Your 2014 Brevard County Manatees -- Latest: RHP Scott Lieser February Audio

[Mass Haas]

FSL notes: Wagner won't waste his pitches

Manatees starter focuses on working quickly, forcing early contact

By Guy Curtright / Special to MiLB.com

 

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Brevard County's Tyler Wager leads the league with 13 wins and is second in the circuit with a 1.60 ERA. (Cliff Welch/MiLB.com)

 

When Tyler Wagner takes the mound, any complaints about the lagging pace of baseball quickly disappear.

 

The Milwaukee Brewers' No. 14 prospect doesn't linger between pitches and goes right after hitters when he throws. It all comes from what the Brevard County ace learned as a high school shortstop and college closer.

 

There are no real advantages to wasting time or pitches, and when you don't your defense plays a lot better behind you.

 

Wagner (13-5) leads the Florida State League in victories and is second in ERA (1.60) and WHIP (1.09). The 6-foot-3 right-hander has a modest 111 strikeouts over a league-high 141 innings but has walked only 44 and limited opponents to a .219 average.

 

"I try to force contact, not shy away from it," he said. "I want to get outs as fast as I can."

 

That happens with regularity as the 23-year-old's low-90s sinking fastball generates a lot of ground balls.

 

Infielders are ready for them, too. Wagner's fast pace makes sure no one is back on his heels.

 

"When I played shortstop, I wanted action to come quickly," he said. "I think having a good tempo helps a pitcher and makes everyone behind him play better as well."

 

Spoken like a veteran pitcher, but Wagner is hardly that.

 

The Las Vegas native was the shortstop on a Nevada state high school champion and nationally ranked Bishop Gorman team, earning a scholarship to the University of Utah as an infielder.

 

"I only started maybe two or three games in high school," Wagner said of his time on the mound.

 

Utah, though, was intrigued by his strong arm and gave him a look on the mound as a freshman. By the next season, he was the team's closer and set a school record with 12 saves.

 

Milwaukee took Wagner in the fourth round of the 2012 Draft after his junior year and gave him a new role again. Put in the rotation, he struggled at rookie-level Helena in the Pioneer League, going 1-4 with a 7.77 ERA.

 

"It took me a while to get used to starting," Wagner said. "But I understood that it was important for me to pitch as much as possible."

 

By last season, Wagner was comfortable. With an effective changeup added to his hard slider and sinking fastball, he was 10-9 with a 3.21 ERA for Wisconsin in the Class A Midwest League.

 

This year, though, has been the real breakthrough.

 

Wagner went two months from early June to early August without a loss, going 7-0 and allowing just three earned runs over 52 1/3 innings in eight starts. The streak was broken by a loss at Tampa, but he then won his next two stars with scoreless outings of six and seven innings.

 

Still rolling: Brevard County right-hander Taylor Williams, Milwaukee's No. 13 prospect, struck out nine over seven innings against Dunedin on Aug. 17 to improve to 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA in three starts since a promotion from Class A Wisconsin. The fourth-round pick in the 2013 Draft out of Kent State was 8-1 with 2.36 ERA and four saves in the Midwest League, recording 112 strikeouts to 23 walks in 107 innings while piggybacking starts. Williams, 23, allowed six hits and one earned run against Dunedin, walking none.

[TheCrew07]

Here's the latest on the T-Rats benefit for the Lopez family. I put a link to the GoFundMe site at the bottom, please contribute something if your financial situation allows.

 

Timber Rattlers Throwback Jersey Auction to benefit family of former player

By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

 

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Jorge Lopez pitched for the Timber Rattlers in 2013. His son is fighting a serious is fighting serious medical problems and the proceeds from the Timber Rattlers Throwback Jersey Auction will go to help.

 

GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are holding a silent auction for their 20th Anniversary Throwback Jerseys on Friday, August 29. The team will be donating the proceeds from that auction to assist former Rattlers pitcher Jorge Lopez and his family, who are dealing with the serious illness of Mikael, his one-year old son.

 

Lopez, a Milwaukee Brewers pitching prospect, spent the 2013 season with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. During last season, Lopez and his wife became parents to Mikael, who was born prematurely.

 

Mikael's story is told in this FloridaToday.com article by John A. Torres:

 

"They told us these were just complications from him being born premature," the 21-year-old Lopez said this week from Space Coast Stadium, where he is helping anchor one of the best pitching staffs in the Florida State League.

 

More doctors and two more hospitals followed, including the leading children's hospital in Puerto Rico where Lopez is from. They stayed at the children's hospital for five months as doctors ran batteries of tests to find out what was wrong with the boy.

 

"He was getting sick a lot, and he wasn't gaining any weight. He had bronchitis and pneumonia and was very bad," Lopez said. "Finally we brought him to a hospital in Miami."

 

That's where they discovered that the little boy's intestines had never worked a day in his young life. An unknown autoimmune disease has necessitated an intestinal transplant.

 

"Now we are waiting to see if the transplant is the answer," Lopez said, realizing all too well that he is a key player in a story about faith, baseball, a rare disease and the need for a miracle.

 

The financial hardships are not just medical for the Lopez family. The costs of transporting Mikael from Puerto Rico to Miami were $8,000 alone.

 

The silent auction for their pinstriped throwback uniforms will be held from 5:30pm until the end of the seventh inning when the Timber Rattlers host the Burlington Bees on Friday, August 29 in Wisconsin's final regular season home game of the season.

 

The Brevard County Manatees, Milwaukee's Florida State league affiliate and Lopez's current team, have started a GoFundMe site to assist the Lopez family with their expenses. All proceeds from the Timber Rattlers silent auction of their Throwback Jerseys will go to that fund.

 

Tickets for that game - or any of the remaining Timber Rattlers home games this season - are available online, over the phone at (920) 733-4152 or (800) WI-TIMBER, or in person. The Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium Box Office is open from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm Monday through Friday and Saturdays from 10:00 am to 3:00pm.

 

GoFundMe Help Jorge Lopez & His Family

[Mass Haas]

Nice summary post on the Manatees blog on the signing of RHP Jon Huizinga.

[Mass Haas]

Eleven years worth wait for Huizinga

34-year-old right-hander returns to Minors for first time since 2003

By Sam Dykstra / MiLB.com

 

Great take on the signing; even if you've read our prior links, give this a read...

[Mass Haas]

Really enjoying the series, Brad -- Miller Park Prospects

[kalle8]

Jon Huizinga interviewed in italian podcast (in english) about his amazing story.

 

http://www.spreaker.com/user/nelnomedelgioco/episodio-200-jon-huizinga-eng

[Mass Haas]

Thanks, Kalle8!

 

I had stumbled upon that interview being previewed but had only found references to it on sites that had apparent malware and didn't feel comfortable linking to it here.

 

Love the romantic production value in the open! Actually, tremendous job by the interviewers considering it was their first English-language podcast. The gentlemen are passionate about their baseball.

 

Kalle8 is our Italian resident and Brewer fan extraordinaire. His twitter account features a great photo of his visit to Milwaukee, when our Brewerfan staffer hawing helped play host to him.

 

***

 

Huizinga is slated to be a minor league free agent in late October, but indicates in the podcast he'll find out from the Brewers later this month whether he'll be re-signed and have an opportunity to break camp in April with one of the Brewers' affiliates.

 

Easy call, Reid and Gord! Who is setting a better example of diligence for the youngsters?

 

Refresh yourself on Huizinga's story if unfamiliar here and here.

[Mass Haas]

Baseball America recognition for Cameron Garfield's defensive skills

[Mass Haas]

Nice winter treat via local Minnesota audio:

 

RHP Scott Lieser (career stats) did what he needed to do last year as an undrafted (2013) 24-year-old in 2014, jumping from Maryvale directly to Brevard County.

 

AUDIO 2/7: Via KEYL, Scott Lieser discusses heading to spring training 2015 and more

 

Here's what we posted when Lieser first signed in June 2013.

 

A year later, more from spring training 2014.

 

Lieser was interviewed four times in 2014 on the Manatees Radio Network, you can find those archives here.

 

Not sure if the Brewers have toned down this spectacular leg kick, which also prompted Scott's Twitter handle.