TheCrew07

Smokies' Russell slugs two homers again Cubs' No. 3 prospect pulls off trick for second time in six-day span

McKnight yields one hit in Chiefs' win Cardinals prospect strikes out six over seven scoreless innings

Note the position change with Russell now in the mix. Baez homers in both ends of doubleheader Top Cubs prospect batting .382 with 17 RBIs since move to second

I was torn between Kaminsky and Hunter Green in 2013... Kaminsky had the polish and Green had the projection, I settled on Green and was slightly disappointed with the Devin Williams pick because of course I wanted a lefty. Green hasn't even pitched this year and Kaminsky has dominated... so much for that. I don't recall reading what Green's injury is, the last story I remember was something from spring training this year when he was healthy and working on his command. Chiefs' Kaminsky hurls six scoreless innings Cards' No. 3 prospect scatters five hits and two walks, strikes out four

Bryant leads Cubs core in latest Top 100 Chicago lands list-high eight prospects in updated prospect rankings By Tyler Maun / MiLB.com

Prospect Hot Sheet (July 18): Glasnow Gears Up Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet Chat (July 18) With Ben Badler

Spotlight on the Cubs' impressive array of hitting prospects. Ask BA: How Rare Is It For A Team To Have Three Top 10 Prospects? July 21, 2014 by J.J. Cooper

2014 First-Rounders So Far July 21, 2014 by Vince Lara-Cinisomo

Subscriber Content. Top Trade Targets In The Lower Levels From Playoff Contenders July 22, 2014 by Ben Badler

Midseason Prospect Update: Bryant overtakes Baez for Cubs [VIDEO]

Midseason Prospect Update: Stephenson Retains Top Spot For Reds [VIDEO]

I'm not going to take the time to break everything out here. Prospect Hot Sheet (July 25): Glasnow Retains Top Spot Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet Chat (July 25)

Midseason Prospect Update: Nelson Holds On To No. 1 For Brewers [VIDEO]

This one is definitely worth a read. What History Indicates About The Cubs’ Competitive Cycle July 25, 2014 by Clint Longenecker

Midseason Prospect Update: Taillon Inherits Top Spot for Pirates [VIDEO]

The mid season updates are a digital only feature so you'll have to spend the $5 if you are so inclined. Midseason Prospect Update: Taveras Continues To Top List For Cardinals [VIDEO]

The last 2 weeks has been a tad hectic for me, I'll be catching up this thread most of the afternoon. I apologize for the delay.

You realize of course that he had TJ and didn't have any consistent command before the procedure and most players struggle with their command coming out rehab? He may figure it out, but he's also out of options so it might not even be with the Brewers. Ariel Pena is in the same boat option wise, he may ultimately be a BP guy.

Rattlers tip TinCaps 5-2 Thompson, Williams combine to fan 14 Fort Wayne batters By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers FORT WAYNE, IN - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers got seven doubles from the offense and 14 strikeouts from a pair of pitchers to defeat the Fort Wayne TinCaps 5-2 Sunday at Parkview Field. Chad Thompson struck out six in five innings and earned the win. Taylor Williams struck out eight over four innings for the save. Chris McFarland singled with one out in the top of the first inning to move his current hitting streak to eleven games, the longest hitting streak by a Rattler this season. Clint Coulter was hit by a pitch, the eighteenth time he's been hit this season, with two outs to extend the inning. Taylor Brennan dropped a single into center to get McFarland home with the first run of the game. Fort Wayne (44-60 overall, 14-21 second half) tied the game with an unearned run in the bottom of the third. Thompson walked Ronnie Richardson to start the inning. An errant pickoff throw by Thompson allowed Richardson to take second. Richardson went to third on a weak ground out to the mound and scored on a wild pitch by Thompson. Wisconsin (55-49, 19-16) went back in front in the top of the fourth inning. Brennan drew his league leading 68th walk of the season with one out and Omar Garcia followed with a double to put runners on the corners. Rafael Neda drove in Brennan with a grounder to short. Jose Pena started the Rattlers fifth inning with a single and was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Dustin DeMuth. Michael Ratterree drove a 3-2 pitch to the wall in left for a two out double to score Pena. Wisconsin tacked on four more doubles and two more runs with single tallies in the sixth and seventh innings. In the sixth, Angel Ortega doubled with two outs. Jose Pena was next and he doubled to drive in Ortega. In the seventh, Ratterree doubled off the top of the wall in left-center with one out. Coulter followed with a double, his second of the game, to knock in Ratterree and the Rattlers were up 5-1. Williams took over on the mound for Thompson to start the sixth inning and struck out the side in order. The TinCaps did score an unearned run off Williams in the seventh inning, but Williams tossed a scoreless eighth and a scoreless ninth to close out Fort Wayne. In his last two outings, Williams has struck out seventeen in 10-2/3 innings. The final game of the series - and of Wisconsin's road trip - is Monday night at Parkview Field. Preston Gainey (3-6, 3.93) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Jimmi Brasoban (1-4, 8.40) is set to start for the TinCaps. Game time is 6:05pm CDT. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or IHeartRadio starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 5:45pm CDT. WP: Chad Thompson (1-0) LP: Ronald Herrera (5-6) SAVE: Taylor Williams (4) TIME: 3:20 ATTN: 6,282 Wisconsin Boxscore Wisconsin Recap

Sounds Drop Heartbreaker, 6-5 Nashville's Blazek Serves Up Quality Start; Clark and Halton Homer Nashville Sounds http://www.milb.com/assets/images/1/8/0/86666180/cuts/_MPS4251_Large_26ofiqwe_uvc1lld3.jpg NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The first-place Nashville Sounds (58-51) had their win streak end at five games, as the Oklahoma City RedHawks mounted a four-run rally in the 9th inning to win 6-5 Sunday night at Greer Stadium. With Sounds reliever Rob Wooten (0-1) on the hill in the 9th, the RedHawks pulled to within one run via a pair of RBI singles by Matt Duffy and Max Stassi, but it was nine-hole hitter Joe Schlafani who provided the game-winning blast: a two-out double off the right field wall that scored two runs. Stassi scored from first on the play, barely beating out the throw from the outfield. Wooten was charged with a blown save and his first loss of the year. After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning, the Sounds offense rattled off five runs behind starting pitcher Michael Blazek, who delivered his best outing of the season to help keep the RedHawks at bay for the first six innings. The righty limited the RedHawks to four hits and fanned two, before leaving with the lead. Blazek's start drops his ERA from 4.41 to 4.15 on the year. Sounds starting pitchers hold a 1.00 ERA (4 earned runs in 36 innings pitched) in seven games this homestand. Sounds first baseman Matt Clark tied the game 1-1 in the 2nd inning by lifting his third home run of the year over the left-field wall. The solo shot answered the RedHawks' run from Austin Wates' RBI single in the first inning. RedHawks starting pitcher Nick Tropeano uncorked a wild pitch in the 3rd inning that allowed Pete Orr to score from third base, giving Nashville a one-run advantage. Sean Halton added a pair of runs for Nashville with his home run off the top-half of the guitar scoreboard beyond the right field wall, estimated at 430 feet. In the 6th inning, infielder Jason Rogers connected for an RBI double to make it a 5-1 game. The RedHawks picked up their second run off of Sounds reliever Arcenio Leon in the 8th inning, before Wooten entered in the 9th. With all three division rivals winning Sunday, the Sounds enter Monday with only a 1 1/2 game division lead. The Sounds look to win the series against Oklahoma City RedHawks on Monday night at Greer Stadium. RHP Ariel Pena (7-6, 4.53) will make the start for Nashville opposite the RedHawks' RHP Mike Foltynewicz (7-6, 5.12). Jeff Hem will have the call on 102.5 The GAME. Nashville Boxscore Nashville Recap Nashville Gameday

Wisconsin falls in Fort Wayne TinCaps top Timber Rattlers 8-4 By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers FORT WAYNE, IN - The Fort Wayne TinCaps built an 8-1 lead on their way to an 8-4 victory over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Saturday night at Parkview Field. Trea Turner and Franmil Reyes each had three hits and two RBI to lead Fort Wayne to 14 hits. Turner, the #1 pick of the Padres in the 2014 draft, singled and stole second to start the Fort Wayne first inning. He went to third on a wild pitch and scored on sacrifice fly by Ronnie Richardson. The TinCaps (44-59 overall, 14-20 second half) scored three more times in the bottom of the second off Wisconsin starter Barrett Astin. Turner singled with runners on first and third with one out to drive in the first run. Richardson followed with another RBI single to make it 3-0. Fernando Perez was next and he also knocked in a run with a single for a 4-0 lead. Astin walked the next batter to load the bases, but retired the next two hitters after that walk to end the inning. Wisconsin (54-49, 18-16) put a run across home plate in the top of the fourth. Michael Ratterree hit a leadoff triple. Clint Coulter drove in Ratterree with an infield single. The TinCaps struck back in the bottom of the fourth inning. Reyes hit a two-out, two-run home run to give the TinCaps a 6-1 lead. Fort Wayne added to their lead in the bottom of the seventh inning with a pair of runs off reliever Clint Terry. Adolfo Reina doubled to start the inning and scored on a triple by Nick Schulz. Turner had a two-out single in the inning to score Schulz to make it 8-1. Jeffery Enloe allowed one run on six hits over six innings before turning the game over to the Fort Wayne bullpen. Wisconsin did get to reliever Erik Cabrera in the top of the eighth inning. Clint Coulter doubled with two outs. Taylor Brennan followed with an RBI double. Dustin DeMuth tripled to center to knock in Coulter. Omar Garcia singled to center and that scored DeMuth to pull the Rattlers to within 8-4. But, Cabrera got the final out of the eighth and Ryan Butler worked a 1-2-3 ninth to finish off the Rattlers. The TinCaps have won three straight games. The Timber Rattlers have lost two straight. Game two of the series is Sunday afternoon at Parkview Field. Chad Thompson is scheduled to make his 2014 Midwest League debut as the starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Ronald Herrera (5-5, 4.03) is set to take the ball for the TinCaps. Game time is 12:05pm CDT. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or IHeartRadio starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 11:45am. HOME RUN: FW: Franmil Reyes (9th, 1 on in 4th off Barrett Astin, 2 out) WP: Jeffery Enloe (3-3) LP: Barrett Astin (6-5) TIME: 2:39 ATTN: 7,570 Wisconsin Boxscore Wisconsin Recap

Sounds Win Fifth Straight, 8-1 Over RedHawks Halton, Zarraga Drive In Three Runs Apiece To Pace Nashville Offense Nashville Sounds http://www.milb.com/assets/images/7/8/2/86480782/cuts/Halton_HarvestHands_slp9vcft_5b509k68.jpg (Mike Strasinger / Nashville Sounds) NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Nashville Sounds won their fifth straight game on Saturday night at Greer Stadium, triumphing 8-1 over the Oklahoma City RedHawks to thrill a crowd of 8,722 fans. Left fielder Sean Halton powered a 12-hit Nashville attack with a 2-for-4 evening that included a pair of doubles and three RBIs. Catcher Shawn Zarraga also went 2-for-4 with three runs driven in on the night. The first-place Sounds (58-50), who improved to 30-2 at home when scoring first, grabbed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning against RedHawks starter Rudy Owens. Matt Clark led off with a bunt single then raced home to score the night's first run on Halton's RBI double down the left field line. Zarraga doubled the Sounds' lead later in the frame when his sacrifice fly plated Halton. Donovan Hand enjoyed his second straight successful start since joining the Nashville rotation, allowing only two hits over 4 1/3 scoreless frames. In his two starts, he has posted a 1.08 ERA (1er/8.1ip). Nashville pitchers were dominant for most of the night. Hand, Kyle Heckathorn, and rehabbing Jim Henderson combined retiring 17 straight Oklahoma City batters from the second inning through the eighth frame. Heckathorn (3-2) picked up the win with 1 2/3 perfect innings of relief behind Hand, striking out a pair of batters. Henderson struck out the side in his lone inning of work in his second outing for the Sounds, tossing 10 of his 14 pitches for strikes. Irving Falu (2-for-4) doubled the Sounds' lead to 4-0 in the seventh with a two-out, two-run single to right against Owens. Caleb Gindl (hit by pitch) and Kevin Mattison (double) scored on the knock. Owens (5-5) drew the loss after surrendering four runs on eight hits in his seven inning of work. RedHawks designated hitter Carlos Perez broke up three impressive Nashville streaks with one swing of the bat in the top of the eighth inning, as he connected for a one-out solo homer to left off Alfredo Figaro to make it a 4-1 game. The blast, Perez's fifth of the year, snapped streaks of 17 consecutive batters retired, 17 straight scoreless innings posted by Sounds hurlers, and 64 consecutive homerless innings against Nashville pitching. The Sounds answered the RedHawks' run with a four-run outburst against Kevin Chapman in the bottom of the eighth. Halton connected for a two-run double to left and Zarraga later added a two-out, two-run single to bring the score to its final 8-1 standing. The teams continue the series with another 6:35 p.m. meeting on Sunday night. Right-hander Michael Blazek (1-4, 4.41) will make the start for the Sounds and face Oklahoma City right-hander Nick Tropeano (6-4, 2.38). Nashville Boxscore Nashville Recap Nashville Gameday

Sounds Stall RedHawks, 2-0 Nashville's Jungmann Pitches Six Shutout Innings Nashville Sounds http://www.milb.com/assets/images/1/1/6/86319116/cuts/MPS_7186_Large_gdn3s0un_5da3ku33.jpg (MIKE STRASINGER ) NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Logging his best start in nearly a month, Nashville starter Taylor Jungmann threw six strong innings to propel the first place Sounds (57-50) to a 2-0 win over the Oklahoma City RedHawks (53-55) at Greer Stadium on Friday night in front of 8,021 fans. The shutout victory gives Nashville 10 for the year, which is the most in the PCL, and is the team's first time holding the opposition scoreless since blanking Round Rock on July 4. Jungmann (5-5), ranked as the No. 8 prospect in the Milwaukee Brewers' system by Baseball America, twirled six scoreless innings while allowing just five hits and no walks to go along with four strikeouts. This outing was his best since his last victory, when he threw seven shutout innings against New Orleans at Greer on June 28. Nashville scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the third on a Kevin Mattison RBI double and a clutch, two-out single from Jason Rogers. Mattison went 2-for-3 on the evening, continuing his impressive hot streak where he has recorded multi-hit games in seven of his last 11 starts, hitting .436 during that span. Rogers finished the game 1-for-4, and now has hits in 10 of his last 13 starts while driving in a run in eight of his last 11 games. Sounds reliever Dustin Molleken was dominant out of the bullpen behind Jungmann, pitching 1.2 scoreless innings and striking out four to complete his third consecutive scoreless appearance. Brent Leach followed to get out of the eighth before Rob Wooten retired the RedHawks in order in the ninth to record his sixth save. The Sounds and RedHawks continue their series on Friday, when Nashville RHP Donovan Hand (1-6, 5.17) will face off against Oklahoma City LHP Rudy Owens (5-4, 4.91) at 6:35 p.m. Fans can listen to the action live on 102.5 The GAME. Nashville Boxscore As noted above Taylor Jungmann with one of his better AAA efforts shining bright in an otherwise dismal pitching day for the minor league teams. With just 11 hits and 4 walks between the teams this game was playing in a brisk 2:38. Nashville Recap Nashville Gameday

Captains halt Rattlers winning streak Lake County edges Wisconsin 2-1 By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers EASTLAKE, OH - The Lake County Captains defeated the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 2-1 on Friday night at Classic Park to end Wisconsin's four-game winning streak. Nellie Rodriguez hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth to provide the winning margin. Wisconsin (54-48 overall, 18-15 second half) grabbed the lead in the top of the first inning. Michael Ratterree knocked in Chris McFarland from third base with a grounder to short for a 1-0 lead. The Captains (43-60, 16-17) tied the game in the bottom of the third. Grant Fink singled to start the inning. A fly ball to left off the bat of Jorge Martinez was misplayed for an error that put runners on second and third with no outs. Wisconsin starting pitcher Zach Quintana got the first two outs of the inning on grounders to third, but threw a wild pitch with Clint Frazier at the plate to allow Fink to score the tying run. Rodriguez put the Captains in front with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth. Rodriguez hit his seventeenth home run of the season to give Lake County their first lead of the three game series. Captains starting pitcher Mitch Brown struck out eight over 6-1/3 innings, walked two, hit one, and held Wisconsin to a single run. Clint Coulter was the first Wisconsin batter to face Lake County reliever Jimmy Stokes and he lined a double to left-center. Stokes got the next two batters on grounders to maintain the one-run lead. Chris Razo and Tristan Archer each worked two scoreless innings out of the Wisconsin bullpen to keep the deficit at one run. McFarland, who extended his hitting streak to nine games with his first inning single, gave the Rattlers a chance in the ninth. The Wisconsin second baseman singled to lead off the frame against Lake County closer Trevor Frank. David Denson would single with one out to send McFarland around to third base with the tying run. But, Frank would strikeout the next two batters to finish off the Rattlers. Lake County snapped an eight-game losing streak with their victory. The Timber Rattlers continue their road trip on Saturday night with game one of a series at Parkview Field in Fort Wayne, Indiana against the Fort Wayne TinCaps. Barrett Astin (6-4, 4.42) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. Jeffery Enloe (2-3, 2.19) has been named as the starting pitcher for the TinCaps. Game time is 6:05pm CDT. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or IHeartRadio starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 5:45pm. HOME RUN: LC: Nellie Rodriguez (17th, 0 on in 4th inning off Zach Quintana, 1 out) WP: Mitch Brown (3-8) LP: Zach Quintana (3-5) TIME: 2:27 ATTN: 7,035 Wisconsin Boxscore Zach Quintana appears to be making some incremental improvements with his control, he was so bad early in the season it's going to take time for that ERA to come down but he's been alternating good/bad starts for a while now. Chris McFarland's 2-4 day was the only multi-hit game. David Denson has hit safely in 7 of his last 10 games but he only has 1 multi-hit game in that stretch so his AVE is just .273 over said span. Wisconsin Recap This proved big... Wisconsin Top of the 4th Christopher McFarland grounds out, catcher Eric Haase to first baseman Nellie Rodriguez. Michael Ratterree walks. David Denson walks. Michael Ratterree to 2nd. With Clint Coulter batting, wild pitch by Mitch Brown, Michael Ratterree to 3rd. David Denson to 2nd. Clint Coulter called out on strikes. Rafael Neda strikes out swinging.

Sounds Double Up Sky, 4-2, In Front Of Packed House Caleb Gindl Drives In Three Of Four Nashville Runs Nashville Sounds http://www.milb.com/assets/images/5/2/8/86180528/cuts/GindlThrowback_0724_0zovvcuv_3mhqywf2.jpg (Mike Strasinger / Nashville Sounds) NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Nashville Sounds defeated the Colorado Springs Sky Sox by a 4-2 count in front of a packed house of 9,202 fans on Thursday evening at Greer Stadium. The first-place Sounds (56-50) took three of four from the Sky Sox in the series to extend their division lead to 2 1/2 games over New Orleans and Round Rock. Outfielder Caleb Gindl drove in three of the four Sounds runs on the night. Mike Fiers (8-5) earned a win for the second straight outing by limiting the Sky Sox to one run on five hits while striking out seven batters over his 5 2/3 innings of action. With the seven punchouts, Mike Fiers took over the Pacific Coast League lead with 122 K's on the year. The Sounds grabbed an early lead on Gindl's two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the first inning. Nashville loaded the bases on an Irving Falu double followed by a pair of walks issued by Sky Sox starter Pedro Hernandez before Gindl delivered the go-ahead knock. Colorado Springs got a run back in the third with a two-out rally against Fiers. After the first two batters of the frame were retired, the visitors pieced together three consecutive two-out singles, the last of which by Kyle Parker cut Nashville's lead to 2-1. Nashville increased its lead to 4-1 in the fifth with a pair of two-out runs. With the bases full of Sounds, Gindl plated his third run of the night by drawing a walk to force home Pete Orr. Matt Clark, who had singled earlier in the frame, scored the second run of the inning when he raced home on a wild pitch. The Sky Sox closed out the night's scoring in the top of the eighth when Cristhian Adames doubled against Sounds reliever Arcenio Leon and later scored on a two-out Matt McBride single. Alfredo Figaro recorded the final four outs for the Sounds to close out the victory and nail down his first save of the year. The Sounds continue their homestand on Friday evening by hosting the Oklahoma City RedHawks (AAA-Astros) in the 7:05 p.m. opener of a four-game series. Right-hander Taylor Jungmann (4-5, 5.64) will toe the slab for Nashville and face Oklahoma City southpaw Tommy Shirley (0-1, 8.03). Nashville Boxscore Nashville Recap Nashville Gameday