Ruben "Streak" Souffront and the Denver Brewers

[BirdWatcher]

In front of the MGL partisan fans of Portland's Wild Things Ballpark, the MGL All-Stars staged a come-from-behind walk-off victory in the 1970 All-Star Game.
Brewers starter Cheol-han Lee got the MGL off to a good start with a flawless 1st inning. Unfortunately, Harry Lyerly was not so successful in the 2nd inning, as he gave up 3 hits- 2 singles and a double- and allowed the SJL to score 2 runs and take an early lead. The MGL would get a run back in the 4th to cut the lead in half.
But then Brewers closer Miguel Solis allowed another SJL run in the top of the 6th and they extended their lead to 3-1.
The MGL scored twice in the bottom of the 6th to tie the game at 3 apiece.
But then the SJL went ahead again in the top of the 7th on a Jared Hancock (San Antonio Keys secondbaseman) solo HR.
With the SJL leading 4-3 going into the bottom of the 9th, the stage was set for a dramatic comeback for the MGL. And they were up to the task. It started with a lead-off single off the bat of Brooklyn Ace's firstbaseman Rich Lopez. Phoenix catcher Aaron Davis then came to the plate. Davis is a decent hitter with a little pop, but certainly not one of the more feared players who appeared in this game. But at least on this evening, feared he should have been. After letting the first pitch go by for a ball, Davis smashed the next pitch he saw into the rightfield stands at Wild Things Ballpark to give the MGL the walk-off 5-4 victory.

(Ryan Rodgers went 0 for 3 with a strikeout in the game and Tanner Yurek picked up 1 single and 1 strikeout in 2 at-bats.)

[BirdWatcher]

Not that he was ever likely to be a star, but you hate to see this happen to young pitcher with some talent and a strong work ethic.
You have to think that with his injury problems, even at age 23, the career trajectory is likely heading downward fast. (Well, not too fast- he is out for the next 15 months.)
The injury history shown here isn't even the entire list. This guy is rarely healthy.

[BirdWatcher]

With a 3-game sweep of San Francisco in Denver, the Brewers have now won 10 straight games and have moved ahead of the Velocity into 2nd place, 5 1/2 games behind Phoenix.
Given how frustrating this season has been, it is hard to believe just how well the Brewers are playing right now. I can't be sure at this moment, but to the best of my recollection, this is the longest winning streak in team history.

In game 1 against the Velocity, Daniel Torres was sharp over 7 innings of work, giving up just 1 run on 5 hits, striking out 5 and walking 4. The game was very close until late, when the Brewers put 6 runs on the board in the bottom of the 7th, hitting 3 doubles in that one inning (Ryan Rodgers- #16, Tanner Yurek- #16, and Andrew Kennedy- #8 on the season.) The Brewers would win 6-2, with Torres improving to 6-2 (2.59).

Cheol-han Lee was inspired by Torres start and a desire to improve upon it and pitched a complete game, allowing just 1 run on 5 hits while striking out 6 and walking 2 in the second game of the series. The Brewers didn't give him quite as much run support, but they gave him enough as the home team won 4-1. Jared Stephenson hit HR #10 and Ruben Souffront his his 2nd of the season in the victory. Lee improves to 7-3 with a 2.95 ERA.

Of course, in game 3 Harry Lyerly knew he better really bring it if he was going to follow in the footsteps of his veteran counterparts. No problem. The kid just tossed a 3-hit complete game shutout, striking out 9 while walking 3. Lyerly is now 10-5 with a 2.69 ERA. The Brewers gave him far more run support than he needed and the team cruises to an 8-0 win in the final game of the series. Ryan Rodgers (.370/.481/.466) continues to rake and went 3 for 5 in the game and hit his 17th double of the 1970 season. Rodgers easily leads not only the MGL but all of the WPK in batting average and on-base percentage.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers 10-game winning streak comes to an end in the first game of a Sunday doubleheader versus Portland. The Brewers drop that first game 6-3 after Abel Pennington had a very poor start, giving up all 6 runs on 5 hits allowed in just 3 2/3rds innings pitched.
The team bounces back in the second game behind Will Smart, who unfortunately once again had to leave the game early due to a finger blister, and 3 members of the bullpen (Getchell, Francis, Singer.) The Brewers muster just enough offense to get the 3-0 victory.
Unfortunately, they lose to Portland the next day in extra innings, 3-2 to drop the series.
Things continue to trend in the wrong direction, as the bats have grown totally cold, in the first game of a 3-game series versus Baltimore. The Brewers drop the game 4-1 and lose All-Star closer Miguel Solis in the process. Solis is diagnosed with radial nerve compression and will miss the rest of the season.
The Brewers bring up the recently turned 23 year old Sam Pruiett to take Solis' spot (though not his role) in the pen.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers win the 2nd game of the 3-game set versus Baltimore, crushing the Lords 10-2 behind Cheol-han Lee, who improves to 8-3 (2.82) with the complete game victory. Lee allowed 2 runs on 7 hits, striking out 5 and walking just 1. Ruben Souffront (.241/.297/.343) helped pace the Denver attack with a 2 for 4, 2 runs, 3 RBI day, hitting his 3rd triple of the season.
The Lords returned the favor in game 3, battering Brewers starter Harry Lyerly, who after pitching one of his finest games as big leaguer in his previous start pitches probably his worst in this game- allowing 8 runs on 12 hits- 6 of them HR's, including 2 off the bat of the opposing pitcher- in just 4 innings pitched. Lyerly drops to 10-6 with a 3.15 ERA with the loss. The Brewers score 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th to make the 10-4 drubbing look a little closer than it actually felt. The long ball has always been considered Lyerly's kryptonite, but over the course of his first 35 big league starts it hasn't proven his undoing. The Brewers hope that this 36th start will prove to be an outlier and not the start of a trend that will render their second best starter ineffective in the future.

On the plus side, Ryan Rodgers continues to have his best season as a Brewer and is now hitting .375 for the season with an amazing .486 OBP. And with 3 doubles in the past 2 games he is up to 20 for the season.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers take 2 of 3 in a low scoring series in Oklahoma City against the Diamond Kings.
The first game went into extra innings tied at 2-2 and both bullpens pitched admirably into the 13th inning. In the bottom of the 13th, veteran Brewers left-handed reliever David Brown, working in his 3rd inning in the game, gave up a lead-off single to OKC catcher Insung Kim. Kim then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. The next batter hit a groundball to third base, where Gold Glove firstbaseman Bobby Erbakan, due to numerous substitutions, was stationed. Although Erbakan is a premium defender, he has limited experience at third, and he booted the ball, with the result being Kim comingin to score the game ending run. The Brewers lost 3-2.
Game 2 finished with the same final score, but with the Brewers prevailing this time. Cheol-han Lee pitched a solid 7 innings, giving up 2 runs (1 earned) on 6 hits while striking out 4 and walking 1. Lee improves to 9-3 with a 2.75 ERA. Jared Stephenson (.220/.239/.333) paced the attack with a rare good day at the plate, going 2 for 4 with a double (7) and 3 RBI.
Harry Lyerly had a bounce back game in game number 3 of the series, though he also got a little assistance from the weather. In a rain-shortened game which was called in the 6th inning, Lyerly allowed zero runs on just 1 hit while striking out 2 and walking 1 over 5 innings pitched. Lyerly improves to 11-6 with a 3.04 ERA. The Brewers scored their 2 runs in the 2nd inning off Oklahoma City ace Reece Vaughn (13-10, 2.98) and Harry Lyerly himself drove in the second run with a 2-out single.

[BirdWatcher]

So the season has reached August 1st and the Brewers did not make any more trades prior to the trade deadline.
Although the team remains very inconsistent, the 10 game winning streak in the middle of the month did get them back into contention, sort of. At least, with a few months left, there is no way to reasonably rule out a late push to win the pennant, even if it does seem highly unlikely at this point.

Ruben Souffront continues to disappoint. Although he has raised his batting average slightly in the past few weeks, he continues to strike out far too frequently, hit into double plays far too frequently, and although he shows decent range and a strong arm in rightfield, he remains prone to errors, and often at the worst possible moments. (Then again, with a team that lives on pitching a defense and doesn't score a lot of runs, leading to a lot of close games, most any moment is the worst possible moment.)
On the other hand, he still is under team control for one more season and there is no reason to believe at this point that his value is going to decrease in the near future. He is still young and extremely fast with a great work ethic and intelligence and what should be a somewhat above average hit package. He is just so darned inconsistent though. He also still has minor league options. My sense at this point is that he will not be with the team long-term. But for 1970 at least, whether it be in a Brewers uniform or down at AAA Chester, he will remain a member of the organization.

In a little less than 2 weeks Antonio Puente will return from the disabled list. Likely that leads to a demotion for Ruben, possibly until September 1st roster expansion.
While the Brewers did not end up being active in the trading scene prior to the deadline, the off-season could be a very different story. With the continued struggles of thirdbaseman Jared Stephenson, this is an area the team could be looking to make a move. So Souffront and Stephenson could well be on the trading block in the off-season, as well as a few decent minor league prospects who are nearly big league ready and don't have a path to the bigs for the Brewers at this time. Likely the team would be looking for good young prospects, in addition to a starting third sacker now, in any deals, as the minor league pipeline is very good at the top levels (our AAA and AA teams are dominant this year) but get pretty thin as you go down.
And with Daniel Torres under contract for just one more year and heading into his late 30's, a good lefthanded starter is going to be a priority soon as well. While the future of the starting staff is looking quite good at this point, the lack of a lefty could be a big problem especially given that we play our home games in a park that favors lefthanded hitters pretty strongly.

[BirdWatcher]

It wasn't easy and it wasn't always pretty, but the Brewers go into Phoenix and somehow manage to squeak out a series victory, winning the final 2 of 3 games against the 1st place Speed Devils by the narrowest of margins.
This was a classic case of good pitching beating good hitting. The Speed Devils were the highest scoring team in the WPK coming in to the series (they are now second, by 1 run, to the Jacksonville Wolf Pack) and are fairly easily the team with the most HR's in the WPK. The Brewers, on the other hand, easily lead the category of fewest runs allowed (329 to runner up Brooklyn's 377), are 1st in all of the WPK in defensive efficiency (once again, after a bit of slow start to 1970 in this category) and are 1st in the MGL in both starters and bullpen ERA.

The Brewers dropped a close one in the first game of the series, 4-3. The Brewers had come back from deficits twice in the game and tied the score at 3-3 with a run in the top of the 8th, but Eric Singer wasn't at his sharpest in relief and allowed the walk-off run via a Nick Haran 2-out single in the bottom of the 9th. Singer dropped to 5-5 with the loss (2.48 ERA.)

But then the Brewers would get a fine start from Captain Abel Pennington in game 2 with terrific work from Josh Morrow, who got credit for the win and is now 1-0 with an 0.93 ERA since joining the Brewers, and Liann-wei Hua, who earned his 5th save of the season (1.63 ERA), out of the bullpen. Pennington worked 6 2/3rds, allowing 1 run on 7 hits and 1 walk in the no-decision. The game-winning hit came off the bat of Chad Brown (.257/.285/336), who has seen marked declines in his offensive numbers from earlier in the season, but went 2 for 4 in this contest and hit the 2-run double in the 8th inning that erased a 1-0 deficit and gave the Brewers the eventual 2-1 victory.

Game 3 was another low-scoring affair settled by the difference of just a single run, as the Brewers held on for a 3-2 win to take the series. Will Smart continued his fine season, working 5 1/3rd innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits while striking out 3 but also walking 4. Smart got the victory to improve to 5-1 with a 1.00 ERA. After two relievers combined to get the team through the 7th, Eric Singer pitched a nearly flawless 2 innings (0 hits, 3 K, 1 BB) to pick up his 9th save and drop his ERA down to 2.40. Young Andrew Kennedy was the star on offense and once again showed that he might have a bit more power than advertised, as he hit a 2-out, 2-run shot to dead center in the 6th inning, his 5th HR of the season. Kennedy (.318/.351/.445) was 2 for 3 on the game and drew a walk.

With the series victory, the Brewers move to within 5 1/2 games of the MGL leading Speed Devils and are in a virtual tie for 2nd with the San Francisco Velocity (Denver is percentage points better than S.F.). While it will still be a difficult task, it should help that Antonio Puente will soon be returning to the club, and there is certainly plenty of season left to try to catch Phoenix and hold off San Francisco. One other slight advantage is that we have played fewer games than any other team in the MGL at this stage- 7 fewer than Phoenix in fact, and 4 fewer than S.F.

[BirdWatcher]

I mentioned above that the Brewers AAA and AA affiliates were doing quite well this season. Below is a bit more of an idea what that looks like.
Granted, the Brewers were the #1 rated farm system in the WPK last season, so even though a few of our higher rated prospects (Harry Lyerly, Adam Getchell) are now Brewers and no longer qualify as prospects, there was a lot of talent moving up through the ranks, much of which is now congregated at the upper levels of the minor league organization. The Brewers farm system is currently ranked #8 (out of 20) in the WPK.
A few of the players listed below- Joe McPhillips, Steve Green, Jeff Darden, maybe even Danny Roman in a backup/potential future super-sub role)- are likely to be in Brewers uniforms soon. Others, like Steve Hobza and possibly Jonathan Koch and/or Josh Schaeffer, are trade bait candidates.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers start the first full week of August with a 3-game series in Detroit against the last place Falcons.
They start with a rare Monday doubleheader. In the opening game the Brewers get a fine start from staff ace Cheol-han Lee, who gives up just 2 runs on 5 hits with 3 K's and 0 walks in 8 innings pitched. Unfortunately, the Brewers offense continues to be frigid and they fail to score a single run for Lee as the Brewers go down 2-0. Lee falls to 9-4 with a 2.72 ERA.

Game 2 was Harry Lyerly's turn. Two starts ago he had probably his worst start as a big leaguer. His last start was good, but was also rain shortened. This start, well, pretty much a masterpiece. Granted, it didn't start that auspiciously, as he gave up a first inning lead-off single and a one-out double which scored the first run of the game. But he worked out of the inning without any more damage done. And after that, he was pretty much lights out.
Lyerly got the complete game win, allowing just 4 hits while issuing not a single walk and striking out 14 batters. The 14 strikeouts ties the Brewers single-game record. A record set just last season. By, you know, a kid named Harry Lyerly. The offense didn't exactly come alive for the kid but they did just enough- the big hit being a 2-run 4th inning HR off the bat of Mark Compton (his first HR of the season in a Brewers uniform, and 11th overall)- and the Brewers won 3-1. Lyerly improves to 12-6 with a 2.91 ERA.

In game 3 of the series, Adam Getchell got a rare chance to start a game- the 24-year old former first round draft pick (#3 overall) has been pitching mostly long relief out of the pen this year- as he tries to stake a claim in the crowded Brewers rotation picture. Getchell had a solid start, working 8 innings, allowing 3 runs on just 4 hits while striking out 5 and walking 2. Though to be fair, he didn't have a lot of pressure on him in the game as the Brewers offense came fully to life and scored early and often on the way to an easy 15-3 victory. There were many offensive stars in the game - the team did collect 20 hits, including 3 doubles and a triple- but none bigger than Pat Rondeau (.319/.364/.406), who went 5 for 6 with 4 runs scored and 1 driven in and hit his 17th double of the season.

The Brewers remain in 3rd place, 1/2 game behind San Francisco and 6 behind Phoenix.

[BirdWatcher]

The Washington Night Train, currently in a 3rd place tie with Seattle in the SJL and trying desperately to not fall hopelessly behind 1st place Jacksonville, whom they trail by 11 games, got very bad news today.
Veteran star pitcher Juan Soto, who won 21 games just 2 seasons ago and at age 38 was putting together quite a nice season this year suffered a ruptured UCL and expected to be out for more than a year. At his age one has to wonder if this is perhaps the end of the line for the distinguished righthander, who won the SJL Pitcher of the Year award in 1966, is a 3-time All-Star, including just this season, and is the proud owner of 2 championship rings.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers split a 2-game series versus Oklahoma City at home, losing the first game 6-4 and taking the second 2-1.
In the first game lefty starter Daniel Torres struggled with his control (his primary weakness) as he walked 6 batters in just 5 innings pitched, giving up 6 runs (4 earned) and 7 hits while striking out 4. The bullpen pitched well over the course of the final 4 innings, but the damage had been done and the Brewers fell short in their comeback attempt.
Behind an excellent start by the Captain, Abel Pennington, the Brewers were able to get a narrow victory in game 2. Pennington worked 7 innings of 5 hit, 1 run ball, striking out 7 and walking just 2. Although he did not get the decision he did improve his ERA to 3.99. Bobby Erbakan (.256/.316/.345) who has been starting to heat up of late helped pace the offense with a 2 for 3, 1 RBI game.

The Brewers then traveled to Charlotte to take on the 8th place Sting. The Sting handed the Brewers an embarrassing 9-1 loss in game 1, as Mike (don't call me John) Hiatt- who threw a no-hitter earlier this season- pitched an effective if wild 7 1/3rd innings, holding the Brewers to 1 run on only 2 hits while walking 7 and striking out 5. The Brewers would manage 1 more hit off the bullpen but that was it. Meanwhile, Will Smart pitched a mediocre 5 1/3rd, allowing 4 runs on only 3 hits while walking 3 and striking out 2. Josh Morrow later allowed 5 runs on 5 hits in 1 2/3rds innings pitched.
The Brewers got some revenge in game 2, beating the Sting 8-2. Staff ace Cheol-han Lee was sharp, going the distance and allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits with 8 strikeouts and 1 walk. Lee improves to 10-4 with a 2.68 ERA. Antonio Puente (.253/.367/.507), playing in just his 3rd game since returning from the DL due to a broken jaw suffered while being hit by a pitch on June 24th, hit his 16th homer of the season and Jared Stephenson (.230/.252/.359) hit HR #13.
In the rubber match, Harry Lyerly wasn't nearly as sharp as he was in his previous start, but he was good enough to earn his 13th victory of the year (and, once again, Player of the Game honors.) Lyerly lasted 6 1/3rd, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits while striking out 5 and walking 4. Only one of the six hits was for extra bases- a 1st inning double. The offense scored just enough for the win, led by Jared Stephenson who went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI and hit HR #14 for the 1970 season. Eric Singer worked the final 2 innings for his 10th save (2.23 ERA.)

While the Brewers end the week still in 3rd place, both they and the red-hot San Francisco Velocity have closed some ground on the currently flat Phoenix Speed Devils. San Francisco trails Phoenix by 5 games and the Brewers are just a 1/2 game behind San Fran.

[BirdWatcher]

After winning the final two games in Charlotte, the Brewers travel north to Brooklyn to take on the 8th place Aces in a 4-game series.
Although all 4 games were low scoring and close, the Brewers swept the Aces and have now won 6 straight.
Game 1 featured a fine performance by lefty Daniel Torres, who worked 7 1/3rd, giving up 2 runs (neither earned) on 4 hits while striking out 6 and walking just 1. The Brewers got the majority of their offense from the top 3 hitters in the the lineup- Pat Rondeau, Tanner Yurek, and Ryan Rodgers- who each picked up 2 hits in the game. Yurek hit his 12th HR of the season while Jared Stephenson pitched in with HR #15 as the Brewers took a 4-2 win. With the victory, Torres improved to 8-4 with a 2.56 ERA. Eric Singer picked up save #11 and now has an ERA of 2.18.
Game 2 ended with the same final score and once again Tanner Yurek was a big part of the offense, going 3 for 3, hitting HR #13 and driving in all 4 of the Brewers runs. Adam Getchell worked 7 innings to get the victory and improve to 5-1 with a 1.48 ERA. Getchell gave up 2 runs on 6 hits while striking out 3 and walking none. Eric Singer picked up save #12.
It took 16 innings to resolve game 3, as the Brewers and Aces were tied 1-1 at the end of the regulation 9. The Brewers plated 2 in the top of the 13th but failed to hold that lead in the bottom of the frame and it took a 2-out Pat Rondeau (.307/.347/.396) RBI single in the 16th for the Brewers to finally prevail. They got a fine 3 inning performance from recently promoted Sam Pruiett, who gave up 3 hits but no runs while striking out 3 and walking none to get the victory- his first as a big league pitcher.
In game 4, even though starter Will Smart had to leave in the 3rd inning with back spasms, the Brewers got the shutout, 2-0. Smart, Jaden Francis, and David Brown combined to hold the Aces no runs on 6 hits, while collecting 7 strikeouts and walking just 2 batters. Bobby Erbakan led the offense from the lead-off slot, going 2 for 3 with 2 RBI, his 13th double of the season, and a walk.

With the sweep, the Brewers move into 2nd place, 4 games behind Phoenix and 2 games ahead of the San Francisco Velocity.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers return home to the Mile High City after a very successful road trip and begin the home stand with 3 games versus the 9th place L.A. Spinners.
The Brewers take the first 2 games against L.A. to extend their winning streak to 8 games.
In game 1, Cheol-han Lee was pitching a shutout going into the 8th inning when he ran into a little trouble. Eric Singer entered the game after Lee had allowed 2 runs to make the score 3-2 in favor of Denver and with runners on 2nd and 3rd and no outs. It was a nearly impossible situation for Singer and while he did limit the damage pretty well, one more run did score to tie the game a 3-3. It was the 4th blown save on the season for Singer. Fortunately, the Brewers retaliated with 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th and Singer was able to hold the 5-3 advantage and pick up the win to improve to 7-5 with a 2.09 ERA.
Game 2 was another tight one. Harry Lyerly was on the mound for the Brewers and pitched another fine game in spite of allowing 2 solo HR's- the only 2 runs the Spinners would score. Lyerly pitched 8 innings, allowing the 2 runs on 6 hits while striking out 6 and walking none and was named the Player of the Game but did not get credit for the decision as the game was tied at 2 at the end of 9 innings. It wasn't until the bottom of the 16th inning that a Ryan Rodgers single broke the tie and gave the Brewers the 3-2 victory. Josh Morrow got the win, improving to 2-0 with a 2.79 ERA. Tanner Yurek, who has been hot of late, went 3 for 6 in the game and hit his 19th double.
The Brewers winning streak ended at 8 when the Spinners won game 3 narrowly, 4-3. Once again extra innings were needed, although this time the Spinners plated a run in the top of the 10th and the Brewers could not score in the bottom of the inning and went down to defeat for the first time in 9 days. Tanner Yurek had another great game at the plate for the Brewers, going 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored, hitting his 20th double and 6th triple in the loss. Liann-wei Hua suffered the loss, walking 3 and giving up the 1 run in the 10th (though the run was on a lead-off HR so he limited the damage all things considered) and he falls to 3-3 with a 1.60 ERA.

Tanner Yurek was named MGL Player of the Week.

[BirdWatcher]

The catcher position has been a mostly unstable one for the Brewers for the past several years. The original Brewer catcher, Sam Rogers, who was also the original team captain, was traded away at the end of May, 1968 as his defense was diminishing and his hitting skills were minimal, in spite of the fact that he was very popular and a 3-time All-Star. Since then a few veteran catchers have come and gone- Brett Wood and Carlos Rivera- with very poor results in Brewers purple.

For the first several years of the franchise the team did not have much success bringing along prospects at the catcher position. In fact, even now the man who the OSA ranks as our top catcher prospect is no longer even playing that position as he has switched over to pitching exclusively. (He was a poor defensive catcher with diminishing potential as a hitter, per our scouting staff. He is a decent minor league pitcher but certainly not a major league prospect at any position.)

There is now, however, some hope on the horizon with several decent catching prospects moving up through the pipeline.
One thing that has become clear is that the Brewers are forming a preference for a type when it comes to this position. First and foremost, they are looking for defensive excellence. Secondly, acknowledging that good hitting catchers are few and far between, they are focusing on catchers who at least have a good eye at the plate and can draw an above average amount of walks. If a catcher has some power potential, either for balls into the gaps or over the fences, all the better.

The Brewers two current big league catchers fit at least some of this profile. Both Kevin Curtis (.169/.271/.239, 0.3 WAR) and Joey Townsend (.151/.326/.178, 0.1 WAR) are above average defenders, with Curtis quickly gaining the reputation of being a potentially excellent back-stop. They both have the ability to draw walks, though they also both strike out quite a bit. And Curtis, in particular, in spite of his general disinclination to make good contact, has good gap power when he does. Curtis is also considered a leader on the team and a hard worker. (Townsend, on the other hand, has the reputation of being unmotivated and maybe even just downright lazy.) Neither is likely a long-term solution as a starter, but Curtis has great potential to have an impact at the very least in a back-up role going forward.

Most likely Townsend will not be on the roster in 1971. At this stage of things it appears that Jeff Darden may be the obvious choice to take his place. Darden has put up good numbers this season at both AA Nashville and AAA Chester and is a very solid defensive catcher with a great reputation as a hard worker. Hit hitting skills are considered limited at the WPK level, but like Curtis he will draw a decent number of walks. Darden will likely back-up Curtis in 1971.

But longer term there are better prospects coming up. 21-year old Spencer Wilson is the one most likely to challenge Curtis and Darden for the starting position in the next year or so. Wilson was putting up good numbers at A Bainbridge earlier in the season and earned a promotion to AA Nashville, where he has been even better in 41 games played. He is a well above average defender with a plus arm, has a great eye at the plate and average to somewhat below average hitting ability.

Alex Hernandez, a 21-year old playing at A Bainbridge this season, could have even more hitting potential, though he is not as selective at the plate. He is also a plus defender with a solid work ethic.

But probably the best catching prospect in the Brewers organization is 20-year old Zacarias Martell, currently playing for short season A Jersey City. Martell has the potential to be a great defensive catcher (though with only an average arm) and a possibly above average hitter with good gap power and a decent eye. At this stage of his development (and admittedly, it is early days) the Brewers scouting staff sees him as a possible impact player on a contending team.

While there are probably no superstars in the making at this position for the Brewers, they do have a greater depth of potential then at any other time in team history and anticipate at least a few of these players developing enough to give the big league club a solid tandem behind the plate in the next few years and hopefully for many years into the future.

(And I haven't even mentioned the recently drafted Warren Tinsley, who has very little offensive potential- though he could become an above average power hitter, both gap and HR- but is probably the best defensive catcher in the organization and is a natural leader. He could still work his way up into a defense-first back-up role and the WPK level.)

[BirdWatcher]

Ruben Souffront was named Player of the Week down at AAA last week.
Ruben returned to Chester when Antonio Puente returned from the disabled list recently. Souffront will surely be back in Brewers purple come September 1st, but likely not before.
And there are very real questions about what uniform he might be wearing for the 1971 season.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers take 2 of 3 from the 6th place Charlotte Sting, who entered the series on a 5-game winning streak.

That streak was broken in game 1 when the Brewers scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 7th inning to break open what had been a close, back-and-forth game. Pat Rondeau (.301/.344/.394) started the inning with lead-off triple (his 5th of the season) and Andrew Kennedy (.310/.340/.431), who led the team with a 3 for 5, 2 run, 2 RBI performance, doubled to drive Rondeau in to tie the game. Kennedy would later score the go-ahead run on a bases-loaded Mark Compton walk. Kennedy hit 2 doubles in the game to raise his season total to 13.

The Brewers suffered a disappointing loss in game 2 as twice they tied the game after falling behind, including in the bottom of the 9th inning, only to see the Sting score a run in the top of the 12th with the home team unable to muster a third come-from-behind equalizer. Chad Brown (.255/.284/.337), who has been slumping at the plate for some time, went 3 for 5 with his 9th triple in the losing effort.

The team bounces back with a 6-3 win in game 3, as Cheol-han Lee improves his record to 11-4 with a 2.79 ERA. Rookie back-up thirdbaseman, Jose Careaga, hit a big 2-out, 3-run HR in the Brewers 5 run 1st inning. It was Careaga's first big league HR. Tanner Yurek (.285/.378/.507) followed Careaga's HR with one of his own, his 15th of the 1970 season. Eric Singer picked up save #13 (1.95 ERA.)

[BirdWatcher]

In game 1 of a 4-game series in Los Angeles against the last place Spinners, Harry Lyerly once again hurls a gem. The 22-year old fireballer continues to impress the WPK world with his advanced poise and electrifying talent. Lyerly gets his league leading 6th shutout of the 1970 season, going the distance while allowing just 4 hits (none for extra bases) and 1 walk while striking out 7 batters. Lyerly is now 14-6 with a 2.78 ERA. Lyerly leads the league in strikeouts, and K/9, is 2nd in K/BB and wins, 3rd in FIP, 4th in WHIP, 5th in WAR and Win Pct. and tied for 5th in Complete Games, 6th in ERA, ERA+, and opponents batting average, 7th in rWAR, and 8th in BABIP.

On top of all of these early accomplishments, the Brewers scouting staff have noted recently that his knuckle curve seems to have taken a step forward and they are now projecting that he has the potential to develop this into a pitch to rival the quality of his already very good sinker to go along with his lethal fastball (and poor changeup.)

The sky appears to be the limit for Lyerly.

(Oh, and I forgot to mention, that 23-year old hitter Andrew Kennedy continues to impress as well and not only went 3 for 5 in the game to pace the offense, but hit double #15 and HR #6.)

[BirdWatcher]

In the second game of four against the Spinners in L.A., the Brewers get another shutout- this time of the combined variety as Daniel Torres works the first 7 innings (2 hits, 2 K, 5 BB), Eric Singer works the 8th (1 H, 1K), and Liann-wei Hua works the 9th for his 6th save of the season. Hua (1.47 ERA) didn't allow any base runners and collected 1 strikeout. The Brewers won 3-0, with Ryan Rodgers (.363/.478/.472) pacing the attack with a 2 for 4, 3 RBI day and hitting his 2nd HR of the season. Rodgers continues to lead all of the WPK in both batting average and OBP.

The series culminated with a Sunday doubleheader. The Brewers knew that they faced a tough challenge in the first game with Spinners ace Jaime Schardein on the mound. Schardein entered the game with a 12-6 record (for a last place club) but also an uncharacteristically high ERA of 3.87. And sure enough he held the Brewers scoreless for the first 6 innings. Fortunately, former Spinner Abel Pennington proved to be very effective at working out of jams in the game and kept the Brewers in it as he didn't give up a run until the bottom of the 6th. Trailing 1-0, the Brewers did manage to scrape together 2 runs against Schardein in the top of the 7th to take a narrow 2-1 lead. The score would remain right there until the top of the 9th. Perhaps Schardein was tiring or perhaps the Brewers just got lucky, but the 9th would prove to be Schardein's undoing. The Brewers put together a 6 run inning and held on for an 8-1 victory that looks a lot more lopsided than it felt. Pennington improves to 7-8 with a 3.83 ERA. Antonio Puente (.252/.363/.489) paced the attack with a 3 for 5, 2 runs scored, 2 RBI game including hitting his 19th HR of the season.

The nightcap was nearly a repeat of the day's early game. The Brewers scored a 1st inning run off Spinners starter Lani Malolu and another single run off the veteran lefty in the 5th and took a narrow 2-0 lead into the 7th inning. At that point the Brewers bats exploded again, this time for 5 runs, keyed by a pair of 2-run doubles off the bats of Chad Brown (.260/.289/.344, 17th double of the season) and Pat Rondeau (.298/.340/.390, 22nd double of the season). Will Smart pitched a great game for the Brewers, working 7 innings, allowing 1 run on 7 hits while striking out 4 and walking 3. Smart improves to 6-2 with a 1.49 ERA on the season.

With the 4-game sweep of L.A. the Brewers now find themselves just 3 1/2 games behind the first place Phoenix Speed Devils. What seemed nearly impossible a few weeks ago- winning the MGL for a second straight year- is now very much within reach with a little over a month left in the 1970 season.

[BirdWatcher]

Next on the schedule for the Brewers was a 4-game series against the Oklahoma City Diamond Kings at Brewers Field.

In game 1, ace Cheol-han Lee wasn't at his best and the offense didn't give him much support as the Brewers lost 4-3. Lee gave up 3 runs on 5 hits while striking out 6 and walking 4 in just 6 1/3rds innings pitched. He did not figure in the decision as the game went into the 9th tied at 3-3. Liann-wei Hua pitched 2 innings and gave up a run in the top of the 9th, a 2-out solo HR by Cesar Grajeda, which proved to the be the game winner. Hua falls to 3-4 with a 1.63 ERA.

Game 2 saw young Adam Getchell once again try to make a case for inclusion in the rotation in 1971 and mostly succeed. He pitched very well for the first 6 innings but did give up 3 runs in the 7th. Fortunately, the team provided him with good run support early and the Brewers were able to hold on for an 8-4 victory. Getchell improved to 6-1 with a 1.82 ERA. He allowed the 4 runs on 7 hits in 7 2/3rds IP, striking out 4 and walking 4. Chad Brown (.262/.291/.346), who has been heating up lately, had a good game, going 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored, 2 RBI and hit his 18th double of the season. Andrew Kennedy (.325/.353/.463), who has earned and has been getting much more playing time, went 1 for 3 with 1 run scored, 3 RBI, 1 walk and hit his 17th double of the season (in just 291 plate appearances.)

Game 3- Harry Lyerly. Need I say more. Okay, I will. Actually, Lyerly wasn't even at his sharpest in this game. He gave up 8 hits in 7 1/3rd innings. He allowed 2 runs- although, to be fair, one was unearned. (The middle infield behind him was sloppy in this game- secondbaseman Juan Lujan committing 2 errors and shortstop Chad Brown 1.) Then again, Lyerly didn't walk a single batter (he did put one on with a HBP). And he struck out 11. And, once again, he didn't give up any HR's- his supposed fatal flaw. In fact, only 1 of the hits against him went for extra bases- a 3rd inning double by the Diamond Kings best hitter, Cesar Grajeda. Lyerly also walked once himself and drove in a run in the 5-run Brewers 2nd inning with a sacrifice fly. Brewers win 5-2. Lyerly improves to 15-6 with a 2.72 ERA.
Fun fact: even though the Brewers have been a very good pitching team most of their short history, with his 15th victory of the season here in late August, Lyerly has now set the team record for pitching wins in a single season. That's right- 4 Brewers pitchers have collected 14 wins in a season but until now that was the team single-season high. Above I called Cheol-han Lee the ace of the staff. And in some ways, that is probably true. But increasingly a pretty good argument could be made that 22 year old Harry Lyerly is rapidly becoming the true team ace.

Game 4 was wiped out by rain and will have to be made up later in the season.

The Brewers next take on 1st place Phoenix in Denver. Not wanting to overstate, especially with roughly a month left in the season, but this is a HUGE series. The Speed Devils have continued to play well lately and while the Brewers have hung tight- trailing Phoenix by 4 1/2 games going into this series- this is a great opportunity for the Brewers to gain ground and make a statement. Or, alternatively, fall farther behind. It should be interesting. With any luck, it will also be fun.