Link Report for Tue. 4/17 -- Sounds, Stars Washed Out, Rogers Debuts Wed. AM

[Mass Haas]

Manatees' Bradley carries perfect ERA

Brewers left-hander strikes out seven over six shutout frames

By David Heck / Special to MLB.com

 

Jed Bradley hasn't known catcher Adam Weisenburger long, having briefly worked with him in the Brewers' instructional league and late in Spring Training.

 

Nonetheless, the two have already formed a rapport that opponents should be wary of.

 

Bradley, the Brewers' No. 2 prospect, tossed six scoreless innings Tuesday as the Class A Advanced Brevard County Manatees blanked the Lakeland Flying Tigers, 5-0, for their fifth shutout of the season.

 

The 21-year-old left-hander yielded four hits and one walk while striking out seven. He has yet to allow an earned run through his first three starts this season.

 

"I go out and I do my job," said Bradley, who is also rated as MLB.com's No. 96 prospect. "It's a pitcher's job to keep guys from scoring, and so far, I've been fortunate enough to do that. Obviously you're not going to have three starts without giving up a run without some really good defensive work behind you. I have to give a huge part of my success so far to my teammates.

 

"I kept the ball down and made pitches when I needed to. Thanks to good chemistry with my catcher, I was able to do that."

 

Bradley (2-1) allowed three baserunners through the first seven batters he faced, but found his groove after that. Following a one-out single by Wade Gaynor in the second, Bradley retired 13 of the final 15 hitters he saw.

 

"I had a good two-seam fastball, a good four-seamer, I had a good changeup and a good slider, so a good mix," Bradley said "As usual, me and Adam Weisenburger ... were on the same page and we caught them off balance."

 

Both hits that Bradley allowed during his late run came from No. 2 Tigers prospect Nick Castellanos. The 20-year-old third baseman, who is batting .391 so far this year, also walked in the first.

 

"He's a good hitter. He keeps his hands inside the ball and went the other way on one," Bradley said. "He had one good hit against me tonight and one off the handle. I'm sure we'll have some battles later on down the line."

 

Eric Arnett took over for Bradley and tossed a one-hit seventh, while Alan Williams pitched the final two scoreless frames.

 

T.J. Mittelstaedt paced Brevard County's offense with a two-run triple. He currently leads the Florida State League with a .615 slugging percentage. Miguel Velazquez also drove in a pair of runs and Cody Hawn tallied an RBI for the Manatees as well.

 

Drafted with the 15th overall pick in June, Bradley was sent to the Brewers' instructional league before pitching in the Arizona Fall League. He then had the opportunity to take part in big league camp, allowing two runs over two innings.

 

Though his time with the Major League team was brief, Bradley said he took plenty out of the experience.

 

"I was able to learn some stuff from older guys," Bradley said. "I tried to keep my mouth shut and listen, pick up nuances of game that these veterans bring to the table. They've been great to me and I'm proud to be a part of [the Brewers.]"

 

Not surprisingly after his hot start, Bradley said he doesn't plan on changing much going forward.

 

"Prepare every day the way I need to and be aggressive in the zone," Bradley said. "The only thing I can do is be my best every night. After I throw the ball, I don't have any control over what happens. I'm going to go out there and keep doing what I'm doing."

[Mass Haas]

Wisconsin doubleheader video highlights -- "Drew Gagnon laughs at 38 degree wind chill" - Chris

[igor67]

Anybody happen to know the last time we had a minor leaguer pitch at least 19 consecutive scoreless innings?

[HiAndTight]

Anybody happen to know the last time we had a minor leaguer pitch at least 19 consecutive scoreless innings?

 

 

No....but I would guess it hasn't been that long. I wouldn't be surprised if Thornburg had a couple scoreless innings combined with a couple scoreless outings to start or finish an outing.

 

Same with others. We've had some impressive runs from young guys. I wonder what Axford's longest streak was?

 

In any event, thats' not the point. When's the last time we drafted a pitcher high, had high expectations and he met them right out of the gate? THAT'S the real question. And not in a couple years like with some of our HS picks, ie, Gallardo, or a Brooks Hall who I love...guys along those lines that we wait 2-3 years for as the Brewers pamper the hell outta them(not saying it's right or wrong, just saying that's how it is).

 

 

So...I think there are two things here, first of, this is the first time in a while that we've gotten the immediate results we've expected from a top pitching draft pick. And heck, you can throw Jungman into that mix. Perhaps he hasn't been AS good, but...when you're coming off one Mr. Arnett,[sarcasm]anything south of 6.00 is actually nice![/sarcasm]

 

And second, I've always been hellbent against drafting college pitchers for the most part unless you're in the top 5-10. Well, in such a deep draft, I believe we got two college arms who typically would be top 5-10 picks. So HS arms aren't always the way to go.

 

Thornburg, Bradley, and Jungman..three college arms. Not to be forgotten one Mr. Peralta, but I've always advocated spending a lot more money on the DR....something we've done with the re-opened academy.

 

In any event, it appears as though our approach to developing pitching has payed off from all angles. Latin America, the draft, HS and College and trades.