Link Report for Mon. 4/16 - Thornburg & Nelson: 14.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 18 K! (Gindl hurt)

[Tedaldtada]

Just heard Scooter go yard! 1st AA homer. Was not a wall scraper.

 

Edit: And they just said Mass Haas' name on the air.

[homer]

Thornburg just had a four pitch inning.

 

EDIT: And he just struck out the side. Wow.

[YoungGeezy]

Glad to get mentioned during Stars broadcast for my incorrect answer of Southern Charleston (backwards) for where Thorny went to college. Mass was the big winner.

[Tedaldtada]

Brevard County 3 Lakeland 0

 

Box Score

 

Jimmy J Nelson was simply incredible tonight. Head over to Twitter and congratulate the young man. After only recording 1 K through the first 4 innings, Nelson cranked it up a notch to K 6 over the final 3 including the last 4 hitters he faced. Hitters are batting .119 against Nelson this season through 3 starts. He owns a 4.00 GO:FO ratio. He has 21 K in 17 IP. He is a huge helium prospect who will likely see numerous levels this minor league season.

 

Alan Williams and Casey Medlen each pitched a scorless inning to preserve the win for Nelson. Each had a K and Medlen recorded his 4th save.

 

You may notice a major lineup shakeup for this one. Miguel Velazquez (2-4 HR) moved from 4th to 6th. T.J. Mittelstaedt (0-3 BB) from 2nd to 3rd. Reggie Keen (1-3 2B) hit second and Shawn Zarraga (0-3) hit cleanup. Franklin Romero Jr got a rare start and smacked a 2B in 3 trips. Mike Walker had a 2B in four trips.

 

Another clean sheet for the D.

 

Game Log

Nelson's night in Link Report ink.

 

Lakeland Top of the 1st

 

Daniel Fields grounds out, shortstop Nick Shaw to first baseman Michael Walker.

Hernan Perez grounds out, pitcher Jimmy Nelson to first baseman Michael Walker.

Nick Castellanos grounds out, second baseman Shea Vucinich to first baseman Michael Walker.

 

Lakeland Top of the 2nd

Tyler Collins flies out to left fielder Scott Krieger.

Avisail Garcia grounds out, second baseman Shea Vucinich to first baseman Michael Walker.

James Robbins grounds out, shortstop Nick Shaw to first baseman Michael Walker.

 

Lakeland Top of the 3rd

 

James McCann hit by pitch.

Corey Jones grounds into a force out, pitcher Jimmy Nelson to shortstop Nick Shaw. James McCann out at 2nd. Corey Jones to 1st.

Dixon Machado strikes out swinging.

Daniel Fields grounds out to first baseman Michael Walker.

 

Lakeland Top of the 4th

 

Hernan Perez grounds out, shortstop Nick Shaw to first baseman Michael Walker.

Nick Castellanos grounds out, shortstop Nick Shaw to first baseman Michael Walker.

Tyler Collins singles on a ground ball to right fielder Franklin Romero Jr.

Avisail Garcia flies out to right fielder Franklin Romero Jr.

 

Lakeland Top of the 5th

 

James Robbins strikes out swinging.

James McCann flies out to right fielder Franklin Romero Jr. in foul territory.

Corey Jones grounds out, second baseman Shea Vucinich to first baseman Michael Walker.

 

Lakeland Top of the 6th

 

Dixon Machado called out on strikes.

Daniel Fields grounds out, shortstop Nick Shaw to first baseman Michael Walker.

Hernan Perez singles on a fly ball to center fielder Reggie Keen.

Nick Castellanos strikes out swinging.

 

Lakeland Top of the 7th

 

Tyler Collins strikes out swinging.

Avisail Garcia strikes out swinging.

James Robbins strikes out swinging.

[Tedaldtada]

Scooter with another bomb!

[YoungGeezy]

SCOOTER GOES YARD AGAIN!!!!

[markedman5]

Scooter goes deep again.....wow

[TheCrew07]

Time to bump DT to Huntsville.

And Thornburg to Nashville

I wouldn't mind that at all. If the reports on his velocity & stuff are accurate, he can work on refining his pitches at AAA just as easily as at AA.

 

Again I say let the pitchers work their way through the progression, do so and they'll end up promoting themselves at the proper time. We're only 10 days into the season, things were quite different for Austin Ross last year when everyone saw him once and could adjust.

 

Anyone who can control their fastball is going to have success in A ball, AA and beyond is about being able to locate your 2nd and 3rd pitches and mix those pitches effectively. I'll use Gagnon as an example as someone who pitches very heavily off his FB having and is having success in WI, I think that success will repeat itself in A+, however I don't think FB command is enough when you get to AA. I wish I would have charted his pitches because the first time through the order he was over 90% FBs, can you be successful with those ratios as you move up the ladder? It's basically the same argument i made about Jungmann, you know his FB is going to play well in A ball, but is his secondary stuff good enough to play at AA and above? I'd rather these guys work on pitches in an environment where they can dominate off one pitch, than struggle against better competition while trying to refine said pitches so they can be successful. If Gagnon keeps pitching like he has he'll be in A+ by the break which is perfectly fine with me, that sets him up to be in AA next season.

 

Without seeing any of the pitchers throw any secondary pitch it's incredibly difficult to say definitively if they should be pushed to the next level or not. It's not even only about pitching, they need to learn how to control the running game better and so on as they move. It's extremely premature to be discussing promotions in the 2nd week of the season, a couple of years ago Peter Fatse had an incredible April and finished the year hitting .236.

 

Let the progression work it's magic and let the young men earn their promotions, especially since we don't have an immediate need to push these guys. Thornbug would be okay jumping directly from AA, it's not that he couldn't benefit from facing the more advanced/refined approach of the average AAA hitter who's likely played some in MLB, but it's only April and there is still plenty of time to get him some AAA experience this season. Even without it he'd be okay, I have a hard time believing the limited time Yo spent in AAA was worth more than his season in AA.

 

The only rotation that is kind of "meh" in the entire organization was Nashville's but with the addition of Rogers we have 3 pitchers who most of us are interested in as well. That's without Bucci (what's his injury? I remember someone saying he hurt his arm in ST?), Scarpetta (biceps tendonitis sounds like code for TJ surgery to me), and Lasker (no idea) whom we followed closely in the past.

[TooLiveBrew]

Without seeing any of the pitchers throw any secondary pitch it's incredibly difficult to say definitively if they should be pushed to the next level or not.

 

Yeah, in my response to jjfanec, I noted "if the reports on his velocity & stuff are accurate" -- while I realize it's early in the season, Thornburg has been getting plenty of praise for his secondary stuff so far, not just his FB.

[YoungGeezy]

damn.....its over after 7.1

[Tedaldtada]

Keith Law...Get him!

[brewmann04]

wow what a great night for the Brewers Pitchers Nelson an Thornburgh no one should believe he not a starting pitcher.

Hope Nelson moves up also to join the stars

[TooLiveBrew]

Keith Law...Get him!

The nice thing about Law is that he's always so descriptive.

[Mass Haas]

Jimmy having fun with Tyler -- sweet

[TheCrew07]

Without seeing any of the pitchers throw any secondary pitch it's incredibly difficult to say definitively if they should be pushed to the next level or not.

 

Yeah, in my response to jjfanec, I noted "if the reports on his velocity & stuff are accurate" -- while I realize it's early in the season, Thornburg has been getting plenty of praise for his secondary stuff so far, not just his FB.

 

Yes but again, there's more to pitching than just pure stuff as well, I probably should have worked on that point a bit more than I did. I'm alright with anyone who's dominating getting bumped at the halfway point as even though I'm thrilled with the initial results, I'm more interested in what happens once hitters and teams can start to put a book a together on a pitcher. Let's see how they perform the 2nd and 3rd time against each team... if the success continues and everything else checks out(they make their improvements holding runners for example), move 'em on up.

 

I guess I just don't see AAA time as a prerequisite for MLB success, I'm alright jumping players directly from AA if we have a need. As it stands Merklinger (pending whatever he's on the DL for) and Thornburg to AAA at the break makes sense, it opens up 2 slots in AA, and there is probably room for 3. I don't think Bucci and Scarpetta coming back would have that great an impact on the current rotations, Seidel moves to the pen and Williamson back to A. The only difference would be from a promotion standpoint as Anundsen and Heckathorn, plus if Bucci and Scarpetta return then all belong in AA so then which of Jungmann, Bradley, and Nelson would you promote? I'm not sure Bucci and/or Scarpetta coming back is going to be an issue though, I hope so, but I not going to hold my breath.

[TheCrew07]

Keith Law...Get him!

 

Stuff like that is why I will never pay to read him.

[homer]

Keith Law...Get him!

 

Stuff like that is why I will never pay to read him.

 

 

Agreed. Has he been right about anything? Ever?

[Tedaldtada]

Keith Law...Get him!

 

Stuff like that is why I will never pay to read him.

 

 

Agreed. Has he been right about anything? Ever?

 

Remember all of those fantastic players he acquired for the Blue Jays when he worked for them? Law actually reportedly got offered an Astros front office job this past year. He turned it down which is too bad because I would love to see him put his reputation where his mouth his. I cannot imagine him, snarky as he is, being able to sustain long term relationships with his peers and subordinates.

[TheCrew07]

Final: Huntsville 5, Tennessee (Cubs) 2

 

Huntsville Box Score

Normally I would say something hateful about beating the Cubs, but as tonight's starting pitcher will "make a fine reliever" I'd rather hate on Keith Law. Tyler Thornburg was absolutely fantastic, as noted earlier in the thread he went 7.1 IP of 1 hit and walkless baseball while striking out 11! He exited after the 2nd batter in the 8th singled on him breaking up the perfect game as he reached his pitch count throwing 98 pitches, 67 of which were for strikes. Unfortunately Rob Wooten allowed back to back doubles to the first 2 hitters he faced and 3 hits total in the inning to allow Thorny's inherited runner to score plus one of his own. Josh Stinson put the Smokies down in order in the 9th for his first save of the season.

 

Also noted earlier in thread, Scooter Gennett also had a huge night going YA-YA twice and finished 3-4 on the evening. Jeff Bianchi continues to rake adding 2 hits and bumping his season AVE up to .326. Jason Jarmillo and Brock Kjeldgaard each contributed a double as well. It was a clean defensive game and there were no OF assists because... well... there were no base runners until the 8th.

 

Huntsville Play By Play

I guess this what a MLB reliever does as a starting pitcher in the Minors?

Tennessee Top of the 1st

• Elliot Soto flies out to center fielder Josh Prince.
  Logan Watkins flies out to center fielder Josh Prince.
  Jae-Hoon Ha called out on strikes.

 

Tennessee Top of the 2nd

• Justin Bour strikes out on foul tip.
  Michael Burgess grounds out, second baseman Scooter Gennett to first baseman Hunter Morris.
  James Adduci strikes out swinging.

 

Tennessee Top of the 3rd

• Juan Apodaca pops out to second baseman Scooter Gennett.
  Nate Samson called out on strikes.
  Trey McNutt called out on strikes.

 

Soto grounds out sharply, RELIEVER MATERIAL!

Tennessee Top of the 4th

• Elliot Soto grounds out sharply, third baseman Andy Gonzalez to first baseman Hunter Morris.
  Logan Watkins flies out to center fielder Josh Prince.
  Jae-Hoon Ha grounds out, third baseman Andy Gonzalez to first baseman Hunter Morris.

 

Tennessee Top of the 5th

• Justin Bour called out on strikes.
  Michael Burgess strikes out swinging.
  James Adduci grounds out, pitcher Tyler Thornburg to first baseman Hunter Morris.

 

Tennessee Top of the 6th

• Juan Apodaca grounds out, third baseman Andy Gonzalez to first baseman Hunter Morris.
  Nate Samson grounds out, shortstop Jeff Bianchi to first baseman Hunter Morris.
  Rebel Ridling grounds out, shortstop Jeff Bianchi to first baseman Hunter Morris.

 

Tennessee Top of the 7th

• Elliot Soto strikes out on foul tip.
  Logan Watkins strikes out swinging.
  Jae-Hoon Ha strikes out swinging.

 

Tennessee Top of the 8th

• Justin Bour called out on strikes.
  Michael Burgess singles on a ground ball to center fielder Josh Prince.
  Pitcher Change: Robert Wooten replaces Tyler Thornburg, batting 9th.
  Jonathan Mota doubles (2) on a line drive to left fielder Khris Davis. Michael Burgess scores.
  Juan Apodaca doubles (2) on a fly ball to center fielder Josh Prince. Jonathan Mota scores.
  Nate Samson lines out to left fielder Khris Davis.
  Rebel Ridling singles on a sharp ground ball to third baseman Andy Gonzalez. Juan Apodaca to 3rd.
  Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Michael Brenly replaces Frank Batista.
  Michael Brenly pops out to first baseman Hunter Morris in foul territory.

 

edit. I got so riled up it just occurred to me that Thornburg actually had a perfect game going, not just a no hitter, corrected above.

[TooLiveBrew]

I guess I just don't see AAA time as a prerequisite for MLB success, I'm alright jumping players directly from AA if we have a need.

 

I completely agree, but the Brewers under Melvin have seemed reluctant at best when it comes to calling anyone up from below the AAA level. Lucroy is the only example I can think of off the top of my head, and that was only due to the relatively extreme scenario of Zaun basically getting a career-ending injury.

 

If the Brewers were fine with promoting guys directly from AA, I'd concern myself a lot less with whether or not guys get bumped from AA->AAA.

[Tedaldtada]

New Orleans (Marlins) 11 Nashville 5

 

Box Score

 

The pitching was forgettable for Nashville tonight. Mike Fiers had by far his worst start as a Brewer. Fiers is not known for walks and he had 5 tonight. He also had 2 WP. One bright spot was Dan Meadows who went 3 scoreless with 3 K.

 

Caleb Gindl (2-3 HR) and Logan Schafer (2-4 HR 2B BB) had big games. Gindl left the game after his 3rd AB. That is something to watch. No other Sound was on multiple times.

 

Game Log

 

Runs were scored in 9 of the 18 half innings. There were only 3 perfectly pitched innings, two by Dan Meadows.

 

Game Day

[brewmann04]

hope Gindl is not hurt ?

[Mass Haas]

Sinking feeling helps Manatees' Nelson

By Sam Dykstra / Special to MLB.com

 

The first three games of the season have not always been kind to Jimmy Nelson.

 

In the Rookie-level Pioneer League in 2010, the No. 8 Brewers prospect had an 11.37 ERA in his first three outings. The mark slimmed to 4.97 after three starts in the Midwest League, but was still not spectacular.

 

But the third season was the charm as the right-hander allowed just two hits and struck out seven hitters in seven shutout innings in Class A Advanced Brevard County's 3-0 win at home over Lakeland on Monday. Nelson improved to 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA after his first two Florida State League starts.

 

"I've been trusting my stuff a lot more to start the year," he said. "I'm trying to aim for the heart of the plate and picking at the corners like I used to. I throw a sinker and when you throw a fastball that moves a lot, it's tough to try to paint the corners. You've just got to let the hitters get ground balls and let the guys behind you take care of it. I'm doing a better job at that thus far.

 

Nelson forced groundouts from nine of the first 12 batters he faced, while 11 of his 21 total outs came in the infield. The Florida native gave his teammates as much credit for his success as his new-found command.

 

"With my sinker working, I was trusting my [defense] to back me up," he said. "They made me look good. They helped set the tempo of the game at the plate too. With them scoring in the first two innings, the [Lakeland] hitters were aggressive from the beginning. That played in my hand a little bit."

 

Following his seven-strikeout performance, Nelson has struck out at least six batters in each of his first three starts for a total of 21 punchouts, equaling his career-high strikeout total over a three-game period.

 

His two earned runs allowed in his first three starts also have been a personal low. Nelson seems confident he can continue his career-best stretch into the deeper depths of the 2012 schedule.

 

"I think it's very realistic," Nelson said. "Since the end of instructional league last fall, I was feeling pretty good. Then I feel like I hit another gear in Spring Training. Hopefully, I keep clicking a few more gears here and make this continue all year."

 

Brevard County designated hitter Miguel Velazquez hit his first homer of the year, a solo shot, in the second and reliever Casey Medlen earned his fourth save by pitching a perfect ninth.

 

MLB.com's No. 50 prospect Nick Castellanos went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts for the Detroit affiliate. Tigers' No. 12 prospect Alex Burgos (1-2) allowed three runs on three hits and a walk in five innings.

[Mass Haas]

hope Gindl is not hurt ?

 

"Caleb Gindl, who went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs on the night, was removed from the game after apparently injuring his right hamstring while running out a grounder to third to lead off the bottom of the fifth."

[Mass Haas]

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