off Zach Hirsch, 0 out) WP: Tyler Herb (4-4) LP: Zach Hirsch (2-4) TIME: 2:53 ATTN: 3,888 Wisconsin Boxscore I admit that I turned this one off during Josh Uhen's 6th after Gian Rizzo didn't do him any favors. Zach Hirsch wasn't very sharp either leaving his FB up in the zone, he was hit pretty hard early and Clinton stayed on the gas until finishing the 9 run 6th. At least Mitch Meyer (2-2, 2BB) had a nice game. Wisconsin Recap