Brevard Brew Crew Rehab Tracker: Tom Gorzelanny

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Brewers LHP Tom Gorzelanny is the latest Major Leaguer to make his way to the Manatees’ roster on a rehab assignment, following in the footsteps of OF Logan Schafer. Though the left-hander has made just two appearances for Brevard County, early indications are that Gorzelanny is recovering nicely from surgery on his throwing shoulder.

Gorzelanny has held his Florida State League opponents scoreless in four total innings. He has only surrendered two hits, walked one batter and struck out one.

The southpaw’s appearances have been nearly identical. Both times, Gorzelanny has come out of the bullpen to pitch the seventh and eighth innings. Both times, he has allowed just one hit. Unfortunately, the ‘Tees have also lost by one run in both of the games in which Gorzelanny has pitched. The lefty, however, did not factor in either decision.

As of now, there is no official word on when Gorzelanny will return to the Brew Crew or when he might move up to Double- or Triple-A. If he continues to baffle FSL hitters, though, you would imagine the left-hander should be back in Milwaukee before too long.

 

‘Tees Tidbits: RHP Damien Magnifico tossed a complete game, two-hit shutout this morning against the Jupiter Hammerheads. The ‘Tees held on for a 1-0 win thanks to Magnifico’s gem, which marked the first complete game of his professional career.

Stay tuned to the Manatees Blog for our next Throwback Thursday post, when we will take an in-depth look at Magnifico’s performance and look back at previous Manatees complete games.

Walk-offs and W’s – TBT 5/15

Hey fans! Time for your weekly look around baseball to check in on how your former Brevard County Manatees are performing across pro baseball!

Khris Davis (’11)

I guess it makes sense to start with a guy who made the most recent impact. Earlier this afternoon, Milwaukee entered the ninth inning trailing by a run in their series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Davis, who had not recorded and RBI since May 5, came to the plate with a chance to win the game…

Jonathan Lucroy (’08)

There may be no hotter hitter in the Brewers lineup right now than Lucroy. The catcher entered today on a five-game hitting streak and three multi-hit games in his last ten appearances. During this stretch, Lucroy has homered once, driven in seven runs, and scored five of his own. Even more impressive, Lucroy entered this afternoon leading all National League catchers with a .311 batting average. Even with all the impressive offensive numbers, Lucroy still has a cannon behind the plate…

Martin Maldonado (’10)

Don’t forget about Lucroy’s backup either. Even though his playing time is sparse, Maldonado has been a big boost to the Brew Crew anytime he’s in the lineup. In games the former ‘Tee has started, the Brewers have put together a remarkable 8-0 record. Maldonado made his presence felt again today as he smacked a game-tying home run in the fifth inning.

Tyler Cravy (’13)

Can’t forget about those Minor League guys also! While his former teammate, Jed Bradley, won Pitcher of the Week honors in the Florida State League, Cravy was garnering the same accolade for his efforts with the Huntsville Stars in the Southern League. In his outing on Saturday in Chattanooga the southpaw picked up his sixth victory of the year, allowing one run on four hits. Cravy lowered his ERA to a miniscule 1.93 while striking out nine batters.

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Josh Beckett (’01)

How about a blast from the past? After struggling with injuries over the last few years, Beckett has been solid so far in 2014. The right-hander picked up his first win of the season, dominating the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night. Beckett allowed just one unearned run on four hits and struck out six. The former second overall pick is now 1-1 with a 2.38 ERA in seven starts with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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Be sure to check back next week for more updates on your favorite former Manatees!

How Sweep It is!

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C Cameron Garfield hit at a .467 (7-for-15) clip against Daytona, while LHP Jed Bradley earned FSL Pitcher of the Week for his efforts.

With back-to-back 5-2 victories over the Daytona Cubs on Friday and Saturday evenings the Brevard County Manatees completed a four-game sweep against their I-95 rivals.

By taking all four games from Daytona, Brevard County has tied its season-high with four straight victories, but more notable was the way the Manatees did it.

At The Plate

The ‘Tees bats battered Cubs pitching by hitting at a .319 clip (43-for-135) with four home runs, including three on Saturday night.

However, Joe Ayrault’s club didn’t just get it done with the long ball. In the four-game set the Manatees recorded an incredible 16 extra-base hits.

Nathan Orf, who hit leadoff throughout the series, was a particular menace against the Cubs. Orf, who was hit by a pitch in each of the first three games, tallied four runs scored, three doubles, a triple and drove in a run against Daytona.

If Orf was a nuisance, catcher Cameron Garfield was a demoralizer. The California native put together the best series of his season by absolutely mashing Cubs pitching. Garfield extended his hitting streak to 10 games by batting .467 during the four-game series (7-for-15), including multi-hit performances in each of the first three nights.

Garfield made his mark by tallying five of Brevard’s 16 extra-base hits. The catcher doubled four times and drove in three runs during the series’ first three matchups, before punctuating his dominance in the finale. After an error by Gioskar Amaya kept the third inning alive, Garfield demolished the first pitch he saw from Cubs starter Jose Rosario well over the manual scoreboard in left field for a two-run homer, his first of 2014. The blast gave the Manatees a 3-0 lead and ended up being the deciding blow in a 5-2 victory.

On the Mound

The Manatees pitching was equally, if not more, impressive. The pitching staff allowed four runs, only two earned, over the course of the series good for a microscopic 0.50 ERA. The ‘Tees staff also produced a multitude of swings and misses, striking out 38 Cubs, equaling an average of 9.5 per game.

Left-handers Jed Bradley and Hobbs Johnson were both dominating on Thursday and Saturday nights, respectively. Bradley pieced together arguably his best performance of the season, allowing just two hits and two walks, while striking out seven hitters over a season-high 6.2 shutout innings en route to his second Florida State League Pitcher of the Week award.

Johnson was no slouch either. The North Carolina product struck out a career-high nine batters on Saturday night in Daytona. The lefty shutout the Cubs through his first six frames, then surrendered two runs (one earned) in the seventh before being removed with one out. The 6.1 innings of work was the longest outing of Johnson’s career.

History Lesson

The sweep gives Brevard County a 7-5 series edge over Daytona with eight games remaining in the I-95 rivalry for 2014. The Manatees have not won the I-95 Trophy since they took 11-of-18 games against the Cubs back in 2007.

Future Major League outfielder Lorenzo Cain (.309 AVG) and shortstop Alcides Escobar (.395 AVG) batted over .300 during the season series, while catcher Angel Salome hit a gaudy .441 (15-for-34) in 9 games that year against the Cubs. Future Brewers infielder Mat Gamel led the offensive charge in ’07, recording 11 extra-base hits in the season series (eight doubles, two triples and one home run) while driving in 11 runs. Another eventual Major Leaguer, pitcher Mike McClendon, dominated the Cubbies on the rubber. The right-hander went 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA in three starts against Daytona.

This four-game shellacking is the Manatees first four-game sweep against the Cubs since they took the final four matchups in 2011. Future Brewers pitcher Hiram Burgos allowed one run over 5.2 innings to pick up the win in the first game, while current ‘Tee Austin Ross started and recorded the victory in a 15-4 victory against Daytona in the second meeting. 

Nine ex-‘Tees Factor in Double-A Scoreless Streak- TBT 5/8

Have you been following the Double-A Huntsville Stars’ pitching staff? Well, if you have you’ve seen a slew of former Manatees hurlers combine to set the Stars’ club record for consecutive scoreless innings. Nine Brevard County alumni, including five 2013 ‘Tees, helped the Stars rattle off 34 straight innings without allowing a run.

The streak began on May 2 in Montgomery, AL when RHP Casey Medlen (’13) pitched a perfect seventh inning against the Biscuits. Huntsville kept rolling from there and did not allow another run until the fifth inning of yesterday’s game against the Jackson Generals.

All but one of the 34 shutout innings were tossed by an ex-Manatee. The lone outlier was RHP Arcenio Leon who pitched a pair of scoreless frames on May 5 against the Generals. Other than Leon, all the work was done by these ex-‘Tees:

 

RHP Casey Medlen (’13)

Struck out one over a hitless seventh inning at Montgomery. That outing on May 2 began the streak.

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Streak Stats: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 K

 

RHP Tim Dillard (’05)

After Medlen’s scoreless outing on May 2, Dillard came in and shut down the Biscuits over the final two frames. The Stars won that game, 9-1, but Dillard was not finished making his mark on the scoreless streak.

The right-hander came out of the bullpen on May 6, as well. That day, Dillard worked a one-two-three eighth inning in a 5-0 victory against Jackson.

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Streak Stats: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R

 

LHP Brent Suter (’13)

Just two starts after took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against Mobile, Suter turned in another tremendous performance at Montgomery. Suter kept Huntsville’s shutout streak intact with seven scoreless innings at Montgomery on 5/3.

Suter and his 2013 Manatees teammate, RHP Drew Gagnon, had the longest outings of any Stars pitcher during the streak.

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Streak Stats: 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 7 K

 

RHP Kevin Shackelford (’13)

The 6’5” right-hander finished what Suter started on 5/3. Shackelford shut out the Biscuits in the eighth and ninth innings on 5/3. He walked two and allowed a hit, but struck out two to keep the zero in Montgomery’s column in an 11-0 Stars win.

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Streak Stats: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K

 

RHP Tyler Cravy (’13)

Cinco de Mayo was Cravy’s day to put a zero on the board. The 2013 ‘Tee put together six scoreless innings and struck out six Jackson Generals on 5/5. Cravy only allowed three hits and registered one hit-by-pitch.

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Streak Stats: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 HB, 5 K

 

RHP David Goforth (’13)

Leon took the ball for two innings on Cinco de Mayo after Cravy tossed his gem. After that, however, the mound belonged to another ex-Manatee in Goforth. With the Stars only leading 2-0, Goforth had to shut the door and he did just that in the ninth.

Goforth pitched a one-two-three ninth inning en route to his seventh save and a Huntsville win. The Stars’ scoreless streak was alive and well at 21 innings.

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Streak Stats: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R

 

RHP Drew Gagnon (’13)

Gagnon equaled Suter’s performance from three nights prior with seven shutout innings on 5/6. The righty got into a little trouble with three walks and four hits, but skirted danger to keep zeros on the scoreboard for Jackson.

The 2013 Brevard hurler stranded a runner on third base after a leadoff double in the third inning, then picked a runner off of second to end the following inning. Gagnon worked out of dodge in the sixth inning, as well. The starter issued a pair of two-out walks, but nothing came of them, as he struck out the last batter of the inning.

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Streak Stats: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K

 

RHP Tommy Toledo (’14)

In just his third Double-A appearance since being called up from Brevard County, Toledo shut down Jackson to improve Huntsville’s scoreless streak to 30 innings. The ex-Manatees closer held the Generals off the scoreboard in the ninth inning to secure a 5-0 win for Huntsville.

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Streak Stats: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB

 

RHP Taylor Jungmann (’12)

Huntsville’s scoreless innings streak ended with Jungmann, but not before he threw four more zeros on the scoreboard. After four shutout frames, Jungmann allowed three runs (one earned) with one out in the fifth inning against Jackson on May 7.

Huntsville committed two errors that inning and Jungmann surrendered two hits and two walks, as the Stars fell, 7-2.

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Streak Stats (before allowing a run): 4.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K

 

All told, the Manatees accounted for 32.1 straight scoreless innings. The Brevard alumni struck out 22 men, surrendered 14 hits, walked seven and hit one batter to help the Stars set a new club record.

 

‘Tees OF Contends for FSL Weekly Award

It’s too bad the Florida State League can only hand out one award for Player of the Week because the entire Manatees outfield could have been honored for its performance over the last seven days. Michael Reed ultimately took the prize, but Victor Roache and Tyrone Taylor made the decision tougher than it should have been for the league’s front office.

 

Reed-iculous:

We’ll start with the winner. Reed seemingly reached base every time he stepped into the batter’s box this week. The ‘Tees right fielder compiled a .700 on base percentage (21-for-30) on the week with eight walks and one hit-by-pitch.

Reed, however, was not solely a free-pass machine. The FSL Player of the Week was 12-for-27 at the plate (.571 AVG) and doubled his career home run total with a pair of long balls over a six-game span.

Adding to his banner week, Reed registered four multi-hit games, legged out four doubles, stole three times out of five attempts, scored nine runs and drove in five. Just for good measure, the right fielder was nearly impossible to retire on strikes. Reed struck out just once in 30 plate appearances.

 

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Michael Reed won FSL Player of the Week with a .571 batting average and two home runs.

Tour De Taylor:

Taylor’s bid for Player of the Week came early when he hit for the first cycle in Manatees history last Tuesday in Clearwater:

After the cycle, Taylor remained hot. The center fielder added to his stunning doubles total with four over a six-game stretch to give him a Minor League Baseball-best 14 on the season.

In addition, Taylor hit a pair of home runs and tripled once. The center fielder hit for a .444 average on the week and only five of his 12 hits were singles.

 

Big Stick Vick:

Roache made a late charge for the FSL’s weekly award when he made history on Sunday night. The left fielder became the first player in the 21-year history of the Brevard County Manatees to homer three times in one game. Roache did not waste any time, either. He hit his bombs in each of his first three at-bats:

Roache’s power-driven Sunday was the highlight of a strong week for the left fielder. Roache drove home 10 runs and compiled four multi-RBI games. He also hit for a .375 average (9-for-24) with a double and a triple.

 

‘Tees Tidbits:

The collective efforts of Reed, Taylor and Roache have helped the Manatees win five of their six games this week. Brevard’s other outfielders also performed well during that stretch.

Jose Sermo scored the eventual game-winning run on Monday when he stole third and scampered home as the throw skipped into left field. Nathan Orf walked five times and was hit by a pitch to register a .421 on base percentage. Meanwhile, Major League rehabber Logan Schafer laced an RBI double in his second at-bat with the ‘Tees.

Throwback Thursday – May 1, 2014

In just three days, Brevard County Manatees alumni have given us a lot to reflect on. The ‘Tees welcomed back a familiar face for a Major League rehab assignment, watched one of their former outfielders propel the Brew Crew to victory and saw a well-remembered right-hander toss a gem for Triple-A Nashville.

 

Welcome Back Logan

A strained hamstring has landed Brewers OF Logan Schafer (’09) on the 15-day disabled list, but he is working his way back. As part of his rehab stint, the 2009 Manatees alum returned to the Florida State League to join Brevard County for a pair of games in Clearwater on Monday and Tuesday. Here’s what Schafer had to say about recovering from his injury and spending some time with this year’s crop of ‘Tees:

 

Klutch Khris

The Brew Crew got used to extra innings at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Milwaukee won a pair of extra-innings contests against the Cardinals and LF Khris Davis (’11) delivered the big hit on Monday to help the Brewers win in 12:

 

Fiers-baller

RHP Mike Fiers (’09) has had a banner start to 2014. The former ‘Tee is 5-0 with a miniscule 0.80 ERA for the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. His start on Wednesday, in the opener of a doubleheader, however, was likely his best outing of the season. In a 1-0 win over the New Orleans Zephyrs. Fiers fanned 11 men in a complete game (seven innings) shutout. As you’ll hear, punch-outs have been pretty common for Fiers this year:

 

Happy Birthday to You!

Before we go, it’s time for a few TBT birthday wishes to some of our own. A very happy birthday to Brewers 2B Scooter Gennett (’11), who turns 24 today! Gennett will carry a .302 batting average into Cincinnati, as the Brew Crew gets set for a four-game series with the Reds.

 

Gennett wasn’t the only Manatee to celebrate a birthday this week. Current Brevard LHP Hobbs Johnson celebrated his 23rd birthday on Tuesday by tossing six shutout innings in a 20-0 win over the Clearwater Threshers. Meanwhile, on the same day, OF Tyrone Taylor hit for the first ever cycle in Manatees history on his mother’s birthday:

 

https://twitter.com/Ty_roneTaylor/status/461177450140299264

Bradley Continues to Baffle Opponents

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LHP Jed Bradley enters tonight’s ball game leading Brevard County in strikeouts (29) and tied for the team lead in wins (3).

As the 15th overall pick by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, expectations have always been high for Jed Bradley. After a rocky couple of seasons, it seems as if Bradley has found his groove out on the mound.

In his first season with the Manatees back in 2012, Bradley did not allow an earned run through his initial three starts, but struggled from there on out. The left-hander finished the season with a 5-10 record and an ERA up over five and a half.

2013 was better for Jed, but there were still plenty of struggles. His ERA came down a full run, but was only able to compile a 4-4 record, surrendering 81 hits over 78.1 innings, in 16 starts before his season was cut short due to injury.

However, in his first five starts of 2014, Jed Bradley has been absolutely stellar. Since taking the loss in a rough outing against the Daytona Cubs in his first start of the season, Bradley has put together the best four-game stretch of his professional career.

Starting with his April 11 victory at Dunedin, Bradley has gone 3-0 with a 1.22 ERA. The Huntsville, Ala. native has surrendered just three runs, allowing no more than one run in each appearance. As well, Bradley has allowed a career-low fourteen hits over 22 innings of work.

Similarly, the former first-round pick has struck out 25 batters, also a career-best for four straight outings, including recording a career-high nine punch outs in a no-decision last night in Daytona.

His best night on the bump came on April 16, when he blanked the Lakeland Flying Tigers over six innings en route to the Manatees second 1-0 victory of the season. The performance resulted in being named the Florida State League Pitcher of Week, the first ‘Tee to receive the honor since Brent Suter won it in June of last year.

A big key to Bradley’s success during this time frame has been his ability to retire the lead-off man. Since his loss to Daytona on April 5, Bradley has allowed just three of 22 lead-off batters (.095 batting average) to reach base on two singles and a walk. Even more impressive, only one of those players have come across to score a run, with the other two being retired trying to steal.

With the Brewers Double-A affiliate, the Huntsville Stars, slated to move out of state to Biloxi, Miss. next season, Bradley looks determined to get a chance to make his home starts right where he grew up. If the left-hander continues to pitch the way he has over the first month of the season, he’ll get that opportunity sooner rather than later.

Throwback Thursday – April 24, 2014

Want to know how good LHP Brent Suter (’13) has been this season for the Double-A Huntsville Stars? Just ask the Mobile BayBears hitters. Suter took a no-hitter into the ninth against Mobile yesterday and finished with one hit over eight innings, as the Stars won, 4-1.

Suter, who went 7-9 with a 3.63 ERA with Brevard County last season, kept a zero in the BayBears’ hit column until Raywilly Gomez singled to lead off the ninth inning. The left-hander was pulled from the game after giving up the no-hitter, but RHP Arcenio Leon finished the job in the ninth.

Gomez scored later in the ninth, but that was the only Mobile tally on the afternoon. Suter finished with one run on one hit and one walk over eight innings of work. The southpaw struck out seven in the performance.

The former Manatees lefty has been a tough assignment for Southern League hitters. One year after pitching for Brevard County, the 24-year old has started the 2014 campaign 3-0 with a 1.08 ERA for Double-A Huntsville. Suter has also ramped up his strikeout game since reaching Double-A:

Suter averages 8.64 K/9 with 24 punch-outs through 25.0 innings. That average is more than a strikeout better per game compared to last year (7.04 K/9). The left-hander is scheduled to make his next start on Monday at the Tennessee Smokies.

Keepin’ it Close: ‘Tees Excel in One-Run Games

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Tyrone Taylor is hitting a team-best .347 in one-run ballgames this season.

Precious few games have come easy for the Brevard County Manatees in 2014. The Manatees are 10-6, but through the first 16 games of the season, Brevard County has played six one-run ballgames to tie for the Florida State League-lead. Fortunately for the ‘Tees, they have won four of those contests. Let’s take a look at how they’ve done it:

 

Tyrone Taylor

When the ‘Tees are in a tight game, it is usually not a shootout. Brevard County has not scored more than five runs in its one-run contests. While most of the ‘Tees struggle in these games, however, Tyrone Taylor excels. In one-run ballgames, Taylor is hitting .347, while the rest of the team has hit .185.

The center fielder has also hit six of his MiLB-leading 10 doubles in one-run ballgames, leading him to a .609 slugging percentage in those contests. On 4/7 at Daytona, Taylor tied a career-high with three doubles in a 5-4 win. He also had a pretty decent defensive play:

What’s more, Taylor has been the deciding factor in two of Brevard’s six one-run games. He has contributed one game-winning run and one game-winning RBI, plus the game-tying double, heard above.

 

Bullpen

Two weeks ago, we told you how good the Manatees bullpen had been at the start of the season. That certainly has not changed and the relievers appear to be even better in games decided by one run:

ERA: 0.86 (2 ER/21 IP)

WHIP: 0.95 (15 H & 5 BB/21 IP)

K/9: 7.71 (18 K/21 IP)

Whether you’re a starter or a reliever, though, it certainly doesn’t hurt when you get some defensive assistance like this to help win a one-run ballgame:

 

Closers

As the Manatees’ closers, Tanner Poppe and Tommy Toledo are at the center of Brevard’s bullpen success. Neither of them has given up an earned run and it has been a struggle for hitters to get on board against them:

ERA: 0.00 (0 ER/7.2 IP)

WHIP: 1.04 (7 H & 1 BB/7.2 IP)

K/9: 9.39 (8 K/7.2 IP)

Talk about unhittable, Poppe in particular has bore down when his team needs him. The right-hander has recorded three of his five saves in one-run games and has struck out seven of the 17 men he has faced. Does that sound like a lot? It should, because that mark gives Poppe a K/9 rate of 15.75 in games decided by one run.

 

‘Tees Tidbits: Brevard County has also faired well in three-run contests this season. The ‘Tees are 3-0 in games decided by three runs. They are 1-1 in games decided by two runs.

‘Tees Throwback Thursday – April 17, 2014

In this week’s Throwback Thursday, we take you back to 2011. It may not be that long ago, but the players who took over Space Coast Stadium that year have been showing off some tremendous glove-work, helping the Milwaukee Brewers rattle off nine straight wins and take first place in the National League Central.

 

Scooter Gennett is hitting .308 in his last five games, but here he exhibits his range at second base:

Not to be outdone, Khris Davis made his defensive presence known on Jackie Robinson Day:

As if that wasn’t enough defense from the 2011 ‘Tees, check out Logan Schafer:

 

Meanwhile, at Triple-A Nashville, Hunter Morris, another 2011 Manatee, is doing what he has always done with the bat. Two days ago, the left-handed power hitter did this against the Memphis Redbirds:

 

‘Tees Tidbits: The 2011 ‘Tees feature three current Major Leaguers (Davis, Gennett and Schafer), one Triple-A prospect (Morris) and two members of the Double-A Huntsville Stars (Kentrail Davis and Josh Prince).