Your 2017 Colorado Springs Sky Sox

[Mass Haas]

We will begin to see some formal minor league roster announcements soon. The formal announcement will come directly from the Sky Sox, not the Brewers. All four minor league affiliates will likely send out their press releases within an hour or so of each other once the Brewers have given them the official go-ahead to do so.

 

Opening Night is Thursday 4/6!

 

NOTE: Last season, the affiliates released their rosters on Monday AM (as if the Brewers' big league season opener didn't make it a busy enough day!)

 

Feel free to link to any formal notices you see here.

 

Often we learn via farmhand tweets, who has been assigned where, prior to the formal affiliate announcements. We'll link to any of those posts in this thread as they come out.

 

As you might know, we use the "Your 2017" threads to post and link to feature stories that are outside the scope of game activity covered in the Daily Link Report.

 

These threads have become among the most popular for viewing here, and we look forward to kicking them off formally.

 

Please don't speculate here at this time, this is an anxious time for many on the farm, and unfortunately we're also likely going to learn about more player releases in the next few days, in addition to those players excited about their assignments.

[Mass Haas]

Actually, this is not the "official" official roster release, because the Sky Sox did not send out a roster .pdf or update their MiLB roster page yet. So while it mentions several holdovers, it doesn't list any of the newcomers to the organization (Andrew Barbosa, Paolo Espino, Andy Oliver, Forrest Snow, Ivan De Jesus, Jr., Nick Noonan, Eric Sogard, and other likely members).

 

***

 

Sky Sox Announce Preliminary Opening Day Roster

The 30th season of Sky Sox baseball kicks off Thursday as they begin their third season as the top affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers

 

 

The Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Springs Sky Sox are excited to announce the team's preliminary Opening Day roster for the 2017 Pacific Coast League season. The season gets underway on Thursday, April 6th at Security Service Field against the Omaha Storm Chasers with first pitch slated for 6:40 PM MDT. The preliminary 26-man roster contains 13 pitchers, two catchers, seven infielders and four outfielders. The roster will be cut down to 25 prior to Thursday's season opener.

 

The Sky Sox roster features three of Milwaukee's top-10 prospects, according to Baseball America, including the top two overall prospects in outfielder Lewis Brinson (1) and pitcher Josh Hader (2). Pitcher Brandon Woodruff joins Brinson and Hader as Milwaukee's top-prospects on the Sky Sox roster. Brinson (1), Hader (3) and Woodruff (8) are joined by outfielders Brett Phillips (10) and Ryan Cordell (16) as 2017 Sky Sox rated in the top-20 on MLB Pipeline's list of top Brewers prospects.

 

2017 Sky Sox Roster

 

The roster includes eight members of Milwaukee's current 40-man roster. That list includes Brinson, Phillips, Cordell and Hader as well as infielder Yadiel Rivera and pitchers Michael Blazek, Tyler Cravy and Damien Magnifico.

 

The team will have a familiar look for Sky Sox fans as 15 players on the roster spent time in Colorado Springs last season. That list includes Brinson, Rivera, Hader, Cravy, Blazek and Magnifico as well as pitchers Hiram Burgos, Tim Dillard, David Goforth, Rob Scahill, Wei-Chung Wang, catcher Adam Weisenburger, infielders Garrett Cooper and Nate Orf and outfielder Kyle Wren.

 

As the season rapidly approaches, fans are reminded that they can listen to every 2017 Sky Sox game on XTRA Sports AM 1300.

 

The 30th season of Sky Sox Baseball begins April 6, 2017. For information about the Sky Sox and the 2017 season at Security Service Field, please call (719) 597-1449 or email info@skysox.com. Get the latest Sky Sox news online at www.skysox.com, like us on Facebook or follow the team on Twitter at @skysox.

[JDBrewCrew]

https://www.milb.com/sky-sox/news/sky-sox-announce-preliminary-opening-day-roster/c-222147638/t-196093366

[Greenleaf1]

Haven't seen Stephen Kohlscheen's name anywhere yet, and he's not on Biloxi's roster, so I'm hoping he just hasn't been listed yet at Colorado Springs. Excited to see what he can do this year.

[bkrause2]

Might be making some big assumptions here, but based on that press release you could draw the conclusion that Suter would be the one getting called up to take Guerra's roster spot, leaving the Sky Sox roster looking something like:

 

Barbosa

Blazek

Burgos

Cravy

Dillard

Espino

Goforth

Hader

Kohlscheen

Magnifico

Oliver

Scahill

Wang

Woodruff

 

Heineman

Weisenburger

 

Cooper

DeJesus, Jr.

Noonan

Noriega

Orf

Rivera

Sogard

 

Brinson

Cordell

Phillips

Wren

[Greenleaf1]

If Cravy doesn't get Guerra's roster spot I'd be watching out for flying objects in the Sky Sox clubhouse for the next few days.

[Mass Haas]

Here is the "April 4th" Sky Sox roster. The press release linked above did not contain all the names, but the Sky Sox were kind enough to pass them along to us.

 

Note that for each affiliate, we may not see the MiLB.com roster pages swap completely until Thursday. As noted in our other team threads, it seems each affiliate is going to have to come up with taxi squads / DL stints, etc., to get down to 25-man limits. The Sky Sox will need to find an off-roster home for one player. Thus this is called the "April 4th" roster and is subject to one or multiple changes.

 

PITCHERS (13): Barbosa, Blazek, Burgos, Cravy, Dillard, Espino, Goforth, Hader, Kohlscheen, Magnifico, Scahill, Wang, Woodruff

 

CATCHERS (2): Tyler Heineman, Adam Weisenburger

 

INFIELDERS (7): Garrett Cooper, Ivan De Jesus, Jr., Nick Noonan, Gabriel Noriega, Nate Orf, Yadiel Rivera, Eric Sogard

 

OUTFIELDERS (4): Lewis Brinson, Ryan Cordell, Brett Phillips, Kyle Wren

 

Sure would appear that Brent Suter may be on his way to Milwaukee, filling the LH and long-relief role that Tommy Milone had (if Milone is sliding into Junior Guerra's starting spot).

[pogokat]

If Cravy doesn't get Guerra's roster spot I'd be watching out for flying objects in the Sky Sox clubhouse for the next few days.

 

Suter had just as big a beef to complain about as Cravy, he just didn't air it out in public

[Greenleaf1]

So Hader/Woodruff/Burgos/Wang, then Espino or Barbosa for #5, or will they do 6? Can't remember if Espino/Barbosa were both considered starters or not.

[Mass Haas]

No LHP Andy Oliver, either injured or released, it seems.

[FVBrewerFan]

So Hader/Woodruff/Burgos/Wang, then Espino or Barbosa for #5, or will they do 6? Can't remember if Espino/Barbosa were both considered starters or not.

 

Espino would be the 5th starter, Barbosa is a relief pitcher.

[Mass Haas]

VIDEO via FOX21 Colorado Springs: Brief interview clip (Lewis Brinson, Ryan Cordell, Nate Orf)

[Mass Haas]

Top prospect Lewis Brinson headlines a young, touted Sky Sox roster

Brent Briggeman, Colorado Springs Gazette

 

Lewis Brinson hasn't played in the major leagues just yet, but that didn't stop the Sky Sox center fielder from discussing goals that shot well past a call-up from Milwaukee.

 

He'd like to one day be a 20/20 (home runs and stolen bases) guy. Or maybe 30/30. Heck, why stop there?

 

"If your goal is not to get to the Hall of Fame, then why are you playing baseball?" said Brinson, the Brewers' top-rated prospect on Tuesday at a welcome luncheon at Security Service Field. "That's the way I look at it. You play the game to win the World Series and celebrate on the field with your brothers for eight months.

 

"The other reason you play is to get in the Hall of Fame. That's the ultimate goal."

 

The Triple-A season doesn't start until Thursday, but Brinson's bright-eyed optimism reflects the state of the Sky Sox as they enter a season with a young roster topped with several high-end prospects.

 

The Brewers have rebuilt their minor league system in short order, trading valuable commodities in Carlos Gomez and Jonathan Lucroy over the past two years to help build a system ranked No. 8 by Baseball America in overall talent. And much of that talent is now in Colorado Springs.

 

Brinson and left-handed pitcher Josh Hader are widely considered top-35 prospects. Right behind them within Milwaukee's system is right-hander Brandon Woodruff, the Brewers' minor league pitcher of the year last season. Outfielders Brett Phillips and Ryan Cordell could also be looking at big-league futures.

 

"It's going to be a fun year," manager Rick Sweet said.

 

If a brief cameo at the end of last season was any indication, watching Brinson might bring the most fun.

 

The 6-foot-4, 205-pound 22-year-old batted .382 in 23 games for the Sky Sox after arriving from Texas in a trade for Lucroy. He is considered a five-tool prospect, which includes hitting, hitting for power, speed, defense and throwing arm.

 

A native of Coral Springs, Fla., Brinson had the athleticism to play other sports but decided to focus on year-round baseball in middle school.

 

"I just loved it," he said. "I fell in love with the sport and a very young age, and when you fall in love with it you just stick to it. I didn't want anything to keep me from playing baseball, so with basketball, football or anything else, I was like, 'I don't want to get hurt.' Baseball was always No. 1."

 

This figures to be a unique season for the Sky Sox. This is not a roster with experienced MLB players looking for a return, like Will Middlebrooks, Michael McHenry and Eric Young Jr. last year. Instead, the veterans on the team are largely players who have logged only a partial season or two of big-league experience, while the core of the team will be made up of prospects like Brinson and Hader who hunger for that first taste.

 

"We're going to have a lot of fun on and off the field," Brinson said. "We're going to make a lot of people smile in the stands. It's very exciting."

 

***

 

Manager Rick Sweet on Tyler Cravy --

 

Tyler Cravy wasn't with the Sky Sox on Tuesday, two days after a messy demotion from Milwaukee. But his manager expects him Wednesday and believes the situation is resolved.

 

"Look, your initial response is always negative," Colorado Springs manager Rick Sweet said. "He just expressed it outwardly.

 

"That's how baseball is. Every year this happens. I thought the organization handled it very well. Cravy will be fine."

 

Cravy appeared in 11 games for the Brewers in spring training, posting a 2.03 ERA and 0.60 WHIP.

 

Sweet, who will manage Cravy for the second straight year in Triple-A, said the situation will not linger and such outpouring of emotion is to be expected in a competitive environment.

 

"You get 25 high-energy athletes that all want to be successful, all think they're the best," Sweet said. "It's our job, my job to say, 'Yeah, yeah, you're right; now let's move forward. You want to be the first guy to get called up? You need to do this . ."

[Mass Haas]

With a fastball that Baseball America ranks as the best in the Brewers' system, Brandon Woodruff is confident he can navigate the tough venue.

 

"I'm sticking with what I have," he said. "I guess my pitch arsenal can play at this level and I think it can play at the big leagues. I'm just going to stick with my strengths and see where it takes me."

 

Sky Sox manager Rick Sweet shares Woodruff's optimism.

 

"He's got an explosive fastball," Sweet said. "He commands his pitches well. He should do very, very well here."

 

***

 

The rest of the Colorado Springs Gazette article details the story of Woodruff losing his brother in last summer's ATV accident, introducing that news to the local Sky Sox fans.

[Mass Haas]

2017 Sky Sox Media Guide, 172 pages strong

[Mass Haas]

Looking good at Triple-A, Brewers' top prospects talk success, improvement

Bob Martinez, OnMilwaukee.com

 

 

Colorado Springs outfielders (from left) Ryan Cordell, Lewis Brinson and Brett Phillips. (PHOTO: Bob Martinez)

 

***

 

This is a well-written piece with multiple quotes, and goes beyond just the three outfielders. Nice work, Mr. Martinez!

[Mass Haas]

Baseball Prospectus Milwaukee's article on RH reliever Tristan Archer

[dacbrewers]

Can someone explain to me why we need 3 catchers at AAA?

[And That]

They don't need three catchers in AAA. When Garcia gets ready to return, they'll either just put him on the Helena roster until needed, or activate him and Helena-ize Heineman.

[markedman5]

http://gazette.com/article/1602772?TC_SC_REF

[wildcat2237]

Thanks for sharing.

 

Good stuff.

 

I am really excited about Woodruff.

[sveumrules]

Thanks for sharing the article on Archer, Mass. I caught one of his spring inning this year on MLB network or FSN & was really impressed with his stuff. There were a couple two tree pitches I thought looked like quality strikes that I think moved so much the umpire couldn't get a read on them. It was all the more impressive because I hadn't recalled ever seeing his name before.

[Mass Haas]

Garrett Cooper: A Model Of Consistency

Production and steadfastness prove key to Cooper's success

By Robby Veronesi / Colorado Springs Sky Sox

 

Nice job by Robby here...

 

***

 

More on Cooper --

 

Late-bloomer Garrett Cooper cleaning up in middle of Sky Sox lineup

By Brent Briggeman, Colorado Springs Gazette

[Mass Haas]

Outfielder Ryan Cordell supplies spark for Sky Sox

Brent Briggeman, Colorado Springs Gazette

 

Asked who might most closely compare to Ryan Cordell, the mind of Rick Sweet churned through its 40-plus years of baseball experience to find the most fitting examples.

 

He settled on Jason Bay and Jay Bruce.

 

Rest of the feature article at the link above...

 

He's now exclusively an outfielder

 

Actually no, Cordell started his 9th game at third base Friday night.

[Mass Haas]

Cordell comfortable in new system

Brewers prospect settling into Triple-A after trade from Texas

By Chris Jackson / Special to MiLB.com

 

 

Ryan Cordell is batting .297/.366/.515 with six home runs and 28 RBIs through 42 Triple-A games. (Bobby Stevens photo/MiLB.com)