Your 2013 Brevard County Manatees

[Mass Haas]

Nice job by Jason Arndt catching up with D'Vontrey Richardson

[And That]

From the D'Vo piece:

 

He also demonstrated exceptional plate discipline with 14 walks in 228 Plate Appearances

 

Exceptional... is perhaps more than a tad hyperbolic.

[Mass Haas]

From the D'Vo piece:

 

He also demonstrated exceptional plate discipline with 14 walks in 228 Plate Appearances

 

Exceptional... is perhaps more than a tad hyperbolic.

 

Yikes, glanced over that.

 

Reminder that one walk for every ten at-bats is normally considered acceptable, and exceptional would need to get well beyond that.

 

Good catch...

[Mass Haas]

Via FanGraphs -- Q&A with OF Mitch Haniger

[Mass Haas]

Jason Arndt caught up with RHP Damien Magnifico

[Mass Haas]

For those who analyze swings, big league camp invitee catcher Cameron Garfield had a recent BP session uploaded to YouTube.

[Mass Haas]

MiLB.com: X-Factors: A Advanced park factors

 

Space Coast playing to its reputation...

[Mass Haas]

Haniger quickly gets into the swing of things

[Mass Haas]

Photos at link as well...

 

Fondy's Pierce aims to keep climbing baseball ladder

by Mike Hockett, Action Reporter Media

 

Just like so many people in any other job, Chad Pierce is hoping to be promoted.

 

The 26-year-old Fond du Lac-native hopes his comes near the end of the month as he continues to show his stuff in Milwaukee Brewers minor league spring training out in Phoenix, Ariz.

 

Pierce, a 2006 graduate of Fond du Lac High School, will soon begin his fourth year pitching in the minors, but he doesn’t know where that will be yet. The past three seasons have took him from an rookie ball in Helena, Mon., in 2011, to Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the midwets League in Appleton in 2012 and then the Level A-Advanced Brevard County Manatees in Florida last year.

 

In a couple weeks, he’ll find out if that progression continues.

 

“There’s a trickle-down effect with a big league club. It’s kind of a hectic time,” Pierce said in a phone interview last week. “You always think or hope you did enough the season before to move up. It’s kind of in your hands competing in season and spring training, but there’s also a lot out of your hands. You come here and compete for a job like you did all season long.”

 

Spring training finishes at the end of the month. The last two years, Pierce didn’t find out until the day before it ended where he’d be playing that spring and summer. If he’s promoted to Double A, Pierce will play for the Huntsville Stars in Alabama. The Brewers’ Triple A team is the Nashville Sounds.

 

That makes these next two weeks anxious ones for Pierce and a lot of other guys in camp.

 

“In a heartbeat I would love to know where I’m going to be,” said the righty Pierce. “There’s so much stress in baseball in general, not knowing where you’re going to be for 5-6 months. It’d be a weight off my shoulders, but at the same time you can’t get complacent. Hopefully everything falls in line for me.”

 

Pierce dominated the high school mound for Fond du Lac, earning District 4 Player of the Year honors his junior and senior years. His ERA those two seasons were 1.03 and 1.89 with a combined win-loss record of 14-5. In the process, he became the No. 5 pro prospect in Wisconsin by Baseball America.

 

From there, he played his first two years of college ball at the University of Arkansas before returning close to home by transferring to UW-Milwaukee. There, he pitched two years for the Panthers before being drafted by the Brewers in the 38th round of the 2011 draft.

 

He made his pro debut in Helena, making five starts and going 2-4. In 2012 he helped pitch the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers to a Midwest League championship, going 7-5 with a 3.47 ERA. Last year, the 6-foot-1 Pierce appeared in 30 games for Brevard County, starting 11 with a 6-6 record and 3.40 ERA.

 

“Each year I set out wanting to move up,” Pierce said. “Obviously you’d want to move up two levels (to Triple A). Last year I thought I had a pretty good season and thought I might get moved up during the season, but it didn’t happen. Hopefully I can move up to Double A. That’s the level we’re all trying to get to.”

 

This is Pierce’s third spring training, and the most competitive one he’s been in as it numbers more than 160 players.

 

“Biggest camp I’ve ever been a part of,” he said. “We’re doing the math right now. There’s a lot of people and not that many spots.”

 

Pierce has spent his last three offseasons in Milwaukee, where the coaches at UWM let him work and work out with the team. With that, he finds time to make the short drive up to Fond du Lac. Before leaving for spring training, Pierce spent eight straight Wednesdays helping Dean Haase at Haase Player Development Academy on Johnson St.

 

“I get to see family and friends,” he said. “It’s nice being able to be home and close to people to catch up. It’s a long grind 5-6 months away from family and friends. You give up a lot to chase this dream we’re doing, but it’s a dream I love chasing.”

[Mass Haas]

Miller Park Prospects -- NEDA LOOKS FOR OFFENSE TO MATCH HIS DEFENSE