Link Report for Sat. 5/7 -- Ross stellar again but Rattlers fall 1-0

[Mass Haas]

Yes, the MiLB.TV video archive is up for the Nashville game, and I did allow myself to suffer the 9th inning walk-off loss.

[Mass Haas]

Timber Rattlers' ace Ross gets trumped by Quad Cities' Martinez

by Mike Woods, Post-Crescent staff writer

GRAND CHUTE — One ace was splendid. The other was, well, wow.

Make that WOW.

Making his U.S. debut, Quad Cities' highly regarded Carlos Martinez showed he was as good as advertised during the River Bandits' 1-0 victory Saturday over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in Midwest League play at Timer Warner Cable Field.

Martinez, who was given a $1.5 million signing bonus and is rated the St. Louis Cardinals' third-best organizational prospect, started and threw four innings.

The spindly, 6-foot, 165-pound right-hander out of the Dominican Republic faced 13 batters, didn't allow a hit, struck out six, walked one and consistently was in the mid to high 90s on the Fox Cities Stadium radar gun, topping out at a stunning 102 mph.

Combined with a breaking ball that ranged from the high 70s to low 80s, it made him unhittable.

"I saw his warm-up pitches and I thought, 'Man, the ball is coming out of his hand pretty fast,' " Rattlers manager Matt Erickson said. "Obviously, he has a live arm, but he was in the strike zone with his fastball, and not only his fastball, but his off-speed pitches. And if you're running it up there 97, 98 mph and you have command of an off-speed pitch, it's going to be a tough night offensively, I don't care who you are."

Rattlers ace Austin Ross was the hard-luck loser. He left with two runners on in the eighth after allowing six hits while striking out six and walking one. He was responsible for the runner on second, who scored on Oscar Tavares' single off reliever Stosh Wawrzasek.

The Rattlers, who finished with two hits, had a chance to tie the score in the eighth. Pinch runner Franklin Romero was on second when Reggie Keen singled to right, but Romero was gunned down at the plate on a perfect throw after the right fielder mishandled the ball.

"It was a soft line drive and he had to wait to make sure the line drive was through," Erickson said. "The ball got to the outfielder's hand right before Romero got to third base so we were going to hold him up. But as soon as he kicked it away, I sent him. Credit to their right fielder, he put it in the only spot to get Romero."

[Mass Haas]

Hey, at least we have Rolando Pascual.

 

OK, slight cheap shot, as there is Wily Peralta and Amaury Rivas (the top two on the Power 50). Wily, by the way, turns 22 today (Sunday).

[Mass Haas]

Which Brewer is # 1 on this week's Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet?

 

OK, so former Brewer. Congrats, kid.

 

Meanwhile, the Brewers are only four games back in the loss column, even if they do trail even the Pirates. I remain very optimistic about the big league Crew in 2011 and hope you all do as well.

 

From the Hot Sheet chat --

• [tt]KyleS (Loudonville, NY): Austin Ross has been impressive since the Brewers drafted him out of LSU last year. What's his ceiling and what do you think he'll become?[/tt]

Jim Shonerd: A righthander taken in the eighth round last year, Ross has excelled for low Class A Wisconsin so far. He has an average fastball and a quality slider. Whether his changeup comes along will determine if he's a starter or reliever long term. He struggled against lefty hitters last year but has been good against them this year, so that's encouraging.

[Mass Haas]

Chris' always-entertaining post-game thoughts and the audio / video-synchronized plays of the Timber Rattlers game.

[Never Outhustled]

Good to see Kentrail Davis heating up. If he doesn't hit, it could be a very short tenure for Bruce Sied. Also great to see Santo Manzinillo find some control. I wonder if they'll stretch him out into a stating role? Even if his future is in the pen, it would better his development if he were a starter now. They need to get the most out of every power arm they have. In unsurprising news to me, Eric Farris is still a non-prospect. Speed is a non-factor when you sport a 609 OPS.

[battlekow]

The Manatees were off today for Mother's Day, but they wore pink uniforms on Saturday to honor the ladies. Courtesy Facebook:

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RJ Seidel

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/224355_591538141495_83402552_31702249_2088943_n.jpg

Hiram Burgos