Welcome to the New Blog
Hi Brewers faithful!
My name is Jeff Levering, the newest member for the Brewers Broadcast team. I’ll be filling in for Bob Uecker on the radio on some select road trips, so basically, I’m his pinch hitter.
For those of you that didn’t know me before, Hello!
Along with the broadcast element of my job, I also host a weekly podcast, Brewers On Tap (available on brewers.com/podcasts and on iTunes) and will now be writing this new blog focusing on the Brewers minor league system. A minor league segment exists on the podcast already, so this blog will be more of a long form version of that with added quotes, stories and video. Think of it as bonus coverage.
If you’re a fan of following the Brewers minor league system, this is the place to be.
I’ll have a chance to visit each of the Brewers affiliates during the spring/summer and have interviews, video and photos to share from each spot. I’ll start with Colorado Springs later this week, as a matter of fact.
Here’s the deal, we all know that the Brewers are struggling out of the gate this season. It’s frustrating for everyone; players, coaches, front office members and fans. Just know that it will get better. Bounces will start going the Brewers way. Instead of “seeing eye” singles against our pitching staff, they’ll be ground outs. It will get better!
With that being said, the focus on this blog will be on what’s happening within our system and how those players can contribute to the Milwaukee Brewers in the future.
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
The newest affiliate of the Brewers (moving on from Nashville after a 10 year run) is the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox.
Off to a slow start at 6–11, the club has excelled on offense, but the pitching has been less than ideal. The team owns a batting average of .280 and scores 5.4 runs a game led by the outfield duo of Matt Long and Shane Peterson.
Long was acquired by the Brewers in the offseason in a trade with the Dodgers and Peterson was claimed off waivers from the Cubs right before the turn of the New Year. Long (slashing, which is batting average, on base and slugging percentage .317/.405/.476) was a spring training stand out as a non-roster invite. Had he been on the 40-man roster, he may have won a job on the Brewers Opening Day Roster. His versatility to play all three outfield positions as well as third and second base makes him very valuable to the Brewers.
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Peterson, originally drafted by St. Louis out of Long Beach State (then traded to the A’s for Matt Holliday back in 2009) check in with a .305/.397/.508 slash line. Of his 18 hits so far, seven have gone for extra bases. He plays all three outfield positions and has a decent amount of time at first base too.
And Matt Clark, who Brewers fans got to know last September,
http://m.mlb.com/video/v36258695
He leads the Sky Sox offense with three homers and 12 RBI and his hitting .296 (21-for-71).
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As mentioned, the pitching staff has struggled to start the year owning a team ERA of 6.03 through 17 games. But, you might just chalk that up to playing in Colorado Springs, which has the distinction of being at the highest elevation (6,531 feet) of any North American professional baseball park.
Not to be deterred though, Corey Knebel, acquired from the Rangers in the Yovani Gallardo trade in January this year, has lit it up saving both games he’s had the chance to. He’s allowed just one run in his seven appearances and has struck out nine of the 25 batters he’s faced.
Biloxi Shuckers
This has to be one of the most prospect-laden clubs in the system. SS Orlando Arcia, OF Tyrone Taylor, 2B Yadiel Rivera, OF Kyle Wren, OF Michael Reed, RHP Tyler Wagner, LHP Hobbs Johnson and RHP Brooks Hall are all Shuckers at the moment.
As a club, they lead the Southern League South Division at 12–6. Pitching has been dominant with a 2.28 team mark and the offense he been enough to pull out close games.
The pitching, in a word, amazing. I mentioned Johnson, Hall and Wagner above. They are a combined 8–0 with a 1.46 ERA (9 ER/55.1 IP) with 45 strikeouts and just 18 walks. And, to boot, both Hall and Wagner have HIT homers at the plate.
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And Austin Ross, making the conversion from starting to relieving full time, added two more scoreless innings on Monday to lower his ERA to 0.90 (1 ER/10 IP) and has struck out 15, while walking only two batters. He has not allowed a run in his last four appearances covering eight innings of work.
Orlando Arcia, the 20-year-old #1 prospect in the system, has been nothing short of spectacular. He’s made just two errors at shortstop and is hitting .386, slugging .544 and owns an OBP of .456. He’s reached base in all but two of the games he’s played in so far.
Yadiel Rivera, on the Brewers 40-man roster, has reached base in every game he’s played (17) while batting .357 with a home and eight RBI. He’s also stolen five bases while starting games at 2B (14), SS (2) and 3B (2).
And Michael Reed, a 5th round pick in 2011 out Leander High School in Texas, is hitting .327 with a homer and 11 RBI.
Just to make things really interesting, the Biloxi Shuckers haven’t played a home game yet! And they won’t until June. Their brand new ballpark, MGM Park, is not complete yet. That will force the team to play it’s first 55 games on the road. Now, they have been home team in a few of those games, but have not played in Biloxi yet. The just get to wear their home whites in another teams ballpark. Their previous home, Huntsville, Alabama, will serve as a “home ballpark” until June 6th, the tentative date for the ballpark’s opening. A 55-game road trip?! Yikes!
Brevard County Manatees
The Manatees are 9–9 led on offense by OF’s Clint Coulter and Victor Roache.
Coulter, the 2014 Brewers’ Minor League Player of the Year, leads the organization in homers (6) and is 2nd in RBI (15). All this while hitting .338, slugging an organizational leading .690 and making the transition from catching to playing the outfield. Coulter is rated as the 4th best prospect in the Brewers system according to MLB.com.
Roache, checking in at №14 on the prospect list, also has gotten off to a quick start in 2015. He leads all Brewers’ minor leaguers with 18 RBI, has slugged five homers and is hitting .329. Roache is the owner of a nine game hitting streak and reached base in 14 straight games.
While INF Paul Eshleman may not be on the “prospect watch”, he’s opening some eyes in the Florida State League. He was named the FSL’s Player of the Week for April 20–26. Eshleman joined the Manatees active roster last Tuesday and came out swinging. In his first game of the season, he hit a walk-off home run to guide the Manatees to an 8–6 victory over Lakeland. In six games last week, Eshleman posted a slash line of .440/.481/.840 with 2 HR and 6 RBI.
And, I suppose, off days in Florida supply lots of opportunities to take in the “sights”, scary or not. Just ask Taylor Brennan.
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
Out to a slow start at just 6–12, the Timber Rattlers have the youngest team in the Midwest League. With top prospects from the 2014 draft, LHP Kodi Medeiros (18-years-old), SS Jake Gatewood (19) and Monte Harrison (19) starring in Appleton.
Medeiros, the 12th overall pick last year, could not have started any better as he tossed six no-hit innings while issuing just one walk and striking out seven in his season debut on April 12. Read the full article of Medeiros start here…http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20150412&content_id=117915844&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_l118&sid=l118
Both Gatewood and Harrison have been slow to get going with the bats (each hitting under .200) but have been showing flashes of their potential.
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Another player not on the prospect rankings, but one opening eyes nonetheless, is Dustin DeMuth. The 5th round pick out of Indiana University in 2014, is hitting .345 with a homer and six RBI while playing both third and first base. DeMuth was a two-time All-American with the Hoosiers.
So, that’s a little bit of what this blog is all about. Future entries might not be as long, but the content will continue to grow with videos, photos and audio interviews.
Off to Colorado Springs next.
Thanks for reading and Go Brewers!
Jeff
@jlevering4
