Link Report for Fri. 5/31 -- Manatees win a "wild" one; Sounds' Hellweg in a groove

[TheCrew07]

AUDIO: A link to Doug Melvin's 22 minutes on WSSP today

 

Yeah, it's an important listen, do find the time...

Those that have read my posts will know exactly where I stand on what Melvin talked about in this interview, that's all I'm gonna say.

[TheCrew07]

Prospect Hot Sheet Chat With Ben Badler

 

Brandon (NY): Michael Wacha has been described by some as the "crown jewel" of the STL pitching riches, yet Carlos Martinez was ranked as the higher prospect by BA coming into this season. In light of Wacha's promotion and Martinez being sent back down to stretch out, which of these two 21 year olds is the better pitcher and who's the more likely to reach their potential?

 

Ben Badler: Martinez. Wacha is more polished right now, but Martinez has more velocity and better movement on his fastball, much higher ceiling to miss bats.

Marcus (NYC): What grade would you give Gregory Polanco's hit tool? And his power? How much difference do you think those tools compare to those of an elite level hitting prospect like say, Oscar Taveras?

 

Ben Badler: The present hit tool is below-average, but you can project him to be a plus hitter in the future with high OBPs with enough physical projection to be a 25-30 homer guy in his prime. He's a premium prospect, but Taveras' pure hit tool might be a 70 right now, and the present power better than Polanco's, although that should change as Polanco gets stronger.

ryan (altoona pa): Gerrit Cole, considering what he has shown thus far in his short minor league career does he play as a top of the line starter in the big leagues, or more of a middle rotation solid pitcher? Is Taillon the top pitching prospect in the minors?

 

Ben Badler: The stuff itself makes you think frontline starter, but hitters do seem to pick up the ball out of Cole's hand surprisingly well. There might be an adjustment he could make, but when you couple that with some of the command issues he's having, I have Taillon ahead of him pretty comfortably

Jeff (Philadelphia): Can Alen Hanson stick at SS?

 

Ben Badler: He COULD stick at shortstop, and given how badly the Pirates need a shortstop, he's going to get a longer rope there than most guys would. The tools are there, but the internal clock and the commitment to defense need to improve, although from talking to people around him it sounds like he's starting to grasp that hitting isn't the only part of baseball that's going to get him to the big leagues.

Mike (Long Island): Who has a higher ceiling? Robert Stephenson or Alex Meyer?

 

Ben Badler: Meyer, but it's not a big gap. There's top of the rotation potential with both.

Zack (Honolulu, HI): Would Oscar Tavares, StL be promoted before September? What would be a reasonable expectations of his performance?

 

Ben Badler: Put it this way: If he had been in the major leagues on Opening Day, people would be talking about him the same way they're talking about Manny Machado right now.

Eric (Atlanta): Who has the higher ceiling at 2B, Rosario or Wong(assuming Rosario stays at 2B and not OF)?

 

Ben Badler: Rosario has more power potential, Wong is the safer bet to stay at second base. I love both of their bats.

Noel (Portland, OR): Did I misread above, or did you say that Gregory Polanco's hit tool is below-average? Isn't 307/370/486 in a pitcher's league above average?

 

Ben Badler: The present hit tool is graded on the major league scale. Obviously for his age and league he's above average and he projects to be there at the major league level eventually, but if you dropped him into the lineup in Pittsburgh right now, he's going to be overmatched.

Arthur (Loudonville, OH): Hi Ben, thanks for the Chat! Given his recent success, do you think the Reds will move Stephenson up this year, and if so, will they skip him to double A to avoid the Bakersfield band box?

 

Ben Badler: I could see him getting a promotion in the second half, maybe after the Futures Game if he goes there, but Double-A would be too aggressive.

[TooLiveBrew]

AUDIO: A link to Doug Melvin's 22 minutes on WSSP today

 

Yeah, it's an important listen, do find the time...

Those that have read my posts will know exactly where I stand on what Melvin talked about in this interview, that's all I'm gonna say.

I honestly can't bring myself to listen to it

[Mass Haas]

I honestly can't bring myself to listen to it

 

You'll find out Doug has no recollection or even knows who Carlos Rodon is. That was painful to learn.

[Mass Haas]

Sounds' Hellweg keeps on rolling

Brewers prospect allows run, five hits over seven innings

By Robert Emrich / Special to MLB.com

 

Johnny Hellweg has kept Pacific Coast League hitters in check this season but has experienced occasional control issues. He kept them in check Friday night in a start that showed what he can do when he puts everything together.

 

The Brewers' No. 3 prospect yielded a run on five hits over seven innings for his third straight win as Triple-A Nashville shut down Iowa, 3-1.

 

Hellweg (4-4) struck out five batters and walked two in lowering his ERA to 3.65. He threw 62 of 101 pitches for strikes in his 11th start of the season.

 

"[My] fastball was working pretty well off the bat, built my confidence the first couple of innings," he said. "Later in the game, I started mixing my changeup in and that got me some big outs. Basically, just stuck with the fastball, pounded the righties in and got the ground balls I needed."

 

Hellweg has been able to get ground balls all year long, making him one of the tougher pitchers to hit in the Pacific Coast League. Opponents are batting .198 against him, the third-lowest average in the league, and that's a credit to his fastball, which was clocked between 96-98 mph in his final inning Friday.

 

"I'm just using my fastball. I get a lot of good sink and late life on it," the 24-year-old right-hander said. "I just battle guys with it and show it to them until they show they can handle it consistently. Until they show me they can hit it consistently and keep putting it in play, there's no reason for me to change my game plan."

 

The problem for the Michigan native has been walks. Heading into Friday's start, Hellweg issued 37 free passes over 49 2/3 innings. In his previous four outings, he issued 15 walks, including a season-high six on May 16 against Salt Lake.

 

"It's something that I feel like needed to be addressed," Hellweg said. "Today, I focused on it a little bit more, making guys hit their way on base, and I think that got me a little bit more success tonight."

 

Acquired last summer in the four-player trade that sent Zack Greinke to the Angels, Hellweg has yielded one earned run or fewer in three of his last four starts to shave nearly a whole run off his ERA.

 

"I've put together some halfway decent starts and [the team has] picked me up," he said. "I threw the ball pretty well and they came through for me at the end. We've been playing a lot better as a whole and everything is starting to click for us."

 

Josh Prince snapped a seventh-inning tie with an RBI double, then scored on a base hit by Anderson De La Rosa to give the Sounds a 3-1 lead.

 

Rob Wooten tossed a hitless ninth for his eighth save for Nashville.

 

Cubs starter Yoanner Negrin fell to 0-2 after allowing three runs on five hits over six innings.

 

Johnny Hellweg ranks third in the PCL with a .198 batting average against. (Nashville Sounds)

 

http://www.milb.com/assets/images/1/1/2/49265112/cuts/hellweg480_3r45micp_bbly0hro.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Manatees shortstop comes up big in 10th inning win

by Michael Parsons, FLORIDA TODAY

 

Yadiel Rivera came up big when the Brevard County Manatees needed him most Friday night in a wild game against the Daytona Cubs.

 

Game tied, two out in the ninth inning. Runners on first and third and Merritt Island’s Dustin Geiger at the plate. And it looked like the hometown boy would be the hero for the Cubs.

 

Geiger hit a bullet between short and third, but Rivera made a diving catch on the ball as it was heading for left field, ending the Cubs threat.

 

Then in the bottom of the 10th inning, Rivera stepped to the plate with runners on first and second. With an 0-2 count, he ripped a line drive that landed in left-center field, scoring pinch runner T.J. Mittelstaedt giving the Manatees a wild 10-9 win in 10 innings.

 

“Yadi, down 0-2, smokes that ball, it was a great at-bat for him,” Manatees manager Joe Ayrault said.

 

The Cubs took a 7-1 lead in the fourth inning, led by Geiger’s 3-run home run in the first inning, but the Manatees fought back to tie the game and take the lead in the eighth inning on two bases loaded walks.

 

“That is the best offensive output of the season that I can remember ,” Ayrault said. “They kept the energy level up in the dugout, kept grinding, made big plays on defense. Everything kind of went our way the rest of the night.”

 

Tommy Toledo could not hold the lead, blowing the save as Wes Darvill scored on Jorge Soler’s fielder’s choice to tie the game.

 

Manatees starter Jacob Barnes could not find the strike zone, and when he did, Geiger made him pay with his sixth home run of the season — to right field. Geiger finished the game 2-for-4 with a walk.

 

For Barnes, his first start since April 23 was a forgettable one, giving up five runs in 2 1/3 of an inning, walking six and hitting two others. Barnes had given up four earned runs in 10 1/3 innings in the bullpen to earn the start.

 

But the Manatees battled back, scoring two runs in the sixth and another two in the seventh to cut the lead to 8-7.

 

Ben McMahon was the leader of the slugfest, going 3-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and two walks.

 

“(Hitting coach) Ned (Yost IV) commented on how good his batting practice was today, and sure enough he came out of the gates today and hit the opposite field homer, then the double,” Ayrault said. “He was locked in all night.”

 

Astronaut High graduate Zeke DeVoss was 0-for-2 with three walks and an RBI in the game. The two teams meet tonight in Daytona with Drew Gagnon taking the hill for the Manatees.

 

Game 3 of the series will be at Space Coast Stadium Sunday.

[Mass Haas]

Brevard County audio game highlights (nearly five minutes worth, given the nature of this contest -- enjoy!)

 

***

 

Manatees pre-game audio interview with LH reliever Stephen Peterson

[miggs721]

I was the one that tweeted 1250 about asking about Rodon, and that really baffled me the way he answered, I almost spit my beer out