Link Report for Thurs. 5/31 -- Farmclubs 0-for-4, but hey, the big boys swept LA!

[Mass Haas]

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/store/dailylinkreport.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Thursday's Daily Menu:

 

All times are Central

 

Nashville: RHP Mark Rogers at Oklahoma City (Astros), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime

 

Free Live Audio Link

 

Jeff Hem is the new play-by-play voice of the Sounds; follow him on Twitter @jeffhempbp; we'll link to his blog updates at On the Air…and Off

 

MiLB.TV -- for subscribers; all Nashville games, home and away, will be available to watch via MiLB.TV's $39.99 season-long package ($9.99 to pay for a single month). We imagine the audio feed is from the home team. All MiLB.TV details available at the link.

 

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Huntsville: RHP Kyle Heckathorn at Tennessee (Cubs), 6:00 PM pre-game, 6:15 gametime

 

Free Live Audio Link -- Select the Huntsville feed from the MiLB main audio page

 

I-Phone friendly audio link

 

Alex Cohen is the new play-by-play voice of the Stars; follow him on Twitter @alexmcohen. It's fantastic that Huntsville is returning to what will be a traditional broadcast format this year. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be broadcast.

 

MiLB.TV subsciption note: Huntsville road games in four locales (Mississippi, Tennessee, Jacksonville and Pensacola) will be broadcast.

 

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Brevard County: RHP Andy Moye at Daytona (Cubs), 6:05 PM gametime

 

Free Live Audio Link -- Select the Daytona feed from the MiLB main audio page

 

Once again this season, Brevard does not have its own audio coverage. It appears two teams in the Manatees North Division (within which the majority of games are played) have audio, and all six teams in the South Division have audio (at least for their home games), so there will be opportunities to listen to approx. 70% or Brevard's games this season, just all from the opponent's perspective. There are no Florida State League games on MiLB.TV this year.

 

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Wisconsin: RHP David Goforth at Cedar Rapids (Angels), 6:15 PM pre-game, 6:35 gametime; RHP Chad Pierce will tandem

 

Free Live Audio Link - 1280 AM WNAM

 

Chris Mehring is back to do his customary fantastic work as the Voice of the Rattlers. Follow him on Twitter @CMehring; we'll link to Chris' infamous blog often -- Rattler Radio.

 

MiLB.TV -- for subscribers; Wisconsin is one of only two (Great Lakes) Midwest League clubs that have all their home games available via MiLB.TV; Chris' call provides the audio. So for the $39.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sounds games, all Timber Rattlers home games, and 24 Stars' road games (one Helena series this summer, too).

[Mass Haas]

MiLB.TV note -- Reminder that in addition to the always-available Sounds feed, you're treated to Stars video for this series in Tennessee, so good time for friends and family of Huntsville players (and the rest of us) to invest in MiLB.TV if so inclined.

[Mass Haas]

Follow Thursday's action as it happens with box score / game log links:

 

Nashville

 

Huntsville

 

Brevard County

 

Wisconsin

[Mass Haas]

STANDINGS:

 

AAA - Pacific Coast League American Northern Division

 

AA - Southern League North Division

 

High-A - Florida State League North Division

 

A - Midwest League Western Division

[Mass Haas]

To see tweets as to when the Link Report has been technically "completed" with available links, as well as to know when the new day's Report has been posted, please follow @Mass_Haas on Twitter.

[Mass Haas]

Mike Fiers' Wednesday WTMJ Pre-Game Brewers Interview with Joe Block

[TheCrew07]

Interesting feature story about a Reds prospect, Drew Gagnon notes that bottom

MWL Notes: O'Rear bounced into ball

Dayton Dragons pitcher transitions from court to diamond

By Curt Rallo / Special to MLB.com

 

http://www.milb.com/images/2012/05/31/VqkWQKrh.jpg

Lucas O'Rear compiled a 6.97 ERA through his first five outings of the season. (Dayton Dragons)

Major League Baseball players generally don't look up recent signees who are trying to find their way around the Minor League complex.

 

Lucas O'Rear was the exception at the Cincinnati Reds complex following the 2010 NCAA basketball tournament.

 

"At Spring Training, a couple of big league guys looked me up and let me know that I ruined their bracket," laughed O'Rear, who helped Northern Iowa stun No. 1 seed Kansas, 69-67, in the Round of 32 in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. It was the first time a No. 1 seed fell at that stage of March Madness since UAB and Alabama each pulled off the trick against Kentucky and Stanford respectively in 2004.

 

Not everybody was mad at O'Rear and the No. 9 seed Northern Iowa team for pulling off a shocker.

 

"There's actually a guy from Kansas State who is on the Dayton team right now, and he absolutely loved that game," O'Rear said of teammate James Allen. "He came up to me and said how awesome that was that we beat Kansas."

 

O'Rear, a 6-foot-7, 240-pound pitcher, wants to be known in the Reds organization for more than his basketball ability.

 

Northern Iowa basketball coach Ben Jacobson said that O'Rear's fierce competitiveness and understanding of teamwork have fueled his athletic success in two sports.

 

"Lucas has a great demeanor about him," Jacobson said. "He's a terrific [competitor] and he's a big-time teammate. Those are the reasons why he was able to have a lot of success with our basketball program and have success on the baseball field. He's made that way. ... It's the intangible things that have really helped him to have success in two different sports to the level that he has.

 

"Kids are specialized at such an early age these days. That's the thing to do. You aren't going to find many guys like Lucas who can have success beyond high school in two different sports."

 

Jacobson said that O'Rear's basketball experience will help his climb in baseball.

 

"What Lucas found out with the group he played with and what that team was all about, was that supporting each other, trusting each other, sticking up for each other, that it works," Jacobson said. "For us, he was asked to come off the bench and be the best sixth man, and he accepted that and wanted to do that and really thrived in that role. His competitiveness and grit really shined through for us in big moments. It certainly showed up in that Kansas game to get us to the Sweet Sixteen."

 

Though O'Rear was a mainstay for the UNI basketball team, he only pitched 17 innings in his Northern Iowa career. He didn't play baseball his freshman season, played a limited amount his sophomore season, and then the university discontinued the baseball program his junior year.

 

O'Rear said a conversation with the baseball coach at UNI got him back into the sport.

 

"The baseball coach asked me if I was going to play my sophomore year," O'Rear said. "I told him that I wanted to play again, that I missed the game a lot."

 

O'Rear, who clips 94 mph on the radar gun, caught the attention of the Reds. Cincinnati drafted him in the 13th round.

 

"Lucas is a two-sport guy, and he didn't get to play baseball his last year at Northern Iowa, so we knew he'd be a raw guy," Reds' assistant director of player development Jeff Graupe said. "But he's a good athlete for a big guy. He's got good arm strength. ... He's got a good make-up. The make-up and the arm strength were the big reasons we liked him.

 

"You have to look at him as a special case. The biggest thing with a young pitcher is consistency. He's doing a better job of flashing his plus stuff more often. With time and repetition, it will all work out."

 

O'Rear said that getting drafted was another special chapter in his life.

 

"I'm just so grateful that the Reds chose me in the Draft and are giving me a chance," O'Rear said. "It's a lot of fun and a really neat experience. Baseball is different than basketball. Baseball throws you curves all the time. You think you've got it figured out, and you don't."

 

O'Rear was surprised that he received attention for his baseball talents.

 

"After I got playing basketball, the scouts asked me if I was going to play baseball," O'Rear said. "I told them 'Probably not.' I told them that I was just going to work out on basketball, but they asked me to try throwing a couple of times. I did, and they liked what they saw, and Cincinnati invited me to a workout.

 

"I started to think that maybe somebody would take a chance on me, maybe in the 40's, possibly the late 30's. Then the Reds told me it would be more like between the 12th and 15th rounds. I was like, 'Really?' That was a surprise. They were excited, because I hadn't played in a year and a half, and I was throwing in the low 90s."

 

In brief

 

Getting the thumb: Fort Wayne manager Jose Valentin, pitching coach Willie Blair, and players Matt Stites and Travis Whitmore were all ejected Tuesday night in an 8-2 loss to Bowling Green. Blair got the boot in the fifth inning, and Valentin and Stites were tossed in the eighth inning on a disputed home run by Bowling Green's Matt Rice. Whitmore was told to take a walk in the ninth inning after being called out on strikes.

 

Falling short: Dayton pounded out 16 hits, but it wasn't enough to deliver a victory for the Dragons on May 23. Lansing rallied for a 9-8 victory behind a bases-loaded two-out double by Carlos Perez in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Dragons led 8-5 going into the ninth.

 

Big turnaround: Wisconsin right-handed pitcher Drew Gagnon is having an outstanding start to the 2012 season on the heels of a rough finish to 2011. Gagnon, who was drafted in the third round last season out of Long Beach State, was 0-3 with an 8.03 ERA in eight appearances (seven starts) for Helena. This season, Gagnon is 3-1 with a 3.08 ERA.

[TheCrew07]

It's elementary for Watson in FSL debut

Cardinals prospect gives up one hit in first full-season outing

By Ashley Marshall / Special to MLB.com

 

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Brad Watson went 10-4 with a 2.07 ERA as a senior at Wartburg College. (Wartburg College)

 

Held back for extended spring training, Brad Watson missed the first two months of the year. His full-season debut was well worth the wait.

 

The Cardinals prospect allowed one run on one hit -- a solo homer -- over six innings Wednesday as Class A Advanced Palm Beach rallied for a 3-1 victory over St. Lucie.

 

Watson set down the side in order in the first inning, but Mets' No. 6 prospect Wilmer Flores homered to left field leading off the second.

 

It was the first longball allowed by the 22-year-old since turning pro. And it was Flores' 10th of the season and eighth off right-handed pitching.

 

Richard Lucas drew a two-out walk, but he was the final Met to reach base against Watson, who retired the last 13 batters he faced and finished with four strikeouts.

 

Selected in the 37th round of last year's Draft out of Wartburg College in Iowa, Watson made 11 Gulf Coast League appearances, including eight starts, in his first pro season. He went 5-1, ranked fourth in the Rookie-level circuit with a 2.22 ERA and struck out 37 while walking only five over 48 2/3 innings.

 

Watson led all Cardinals Minor Leaguers with a 7.40 strikeout-to-walk ratio and ranked third with a 1.15 WHIP.

 

Palm Beach trailed, 1-0, when Watson exited, but Jonathan Rodriguez smacked a three-run homer in the seventh to make a winner of Aidan Lucas (1-0). The 24-year-old righty walked one over two hitless innings and Chase Reid pitched around a two-out hit in the ninth for his third save of the season.

 

Mets starter Chase Huchingson (5-4) was charged with two runs on four hits over 6 1/3 innings, walking two and fanning seven.

[TheCrew07]

Garcia powers Bandits' 12-run inning

Cards prospect homers twice, collects career-high six RBIs

By Robert Emrich / Special to MLB.com

 

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Anthony Garcia has a 1.017 OPS in 19 games this month. (Paul R. Gierhart/MiLB.com)

By the time the first inning was over, Anthony Garcia had a pretty amazing night.

 

The Cardinals prospect drove in five runs in a 12-run first inning and finished with two homers and a career-high six RBIs on Wednesday as the Class A Quad Cities River Bandits pounded the Beloit Snappers, 20-3.

 

Batting with the bases loaded in the opening frame, Garcia doubled to center field to stake the River Bandits to a 4-0 lead. With two outs, he launched a two-run homer to cap the 12-run outburst.

 

"He got a pitch that was a little bit up in the zone and hit in the gap," Quad Cities hitting coach Joe Kruzel said of Garcia's first at-bat. "He put a good swing on it and hit it hard. Once [the second one] left his bat, you knew it was gone."

 

An 18th-round pick in 2009 Draft, Garcia added a solo shot in the fourth, eclipsing the career high he set last Aug. 10, when he homered twice and drove in five runs for Rookie-level Johnson City.

 

"Anthony is a strong young man and the second homer was hit dead left into the wind," Kruzel said. "If he gets a ball out over the middle of the plate and up, he's got a chance to hit it hard and do some damage. What was good about Anthony tonight was that he stayed in the strike zone."

 

In his first full Minor League season, Garcia is batting .290 with four homers and 29 RBIs in 41 games. After a sluggish April in which the 20-year-old outfielder hit .240, he's turned it around in May with a .343 average and 1.017 OPS.

 

"I give him credit, he worked hard," Kruzel said. "He got got off to a rough start; this was the first time he played in cold weather. "Once he made a couple of adjustments, you could see the way the ball came off his bat. He's worked more on being down and through the baseball. Early on, he was getting beat and was under the ball.

 

"This is his first full season. He just has to learn to show up to the ballpark and put your work in. You don't want to just show up to the ballpark, this game will humble you in a heartbeat."

 

Quad Cities went on to score 20 runs for the second time this season, having drubbed Peoria, 20-5, on May 5.

 

"It's one of those nights. Yesterday, we had four or five hits and won, 3-1," Kruzel noted. "These nights don't happen very often. It's just one of those days where it seems like everything we hit got the barrel on the ball and found holes. I don't think I've ever seen the first 10 hitters of the game reach base. We were fortunate."

 

Virgil Hill went 3-for-5 with four runs scored, Nick Martini slugged a three-run homer and Tyler Rahmatulla reached base four times and scored three runs for the River Bandits.

 

Sam Gaviglio improved to 3-3 after allowing two runs on four hits over seven innings.

[TheCrew07]

Texas notes: Wong proving his worth

Cardinals second baseman playing up to high expectations

By Todd Traub / Special to MLB.com

 

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Kolten Wong is hitting .320 with four homers and 21 RBIs for Springfield. (Shawn E. Davis/MiLB.com)

 

It's good to have friends in high places -- or at least in the middle infield.

 

In 2011, Springfield's Kolten Wong became the first second baseman drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the opening round in 25 years. But the University of Hawaii product might not be where he is without the intervention of his former college teammate and current double play partner, Greg Garcia.

 

"My first year in Spring Training they asked me about Kolten when he was still in school and I told them, 'Great baseball player, great guy, hard worker,'" Garcia recalled. "So I knew they had interest in him. Then I saw he went in the first round and I couldn't be happier for him."

 

Garcia split time between second base and shortstop at Rookie ball in 2010 and during two Class A stops last year, but was glad to slide to short full time at Springfield to make way for his one-time college teammate. And Wong was glad to see a familiar face when he arrived at Double-A to start this year after just 47 games with Quad Cities last season.

 

"The first day we got to Springfield we were kind of like, 'Wow, we're actually going to get to be able to play with each other on the same field,'" said Wong, the No. 4 prospect in the Cardinals system.

 

Both players said it didn't take long to get back in the groove.

 

"Once we got back to it and got to playing, we kind of remembered how each person was and reacting to balls and what we could get to and couldn't," Wong said. "It actually helped us make a lot more plays."

 

Garcia hit .284 his first two seasons and played his way to Springfield while Wong was already seen as a fast-moving prospect thanks in large part to his hitting. He was impressive as MVP of the wood-bat Cape Cod League before his final year at Hawaii, then hit .378 last spring.

 

"I had a good summer ball at the Cape, and the year before that I played for Team USA," said Wong, whom the Cardinals took 23rd overall in the 2011 Draft. "I guess they had an idea that I could handle the wooden bat decently well to allow me to play with them and skip [Class A Advanced] like I did."

 

With Wong's numbers and ability, somebody was going to draft him. It just might not have been St. Louis without Garcia's input.

 

"I talked to him about it," Wong said. "And he said they were asking about me during Spring Training and he put in a good word, and I guess I fit what they were looking for."

 

Not since Luis Alicea have the Cards made a second baseman a first-round pick, and Wong hasn't disappointed. He batted .335 with five homers and 25 RBIs last year while helping Quad Cities to the Midwest League Championship. Wong has hit above .300 for most of this season.

 

Wong is a line-drive hitter with some power who can also bunt and work the count. And though he only switched to second from catcher and outfield a couple years ago, Wong is a plus fielder, a quality that shouldn't suffer with Garcia on the left side.

 

"I thought maybe somewhere down the road we might be able to be teammates again, so it's been real fun," Garcia said.

 

In brief

 

Profar, so good: Texas Rangers top prospect Jurickson Profar was hitless for the second time in three games last Wednesday but walked against Tulsa to extend his on-base streak to 41 games, best in all of pro baseball. The shortstop added two hits Thursday, two more Friday and one each Saturday and Sunday to run the streak to 45.

 

Ripple effect: Arkansas Travelers hitting coach Francisco Matos was promoted to Triple-A Salt Lake to replace Jim Eppard, who was called up to the Los Angeles Angels to replace Mickey Hatcher. With three seasons in Arkansas, Matos had been the team's longest-tenured hitting coach since Arkansas affiliated with the Angels in 2001.

 

Freiman remains: San Antonio teammates Cody Decker and Nathan Freiman were battling for the league home run lead prior to Decker's promotion to Triple-A Tucson last week. Decker and Freiman have 14 Texas League blasts apiece, while Wil Myers, recently promoted from Northwest Arkansas, has 13.

[TheCrew07]

a couple of divisional mentions here

Offensive Players of the Week

For the week ending May 27

By John Parker / Special to MLB.com

 

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The 66ers' Travis Witherspoon had 15 hits, seven walks and a cycle this week. (Fernando Gutierrez)

 

International League

Corey Brown, Syracuse

(.474/.474/1.316, 4 G, 9-for-19, 2 3B, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 5 R, 0 BB, 5 K)

Brown only needed four games to outpace the rest of the IL this week -- he had at least two hits (one of them a home run) in each contest and racked up 10 RBIs. A first-round pick by the A's who came over to the Nationals organization in a 2010 trade, Brown's two-run shot on Friday night marked his fifth straight game with a longball, setting a Syracuse team record. The power surge quickly paid dividends for the Oklahoma State product: he was summoned to the Majors over the weekend.

Brown blasts three-run shot for Chiefs

 

Pacific Coast League

Brooks Conrad, Nashville

(.417/.481/1.083, 6 G, 10-for-24, 1 2B, 0 3B, 5 HR, 15 RBI, 7 R, 3 BB, 2 K)

After a 13-game stint with the Brewers in which he went 0-for-21 with nine strikeouts earlier this month, Conrad returned to Nashville and rapidly rediscovered his stroke. The 32-year-old switch-hitter homered in his first game back with the Sounds on Monday, went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBIs on Tuesday, then rattled off four straight games with a longball from Wednesday to Saturday. Having gone deep in his last three games (April 30-May 2) before his callup, Conrad has now homered in eight of his last nine PCL games while driving in 22 runs. He was recalled by the Brewers on Monday.

 

 

Eastern League

Tyson Gillies, Reading

(.500/.560/.909, 6 G, 11-for-22, 0 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 6 R, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 SB, 2 CS)

Going into last weekend, Gillies was mired in a six-game slump that saw him go 1-for-28 with eight strikeouts and no walks. The Vancouver native bounced back with a pair of hits last Sunday, then kept going with four more multi-hit games in a row. Gillies, a 23-year-old center fielder, had only one hit on Friday, but it was his second home run of the year. He's now riding a seven-game hitting streak in which he's scored in all but one contest.

 

Southern League

Andrelton Simmons, Mississippi

(.417/.500/.917, 6 G, 10-for-24, 3 2B, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 8 R, 4 BB, 4 K)

Despite having never played above Class A, Simmons vied for Atlanta's starting shortstop job in Spring Training this year. He lost out to Tyler Pastornicky but has shown fans in Mississippi why he's MLB.com's No. 59 prospect. The 22-year-old Simmons scored in each of his six games this week and ranks eighth in the Southern League with a .380 on-base percentage. Simmons' week was highlighted by a 4-for-4 performance at Pensacola on Wednesday that included a home run and a pair of doubles. His three longballs this week were his first of the season.

Mississippi's Simmons goes deep

Top prospect: Andrelton Simmons

 

Texas League

Jonathan Singleton, Corpus Christi

(.500/.520/1.042, 6 G, 12-for-24, 1 2B, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 8 R, 1 BB, 3 K)

Part of the deal that sent Hunter Pence to Philadelphia at the trade deadline last year, Singleton has been all the Astros could have hoped for this season. The No. 38 prospect leads the Texas League in runs scored, ranks third in RBIs and on-base percentage, fourth in batting and sixth in slugging. Still just 20 years old, Singleton had an enormous week that featured a 4-for-5 game on Thursday followed by a two-homer, five-RBI performance the next night and yet another longball Saturday. When the southpaw slugger solves left-handed pitching -- against which he is hitting just .196/.281/.314 -- he will be fearsome indeed.

Hooks' Singleton hits his second homer of the game

Top prospect: Jonathan Singleton

 

California League

Travis Witherspoon, Inland Empire

(.682/.759/1.091, 6 G, 15-for-22, 2 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 8 R, 7 BB, 3 K, 3 SB, 2 CS, cycle on 5/24)

When a player can hit (.314) and hit for power (.475 SLG) and run (five triples, 19 stolen bases), good things happen. Though the rest of his week was understandably overshadowed by his cycle at Lancaster on Thursday night, the Angels' No. 19 prospect did it all with 15 hits and seven walks in six games. The 23-year-old center fielder, who leads off for the 66ers, reached base in 22 of his 29 plate appearances. After this remarkable stretch of six straight multi-hit games, Witherspoon ranks fourth in the Cal League with 40 runs scored.

 

Carolina League

Jake Skole, Myrtle Beach

(.500/.600/1.000, 6 G, 8-for-16, 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 4 R, 4 BB, 1 K, 1 SB)

It's been a tough season thus far for the 20-year-old Skole, who is hitting .217/.301/.315 in his first 42 games. This week may have marked a turning point for the 15th overall pick in the 2010 Draft, however. Skole went 4-for-4 with his second and third home runs of the season on Friday, adding a double, a walk and four runs. Along with his 3-for-3 outing the night before, the Georgia native reached base in nine consecutive plate appearances.

 

Florida State League

Gabe Jacobo, Dunedin

(.429/.452/.821, 7 G, 12-for-28, 5 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 6 R, 2 BB, 5 K)

Jacobo's presence in the FSL may not be entirely fair -- he spent last season in the Double-A Texas League -- but he won't be there long at this rate. The first baseman, whom the Blue Jays acquired in the Minor League portion of the Rule 5 Draft last December, closed out his week with five consecutive multi-hit games. Jacobo doubled in each of those contests and has reached base in all 22 of his games with Dunedin this season. Had he the at-bats to qualify, the 25-year-old would rank fourth in the league in hitting.

 

Midwest League

Kyle Waldrop, Dayton

(.526/.571/.842, 5 G, 10-for-19, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 4 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 SB, 1 CS)

Waldrop, not to be confused with the other Kyle Waldrop, had at least two hits in four of his five games this week and smacked his first two homers of the season. Unfortunately for Dayton, Waldrop's outburst was not enough to help the Dragons avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of first-place Lansing. The 21-year-old outfielder ranks second on the Dayton club in on-base percentage, runs scored and RBIs.

 

South Atlantic League

Rougned Odor, Hickory

(.364/.500/.727, 7 G, 8-for-22, 5 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 7 R, 3 BB, 2 K, 2 SB, 1 CS)

Previously best known for his 2011 Moniker Madness semifinal performance, Odor made a name for himself with his bat this week. The 18-year-old shortstop doubled in each of his final five games and leads the Crawdads with a .488 slugging percentage despite his 5-foot-11, 170-pound frame. With a .313/.383/.506 line in 22 May games, the Venezuelan native is (of course) enjoying the sweet smell of success.

[TheCrew07]

Baseball America's prospect coverage has slowed as it typically does this time of year with the holiday and draft coverage becoming the priority. Once we get past the draft the BA prospect coverage will pickup again.

[Mass Haas]

John Sickels takes a "Prospect of the Day" look at Mike Fiers

[Outlander]

Thanks for the link, it was interesting to read about Fiers past and how scouts have perceived him. Sickels is right that it is already a heck of a return on the $2,500 investment.

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Media Notes

 

Wisconsin Media Notes

[Mass Haas]

NBA making the Sounds - Redhawks game not quite the headline event in OKC tonight

[TooLiveBrew]

Baseball America's prospect coverage has slowed as it typically does this time of year with the holiday and draft coverage becoming the priority. Once we get past the draft the BA prospect coverage will pickup again.

I know I've said it already, & probably will again, but the prospect-watching additions you've added to the L.R. really are fantastic. Thank you for being willing & able to sift through the NL Central teams' MiLB coverage.

[Mass Haas]

Audio from Bricktown — “Seth (McClung) Says”

 

Jeff Hem's note: Tonight’s interview is with Sounds veteran right-hander Seth McClung, who is in his 14th professional season and second stint with the Brewers organization. He pitched for them a few years ago, including in ’08 when The Crew reached the post-season for the first time since ’82. McClung originally came up through the Tampa Bay system and made his major league debut as a Devil Rays hurler in ’03. In addition to playing professional baseball (since ’99), Seth also coaches high school girls basketball in Florida

[DHonks]

I'm glad to see Hawn and Dishon heating up. One with raw power and the other with raw tools

[DHonks]

also nice to see Rogers get more than a K/inning, even if he did allow 4 runs. He's been treading water, but it would be nice to see a string of good games

[battlekow]

Josh Prince still can't really hit, but he has apparently re-learned to walk.

 

Hawn now has as many homers as he hit all last year at Wisconsin.

[TheCrew07]

Final: Tennessee 4, Huntsville 1

 

Huntsville Box Score

Kyle Heckathorn deserved a better fate in this one as he only allowed the 1ER in 6IP allowing the just the solo HR, walking 2, and striking out 2. Kyle only threw 74 pitches but 42 were strikes and posted a 10:5 ratio, he was pulled for a pinch hitter as the Stars played small ball trying to push a run across in the top of the 7th. Darren Byrd took the loss allowing 3R but 2ER on 5H in his 1+ IP. Daniel Meadows took over Byrd's mess in the 8th and finished the contest.

 

Huntsville only had 2 hits in the game though Josh Prince went 1-1, 3BB, and 3SB but unfortunately Scooter Gennett's hit streak came to an end with an 0-4 effort. The Stars did have a hand full of scoring opportunities with runners on 2nd and less than 2 outs but couldn't string the hits together with the exception of Tommy Manzella singling in Prince for the Stars' only run.. Michael Reed saw his first action and while he went hitless he did record an OF assist. Domnit Bolivar committed Huntsville's only error which was his 7th (fielding) and cost Byrd a run.

 

Huntsville Play By Play

Byrd's outing, just about the only action in the game.

Tennessee Bottom of the 7th

• Pitcher Change: Darren Byrd replaces Kyle Heckathorn, batting 9th.
  James Adduci doubles (10) on a fly ball to center fielder Josh Prince.
  Rebel Ridling grounds out, pitcher Darren Byrd to first baseman Hunter Morris. James Adduci to 3rd.
  With Justin Bour batting, wild pitch by Darren Byrd, James Adduci scores.
  Justin Bour flies out to left fielder Michael Reed.
  Matthew Cerda singles on a ground ball to center fielder Josh Prince.
  Michael Burgess singles on a fly ball to left fielder Michael Reed. Matthew Cerda to 2nd.
  Luis Flores grounds out, shortstop Tommy Manzella to first baseman Hunter Morris.

 

Tennessee Bottom of the 8th

• Elliot Soto triples (4) on a fly ball to right fielder Kentrail Davis.
  Junior Lake doubles (7) on a line drive to left fielder Michael Reed. Elliot Soto scores.
  Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Nate Samson replaces Kevin Rhoderick.
  Nate Samson reaches on fielding error by third baseman Domnit Bolivar. Junior Lake to 3rd.
  Pitcher Change: Daniel Meadows replaces Darren Byrd, batting 5th.
  Defensive Substitution: Matt Cline replaces pitcher Darren Byrd, batting 9th, playing third base.
  James Adduci strikes out swinging.
  Rebel Ridling out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Michael Reed. Junior Lake scores.
  With Justin Bour batting, Nate Samson steals (2) 2nd base.
  Justin Bour flies out to center fielder Josh Prince.

[DHonks]

If Prince can up his average to around .275 (he's come a long ways in May), his OBP would be around .380. I wish he were still playing SS, though. My only hope is that the Brewers perhaps are trying to make him into a utility-type and are moving him around the outfield for experience, and will hopefully let him play more SS as the season goes on

[TheCrew07]

Final: Cedar Rapids 4, Wisconsin 0

 

Kernels quiet Rattlers

By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

 

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers have been a tough riddle for Midwest League teams to answer in 2012. But, Eswarlin Jimenez and the Cedar Rapids Kernels had the answer on Thursday night at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Jimenez combined with a pair of relievers to shutout Wisconsin 4-0.

 

In the first game of the series on Wednesday night, the Timber Rattlers (34-20) grabbed a lead with five runs in the first inning. On Thursday, the Kernels (24-30) jumped out to the lead with three runs in the first. Trevor Hairgrove started the inning with a triple and scored on an RBI grounder by Ryan Jones. Kaleb Cowart restarted the rally with a double and Frazier Hall cracked a two-run homer to right to put the Kernels up 3-0.

 

Cedar Rapids added a run in the fourth inning on an RBI grounder by Hairgrove.

 

Jimenez took that lead and ran with it through seven innings. The lefty allowed five hits, walked two, and struck out five. He left just shy of 100 pitches and turned the game over to the Kernels bullpen. Jimenez never pitched with two runners on base at the same time during the game.

 

Logan Odom allowed a couple of base runners with two outs in the eighth, but kept the Rattlers off the scoreboard. Stephen Tromblee struck out the side in order in the ninth to close out the game.

 

Chadwin Stang and Greg Hopkins each had two hits for Wisconsin, but the Rattlers could not avoid being shutout for the second time this season. The last time Wisconsin has held off the scoreboard in a game this season was on April 28 when they lost 6-0 at home to Bowling Green.

 

The Timber Rattlers end their three game series with Cedar Rapids on Friday night. Lefty Will West (1-0, 3.60) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. The Kernels have Dan Reynolds (0-0, 5.40) as their scheduled starter. Game time is 6:35pm. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:15pm.

 

HOME RUN:

CR:

Frazier Hall (5th, 1 on in 1st inning off David Goforth, 1 out)

 

WP: Eswarlin Jimenez (2-3)

LP: David Goforth (4-4)

 

TIME: 2:28

ATTN: 1,779

 

Wisconsin Box Score

There isn't much to discuss here, easily the least entertaining game I listened to all season. The Rattlers didn't do much offensively and when they did get a hit, they made mistakes on the bases. David Goforth put what's become his typical outing, he went 5IP allowing 7H, 4ER, and 3BB against a single strike out. The one consistent positive so far this season for David has been his high GO:FO ratios, he posted a 9:3 tonight. Chad Pierce was pretty awesome in relief allowing only the 1H against 4SO in his 3 innings.

 

In addition to getting beat up behind the plate yet again Rafael Neda did manage a double during the contest.

 

Wisconsin Box Score

Outs on the bases killed the T-Rats best scoring opportunities and neither of the plays were close.

Wisconsin Top of the 2nd

• Gregory Hopkins singles on a fly ball to right fielder Ryan Jones. Gregory Hopkins out at 2nd, right fielder Ryan Jones to shortstop Wendell Soto.
  Rafael Neda doubles (5) on a fly ball to left fielder Gary Mitchell.
  Yadiel Rivera flies out to left fielder Gary Mitchell.
  Max Walla grounds out, shortstop Wendell Soto to first baseman Frazier Hall.

 

Wisconsin Top of the 6th

• Chadwin Stang singles on a line drive to left fielder Gary Mitchell.
  John Dishon strikes out swinging and Chadwin Stang caught stealing 2nd, catcher Carlos Lugo to second baseman Trevor Hairgrove.
  Jason Rogers walks.
  Nick Ramirez flies out to left fielder Gary Mitchell.