Wanted: Local Affiliate Fan Reports

[TooLiveBrew]

Nothing beats a firsthand report. My hope is that we can find at least one local fan per affiliate to report on player performances. Even if you only attend a few games each season, your insight on players is more valuable than the assumptions we'll make on this forum.

 

I know we have a tried & true Nashville fan, and I'm guessing we have a few commenters and lurkers who attend affiliate games and/or are good primary sources. Your contributions would be appreciated.

[BrewersAA]

Wish I lived in an affiliate city, but i do catch nashville when they come through OKC. I have to agree with you on the eye test, when i saw Nashville 3 years ago the player i was BY FAR most impressed with was logan schafer. I think he is proving that view correct.

[TooLiveBrew]

Wish I lived in an affiliate city, but i do catch nashville when they come through OKC. I have to agree with you on the eye test, when i saw Nashville 3 years ago the player i was BY FAR most impressed with was logan schafer. I think he is proving that view correct.

Looking forward to your reports when the Sounds come through OKC.

[MTBrew]

For what it's worth I toss out my impressions after the first 6 Helena home games ...

First off I will say that the overall talent level this year is much better than in 2011 and 2012.

Also the the team appears to have responded well to Tony Diggs and the coaching staff, they are playing relaxed but, as the scoreboard has shown, continue to play hard thru the final out. I am also impressed with Diggs handling of the roster. The higher draft picks are seeing most of the playing time but, unlike other years, the entire roster is being utilized and everyone is playing, if not getting into games for meaningful innings, on a regular basis. I am happy to see this.

 

As for position players, just some observations ...

totally agree with Steve Wendt on Dustin Houle - tremendous arm, very good catcher. Emmanuel Quiles from last year had a quicker release but Houle has a powerful throw and is very accurate. Also not afraid to throw behind a runner at 1st or 2nd base. Needs more AB's, will be tough to find playing time behind Coulter, major league arm right now.

 

- Clint Coulter, the real deal, I can understand why he was a #1. His bat is far above this level of ball. Helena is where he needs to be so that he can catch 4 to 5 times a week. Not a bad catcher, just needs to play regularly, good athlete, decent speed, needs to catch until he shows he can't.

 

- Garrett Cooper, very good pick. Quick bat, understands the strike zone, has some power. Solid with the glove, knows how to play 1B. Can add weight to frame, decent speed, decent athlete. Good previous coaching is obvious.

 

- Taylor Brennan, best defensive 3B to come thru Helena in a long time. Excellent glove, strong arm. Power at the plate but needs AB's to become more pitch selective. Young, still a chance to develop but bat is questionable.

 

- Angel Ortega, I don't share Wendt's enthusiasm, not in the same league defensively as Alcides or Yadiel Rivera. Fancy glove on the balls he gets to, but mediocre range and below average arm strength. Hasn't shown he can hit at this level.

 

- Ratterree and Markson, not sure either of these guys are big league talents but can play the game, high baseball IQ, good previous coaching is obvious. Solid defensively with good arms and know how to hit. Ratterree may have the most upside as he has some power but Markson has held his own at CF. Good example as to how close the talent level is between a #10 and a #38 pick.

 

- Omar Garcia, not sure what this pick was all about? Has shown speed on the base paths but little else. I have not been overwhelmed by his OF defense, arm or his ability to cover ground. Has had a rough go at the plate.

 

- Jose Pena, better than last year! Has improved his defense and is now adequate for this level of ball. Has shown power with the bat but still is taking big hacks for the big hit, needs to improve pitch recognition.

 

- Ruben Ozuna on the other hand is still brutal in the field, very poor arm, good athlete but not skilled with the glove. Has some sting with the bat and good speed down the baseline.

 

It is hard not to like these guys but poor previous coaching and fundamentals will limit their upside. I've yet to see Hinojosa play.

 

- Orf, versatile player who has pitch hit and played 2B as needed, solid fundamentally.

 

- Jalen Harris, very very good glove, excellent athlete, has covered both 1B and 3B, needs more playing time to develop, maybe if Cooper is moved up.

 

- Renaldo Jenkins, has been solid at 2B and fill in at SS, has played with more confidence this year, probably because he is starting, bat is improving as well, great teammate.

 

- Turay, another real good guy/teammate, unfortunately he is stuck behind Coulter and Houle at C and Brennan at 3B, has some pop in his bat and gets the timely hit.

 

- Jessie Weiss, have only seen him pitch hit or DH, knows what he is doing at the plate, can hit, has some power.

 

- Pitching for me to too difficult to evaluate. Overall though the staff has been decent and I am impressed that most all work quickly and throw strikes. As of now only Hillis and Quintana have stood out.

 

- Quintana, a real competitor! Mixes up his pitches, throws his fastball, curve and change with confidence. Unfortunately he fooled no one and got hit hard.

 

- Hillis, exactly what you want to see in a closer. Attacks the plate/hitter, throws heat but has a decent curve to keep batters honest, aggressive demeanor.

 

I will try to get a better handle on the pitching after the next home stand.

[TooLiveBrew]

MTBrew, awesome work! I hope you don't mind... I went through & reformatted a bit so it's easier to find the individual names & reports.

 

Looking forward to more reports as the season goes on

[kalle8]

great reading, thanks.

[WV Brew]

Yep. Great job MT. Really appreciated.

[MTBrew]

Just caught all 7 games of the recent home stand vs Idaho Falls and Ogden.

Overall impressions - starting pitching has been up and down, the bats keep grinding, the defense is adequate.

 

A couple of things I don't like seeing - too much jawing at the umpires at the plate, shut up and swing the bat!

Also, there have been too many times batters have stayed in the box, instead of running down the line, on questionable fair/foul ball calls. Position players have also been guilty of this on defense, not continuing on with the play and standing around waiting for the umpire ruling. Another frustration is seeing guys not running out infield outs or pop flys.

 

Pitching - first off I think some of the starting pitching woes are due to poor pitch selection by the catchers. Too many 1st pitch fastballs being called and the other teams have picked up on this. Houle is most guilty but that probably comes with the territory being as inexperienced as he is. Turay is better, Coulter is definitely missed, they need to bring in a third catcher.

 

-Reyes, hands down has been the best starter! Battles, throws strikes, doesn't walk many, really good start on the 14th. Maybe a little old to be a "prospect".

-Brandon Moore, was terrible as a starter 7/9, a little better in relief 7/14, grooves a lot of balls when men are on base.

-Albury, nice to see him coming back from injury. Was lights out a couple years ago, regaining form and confidence.

-Tanner Poppe, pleasant surprise. Good hard fastball and a nice cutter, gets ground outs.

-Taylor Williams, was very very good 7/15, struggled in a start 7/10. Hard heavy 90+ fastball with a quick motion to the plate. Could be very very good when on.

-Not sure if Razzo is good or just lucky as he is 5-0, maybe both. Not really a hard thrower but seems to find the K with runners on base, induces ground outs.

-Barrett Astin, started 7/15 was better in relief 7/10. Throws a nice fastball and a decent slider, can get the strikeout but seems a lot of balls are hit on the fly to the outfield. Struggles with men on base, or when plays in the field don't go his way, maybe gets down on himself? I don't think he is a big as listed - 6'1"/190, I don't think he will be an innings eater if a starter despite an easy efficient delivery.

-Tyler Linehan, walks and lack of control hurt him 7/11, overall a bad first start.

-Banda, has pitched better than his record, one bad start has skewed his ERA. Was very good 7/12, with 6 SO and only 2 BB in 6 innings. Gives up hits but seems to work through them. 2nd to Reyes as a starter.

-Tristan Archer, has a good fastball, change and decent slider. Pitched well in relief 7/7 getting 3 SO in 3 innings but grooved too many balls in his first start 7/13. Solid build, nice delivery.

-Danny Keller, looked good coming back from injury. Not dominant, Raptors put the bat on the ball, but stayed in control and pitched smart.

-David Otterman, pitched decently in relief 7/13 after a rough start. Can get the ground out when he keeps the ball low. Big kid, nice delivery, average fastball, good movement with the slider.

-Tyler Alexander, impressive in relief, real real good lefty curve and slider with some heat. Attacks hitters works quickly.

-Hillis, continues to be dominant, can really throw heat. Can over think and tends to try to be too fine instead of just throwing balls past hitters, willing to throw curve, can be better with improved game calling.

-Fasano, struggled 7/12 although has pitched well in previous outings. Generally good command, not overpowering, doesn't walk guys, good GO/FO ratio.

 

Have only seen these guys once - Hobbs Johnson, ground ball lefty, good movement on fastball, got K's when needed, pitched with confidence in first appearance. Encarnacion, tall awkward righty, got the job done in relief 7/11 but I am not sure how. Maybe a long reliever type? Juan Santiago, rough go 7/11, 5 BB, WP in 2 innings. I haven't seen Quintana since 6/25.

 

Position players - the defense overall is ok but other than Brennan now I don't think anyone is MLB or even Pioneer League All Star material.

 

-Omar Garcia appears to have found his footing and is playing much better. There is nothing to his bat but weak singles and bunts but his speed on the bases definitely makes him a factor. A work in progress in the OF, does not get good reads, needs to be more aggressive as a CF.

-Finally saw Hinojosa play (3 games) and was pleasantly surprised! Good approach at the plate, disciplined, makes contact, not a free swinger. Solid OF with a decent arm, pretty good speed. Overall a pretty good player, not sure why he doesn't play more.

-Jesse Weiss, not sure why he doesn't play at all? Is a hit machine at the plate, solid contact, drives pitches. Seems like a decent athlete, don't know why he has yet to play an inning in the field.

-Orf has really been a nice find. Being converted from the OF to 2B has allowed needed flexibility in the IF so Jenkins and Ortega can get a day off or 2 here and there. Not spectacular at 2B but makes the routine plays. Solid at the plate, gets on base.

-Harris has done a real nice job at 1B when Cooper was injured/moved up. Very good glove and gives Brennan a spell at 3B. Has made the most of his playing time at the plate and has come up with some big RBI's. Doubles power with good speed on the bases.

-I am not excited about Giacalone being back, he looks like the same player as last year. Hopefully he will not take too many reps from Harris. Ortega still not hitting. As I mentioned before with Coulter's injury they really need to bring another catcher up.

 

I like the fact that Tony Diggs is keeping these guys battling and that they are finding ways to win. I would say though that both Idaho Falls and Ogden have more overall talent.

[TooLiveBrew]

Thanks again for more, MTBrew! I'll reformat this post when I have time later today... can't wait to read through all of it

[Spidey]

So, I moved to Central Florida for work back in February. I haven't been to see the Manatees yet, but Space Coast Stadium is only a little over an hour away, and I really could use some entertaining baseball! I've got more motivation to attend games now with the addition of Delmonico. I'll see what I can do for you guys (I'm no scout though)!

[BrewersAA]

Quick update: just saw Justin Grimm get lit up for 7 runs in 2ip with no long balls... Mike olt doesn't have a hit but his bag is legit, his contact sounds better than anyone's in this game.

[BrewersAA]

Not sure if its the same brad Nelson but he just crushed a 2 run double, just a beautiful swing and contact.

[TooLiveBrew]

Went to the T-Rats game tonight. Jorge Lopez looked really good after the first inning. He was hit hard at least three times in the 1st... two of which went as outs... then another time in the 2nd, but after that he really settled in. The hard-hit ball in the 2nd was a shot deep to the left-center gap, and Tyrone Taylor ran it down & made a nice running catch right before the wall.

 

Lopez was pounding the strike zone with his fastball, & was keeping it down & working it both inside & outside. He seemed really in command, and I was surprised to see him lifted after just 5 innings (& 80 pitches) -- maybe the cool temperature played a role in that decision. He also had some shaky defense behind him tonight, which wound up requiring him to get some extra outs (he had an error, too, though). He was also mixing in a curve & changeup, but predominantly was operating with the fastball. The fastball was routinely clocking in between 91-93 mph on the stadium gun.

 

The double he allowed in the 3rd inning was more of a misplay by Roache (who also made a fine diving catch in the left-center gap to rob an extra-base hit later in the game)... definitely wasn't a double off the bat.

 

I'm not anywhere close to an expert on pitching mechanics, but his delivery seems pretty free & easy. Definitely not a max-effort/'elbows & ankles' kind of delivery... pretty nice looking. At this point, Lopez looks every bit the part of a high-draft-pick pitcher -- big, projectable frame that he's already starting to fill out. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him bumped to Brevard County later in the year. He's been pitching well for some time now.

 

Victor Roache's HR in the 1st was a no-doubter -- he sent it out to straightaway CF, over the batter's eye. That's a deep poke at Fox Cities Stadium; there's no listed straightaway CF measurement, but the LC measurement just prior to the visiting bullpen is 385' or 390', and just to the RF side of the home bullpen (other side of CF), it's measured at 406' iirc. Dead center must be something like 410' from home plate. Roache's HR tonight probably flew somewhere around 415'-425'.

 

He already has the MLB physique -- very impressively built. Hopefully his hit tool will progress enough to let his raw power shine. He can clearly hit the ball out to any part of basically any ballpark. Defensively, he still doesn't look very natural, but he looked better tonight than other times I'd watched him earlier this season. If the Brewers decide to let Aoki play out his time with the Brewers & let him walk after 2014, I could easily see Roache stepping right into that RF spot in the bigs come 2015. Whatever they decide with Aoki, I think Roache will man the opposite corner OF spot from Ryan Braun before too long. His power is just too good for me to believe he won't move up the organizational ladder pretty well. His pitch selection & patience at the plate tonight looked quite good... for example, he was definitely being selective & working the counts overall, but his HR in the 1st came on a 1-1 count iirc... when he was getting his pitch, he was ready for it.

 

Orlando Arcia didn't have a great game, but this kid gives you a good plate appearance nearly every time. He looks like he can stick at SS, both in terms of physique & skillset. I'd put him a good step behind Yadiel Rivera, defensively, when Yadiel was with the T-Rats, but when he was in Appleton, Rivera was also a year or two older than Orlando is now. Arcia has every tool you want at short -- the arm, the range, the athleticism, the hands. If he keeps filling out his frame & improving his consistency, he could be a very special player.

 

Tyrone Taylor didn't have a standout game. He wasn't bad, but definitely has cooled off of late. As I noted earlier in this post, he made a sweet running catch in the LC gap (just shy of the wall) in the 2nd inning.

 

Garrett Cooper also turned in well-polished PAs. His build reminds me of Hunter Pence's -- almost awkwardly long & gangly legs; Cooper is a bit taller than Pence, of course. It'll be interesting to see how long he winds up spending with the T-Rats.

[MLS1965]

So who is our loyal Nashville reporter..? I've been a season ticket holder for 6 years now.

[TooLiveBrew]

So who is our loyal Nashville reporter..? I've been a season ticket holder for 6 years now.

You are who I had in mind in the OP

[MLS1965]

So who is our loyal Nashville reporter..? I've been a season ticket holder for 6 years now.

You are who I had in mind in the OP

 

LoL.... OK. I've missed a lot of games this year as I've had other things going on. Never the less it's still been a fun year and I'm beyond happy for the guys that have been called up. All are great guys and always a pleasure when I get to talk with them before each game.

[TooLiveBrew]

So who is our loyal Nashville reporter..? I've been a season ticket holder for 6 years now.

You are who I had in mind in the OP

 

LoL.... OK. I've missed a lot of games this year as I've had other things going on. Never the less it's still been a fun year and I'm beyond happy for the guys that have been called up. All are great guys and always a pleasure when I get to talk with them before each game.

I know you've mentioned numerous times about talking face-to-face with the players with whom you do interact. Is that access simply a product of having seats right by the home dugout? I've always been curious, but never asked.

[MLS1965]

I know you've mentioned numerous times about talking face-to-face with the players with whom you do interact. Is that access simply a product of having seats right by the home dugout? I've always been curious, but never asked.

I'm sure it's part of it, but in years past I've missed few games and you just get to know them by talking with them. Just being a fan and not asking for anything helps I'm sure. Nashville's bullpen it right next the seats...so often I'll go sit with them and talk. It's a hoot just to listen to Tim Dillard when he gets rolling. Rob Wooten and I spent one night talking about our favorite Everybody Loves Raymond episodes just before he was called up. Mark Rogers and I are both from the same small town in Maine, so I've met his family and often will spend a day with them when I fly home to see my mom.

[MTBrew]

I will throw this out there,

maybe helpful as people are putting together their Power 50.

Here are my top 10 from Helena 2013,

I think all of these players have at least one MLB quality tool right now, the question is if they can develop their overall game.

 

1. D. Houle - C, tremendous defensive presence, strong accurate arm, improving at the plate.

2. T. Brennan - 3B, very very good at the corner, strong arm, has power, takes walks, good slugging and OBP.

3. C. Coulter - C, can flat out hit, needs to develop as a catcher, very projectable as he matures.

4. T. Williams - P, hard heavy fastball, power arm.

5. T. Alexander - P, excellent command, very good curve, developing slider.

6. O. Garcia - OF, ++ speed, gets on base, can hold his own in the field, something isn't quite clicking tho.

7. T. Archer - P, throws 3 pitches, gets ground balls, big frame, competes, smart.

8. J. Harris - IF, excellent glove, excellent athlete, developing as a hitter, would be a find if he can stick at 2B.

9. A. Ortega - SS, ++ glove, very good defensively, knows the game, bat is questionable.

10. M.Ratterree - OF, very good overall game. Next level will tell, a lot of guys like him have come thru this league.

[Mass Haas]

Despite all the losses, I would hardly qualify this year's organizational activity as a disaster.

 

But winning would have been more fun for the locals and made for easier daily Link Reporting.

 

2013 Organization Standings & Minor League Champs

 

28 or 30 record-wise, but better than all of Ohio!

[TNT]

I live about 45 minutes from Viera, FL and will gladly report back all of my partying with the Sea Cows on Thirsty Thurdays

[Mass Haas]

Via Miller Park Prospects, Sam reports on three games he saw in Jacksonville, focusing on (now) 3B Jason Rogers

[BrewersAA]

Alright guys, I get a slate of 4 good ones here in OKC coming up with weekend!! I will give a full report each night. Thursday is Pena, Fiers Friday, Hellweg/whomever takes his spot if he goes to the DL (would have to assume Jungmann) , and Nelson Sunday!! I am super pumped, my wife is out of town so i get to enjoy all 4 games with out "hearing" about it.

[TooLiveBrew]

Nice! Looking forward to the eyewitness accounts.

[BrewersAA]

Alright, went to the sounds @ redhawks last night... it was dollar beer night so as the game went on my accounts might get a little fuzzy ;-) . So, the sounds did not do much offensively to speak of and i was actually getting a beer when they scored their only run, so i have no idea if that was the only solid contact they made all night or not. The starting pitcher for the redhawks is a real nice prospect, 23 year old in tripleA and he was dialing it up to 97 and 98 but mostly worked 94, so it was a tough draw. Gindl and Morris made the best contact all night and both were outs, Gindl a real hot shot to third and morris a fly out to left just shot of the track. Morris looks pretty good, real nice level swing, not too long and he look professional at the plate, just looks better than the other guys. the team as a whole just wore out the redhawks 2nd baseman. Both gindle and morris's hits were bloops, taylor greens hit made it just out of the reach of the second baseman. Halton did not look very comfortable at the plate all night.

 

I wish there was more to report on but thats it...

 

No onto the otherside of the ball. Pena looked great! He had a tight strike zone all night and still managed pretty well. The 2 runs he gave up really not all that bad, it was a walk and then a triple, the triple looked like a single and then hermida just didnt get to it and then it went all the way to the wall. I dont know what his defensive reputation is and i know he was in the majors for a long time, but he did not look good in right at all and the bench was struggling to get him into the right position all night. So better Defense probably limits the damage to 1 run and maybe no runs through 5.

 

I was a little disappointed in pena as he works mostly at 90-91 sometimes reaching 92 and as low as 88, i was expecting 94-95, the look of the pitches and the way he popped the mitt it just appeared he was throwing harder than the gun had him, but foltynewicz was at 97-98 all game so if the gun wasnt working that guy was working in the 100s all night. His fastball had great sink to it as well, the redhawks did not make good contact off pena all night. His delivery seemed all upper-body and if he used his legs to drive a little more he would have a little extra, the delivery was a little funky, he was kind of throwing himself at the plate, looked a lot like Krod which just a lot of arms and legs coming at you the way he flailed them, he just wasnt using his legs. he also appeared to work out of the stretch all night from pitch one, it was odd. I was just behind the visitor dugout so i could only see one break plane so his secondary pitch that was most used came in at 84-87 and it was either a change or slider, but it was very effective, generated a lot of swings and i cant remember good fair contact made on it all night. then his third pitch was a 70s curve that he only threw it seemed about 5 times and it absolutely devastated each hitter that saw it, it buckled guys on called strikes and generate the worst swings in the game, i wished he used it more.

 

Pena also generated a ton of ground balls, the redhawks did not put much in the air past the infield while he was in the game. the only thing i didnt like were the walks obviously and the fact that he seemed to go deep into the count with most of the hitters, he wasnt working from behind in the count but he kept nibbling it seemed, the hits off of him came with 2 strikes so maybe he wasnt comfortable using the plate with 2 strikes cause he was getting hit... i dont know.

 

The D behind him was underwhelming all around. Taylor Green, who I am a big fan of, looks pretty subpar at 3rd, Hector Gomez made a few really nice plays getting to the ball but that was about it, a good portion of his throws were low and away which lead to a few infield singles, he also took a maddening amount of time to release the ball on his throws, every play at first was close. Caleb Gindl showed better range than i thought, but he's not a center fielder.

 

Heckathorn looked great! unfortunate he took an earned run cause he definitely didnt earn it.... his delivery is a little funky, it has a hitch and then he flicks his wrist almost like a quarterback. he strides well though, looked good, appeared to really pound the zone, he had real good mound presence, threw mostly fastballs from 88-91. then he lost a guy and put him on and they pulled him with 2 lefties coming up.

 

Then Brent Leach came in and gave up the first really good contact of the game and then walked the bases loaded, he looked awful. The Blazek came in and the wheels came off, hit got hit HARD really hard and they were taking lots of early swings on him and connecting. even the foul balls were leaving the stadium. nobody hit one fair that far, but all of the sudden the redhawks looked like an allstar team. Blazek was coming in at 92 when i saw, but just about every pitch he threw was crushed, even the outs, so i was watching the play and not the score board. He was immature and fidgity on the mound, though i have to imagine its not easy to come into bases loaded 1 out. After that inning i decided to really take advantage of dollar beer night and went to work. Blazek's one K I take full credit for! the hitters name was Andy and i was front row and i gave him hell and really got under his skin, my shining moment, he slammed his helmet on the ground on gave me a dirty look. Then hunter morris signed my brewers hat and that was the ball game! ENJOY! Wish there was more good to talk about and not a 6-1 loss.