Link Report for Wed. 5/9 -- All About The Schoolkids

[DHonks]

Heckathorn seems to have a higher strikeout rate this year. As a pro, we haven't heard much about his velocity, but we see him getting lots of groundouts. In college he was known as a power arm throwing 97-98. So I don't know much about him. I'm holding out hope for him to really redeem that draft. Arnett finally has an ERA under 4, but even then he's allowing a hit every outing.

[TheCrew07]

Final: Wisconsin 8, Quad Cities 5

 

Wisconsin pounds out a win over Quad Cities

McMahan with four hits & Rogers drives in four runs for the Rattlers

By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

 

GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers cracked a season-high 18 hits and pounded out an 8-5 win over the Quad Cities River Bandits Wednesday night at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Ben McMahan and Jason Rogers led the assault. McMahan had four hits - two doubles, a triple, and a single - and Rogers drove in four runs to propel the Rattlers to their ninth win in the last ten games.

 

Quad Cities (17-16) started the scoring with a two out RBI double by Anthony Garcia in the top of the first inning. Timber Rattlers starting pitcher Chad Thompson, who was the starting pitcher in a combined no-hitter on May 4 at Clinton, gave up a single to the first batter of the game. That runner came in to score on the double by Garcia.

 

Wisconsin (21-12) came right back in the bottom of the first on the strength of the duo of McMahan and Rogers. McMahan doubled with two outs and none on base. Then, Rogers singled him home to tie the game.

 

Thompson kept the River Bandits off the scoreboard until there were two outs in the fourth. He walked David Medina with two away and gave up a two-run homer to left to Luis Mateo for a 3-1 lead.

 

The Rattlers chipped away with single runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Yadiel Rivera doubled to start the fourth, but was at third with two outs. Chadwin Stang struck out with two gone, but the ball got away from the River Bandits catcher to allow Stang to reach first and Rivera to score. In the fifth, McMahan tripled to start the inning and Rogers drove him home with a single.

 

Mark Williams, who tossed the final four innings of the no-hitter at Clinton last week, entered the game in the top of the sixth and gave up singles to the first two River Bandits he faced. Williams got the next two batters, but gave up an RBI double to Garrett Wittels and Quad Cities was back in front 4-3.

 

In the bottom of the sixth, the Wisconsin bats went into high gear as the banged out five hits and scored four runs to take the lead for good. The barrage started with consecutive one out singles by Rafael Neda and John Dishon. Brandon Macias stepped in with two outs and Neda and Dishon still on base. Macias smacked a double just fair inside the line in left to score Neda with the tying run. McMahan was next and his infield single - his fourth hit of the night - scored Dishon to give the Rattlers a 5-4 lead.

 

McMahan would steal second to put two runners in scoring position for Rogers and Wisconsin's RBI leader delivered. He drove in both Macias and McMahan with a single for a 7-4 advantage.

 

Roberto De La Cruz got the Bandits back to within two runs with a one out homer in the seventh.

 

Dishon and Stang combined to score an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Dishon tripled and Stang drove a single through the drawn in infield. Stang's single meant that all nine Wisconsin hitters had at least one hit in the game.

 

But, the Bandits made a bid to rally in the top of the ninth. The first two batters reached with a walk and a double against Williams. The Rattlers right-hander got the first out with a shallow fly ball to right. Then, Seth Harvey took over.

 

The Rattlers closer came out of the bullpen and struck out De La Cruz and Garcia to end the game. Harvey has six saves this season.

 

Game two of the series is Thursday night. David Goforth (3-1, 4.250 is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Fond du Lac native Chad Pierce is set to come on in relief for Wisconsin. Sam Gaviglio (1-2, 5.04) is set to start for the River Bandits. Game time is 6:35pm.

 

The first 1,000 fans to attend this game will receive a Rally Rattle from Time Warner Cable Sports32. Thursday also a night for college students to take advantage of $1 reserved bleacher tickets just for showing their college ID when they purchase the ticket.

 

All fans can enjoy 16oz soda and beer for just $2 as part of Thirsty Thursday presented by Slugger's Sports Bar! After the game, those in attendance can take their ticket stub to Sluggers Sports Bar - located in Super Bowl on Northland Avenue - to win Miller Lite drinks and prizes.

 

If you can't make it out to the game, tune in for the radio broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:15pm. The game is also available to MiLB.TV subscribers. Time Warner Cable Sports32 is also broadcasting the game.

 

HOME RUNS:

QC:

Luis Mateo (3rd, 1 on in 4th inning off Chad Thompson, 2 out)

Roberto De La Cruz (3rd, 0 on in 7th inning off Mark Williams, 1 out)

 

WP: Mark Williams (1-3)

LP: Brandon Creath (2-2)

SAVE: Seth Harvey (6)

 

TIME: 2:53

ATTN: 3,074

 

Nine after 9 for May 9, 2012

 

Wisconsin Box Score

Sometimes it's hard not to believe in karma. All day I was thinking that I hope T-Rats just whup up on Quad Cities this series because I'm incredibly tired of reading about STL prospects all over the place. Then right when I sit and open up the LR to post about my games "The Name of the Game" by Crystal Method comes up on the MP3 player I and just knew the Rattlers had played well. Seth Harvey has the stuff to be an interesting reliever down the road, I'd like to see him stretched out a bit and pitch multiple innings, but he has better than average velocity. Plus, there just aren't enough Seths in baseball.

 

In case you skimmed the game story in addition to his offensive fireworks Ben McMahan stole a base but both Gregory Hopkins and Chadwin Stang were caught stealing. Once again the Rattlers played a clean defensive game, and that's just one of many aspects about this Rattler team I'm really enjoying. To think I was pretty skeptical about this team coming into the season... you just never know.

 

Set those DVRs tomorrow/later today for Goforth!

 

Wisconsin Play By Play

[TheCrew07]

Final: Huntsville 4, Jackson 2

 

Huntsville Box Score

We should all feel pretty good about Kyle Heckathorn coming out on top of a dual against one of the better pitching prospects in all of baseball Taijuan Walker. I gave a little bit of information about Taijuan in yesterday's report. Kyle's 8IP is a season high and his final line, 4H, 2ER, 0BB, 1HBP, and 7Ks. Kyle's K/9 has jumped to almost 9.0 through the first month and his BB rate has plummeted below 2.0. Those are the kind of trends that tend to get me excited. Who else to finish it but Jesus Sanchez who has only allowed 12 hits in 24 innings so far this season. I had written him off after last season as he was converted catcher without a good scouting report on the internet, lots of talk about a smallish frame and averagish stuff. Not to mention that Phillies prospect watchers didn't seem concerned to lose him. I hope this is a sign of better things to come.

 

Jay Gibbons had a monster day at the plate going 4-4 with 2 doubles. Jason Jarmillo went 2-4 with a double and Hunter Morris added a double of his own. Morris has had a pretty good season thus far and I would have guessed his OPS was higher than .834 given he's been on a bit of a power binge lately with 5 doubles and a HR in his last 10 games. However, Khris Davis is the current leader from a prospect standpoint and leads Morris by over 50 points though in far fewer ABs, his OPS is .899. Kentrail Davis had an interesting day going 1-1 with 4 walks, the only BBs Stars hitters took in the game. I had to check the play by play to make sure that was correct as I don't recall the last time a prospect walked 4 times in one game. Certainly a statistical rarity for this organization. Scooter Gennett stole his 4th base, Josh Prince his 5th, and Kentrail Davis was caught stealing. Matt Cline had the only Stars' error and Huntsville went 0-2 defensively on steal attempts.

 

Huntsville Play By Play

Rock would have liked this, hit behind the runners and all that.

Huntsville Top of the 1st

• Kentrail Davis walks.
  Josh Prince grounds out, pitcher Taijuan Walker to first baseman Rich Poythress. Kentrail Davis to 2nd.
  Scooter Gennett grounds out to first baseman Rich Poythress. Kentrail Davis to 3rd.
  Hunter Morris doubles (16) on a line drive to center fielder Denny Almonte. Kentrail Davis scores.
  Jason Jaramillo called out on strikes.

 

Heckathorn gave up single tallies in the 3rd and 4th.

Jackson Bottom of the 3rd

• Daniel Carroll grounds out, shortstop Josh Prince to first baseman Hunter Morris.
  Gabriel Noriega grounds out, shortstop Josh Prince to first baseman Hunter Morris.
  Francisco Martinez singles on a ground ball to second baseman Scooter Gennett.
  With Eric Campbell batting, Francisco Martinez steals (12) 2nd base.
  Eric Campbell doubles (4) on a line drive to left fielder Lee Haydel. Francisco Martinez scores.
  Joseph Dunigan strikes out swinging.

 

Jackson Bottom of the 4th

• Rich Poythress flies out to center fielder Juan Sanchez.
  Denny Almonte grounds out, second baseman Scooter Gennett to first baseman Hunter Morris.
  Chris Pettit hit by pitch.
  With Ralph Henriquez batting, Chris Pettit steals (2) 2nd base.
  Ralph Henriquez singles on a ground ball to center fielder Juan Sanchez. Chris Pettit scores.
  Daniel Carroll flies out to right fielder Kentrail Davis.

 

Gibbons picked up Jarmillo in the 6th.

Huntsville Top of the 6th

• Scooter Gennett singles on a ground ball to center fielder Denny Almonte.
  Hunter Morris strikes out swinging.
  With Jason Jaramillo batting, Scooter Gennett steals (4) 2nd base.
  With Jason Jaramillo batting, wild pitch by Brian Moran, Scooter Gennett to 3rd.
  Jason Jaramillo called out on strikes.
  Jay Gibbons singles on a line drive to center fielder Denny Almonte. Scooter Gennett scores.
  Juan Sanchez flies out to right fielder Daniel Carroll.

 

Huntsville Top of the 8th

• Scooter Gennett lines out to shortstop Gabriel Noriega.
  Hunter Morris pops out to third baseman Francisco Martinez.
  Pitcher Change: Bobby LaFromboise replaces Steven Hensley.
  Jason Jaramillo doubles (6) on a fly ball to left fielder Chris Pettit.
  Jay Gibbons doubles (5) on a fly ball to left fielder Chris Pettit. Jason Jaramillo scores.
  Juan Sanchez grounds out, shortstop Gabriel Noriega to first baseman Eric Campbell.

[TheCrew07]

Chiefs' Hoilman extends hit streak to 21

Cubs prospect matches Peoria mark in longest pro run of year

By Robert Emrich / Special to MLB.com

 

http://www.milb.com/images/2012/05/09/A6grrVlX.jpg

Paul Hoilman is batting .353 (30-for-85) during his hitting streak. (Paul R. Gierhart/MiLB.com)

 

Peoria's Paul Hoilman has a flair for the dramatic that was on display in his race for team history Tuesday.

 

Hoilman singled in his last at-bat to extend his hitting streak to 21 games as the Class A Chiefs defeated the Quad Cities River Bandits, 7-2. It's the longest consecutive run this year in pro baseball.

 

The right-handed hitter lined a pitch into left field against Robert Stock in his fifth at-bat, the third time during the streak he's extended it in his final at-bat. Selected by the Cubs in the 19th round of last June's Draft, Hoilman said he wasn't worried about the streak possibly coming to an end in the eighth inning.

 

"The only thing that crossed my mind was if they gave me something to hit, I was planning on getting it done," he said.

 

Hoilman, who plated a run with a groundout in the fourth, was unaware that he had matched a Chiefs record held by Kerry Robinson, who hit in 21 straight in 1996, and Jack Wilson, who managed the feat in 1999.

 

"Awesome," Hoilman said upon learning the news. "I've been trying not to think about it too much, trying to have a good at-bat every time. It's been fun. The thing about that is you just put pressure on yourself. I try not to look at the stat sheet, I just try and go up there and put good swings on the ball."

 

When the streak began April 14, the 23-year-old first baseman was batting .136. Since then he's raised his average to .303, and over the 21 games, he is hitting .353 with three homers and 22 RBIs.

 

"That's very important," Hoilman said of the stat boost. "I'm a first baseman, so I'm supposed to be hitting and driving in runs. I felt good coming out here, but things weren't falling for me. I was making adjustments and working with our hitting coach Barbaro Garbey. I tried to take a good mental approach; it's the mentality you take as much as anything."

 

Taiwan Easterling was 2-for-6 with three RBIs while Brad Zapenas reached base three times and scored twice for Peoria.

 

Jose Rosario (2-3) gave up two runs while scattering 10 hits over five innings to earn the win.

[TheCrew07]

Mostly a repeat of the BA stuff from a different perspective, playing catch up here as I missed the full post

MiLB Players of the Week

 

Southern League

J.C. Sulbaran, Pensacola

(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 9 K)

Sulbaran, the Reds' No. 8 prospect, got off to a strong start in Double-A, allowing just two runs in his first two starts of the season. After yielding 14 in his next three outings -- all losses -- he saw his ERA rise to 5.13. Saturday he bounced back, holding first-place Jackson to five hits over seven shutout frames. The 22-year-old Florida native struck out nine Generals and did not issue a walk for the first time this season.

Top prospects: J.C. Sulbaran

 

Mass already covered this but I'll post it again anyway.

Midwest League

Gregory Hopkins, Wisconsin

(.550/.524/1.000, 5 G, 11-for-20, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 6 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 SB)

Hopkins is in his second season with the Timber Rattlers, and has found significantly more success in 2012 than he did in his first Midwest League go-around, during which he batted .229/.271/.333. The 23-year-old St. John's product is batting .320 in his first 29 games -- fourth-best in the league. He leads Wisconsin in homers, hits and runs scored but has drawn just three walks. Hopkins kicked off the week with three hits Monday, added his first triple of the season Wednesday, then went 7-for-12 the rest of the week, homering in back-to-back games at Clinton on Thursday and Friday.

[Mass Haas]

Stars Take Share Of First Place

 

JACKSON, Tenn.- With a 4-2 victory over the Jackson Generals (20-14) at Pringles Park early Wednesday afternoon, the Huntsville Stars (20-14) now have a share of the lead in the Southern League North Division for the first time this season.

 

Starting in the first inning, an RBI double by first basemen Hunter Morris plated right fielder Kentrail Davis to give the Stars a 1-0 lead.

 

After an RBI double by Jackson second basemen Eric Campbell tied the game at 1-1 in the third inning, Stars designated hitter Jay Gibbons took over the game from an offensive standpoint.

 

As part of a 4-for-4 day at the plate, the longtime big leaguer doubled home a run in the fourth inning, ripped an RBI single in the sixth inning, and then had another RBI double in the seventh inning to give Huntsville all the run support their pitching needed.

 

In terms of pitching, Huntsville got a tremendous performance by starter Kyle Heckathorn. The 23-year-old righty went a season-high 8.0 innings, giving up just two runs and four hits while striking out eight to improve to 2-1 on the season. The eight innings pitched was the longest outing by a Stars starting pitcher so far this season.

 

Aside from Heckathorn, Stars RHP Jesus Sanchez shut down the Jackson bats in the ninth inning to notch his second save of the season. For Sanchez, he has now not given up a run in his last 12 appearances.

 

As a team, the victory gave the Stars their third consecutive series win in a row, second straight on the road.

 

The finale of a five-game series between the two teams will begin on Thursday as the Stars will send RHP Josh Stinson (4-1, 3.33 ERA) to the mound to square off against Generals RHP Brandon Maurer (2-0, 3.55 ERA). First pitch is at 7:05 PM.

[Mass Haas]

Apparently Hiram Burgos has some Martin Maldonado skills

[Mass Haas]

Finally, no matinees today and on the (thankful) big league Brewers off-day, we can sit back and wait until this evening for affiliate action.

 

Thursday Link Report by mid-to-late afternoon, but it's Rogers, Stinson, Hall/Williamson, and Goforth/Pierce on the mounds tonight, and don't forget, Rattlers are on Sports 32 TV locally.

[CheezWizHed]

Is Heckathorn getting snubbed as we talk about all the prospects this year? His numbers are really good this year. His overall numbers seem even better than his ERA. 37 K to 7 BB.

 

I gave him a little love:

 

Kyle Heckathorn - Like Khris Davis, Heckathorn killed A+ last year, but struggled mightily at AA. And while, he didn't quite make the Hot list this month, I'm liking his WHIP, K/9 and BB/9 rates he is putting up: WHIP 1.094; BB/9 1.6; K/9 8.58